Tampa

In the afternoon, stay close to a body of water (not hard to find here), and take frequent dips to cool off. Stock up on juice and bottled water to stay hydrated in the heat. Slather on the sunscreen, especially between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sunlight is most intense.

Or spend the hottest parts of the day browsing the malls, or catching a matinee.

By evening, the temperature drops, so you can enjoy dinner and drinks on an outdoor patio.

July and August are known for the daily four o’clock storm showers. The storms churn for half an hour, then the sun returns. It’s very rare for storms to last all day, regardless of the season.

In winter, lows average around 11 C. Come prepared with a warm jacket or sweatshirt for those rare chilly days.

There’s so much varied terrain, so many cool neighbourhoods and little hidden towns here – you can do exactly what you want, every day you’re here.

It’s hard to find sandy beaches anywhere north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s all mangroves and oyster shells. Make good use of the 40 km of Tampa Bay beaches and dig your toes into the golden sand. Try Fort Desoto’s secluded East Beach with its winning views of the 58-metre-high Sunshine Skyway Bridge – the world’s longest cable-stayed concrete bridge.

Then slip on your sandals and peruse the coastal art galleries in St. Pete Beach, hire a charter boat from Hubbard’s Marina in John’s Pass or cast off from any of the 30-plus public fishing piers throughout the Bay area.

Once the saltwater air works up your thirst, head north to Dunedin. This Scottish community is known for its brewery and the annual Highland Games. These include log throwing, hammer throwing and other events.

Ready for some refinement? Try the Tampa Museum of Art. It sits on the Hillsborough River by the bay. Ivy-league rowing crews regularly train on the river because it’s so calm. Each season, the crews paint a portion of the seawall in their school colours.

Nearby, the Tampa Theatre offers avant-garde films and new hits in its restored 1920s movie palace. Across the bay, the newest crown jewel is St. Petersburg’s Dali Museum. It contains Salvador Dali’s Masterworks paintings, weighing more than 450 kilograms each.

In St. Petersburg, you can visit the Holocaust Museum and the Great Explorations Children’s Museum, among others. Pack a picnic and wander through the lush grassy parks next to the downtown yacht basin.

Water is another defining feature of the Tampa Bay area. With the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the half-moon shape of the bay on the other, it seems like anywhere you go there’s a bridge to cross.

The beaches are all sand, with very few rocks. Besides the beaches, Tampa Bay itself is ringed with saltwater mangrove trees and mud flats. The calm waters invite nesting shorebirds, manatees and kayakers who want to see it all up close.

The Hillsborough River runs 87 km, from the swamp forests in the east, through downtown Tampa and into the bay. Along the upper portions of the river you may see gopher tortoises, Eastern Indigo snakes, Florida scrub jays or sometimes a bald eagle.

Closer to the coast, the wildlife becomes much more apparent – pelicans, ospreys and Great Blue herons are everywhere.

The second wave came from elsewhere within the U.S. after the Second World War – northerners from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and the like, looking to escape the cold.

Old-time Florida natives (people who go back four or five generations in Florida) are rare. They’re more often found in the farm country, away from the coast.

The beaches here are mostly barrier islands, and locals take the island attitude to heart. Sandals or flip-flips are standard issue. T-shirts are fine in all but the priciest of restaurants.

With so many bays, rivers and miles of coastline, and with so many warm weather days to enjoy it, it seems every resident either boats or has a friend who does. Weekends and holidays are spent fishing or cruising on the bay or in the gulf.

The Ybor City neighbourhood of Tampa remains the old homestead of Hispanic and Italian labourers who manned the tobacco factories of what was dubbed “Cigar City” early in the last century. They pioneered the Cuban sandwich found throughout the Bay area. The traditional version begins with baguette-style Cuban bread. Thin layers of ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles are stacked on top. Then the whole thing is toasted in a sandwich press. Tampa’s sandwiches, owing to the influence of Italian immigrants, also use Genoa salami.

Driving through Clearwater, and especially further north, you start to see three- and four-syllable Greek names on businesses and restaurants. This is en route to Tarpon Springs, a community with the highest percentage of Greek citizens of any U.S. city. It has been populated since 1890 when Greek immigrants came to harvest sea sponges from the Gulf of Mexico.

Along the docks, the smells of grilled lamb and the ocean, mingled with the languages spoken by the shopkeepers, feels wonderfully exotic.

The Greeks have their own strong coffee, thick as oil and sickly sweet. But more often than not locals start their day Cuban-style, with day-old Cuban bread buttered and dunked into steaming mugs of café con leche. Heavy on the milk and sugar, it’s a bit like having a buttery mocha dessert for breakfast. Try it. You will find it’s easy to get used to.

If renting a car is not in your plan, Tampa also offers a variety of public transit options to help you make the most of your trip.

Tampa’s Got HART

Tampa’s Hillsborough Area Regional Transit or HART serves the county, with buses running regularly on both “local” and “Commuter Express” routes. Local routes have numerous stops along the way, while Commuter Express lines have fewer stops and provide service from downtown to the suburbs and back. Either option is great when travelling with kids, since the buses here rarely fill up. Fare is US$1.75 for local routes and US$2.75 for Commuter Express lines. Those over 65 and under 17 years of age ride for half-price.

Take a Ride on Tampa’s Streetcar

Tampa also offers a streetcar line called TECO, which runs from Dick Greco Plaza (downtown) to Centennial Park in Ybor City. With only 10 stops, the streetcar is a valuable resource for tourists looking to travel between attractions. Stops along the line include St. Pete Times Forum, the Florida Aquarium and many great restaurants and shopping destinations. As an added bonus, there are ticket vending machines conveniently located at each stop.

This streetcar line is also a great way to show the kids a historical transportation method, along with many historical locations along the way (no walking needed). A single streetcar fare is US$2.50. Or you can pick up a day pass with unlimited rides on both streetcars and trolleys for only US$5. Route times vary by season and day of the week, so be sure to check with your hotel concierge before heading out.

Or Take Tampa’s Trolley

Tampa is also home to a two-line trolley system that runs during higher-traffic commute times. The lines run beside Tampa’s Central Business District and transfers are available for travel between streetcar and trolley lines.

Prefer to take a taxi or limo? Tampa has many local cab companies who can conveniently pick you up and drop you off at your hotel, at whatever time you choose.

Travel requirements cont'd

Departure

Smiling WestJetters will greet you at the international check-in counters and will help you prepare to board your flight home. You can also check in and select your seat online using WestJet’s simple Web check-in service.