Every spring since my nearly 19-year-old twins were born we have taken a family vacation south (except for one year two years ago and we decided we would never do that again). But I am frugal when it comes to vacation. It is the only time I really bargain shop.
In the earlier days we stayed at my grandmother's and really only paid for plane tickets (which I always bought at off-peak times), and any extracurriculars we did. As the kids got older and one more in number, our family outgrew my grandmother's condo and we began to seek out other options for our Spring Break vacations. It was right around this time when Homeaway and VRBO began, and we realized that we could rent a condominium right on the beach that fit all of us ... for a price less than or close to that of many of the resorts and hotels on the water. I'm also not big on eating out, it's way too expensive with five of us, especially when you're eating seafood and steaks, because well, you're near the ocean. So having a kitchen for quick breakfasts and lunch, and preparing easy meals for a fraction of what it costs to eat out appeals to my husband and me.
Travel Tip: Our meals aren't fancy. It's bagels and cereal for breakfast, sandwiches or leftovers for lunch, and usually a protein on the grill with a bagged salad or microwaveable frozen vegetables for dinner. So for those who don't like to cook, it's not labor intensive at all, and you can always go out and/or order a pizza here and there.
Preparing for Spring Break 2018
We went during college Spring Break the week of March 10, so it was not off-peak, but I was determined to find tickets under $350. After scouring the internet for flights into Florida airports, I found direct flights to Tampa for just above $350. We always fly Southwest Airlines so we have a lot of points and my husband uses his Southwest Card for business, so three out of our five tickets were free. Then after I purchased them, I continued to watch the site to see if either of our flights went down in price, and bingo one of them did by $50. So we ended up paying $323 per ticket — the boys extra points were reimbursed, and my daughter and I both now have a $50 credit to use towards a future flight (I already used mine to book tickets to New Orleans next fall for our annual MacKid Meetup).
Travel Tip: When looking for low-cost flights, especially on Southwest, it often works better to book one-way flights. In the past, I've found a flight to Florida for $100, but the flight home is $300. So I wait a couple of days or weeks and it drops to $150 or $200. It's a risk, but it's worked many a time. Also, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are often the best days to find low-cost flights.
So now that we knew where we were going, I began to look at VRBO properties from Tampa to St. Pete's Beach. It took an hour or two over a week's time but finally, I found a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo right on a canal and two blocks from South Clearwater Beach (the two blocks consisted of a parking lot and a hotel, so not city blocks by any means, it's about 300 yards). I paid a little more than usual for the condo because we allowed our kids to bring friends for the first time ever, but there were plenty between $200 and $300 a night that would have been perfect, too. Subtract what you would pay to eat out — I never count groceries as an expense during vacation because we'd have that expense at home, too — and it's as affordable as a cramped hotel room with two beds, 1 cot, and a bathroom.
Travel Tip If you travel plans occur at off-peak times (April-December) in Florida you can get many houses and condos for a really great rate. If you're interested in the condo we stayed at you can find it HERE (Marge the owner is fantastic, super helpful with local tips, things to do and places to eat, and she's originally from upstate New York so we had a lot to talk about. The condo has tons of space, four beds, a blowup queen mattress, and a cot. There's a table for six with extra chairs to squeeze in and a countertop and stools for additional seating. We would definitely stay here again. Below is my morning view from the condo — and the sunrises were jaw-dropping).
The only thing left to book was the rental car — again I search websites like kayak.com and rentalcars.com among others and look for a car under $300 for the week (yup it's possible). Because I needed a larger car than usual, and I passed up a $400 mini-van, I frustratingly booked a $500 mini-van, but the week before we went I began looking for reduced rates and three days before we left I found a Ford Explorer or similar for $400, so I was happy.
Travel Tip: Book early, but make sure it is with a company with free cancellation like rentalcars.com, then start looking again a week or two before you go. Often as you get closer to the date the rates drop. If you'd rather just get it over with and book something, choose the pre-pay option it's cheaper.
We've arrived
So we arrived in Clearwater on March 10 with an uneventful flight and car ride to the condo, grabbed a late lunch at Frenchy's South Beach Cafe (a local and touristy favorite with another location north of us). My husband and son tried two variations of grouper, and both realized that they liked the grouper but not the cheese (on my husband's sandwich) or the sauce (on my son's grouper Oscar or something like that). They like there fish au naturale and seemed to have forgotten that.
Travel Tip: Here simple is best. Burgers, salads, fish with nothing on it, and for the grown-ups, the fruity drink (virgin one's for the teenagers)! But we only went for lunch and the dinner menu was a whole other story, and I would definitely try it on my next trip.
As the saying goes: You can't control the weather.
We returned to the condo and my husband took a quick trip to the supermarket, only a mile up the road (but it could be a two-minute trip or significantly more than 20, depending upon what time you go. Traffic is at a standstill pretty much when people are going to or leaving the beach. So depending on the weather, those times could vary.
Travel Tip: My husband recommends shopping after 8 p.m.
The next day we awoke to friends arriving and a less-than-stellar weather forecast for the week. Basically, we had a beach day that day, and another our last our day there, the rest of the week was cool and breezy. So I began our search for activities the two 16-year-olds and four 18-year-olds (as well as mom and dad) would enjoy. Here's what I found.
10 Things to do in Clearwater with Teens
1. Heated Pools and Hot Tubs — Be sure to book a condominium complex, hotel, house, or resort with a heated pool and/or hot tub. All six teens spent hours in the hot tub and pool during the cold days. They'd start there when they crawled out of bed at 11, and would usually end their day there long after the sun had set. When my son and his friend weren't at our pool, they were visiting friends from college at the Wyndham Grand Resort pool.
2. Big Cat Rescue — This one was for my daughter. She's really into animal conservation and only into zoos if they have some conservation aspect, and the animals are there because they cannot survive in the wild. Big Cat Rescue is a 67-acre preserve featuring a variety of cats from servals and wild cats, to cougars, lions, and tigers. The animals are in caged habitats (with two larger areas — the Vacation Rotation — where animals are rotated in and out so they can roam and run free), and because all of them were raised by humans (yes, humans raising lion cubs, cross-breeding wild servals and house cats, etc.) they have never learned how to hunt. My daughter (the animal science major) and her friend (the biology major) were captivated by the cats and the subjects discussed during this 2-2 1/2 hour tour. We learned about the breeds, the stories behind their journey to Big Cat Rescue, and we ended with a peek into the Kitten Cabana (a house where feral kittens and interns interact daily so they become used to humans and can eventually qualify for adoption). Whether a science major or not, this is truly a great stop on your teen-centered agenda while in the Tampa/Clearwater area.
Side Note: My daughter just received a group assignment in her communications class where they have to present on a nonprofit. They were given a list of nonprofits to choose from and guess what was on the list? She just introduced her group to Big Cat Rescue and explained what an ocelot was. They will soon share the wonderful work that the rescue is doing to a class of students at the University of Rhode Island. #perksofexperientiallearning
3. Pier 60 — Whether you'd like to stroll the 1080-foot pier during the day and grab an ice cream at the bait house, or you head there somewhere between two or after sunset to enjoy the festivities during Sunsets at Pier 60, this is definitely a cool spot to walk, browse, shop, play, and be entertained by musicians, fire jugglers, and the like. (Below is one of the 16-year-olds' finds while strolling near the pier.)
4. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay — Busch Gardens is a splurge, but with teens it is well worth it. In full disclosure I was hosted by Busch Gardens which meant free tickets for my husband and me, and discounted tickets for the kids, but there are plenty of online discounts — Groupon, RetailMeNot, discounts for ordering online before you go at the Busch Gardens, and at several tourism offices, AAA, and online websites. I would also recommend the all-you-can-eat package. You can eat at any of the approved locations every hour and you can get unlimited water and soft drinks at any location in the park. With teenagers, especially the four boys we went with, the additional $35 a person we spent was definitely not wasted (you can save quite a bit on this when you book the park and meal deal online). So with well-fed kids, and plenty of roller coasters, these teens and my husband and I had a blast. And I have to say, the cooler temperatures were much appreciated on this day. No one was melting, and we stayed until the roller coasters had defeated everyone.
5. Local Fishing — My husband had originally booked a charter online through a company he can't remember, but there are dozens of charter boats within walking distance of most Clearwater Beach residences that you can book (there are also pirate cruises, wave runner rentals, booze cruises for the adults and more). But because of the weather, the boys' charter was canceled. This is where I give the big shoutout to Clearwater Bait and Tackle (2999 Gulf to Bay Blvd). Thanks to the staff there my husband, my father, and the 18-year-old boys, who travel with their own poles, were suited up with bait, sinkers, and the correct line for about $20, and given the local's secret hotspot near Sand Key Park. The day was saved and the fishing fantastic. You can also fish off Pier 60, but I never saw many people there catching fish. There was also an annoying pelican that kept getting in the way, but was enjoying photo ops with the tourists.
6. Clearwater Aquarium — We visited the home of "Winter the Dolphin" several years before and it wasn't first on our list this time around, but with the colder temps and a few visitors (including my mom who drove over from The Villages with my dad to see us) who had never been, we voted to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium. For only $34.90 per person ($16.95 if you don't include general admission) a staff member takes you through the aquarium's rescue protocol and behind-the-scenes of the facilities. You get to see Nicholas (the star and inspiration behind "Dolphin Tale 2") from an underwater viewing window that is not available to general visitors. You hear the stories of various rescues. You're walked through the steps of an animal rescue. You learn aquarium and conservation facts, see the turtle pools and rescue trucks, and workers behind-the-scenes, and it was super informative. We took an animal science major, a biology major, and two high school freshmen boys with us, and everyone enjoyed the tour. After a quick tour around the aquarium afterward the boys were done, but the college science majors were chatting with interns about the program and requirements, so we could end up back there visiting a staff member some day.
Travel Tip: Definitely do a behind-the-scenes tour if you are headed here with teens because the aquarium is small and after a quick trip around the aquarium and a few waves from Winter and Hope, unless they're animal lovers and science majors, some teens might be ready to go, but the tour keeps them entertained and is well worth the money.
7. Extreme Pizza — For days all that the two 16-year-old boys in our travel party talked about was going to Extreme Pizza. They happened upon this pizza joint while taking one of their many strolls (after we'd kick them out of the condo and away from the video games) during the week, and were intent on trying it. Here there are pizzas with extreme sounding names such as the Everest, Hanoi Fever, and some not so extreme, like The Bunny Slope, but according to the boys the Kickin' Chicken was really good, or as they say around town "Extreme."
8. Surf Style's Flowrider — So besides being the largest Beach Store in Clearwater, Surf Style boasts indoor surfing at its Flowrider. If it's cold outdoors and you're looking for something to do, it's worth the $30 for 30 minutes (other pricing options are available) to get the teenagers away from the screens. My 16-year-old son was all ready to go and then got distracted and never made it. But my mom and I watched a couple of young girls doing it and it looked like a blast.
9. Laser Tag & Old-Fashioned Arcades — On the third day of our vacation (Monday) it rained. While looking for things to do we came across quite a few nearby activity centers that sound really cool — Xtreme Fun Center, Celebration Station, and The Replay Museum (this was about a half hour away, but it is a museum dedicated to pinball, jukeboxes, and arcade games, and you can play them). The only problem, most of these were closed on Monday, and some on Tuesday. So we didn't get to give them a test drive, but I'd love to hear what others have to say because the online reviews are pretty good.
10. Sunsets at the Beach — Regardless of your child's age, sunsets at Clearwater Beach are ahhhh-mazing! If you don't catch one of these during your visit then you're missing out.
A few other activities we explored but didn't get to do:
Find Your Family Fun in the Clearwater/Tampa Area with Local Macaroni Kid Sites:
- Macaroni Kid North Pinellas-Trinity
- Macaroni Kid South Tampa
- Macaroni South St. Petersburg
- Macaroni Kid Brandon
