Soar across the glittering waters of Tampa Bay on a beach-bound causeway and you'll know why travelers have been lured here for centuries: water clear as a teardrop and warm as breakfast toast, 28 miles of sand and an equally welcoming business climate.
Tampa Bay, one of the world's great secluded harbors, is a vast body of water separated from the Gulf of Mexico by a peninsula that stretches from Clearwater on the north to St. Petersburg on the south. In the center of the huge bay is a peninsula with MacDill Air Force Base at its southern tip. North of that is the city of Tampa, which got its name from a Native American word meaning "sticks of fire," a reference to the region as a campsite.
Tampa Airport/Westshore
The award-winning Tampa International Airport sits on the city's west side, in the Airport/Westshore region. With a passenger volume of about 14 million annually, Tampa International Airport ranks among the top 10 airports in the nation for on-time departures. Here you will find some of the city's most impressive hotels, like the Embassy Suites Tampa, as well as the WestShore Plaza shopping area and the Raymond James Stadium.
Busch Gardens/University of South Florida
A major north-south interstate highway, I-75, streaks up the east side of the bay, while I-275 branches off from I-75 north of Sarasota and travels through St. Petersburg, crossing the Howard Frankland and heading north from downtown. Those two interstate highways meet just north of town and create a triangle known as the Busch Gardens/University of South Florida region.
Tampa's Hillsborough River winds its way through the Busch Gardens/University of South Florida section of the city and through downtown Tampa, bisecting the city as it makes its way to the sea. On the east side of the river, you will find a number of attractive hotels in the city's downtown core, such as the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina.
On the southern edge of downtown Tampa lies tiny Ybor City, the center of the cigar industry; cigarmakers moved here after a fire destroyed the industry in Key West. There are only 10 streets in either direction, but the area carries a wealth of history.
Solid brick warehouses that once served as cigar factories now house offices and shops. Thanks to a strong restoration effort, Ybor City is the liveliest spot in town on weekends. Restaurants like the Columbia, dance clubs like Prana, cigar stores and specialty shops line Ybor City's narrow streets. Exhibits in the Ybor City Museum chronicle the city's colorful history.
Plant City
Traveling east of Tampa on I-4, built to connect Tampa to Daytona through Orlando, will bring you to Plant City, a farming community renowned for its annual Strawberry Festival and an array of related special events. There are also several interesting shops and restaurants here. The Branch Ranch offers home cooking at its finest.
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