I’m planning a summer family vacation to Florida (from the UK) and we’re thinking of spending some time in the Tampa area.

There are literally thousands of vacation rentals in the region - ranging from condos in gated developments to large villas - and I haven’t the first clue as to what area(s) are going to be best for us.

We have a young family (kids of seven and ten) so the beaches around Clearwater are tempting - but is that the best area in which to stay? We’ll have a car so it’s not going to be particularly important for the big attractions to be right on the doorstep - but we would probably want to have basic amenities (shops, restaurants etc) nearby, so we’re not looking for somewhere that’s tucked away in a backwater.

Any ideas as to some reasonably high-quality neighborhoods that we should be focusing our research on? I’ve heard of places like Indian Shores, Indian Rocks, St Petersburg, Madeira Beach - but I have no idea which ones are nice and which are not so good!

Thanks!

Tim

PS - next I will be asking about Orlando area, as we will be wanting to spend some time there, too!
By the way, we’ll be staying in some sort of self-catering unit - a house, apartment or condo. Oh, and some of the places we’ve looked at so far are Palm Harbor (on the lakeshore) and Oldsmar. Thanks for the tips so far!

There are a lot of privately owned motels on and near the beach along the Clearwater Beach/ St. Petersburg area. Many of them are owned by folks from the UK. Sites like Travelocity and Expedia don’t list them. But, this site does.
http://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/

Clearwater Beach doesn’t have anything inexpensive on the beach. But, there are some motels near the bay site of Clearwater Beach. Many of them have kitchens…
I’ve stayed at the Gulf Towers in Indian Rocks Beach. They had kitchens, although they only had one washer and one dryer for the whole building. A lot of the motels are like that.
The rooms were clean, but the hallways looked like they needed some help! It’s located on the Beach. I stayed in a room with a balcony facing the ocean for $600 for 7 days. That was a few years ago, but I think the prices are still good.
I’ve also stayed at the Alden on St. Pete (beach). It’s not privately owned and it’s a little more expensive.
But, a lot of those privately owned motels charge $10 a night for an extra person. The prices are for 2 people. So, dependingg on how many kids you have, it would be cheaper to stay at the Alden.
Their rooms have kitchens and they are on the beach. There’s more to do at St. Pete than at Indian Rocks Beach.
The Alden is a very family friendly resort. They have 2 pools, BBQs, laundry room with a handful of washers and dryers. Volleyball court and beach bar. They also have a hot tub and a play ground.
They don’t have a restaurant, but there are several restaurants near there. Plus there’s a grocery store a little South of the resort called, "Publix."

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