Clearwater and St Petersburg Gulf Coast Break, 3 Nights

Our representative meets you outside arrivals at St Pete–Clearwater International and drives you to the hotel. Clearwater faces the Gulf across a causeway, with the resort strip of Clearwater Beach on its barrier island and the smaller downtown on the mainland. If you land in time, head over the causeway to Pier 60, where street performers and craft stalls gather for sunset over the water most evenings.

A day for Crystal River, an hour or more north, where a morning clear-kayak tour can be arranged; the transparent hulls look straight down onto sand and weed. From 15 November to 31 March, the refuge manatee season, Three Sisters Springs is closed to paddle craft and tours watch manatees from outside the sanctuaries. From April to mid-November paddlers may enter the springs. Drive back for the beach.

A relaxed morning, then a dolphin boat trip from Clearwater Beach Marina can be added, sailing late morning. Bottlenose dolphins live in these waters year-round and are seen on most trips, while the captain talks about the barrier islands, seabirds and sea grass. At an island stop you can swim, snorkel in the shallows or comb the sand for shells. The afternoon is free: St Petersburg is half an hour south, for the Dalí Museum and a sunset walk out along the St Pete Pier.

Breakfast and check-out, and the representative meets you for the short transfer back to St Pete–Clearwater International. With a late flight, spend the morning at Caladesi Island or Honeymoon Island to the north, both state parks with quieter beaches, or at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which cares for rescued dolphins, turtles and otters.