So if you are a local and want to show your support, you can do so, or if you are researching your vacation and/or conventions in Tampa Bay then feel free to sign the petition on our site without even having to leave. Wow I really love technology, so remind me to thank the person who invented the widget!

Tell your friends, family, significant other, pets, and anyone else who will listen to sign up! An estimated 36 billion people worldwide watch the FIFA World Cup™, making it the most-viewed sporting event in the world so there is the opportunity for there to be allot of eyes on Tampa Bay in 2018/2022!

With the global economic impact, the FIFA World Cup™ bring a ton of new jobs and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development to Tampa Bay.  World Cup sponsorship is estimated to be over 16 billion dollars, with much of that going directly into local economies that host the event. I don’t know about you but that sounds like a winner to me!

So what are you waiting for! Stop reading me rant and rave and go sign up!

Stay tuned for more updates on our FIFA World Cup™ Bid and other things to do in Tampa Bay!

The Westin Tampa Bay

Relax and revive in our heated indoor pool and whirlpool, soak up some rays on our white sand beach, or indulge yourself with an in-room spa treatment. Reenergize with a vigorous workout in our Westin Workout facility, or enjoy a renewing jog each morning along the shore of Tampa Bay. And at the end of a long day, retreat to your thoughtfully designed guest room or suite, appointed with all the comforts of home including High Speed Internet Access, flat screen TV, a fully stocked refreshment center, and in-room movies.

Tempt your taste buds in our waterfront restaurant, Aquaknox, which boasts the finest fresh global seafood, flown in daily. Or, sip a freshly brewed coffee or Italian-style espresso as you relax at our waterfront Starbucks coffee shop.

We look forward to welcoming you to The Westin Tampa Bay.

Westin Tampa Bay in Tampa Florida has nightly rates from $139.00 to $169.00. Click the button below for rates and availability, including room layout, images, facilities, and more, and then make reservations online. For more information, see the hotel description below.

Rates: $139.00 to $169.00 (4 stars)
Location: 7627 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL 33607

It’s not everyday you get a chance to trick or treat with over 150 life size dinosaurs. But you can on Halloween at Dinosaur World.

Children in costume between the ages ages of 3 to 12 will receive free admission to Dinosaur World on Halloween Day. Halloween treats will also be given to all children who visit. This free admission is valid at all three locations.

For safety purposes, children must be accompanied by an adult (no kidding, right?!). This discount is valid only during business hours and is not part of any evening activities.

Free children admission covers all exhibits including the Dinosaur Walk, Fossil Dig, Prehistoric Museum, Boneyard, Movie Cave, Mammoth Garden, Skeleton Garden, Deinonychus Island, Carnivore Boardwalk and other location specific activities.

so, whether you’re a kid or not, get out there and explore.

And keep checking back for more great Tampa Bay area events for Halloween, and other great things to do in Tampa Bay!

There’s a sunny side to this West Coast community that makes this a true hot spot among the world’s destinations. Naturally there’s lots of water and sunshine. But you’ll also discover an area that’s full of rich arts, professional sports, sights to see and things to do you won’t find anywhere else. Whatever your pleasure, you’ll find it in Tampa Bay!

Here, a single day’s itinerary might include breakfast at a waterside cafe, a visit to Busch Gardens Africa, The Florida Aquarium, a streetcar ride to Channelside for shopping, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Rays, or Lightning game, topped off with a stay in one of our luxury hotels or resorts. Then on to historic Ybor City where the Cuban sandwiches are hot and crisp, the cigars are hand-rolled, and the colorful streets are lined with fun.

What next? White, sugar sand beaches, sport fishing, jet skiing, parasailing, and join the party in January as rowdy swashbucklers invade Tampa Bay for the Annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival. Whether you are visiting for a vacation or a convention, Tampa Bay & Company is your official source for destination information on Tampa and Hillsborough County.

So pack your flip flops and sunglasses and prepare for an amazing getaway in fun-filled Tampa Bay! From the mouth-watering restaurants to the incredible entertainment, see why Tampa Bay is a popular vacation destination for savvy travelers looking to get the most out of their Florida vacation. Tampa Bay… there’s no better way to experience Florida.

“Tampa Bay” is not the name of any municipality within the state of Florida. This misconception probably stems from the naming of several professional sports franchises (including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Rays) whose names represent the collective Tampa Bay Area, the hub of which is the city of Tampa, Florida

Natural history

The bay has been a brackish estuary with a wide mouth connecting it to the Gulf of Mexico for approximately 6,000 years. Prior to that time, it was a large fresh water lake, possibly fed by the Floridan Aquifer through natural springs. [3] Though the exact process of the lake-to-bay transformation is not completely understood, the leading theory is that rising seas levels following the last ice age coupled with the formation of a massive sink hole near the current mouth of the bay created a connection between the lake and the gulf.

Human habitation

Humans have lived near the shores of Tampa Bay for millennia, possibly as long as 12,000 to 14,000 years. The first local people to fully adapt to a sea-side lifestyle was the Manasota culture, beginning around 5,000 – 6,000 years ago and eventually evolving into the Weeden Island culture . Approximately 1,100 years ago, the Tocobaga developed near present-day Safety Harbor along Old Tampa Bay. These were the people living in the area at the time of first contact with Europeans.

Spanish maps dated as early as 1584 identifies Tampa Bay as Baya de Spirito Santo. A map dated 1695 identfies the area as Bahia Tampa. Later maps dated 1794[9] and 1800[10] show the bay divided with three different names, Tampa Bay, Hillsboro Bay and the overall name of Bay of Spiritu(o) Santo. The map maker’s use of Bay of Spirito Santo seems to have given over to the use of either Tampa Bay alone or the use of both Tampa Bay and Hillsboro Bay as early as 1833

Geography and Ecology
A view of Tampa Bay from I-275, looking south. The industrial buildings are located near St. Petersburg, Florida

Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water estuary, extending over 1031 square km. and forming coastlines of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties. The freshwater sources of the Bay are distributed among over a hundred small tributaries, rather than a single river.

Beginning the reversal of decades of unrestricted pollution, the bay was designated an estuary of national significance by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, for its fringe of mangrove and its prolific mud flats: more than 200 species of fish are to be found in Tampa Bay and 25 species of birds make it their year-round home. The warm water outfalls of power plants bordering the bay draw one out of every six endangered manatees to spend the winter. Equally significant though less immediately visible is the role of the Bay’s waters as nurseries for shrimp and crabs, as well as less commercial invertebrates.

Two National Wildlife Refuges are located in Tampa Bay: Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge and the refuge on Egmont Key. Most of the smaller islands in the Bay are off-limits to the public, due to their fragile ecology and their use as nesting sites for brown pelicans, herons, egrets, Roseate spoonbills, cormorants and others. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program keeps watch over the Bay’s health

Transportation

Due in large part to the Port of Tampa and the dredging of more than eighty miles of deep-water shipping channels, seaborne commerce has historically been a large part of the Tampa Bay Area’s economy. The area boasts the largest port in Florida and the 10th largest in the nation – the Port of Tampa. The port accommodates half of Florida’s cargo in the form of bulk, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off, refrigerated and container cargo. The port also has a large ship repair and building industry, and recently expanded cruise facilities.

The Port of Manatee, with more refrigerated dockside space than any other Gulf of Mexico port, is the closest of the three Tampa Bay deepwater ports to the Panama Canal. It is also one of the state’s busiest, ranking fifth among Florida’s fourteen seaports in total annual cargo tonnage.

The Port of St. Petersburg is home to a U.S. Coast Guard station. The smallest of Florida’s ports, it operates as a landlord port managed by the city of St. Petersburg.