Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
347
destination.
Taxis
are plentiful at the airport; the ride to downtown Tampa takes about
15 minutes and costs $20 to $22.
Amtrak trains arrive downtown at the
Tampa Amtrak Station,
601 Nebraska Ave. N.
(
&
800/872-7245;
www.amtrak.com).
VISITOR INFORMATION
Contact the
Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau,
400 N. Tampa St., Tampa, FL 33602-4706 (
&
800/448-2672,
800/368-2672, or
813/223-2752; www.visittampabay.com), for advance information. If you're downtown,
you can head to the bureau's
visitor information center
at 400 N. Tampa St. (Chan-
nelside), Ste. 2800 (
&
813/223-1111
). It's open Monday through Saturday from
9:30am to 5:30pm.
Operated by the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, the
Centro Ybor Museum and
Visitor Information Center,
in Centro Ybor, 1514
1
/
2
E. 8th Ave. (btw. 15th and 16th
sts. E.), Tampa, FL 33605 (
&
813/248-3712;
www.ybor.org), distributes information
and has exhibits on the area's history. A 7-minute video will orient you to this area—an
8-block stretch of 7th Avenue. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 10am
to 6pm, Sunday from noon to 6pm.
GETTING AROUND
Like most other Florida destinations, it's virtually impossible to
see Tampa's major sights and enjoy its best restaurants without a car. You can get around
downtown via the free
Uptown-Downtown Connector Trolley,
which runs north-
south between Harbor Island and the city's North Terminal bus station on Marion Street
at I-275. The trolleys run every 10 minutes from 6am to 6pm Monday through Friday.
Southbound, they follow Tampa Street between Tyler and Whiting streets, and Franklin
Street between Whiting Street and Harbor Island. Northbound trolleys follow Florida
Avenue from the St. Pete Times Forum to Cass Street. The trolleys cost 50¢ and are oper-
ated by the
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit/HARTline
(
&
813/254-4278;
www.
hartline.org), the area's transportation authority, which also provides scheduled
bus serv-
ice
($1.75-$3.50) between downtown Tampa and the suburbs. Pick up a route map at
the visitor center (see above).
The transportation situation has gotten somewhat better, not to mention nostalgic,
with the
TECO Line Street Car System
(
&
813/254-HART
[4278]; www.tecoline
streetcar.org), a new but old-fashioned 2
1
/
3
-mile streetcar system, complete with overhead
power lines, which hauls passengers between downtown and Ybor City via the St. Pete
Times Forum, Channelside, Garrison Seaport, and the Florida Aquarium. The cars run
every 30 minutes; one-way fares are $2.50. Check with the visitor center or call HART-
line for schedules.
Taxis
in Tampa don't normally cruise the streets for fares, but they do line up at pub-
lic places, such as hotels, the performing arts center, and bus and train depots. If you need
a taxi, call
Tampa Bay Cab
(
&
813/251-5555
),
Yellow Cab
(
&
813/253-0121
), or
United Cab
(
&
813/253-2424
). Fares are $2 at flag fall, plus $2.25 for each mile.
EXPLORING THE THEME & ANIMAL PARKS
Adventure Island
Kids
If the summer heat gets to you before one of Tampa's famous
thunderstorms brings late-afternoon relief, you can take a waterlogged break at this
30-acre outdoor water theme park near Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (see below). You can
also frolic here during the cooler days of spring and fall, when the water is heated. The
Key West Rapids, Riptide, Gulf Scream, and other exciting water rides will drench the
teens, while other, calmer rides are geared toward younger kids. Wahoo Run plunges up
to five riders more than 15 feet per second as the half-enclosed tunnel corkscrews more
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