Our family enjoyed a fun, short vacation this November in St. Pete Beach on the west coast of Florida and I’m happy to share about our experience! Read on to learn where we stayed, what we ate and what we did in St Pete Beach!
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While we’ve visited many areas of Florida over the years, neither my husband or I had ever been to this area of the west coast of the state. We chose this as hopefully warm beach destination during our November break. I’m happy to report that while it was partly cloudy and not a true beach day only one day during our 4 day stay, and the other days were plenty warm to enjoy the beach of this sunny Florida town!
Where we stayed in St. Pete Beach, Florida
Tradewinds Island Grand – This large resort had plenty for our 10 and 12 year old kids to enjoy during our 4 days. We were pleasantly surprised with a 2 bedroom room upgrade upon checking in, which was very much welcomed by the girls who no longer had to share a bed and us parents who would stay up after we put them to sleep.
What we ate in St. Pete Beach, Florida
- Buoy’s Waterfront – We didn’t get to this spot until our last day but were welcomed with a delicious brunch near the water. Two of us went the breakfast route with the traditional eggs, toast, bacon and potatoes, one had a beautiful house salad with perfectly tender grilled chicken and the last had the fish taco special with a mango salsa.
- Doc Fords – A local musician was strumming along to Jimmy Buffet while we enjoyed a yummy dinner and saw a beautiful sunset on the deck of this open air restaurant on Friday night.
- Sea Dog Brewing in Treasure Island – What’s better than enjoying a nice lunch and beer, while the kids play yard games?
- The Wharf – We hit this restaurant our first day there and were happy to enjoy lunch by the water, watching boats drive by and pelicans soaring by.
- La Croisette – Breakfast was enjoyed outdoors at this cute French inspired restaurant.
What we did in St. Pete Beach, Florida
Shell Key Island through Hubbard’s Marina Ferry – We spent 5 hours at the inhabited island of Shell Key, where we swam, walked the beach and looked for shells to take home! We took the 10am ferry that took 20 minutes to get over to this beautiful area and stayed until the 2:30 pickup. (There was also a 12:30 and 4:30 ride options.)
Our first mate Sierra was very knowledgeable teaching us about the shells we might see prior to visiting and creating seashell necklaces from shells found on the island during the return trip. Note: There are no bathrooms on the island so make sure you use them at the parking lot before heading out. You’ll also need to bring all your own food and drinks for your time there and you can rent beach umbrellas from them directly on the boat.
Tradewinds Resort Activities – We took advantage of all the activities at the resort, and it’s sister resort Rumfish, has to offer including a large inflatable waterslide (big and strong enough for adults and kids), a 9 hole mini golf course, a giant chess set, a touch tank at one of the shops, peddle boats around the lagoon, and feeding the ducks.
We, of course, spent time on the beach, enjoying the chairs and umbrella set that came with our room and hit one of the resort pools where my kids participated in a cannon ball contest for snow cones.
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