Wow! We love St. Petersburg! We love the laidback vibe of the beach-forward and easy to drive area. We loved exploring all the tiny towns along the coast and seeing where people live in the neighborhoods.
Our favorite thing about the St Petersburg area is that perfect balance of relaxation and fun activities. We hit a groove of heading out for breakfast, doing an activity, grabbing lunch, and then heading back to the pool for the afternoon. It was a perfect pace for us on this trip. It allowed us all to explore and see the area but also relax by the pool.
We also really liked the variety of experiences in St. Petersburg. We went to a marine animal rescue, saw a surrealist art museum, and explored a tropical garden. These are things you can’t do anywhere else in the world. You can do classic vacation things here too, like theme parks and zoos, but this side-step from the norm was a real treat this trip.
St Petersburg is a delightful bite-size vacay. Lots to do, lots of relaxation, lots of fun.
xoxo Dawn
WHERE TO STAY
Postcard Inn at St Pete’s
Read our Yelp Review and Get Business Details
This hotel is the renovated motor lodge of my dreams. This hotel is stylish and homey. There is a shared courtyard with gorgeous café lights at night, outdoor games, and a firepit.
The rooms are spacious and stylish. Smart upgrades, including lots of hooks in the bathroom for swimsuits, was genius. We did have trouble with ants, but it was solved on the first night without having to move rooms. We also were upgraded this trip because they had a room assignment snafu.
The pool is gorgeous and HEATED! The heated pool was perfect for our February getaway. It was warmer in the pool than it was outside one afternoon. They also had floaties and boogie boards for guests to borrow, which was a delightful treat.
St.Pete’s Beach is just outside the hotel and it is gorgeous! Make sure to watch at least one sunset over the water during your stay. The beach has a big wide fine white sand shore. Lots of shells to pick up but it’s comfortable to walk on. The water is turquoise and not fishy smelling. It was too cold to enjoy the beach in February but we’ll be back for sure!
There is a pool bar with food and tasty cocktails. Drinking by the pool is one of the most indulgent activities I do on vacation. It zens me out immediately. The hotel has pool bar service only on the weekends during the offseason, but it was nice to get our conch fritters, and Rum Runners delivered to us.
I spent last year experimenting with upgrading to a better view and seeing if that made a difference – for me, I didn’t experience the value. This year I’m picking cool, funky hotels and seeing if that makes a difference, and so far, it’s working! I love the value of space and style.
WHAT TO DO
As we do, we visited great nonprofit organizations in St. Petersburg.
Sunken Garden
Read our Yelp Review and Get Business Details
This vintage stop is a jungle fantasy! The city-owned garden is St. Petersburg’s oldest living museum and has plants that are over 100-years-old. It’s lovely to stroll through this lush hideaway. We loved seeing all our house plants thriving in an outdoor environment.
Tips to Engage Kids:
Our seven year old was super engaged on this visit. She fed the koi and loved seeing the flamingos. She even picked out some plants she wants to get for home. Here are some tips to make this trip fun for everyone:
- Talk about all the textures and shapes. The plants and hardscape is a fun way to talk about different textures and colors of the natural world. Have kids find a heart-shaped leaf or a rough surface versus a smooth surface.
- Make a color scavenger hunt. Can they find a pink plant? What about a blue plant?! Scavenger hunts slow down kids and makes them observe while hunting and search rather than skim and rushing through a place.
- Enjoy the wildlife. Sunken Gardens hosts a flamboyance of flamingos – yes, that’s the name of a flock of flamingos! But they also have koi and parrots, and then there are all the birds and lizards that live there naturally. Ask your kids to slow down and find the life living among the leaves.
Dali Museum
Read the Yelp Reviews and Get Business Details
The Dali Museum is gorgeous and has a very accessible, easy to see the collection. Salvador Dali is a character to be experienced. This nonprofit museum is a tightly curated collection of his life work.
The building is open and has beautiful light. There is only one floor with art, so it’s a quick trip. There is a small collection of outdoor sculptures to explore. The café is upscale, and we enjoyed their seasonal Aqua Fresca. The gift shop is fantastic – lots of cute stuff to buy!
Tips to Engage Kids:
We had to make this one accessible and relevant for the kiddo. We picked her up a lot so she could see the art on eye-level, but those close conversations were worth it.
- Talk about perspective. The cool thing about Dali’s work is that his paintings usually have big and small relevance. You can stand far away from a painting and see a different picture than when you are up-close looking at details. This is a great lesson for kids to take time to see both the big picture and small details of any situation.
- Compare artistic styles. This is an excellent collection of Dali life work, and it showcases different phases of his artistic technique. There is impressionist, still life, surrealist, portrait, and pastoral paintings. Point out that it’s all paint and have your kids see the different techniques of using paint to make art.
- Explore the app. The Dali Museum has an incredible interactive app with augmented reality and lots of details about the paintings. Let your kids have quality good screen time at this museum.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
Read our Yelp Review and Get Business Details
If you have seen any of the Dolphin Tale movies, then come here to meet Winter in real life! This nonprofit marine animal rescue is an inspiring aquarium with a very meaningful message.
Winter lost her tail due to injury, and the staff at Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) fitted her with a custom prosthetic tail to increase her quality of life. The story of not giving up because of a disability is inspiring. The nonprofit now hosts interactive, inclusive experiences to inspire people of all abilities.
The aquarium is small, but they are renovating the building to make it bigger. We loved the gritty experience of this hardworking nonprofit. One thing we loved about this aquarium is that all the staff have to do most of their work “on-stage” in front of guests. The animal hospital and food prep area have giant windows so guests can see the action. We watched staff carry a sea turtle out to be on display. We heard staff talking through the transitions of the day. All this usually happens in back halls and off-stage spaces at other aquariums. The transparency made this experience feel alive and makes the guest feel part of the mission. We loved it.
Seeing Winter was a definite highlight. She’s inspiring. But seeing the other animals thrive was inspiring too. There are pelicans with only one leg, sea turtles with no front flippers, animals that were rescued too young to be able to be returned to the wild. Every life deserves a chance to thrive, and CMA does just that.
The gift shop was top notch. They had lots of customized items with Winter and her prosthetic tail. We bought way too much stuff – lolz.
Tips to Engage Kids:
Aquariums are always a family favorite, but here are some ideas to make a visit to CMA a more meaningful experience.
- Animal Protection – Kids love seeing wildlife up close, but this aquarium has a different slant. Talk to your kids about the rescue part of this experience. Talk about how humans impact wildlife. Have your kids think about how we can live alongside wildlife.
- Incredible Inclusion – Talk about disability in a very accessible and kind way. Talking about Winter’s tail and prosthetic is a tangible way to talk to children about animals and people who look different than them. Talk about why Winter needs the tail. Ask your child if there is anyone in their school with a prosthetic – or robot limb. Ask your kids how they would design a prosthetic to help an animal or a person thrive.
- Diversity of Animals – Since there isn’t a lot to see in the aquarium, you can visit the animal viewing areas several times to talk about different topics. There are nurse sharks, stingrays, river otters, dolphins, sea turtles, and fish. Have your kids discuss the differences between these species and how each one is made to be unique.
WHAT TO EAT
Don’t leave St Petersburg without trying the local hidden gem – fish spread. While every spot has it’s own secret blend; fish spread is a mix of smoked fish, mayonnaise, cajun seasoning, and celery then served with crackers. I LOVED it. It was delightful and felt so very local.
The other local pick is grouper. They are proud of their grouper catch at every seafood restaurant.
We also love all these spots.
- Pirate’s Pub and Grup – Read our Yelp Review
- Bodega
- Zeno’s Saltwater Taffy – Read our Yelp Review
- Craft Kafe – Read our Yelp Review
- Dr BBQ – Read our Yelp Review
- Better Byrd – Read our Yelp Review
- Pineapple Espresso – Read our Yelp Review
Better Byrd – Gluten-Free Fried Chciken 
Bodega – Delicious cuban inspired street food 
Fish Spread! 
Pirate’s Pub and Grub – John’s Pass seafood stop 
Zeno’s Saltwater Taffy – Classic seaside treat
WHAT TO DRINK
Rum Runners! Rum Runners are our favorite cocktail of southern Florida – the cocktail was invented on the Keys. It’s a blend of rum, banana liqueur, blackberry liqueur, and orange and pineapple juice. We didn’t have a favorite this time, but we also didn’t have a bad one either. This is also just a great place for Mojitos and Aqua Frescas.
BUDGET
Traveled Sunday – Wednesday in late February 2020 – 3 nights for 3 people – TOTAL: $2,000
| Flights and stay at Postcard Inn – Bundle Booked on Expedia | $997 |
| Rental Car | $80 |
| Food – $25-$50 per meal x 3 days | $350 |
| Pool Cocktails – $ 8- 12 each | $100 |
| Gas | $45 |
| Experiences: | |
| Clearwater Marine Aquarium – $26/adult & $22/child | $75 |
| The Dali Museum – $25/adults & $10/child | $60 |
| Sunken Garden – $12/adults & $6/child | $30 |
| Souveniers & Buying Sunscreen | $300 |
