Tours in Tampa

An herbaceous haven, Bok Tower Gardens' manmade Arcadia harbors the historical Pinewood Estate and a bell tower filled with a cluster of carillon bells. Delicate white azaleas, pink snapdragons, and velvety camellias peek out from behind shrubbery leaves, and lemon marigolds smile back at the sun with brilliant yellow petals. The centerpiece of the verdant paradise, the Singing Tower rings out at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily, its 60 carillon bells delighting garden strollers and frightening away tulip-thieving lawn gnomes. The garden also caters to kids with enchanting features including secret areas, a vine-covered tunnel, and a picnic area with a sandbox and toys. Built in the '30s, Pinewood Estate boasts carved woodwork and intricate wrought iron that evoke a Mediterranean manor and provide a glimpse into luxurious lifestyles of decades past. The gardens are open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., when all the flowers are gently tucked into bed for the evening.

Tampa Bay Crawls escorts trekkers through downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay’s culinary and alcoholic offerings with tasting and imbibing events at area restaurants and bars. Progressive dinner and restaurant crawls supply guests with new gastronomic sensations, and wine-tasting crawls dispense samples of finely crafted reds and whites. Bypassing straightforward tours through local bars, Tampa Bay Crawls spices up its pub crawls with various themed and costumed sessions, such as ’80s night, snuggie night, and census taker appreciation night, all open to groups and solo crawlers alike.

Siesta Key Paddleboards' staff uses paddleboards to unlock adventures across the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. They drop off and pick up paddleboard rentals at the area's sandy beaches, where groups can spend days floating atop Florida's blue-green waters and Jell-O–filled tide pools. For novices, instructors lead private and group sessions that teach the finer points of balancing on boards. The crew members also draw on their knowledge of local areas to lead tours, which pass by celebrity homes, through canals, and into hidden mangroves populated by aquatic wildlife.

Tampa resident and history lover Lonnie Herman’s longtime fascination with the haunted has evolved into a broad expertise about the area's vibrant streets where newspapers are printed in three languages. The personable former executive also has the gift of being an evocative storyteller. This convergence of interest and talents resulted in Lonnie's company, Ybor City Historic Walking Tours. Lonnie's upbeat narration carries small groups down vibrant 7th Avenue with detailed anecdotes that reveal the complex past behind Ybor City's cigar factories, Columbia Restaurant, and the story of the eponymous Vicente Martinez-Ybor, who founded the city as a place to store his statues of himself.