Things to do in Tampa

Tampa sits about 135 kilometers (85 miles) west of Orlando on the I-4, roughly 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 by car depending on traffic through the corridor.

It's a bay city, not a beach town: downtown's Riverwalk runs along the Hillsborough River, Ybor City still carries its cigar-factory history from Cuban and Spanish immigrant workers, and Hyde Park's Bayshore Boulevard follows the water for miles.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay sits northeast near the university and is worth a full day on its own; downtown and Ybor together are comfortable as one day. The gulf beaches are a further 30 to 45 minutes west, so a Tampa hotel isn't a beach hotel.