Tampa Hotels

The thriving west coast city of Tampa is out to prove that not all the action in the warmly welcoming southern state of Florida happens at Miami Beach or Cape Canaveral. At the heart of its revitalisation is Ybor City, the historic heart of the old cigar industry.

Tampa is also living testimony to the fact that not every Floridian has an incurable predilection for Gloria Estefan and a sartorial insensibility that teams B-Grade actors, five-o'clock-shadows and pastel jackets with rolled-up sleeves. Miami Vice, you have a lot to answer for.

The best weather and the greatest crowds occur from December until May, when temperatures average between 60°F and 80°F (15°C and 27°C), rainfall is slight and communal spirits are high. From June to September, soaring heat and pouring rain combine to create one huge open air humidor, a dramatically clammy and unpleasant atmosphere in which ferocious thunderstorms are frequent early-afternoon visitors. This is also part of Florida's hurricane season which officially runs from June through November. The season regularly passes without catastrophic incident but as recently as a decade ago, a category-4 hurricane (innocuously and rather deceptively called Andrew), generating winds of up to 155mph (250kmph) and ocean surges over 18ft(5.5m)-high, passed through Florida on its way to becoming the most expensive natural disaster in US history. Oh, and did we mention that Florida has about 70 types of blood-sucking mosquitos? The only real reason for considering an extended visit at the peak of summer is that many other tourists will seriously consider staying away.