Tampa Hotels

The region's main airport is Tampa International Airport, 21km (13mi) west of the downtown area, though plenty of flights also touch down at the St Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. The terminals of Tampa are utilized by international carriers such as British Airways, Air Canada and Lufthansa, plus a roll-call of domestic airlines like Delta, United, America West and Continental. To get to Tampa (or anywhere else in Florida for that matter) by interstate bus involves travelling down through at least a bit of Alabama or Georgia and eventually pulling up at the city's Greyhound bus terminal on Polk St. Possible rides to cities within Florida from Tampa include a two-hour trip south to Sarasota, a two- to four-hour trip northeast to Orlando, a seven- to nine-hour trip southeast to Miami and a four-hour trip north to Gainesville. For a journey via steel wheels that can lead as far afield within the USA as Los Angeles or New York, and additionally into Canada, try the Amtrak station on Nebraska Ave.

Tampa's metropolitan public bus network is operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), which charges a couple of dollars for the 40-minute trip between the airport and the Northern Terminal downtown. Private shuttle buses charge up to ten times that amount for the same trip; ditto taxis. You can rent a vehicle from the large bunch of major car rental agencies at the airport. Beware however the high taxes on rental cars in Florida. A restored historic trolley does a circuit taking in downtown Tampa and Ybor City, running a couple of times an hour during the day only.