Getting There

Tampa International Airport (tel. 813/870-8770), 5 miles northwest of downtown Tampa, is the major air gateway to this area (St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport has limited service). Most major and many no-frills airlines serve Tampa International, including Air Canada (tel. 800/268-7240 in Canada, or 800/776-3000 in the U.S.), AirTran (tel. 800/247-8726), American (tel. 800/433-7300), America West (tel. 800/235-9292), British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212), JetBlue (tel. 800/538-2583), Lufthansa (tel. 800/824-6200), MetroJet (tel. 800/428-4322), Midway (tel. 800/446-4392), Midwest Express (tel. 800/452-2022), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792), Spirit (tel. 800/722-7117), United (tel. 800/241-6522), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322).

Alamo (tel. 800/327-9633), Avis (tel. 800/331-1212), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700), Dollar (tel. 800/800-4000), Enterprise (tel. 800/325-8007), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131), National (tel. 800/227-7368), and Thrifty (tel. 800/367-2277) all have rental-car operations here.

The Limo/SuperShuttle (tel. 800/282-6817 or 727/527-1111) operates van services between the airport and hotels throughout the Tampa Bay area. Fares for one person range from $35 to $48 round-trip, depending on your destination. Taxis are plentiful at the airport; the ride to downtown Tampa takes about 15 minutes and costs $15 to $20.

Amtrak trains arrive downtown at the Tampa Amtrak Station, 601 Nebraska Ave. N. (tel. 800/872-7245).

Visitor Information

Contact the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, 400 N. Tampa St., Tampa, FL 33602-4706 (tel. 800/448-2672, 800/368-2672, or 813/223-2752), for advance information. If you're downtown, you can head to the bureau's visitor information center at 400 N. Tampa St. (Channelside), Suite 2800 (tel. 813/223-1111). It's open Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 5:30pm.

Operated by the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, the Centro Ybor Museum and Visitor Information Center, in Centro Ybor, 1514 1/2 E. 8th Ave. (between 15th and 16th sts. E.), Tampa, FL 33605 (tel. 813/248-3712), distributes information and has exhibits on the area's history. A 7-minute video will orient you to this area -- an 8-block stretch of Seventh Avenue. The center is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm, Sunday from noon to 6pm.

Getting Around

Like most other Florida destinations, it's virtually impossible to see Tampa's major sights and enjoy its best restaurants without a car. You can get around downtown via the free Uptown-Downtown Connector Trolley, which runs north-south between Harbor Island and the city's North Terminal bus station on Marion Street at I-275. The trolleys run every 10 minutes from 6am to 6pm Monday through Friday. Southbound, they follow Tampa Street between Tyler and Whiting streets, and Franklin Street between Whiting Street and Harbor Island. Northbound trolleys follow Florida Avenue from the St. Pete Times Forum to Cass Street. The trolleys are operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit/HARTline (tel. 813/254-4278), the area's transportation authority, which also provides scheduled bus service ($1.50-$3) between downtown Tampa and the suburbs. Pick up a route map at the visitor center.

The transportation situation has gotten somewhat better, not to mention nostalgic, with the TECO Line Street Car System, a new but old-fashioned 2 1/3-mile streetcar system, complete with overhead power lines, which hauls passengers between downtown and Ybor City via the St. Pete Times Forum, Channelside, Garrison Seaport, and the Florida Aquarium. The cars run every 30 minutes; one-way fares are $1.80. Check with the visitor center or call HARTline for schedules.

Taxis in Tampa don't normally cruise the streets for fares, but they do line up at public places, such as hotels, the performing arts center, and bus and train depots. If you need a taxi, call Tampa Bay Cab (tel. 813/251-5555), Yellow Cab (tel. 813/253-0121), or United Cab (tel. 813/253-2424). Fares are $2 at flag fall, plus $2.25 for each mile.