Helicopter Tours
See the city from a whole new perspective in one of FlyVENTURE’s doors-off helicopters. Tampa tours take you over downtown, Busch Gardens or Fort De Soto and range from a 10-minute quickie tour to an hour-long sojourn to the Pinellas coastline.
Tours start at $45 per person
All Tampa tours take off from Peter O. Knight Airport
FlyVENTURE
825 Severn Ave. | (844) 359-4354
flyventure.com
JetLev at TradeWinds
Island Grand Resort
If you’re looking to take a 30,000-foot view on life, maybe start by taking a 30-foot view. This water jet pack propels you skyward at 30 miles per hour for 30 minutes of airtime above the Gulf of Mexico. A GoPro captures your whole experience, with the footage available for purchase after the flight.
$275 | 18 and up
TradeWinds Island Grand
5500 Gulf Blvd. | St. Pete Beach
tradewindsresort.com
Water Bikes in Downtown Tampa & Aqua Bikes on St. Pete Beach
In the Bay area, bicycles are not limited to dry land. At the Tampa Convention Center marina, the Tampa Bay Water Bike Company rents single and tandem bikes that are easy to ride and virtually impossible to fall from or tip over (we’ve tried). Over on St. Pete Beach, Aqua Bikes launch directly from the shore and are a fun way to hit the waves without getting all the way in the water.
Aqua Bikes St. Pete Parasail
4900 Gulf Blvd. | St. Pete Beach
stpeteparasails.com
Tampa Bay Water Bike Company
$30 per hour | 4 and up
333 S. Franklin St. | (813) 465-8025
tampawaterbikes.com
Mini Powerboats
Zoom along the Tampa Riverwalk in one of these hard-to-miss mini green powerboats. Boaters can go just about anywhere within 500 yards of shore (excluding the port and shipping areas) and you just need government ID to get behind the wheel.
Riverwalk Boating Company
$55 for one hour | 18 and up to drive, passengers can be any age
333 S. Franklin St. | (813) 641-4612
riverwalkboating.com
Kraken Cycleboats
Imagine the party bikes you’ve seen taking over cities like Nashville and Savannah — with groups of revelers pedaling what’s essentially a bar on wheels — but on the water. That’s the gist of the Kraken Cycleboats, which take groups of eight to 15 people to “pedal, pedal, drink” down the Hillsborough River.
$40 per seat | $525 for full boat booking
333 S. Franklin St. | (813) 603-3117
krakencycleboats.com
Skydiving
If you’re going to jump out of a plane in the Tampa Bay area, you’re probably heading to Zephyrhills. If you’re heading to Zephyrhills, you’re probably going to Skydive City, one of the largest and longest-running skydiving facilities in the region. Skydive City recommends a tandem dive for first-timers, but they do offer accelerated freefall dives for the more adventurous.
Jumps start at $179 | 18 and up
Skydive City Z-Hills
4241 Sky Dive Lane | Zephyrhills
800-888-JUMP
skydivecity.com
Ziplining
Fly high over Oldsmar’s Mobbly Bayou Wilderness Preserve on Empower Adventures’ zip line tour. The experience lasts more than two hours, which gives you plenty of time to overcome aerial obstacles, cross the 200-foot wooden suspension bridge, and forget that you’re about 60 feet in the air.
$72.50 | Young children may be required to ride tandem
423 Lafayette Blvd.
(813) 448-5635
zipontampabay.com
Hot Air Balloon
Find peace high in the sky on one of Big Red Balloon’s sightseeing tours. Still need plans for Valentine’s Day or a significant other’s special day? The company offers a private Sweetheart Flight that’s just the pilot, you and your honey, and the Tampa cityscape.
$195 per person, $650 per couple for Sweetheart Flight | 5 and up
Big Red Balloon Sightseeing Adventures
8710 W. Hillsborough Ave.
Suite 189
(813) 969-1518
bigredballoon.com
Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park
Slated to open in November, this Dade City snow park will bring real snow to the Tampa Bay area in the form of a 60-foot tall, 400-foot long snow tubing hill. Riders can go solo, tandem or in six-person family sleds, then pop into the snow dome to build a snowman or take a slide down the child-sized hill.
27839 Saint Joe Road | Dade City
snowcatridge.com
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