Saint Petersburg (Florida)

Saint Petersburg sits at the base of the Tampa Bay peninsula in Pinellas County, Florida, and enjoys a more subdued social atmosphere than its larger cousin, Tampa. The city has tried to characterize the downtown as an arts and entertainments destination and you will find no shortage of arts and crafts stores, galleries, & museums along with cafes and boutique food shops all within a couple blocks of the Tampa Bay waterfront. With water on three sides of the city, St. Pete is a superb location for fishing, sailing, and wandering beaches.

Understand
In 2020, the city was home to 258,000 people, with 2.1 million in the metropolitan area.

The city publishes the free "Downtown St.Petersburg Guide & Map" booklet, updated each season, that contains maps, trolley routes, and listings for hundreds of museums, events, restaurants, & hotels along with coupons. You can find the guide in dispensers throughout downtown and in many businesses.

History
Saint Petersburg was founded by John C. Williams from Detroit, Michigan, who purchased the land in 1876. The town began with the help of Peter Demens, who was instrumental in bringing a railroad connection there in 1888. Saint Petersburg was named after the Saint Petersburg in Russia, the birthplace of Peter Demens. A local legend says that John C. Williams and Peter Demens flipped a coin to see who would have the honor of naming the city. Peter Demens won and named the city after his birthplace, while John C. Williams named the first hotel after his birthplace, Detroit. The Detroit Hotel still exists downtown, but it was converted into condos in 2002.

By train
While Saint Petersburg has no railway station on its own, nearby Tampa is served by Amtrak via its Silver Service between Miami and New York City. A thruway bus service is available, arriving at Corner of US 19 and 110 Ave near Pinellas Park Square Shopping Center.

By car
The primary route in and out of the city is Interstate 275. I-275 runs north to Tampa and connects with Interstate 4 (Orlando, East Coast) and Interstate 75. I-275 runs south over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to Bradenton and connects with Interstate 75 heading south to Sarasota, Ft.Meyers, Naples, and South Florida.

By trolley
There are trolley-styled buses, on two separate lines:



The two lines connect at (no free transfers): Baywalk & The Pier. Connections with PSTA bus routes are available at Grand Central Station & Williams Park. The city also runs a free "Baseball Shuttle" between downtown parking garages and Tropicana Field for certain games where large crowds are expected.

By car
There are over 25,000 available public parking spaces in St. Petersburg. Metered parking spaces along streets in downtown and at parking lots along the bay. There are also several public parking garages in downtown. As of Feb 2021, the rates along the Pier are $1/hr. You can pay via coin or the Parkmobile app.

Car rental places around here are all on the search engines like Priceline. Turo is another popular option for peer-to-peer renting. Rental Cars are available from:

By bicycle
The Pinellas Trail starts in downtown and runs the entire length of Pinellas County.

Drink
There are many small bars on the beaches to the west side of the peninsula and scattered throughout the area.

Elsewhere




Sleep
Several beach front and cityside hotels, from chain to locally owned & operated. The Spring Break period of March-April is typically the peak time for rates and crowds. The St. Pete area gets its share of Spring Breakers but many seem to flock to other parts of the state.

Other beachfront communities have their own motel/hotel areas as well. St. Pete Beach, Sand Key, Clearwater, Madeira Beach, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, John's Pass, and several other communities are in Pinellas County and located along the beach. There is also the city of Pinellas Park.

Budget
Travellers might find deals at many hotel/motel locations along 34th Street in St. Pete. This is U.S. 19. These are inland hotels but are just a short drive to the beaches or the city.



Downtown
These hotel locations are in downtown St. Petersburg and despite not being within walking distance from beaches, they are walking distance to many museums, restaurants and shops.



Beach side
These resort/hotel locations offer travellers lodging directly on St. Pete Beach. Walk right out of the hotel onto the white sandy beach; room views of the Gulf of Mexico and plenty of nearby entertainment.



Stay safe
Statistically, Saint Petersburg is a safe community. Like any city, there are parts to avoid, but the majority of St. Pete is a modern city full of nice people and hospitable places. Cities that are tourist attractions are also attractions to those that prey on tourists.

Cope
The weather is warm year round here with highs typically in the 60s and 70s (°F) in the winter and 80s and 90s in the summer. Summers are very hot and humid. Sometimes when it rains in St. Pete, it literally pours!

The hurricane season runs through summer and fall with the peak of the season in September. It has been many years since St. Pete has been directly hit by a hurricane.

Being on a peninsula, the city is surrounded on three sides by water. There are also three very long bridges that access the area, the Sunshine Skyway rises to a height of 17 stories above the Tampa Bay. The Howard Frankland Bridge and the Gandy Bridge are much lower rise as bridges grow. If a person fears long bridges, they should be prepared to deal with this aspect of the area.

Go next
The port of Tampa is the launchpoint of Caribbean and other cruises. The port is now limited to smaller (relatively speaking) cruise ships since many of the largest vessels on the Caribbean cannot navigate under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (approximately 17 stories high) to enter the bay.

St. Petersburg is about 90 minutes west from Orlando and the various theme parks near Orlando like Disney World and Universal Studios. Three hours northeast from St. Petersburg is Daytona Beach and Cape Canaveral.