What to see and do in Indian Rocks Beach, FL over Christmas?

October 20, 2012 6:39 PM

What is there to see and do in Indian Rocks Beach, FL over Christmas?

A friend and her husband are going to be staying at Indian Rocks Beach in FL with in-laws over Christmas. They will have a car, but don't have much local knowledge of interesting things to see or do.
The In-laws haven't been there for very long themselves and are not able to offer suggestions.
Both the friend and her husband are in their late 20's and active, but she will be 6 months pregnant at Christmas.
Thanks!

posted by defcom1 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (4 answers total)

Indian Rocks itself is very very quiet- perfect place to relax on the beach and....that's about it! There's not a whole lot to see or do (though we did have a great meal at The Lobster Pot in nearby Reddington Shores and the Candy Kitchen is a really neat place to see).

If they want to see/do "big" stuff, they'll need to do a little driving. Here are just a few ideas:

Drive over to Clearwater Beach, which has a lot more tourist action (cheesy shops & restaurants)
Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin (particularly if you have a dog who likes to go to the dog beach)
The Dali Museum and the Florida Holocaust Musuem in St. Petersburg
The Florida Aquarium in Tampa
Ybor City in Tampa
International Plaza mall in Tampa
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:11 PM on October 20, 2012

I heard the Lobster Pot is closing soon - so call first!

Guppy's is quite good for dinner and is a little north of there. Downtown Dunedin is fun and small enough to easily explore. Bits of old Florida can be seen at the Don Cesar Hotel. Passagrille Beach is nice too. Fort Desoto is interesting too. A sunset cruise is fun and shows the coast at it's best.

This is a great area for biking, golfing, tennis and water sports.

Have a Tampa style Cuban Sandwich, grouper chowder and smoked mullet at Ted Peters!
posted by cat_link at 10:34 PM on October 20, 2012

The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary is right down the street. You can see pelicans, herons, egrets and other local birds, may of them impressively large. They used to have a talking Mynah bird too.

There also used to be a video arcade in the area that had an "unlimited games" night where you could buy a wristband and after that everything is free. No idea if they're still around though, my memories of the place are from the 80's.

Treasure Island is about 3 miles south of Indian Rocks, it's a got a lot more restaurants and shops, touristy stuff, but not bad. St. Pete beach is just south of that, with mostly more of the same.

Deep sea fishing (Treasure Island) might be worth checking out, I've done it a couple times and it's fun, though there is a sort of "fish in a barrel" aspect to it. No challenge to it, but you almost certainly will catch something. Generally when you get off the boat at the end a guy at the dock will fillet them for you (for a fee).
posted by NoAccount at 6:44 AM on October 21, 2012

My "source" clarified - the information regarding closure was another restaurant, NOT The Lobster Pot!
posted by cat_link at 5:36 PM on October 24, 2012