Tarpon Springs
Every January I make my way down to Florida to visit my best friend Kaitlyn. She lives north of the Tampa Bay area, so we decided to do a day in Tarpon Springs, which is a cute little town, and then spend some time at the beach in Honeymoon Island State Park. Most of the time I was visiting we were just hanging out and catching up, but I had been to Tarpon Springs before on a previous trip and thought it’d be perfect for a day trip adventure.
Aquarium
One of the things I remember most from my last visit to Tarpon Springs years ago was the aquarium! They are actually moving locations soon, so it won’t be in the same spot for much longer, but it’s an awesome small aquarium. There are turtles and fish that you can pet as well as stingrays that you can feed and pet as well. There’s a mixture of animals like snakes, crocodiles, turtles, fish, and other cute creatures. And admission is only $7.75 for adults! You can also pay $1 for food to feed the stingrays.
I took a lot of videos here because of how cute the animals are, and you can see that video in my new youtube video from the whole trip: Florida January 2020 .
Hellas Restaurant and Bakery
One of the best and unique places to eat in Tarpon Springs is Hellas Restaurant and Bakery. It’s an authentic Greek restaurant and bakery, Tarpon Springs has a huge Greek immigrant population dating back to the 1900s, and the food is AMAZING. Last time we went we ate at the restaurant which was amazing and took some pastries home for dessert. This time we grabbed some coffee and pastries for a snack. The baklava is to die for and the tiramisu was also delicious!
I would highly recommend stopping in for a quick bite or sitting down for a full dinner. The decor is super unique and interesting as well and the staff is super polite!
Sponges and Docks
Tarpon Springs is known for sea sponges! It’s the sponge capital of the world and was found because of the fisher’s nets snagging on the sponges. They used to use hooks to get the sponges out of the water, but they started diving for the sponges which increased the harvesting and made the business boom.
The town seems pretty touristy, but is quaint and unique!
Sea sponges are animals without brains or nervous systems. They regenerate incredibly fast so when they are harvested by the divers they harvest above the roots to not damage the ecosystem or the population of sponges.
It’s unique and interesting that this tiny town has such a huge business because of the sponges!
Shopping and Ice Cream
As I said, Tarpon Springs has a pretty touristy feel, but I think it’s in the best way possible. All of the shopping is small businesses selling sponges, candles, bath products, and little beach nicknacks and clothes. It’s fun to wander in and out of shops and do some light shopping and talk to the interesting shop keepers. I suggest grabbing some ice cream, strolling the shops, and enjoy the relaxing vibe about the main street.
Honey Moon Island State Park
Finding a beach that has beautiful sand, water, and isn’t super crowded can be tricky. Usually, if it’s a nicer beach, everyone is there for that reason.
In my visits to Florida, we’ve gone to lots of beaches, all beautiful, but also super busy. We decided to check out a new beach hoping that it wouldn’t be as crowded if it wasn’t as mainstream as some of the other beaches we had visited like Clearwater and St. Pete.
We found Honeymoon Island State Park beach and we were not disappointed! The sand and water were beautiful, super clean, and decently quiet! We had a beautiful day of blue skies and sun and hung out and relaxed.
There was a small admissions fee of $8 to get into the park, but that is a lot cheaper than paying for all-day parking at busier beaches along the coast.
Happy Cactus
When we started to get hungry, we googled some places to eat close to Honeymoon Island.
We found Happy Cactus which looked reasonably priced, super cute, and had good reviews. When I say reasonably priced, it was awesome pricing for how much food we were served. My total bill was $10 before tip and my quesadilla was more food than I needed to eat. That didn’t stop me from devouring the whole thing. I don’t know how to describe it, but it felt like a very healthy version of a quesadilla with lots of veggies in it! Ignore the huge serving of fries, not the healthiest, but they were amazing also!
Kait’s nachos were also delicious and a huge serving. Our server was super nice and it was a quiet little restaurant. Would recommend and go back.
I know that some of my blogs or trips seem like there is so much going on and they may be a little overwhelming. This is a more relaxed slow speed kind of adventure that more people might enjoy compared to a full out adventure trip. Always remember that you can take a trip at your speed based on what you want and need to do with your time!