Clearwater, Florida is a very popular city in the Tampa Bay area known for it’s amazing gulf coast beaches. From Newport News, the trip is about 13 hours by car – I don’t advise using an iPhone GPS to get there because it directed us to back roads and constantly rerouted us.

While in Clearwater for Spring break, I stayed at the Hilton Resort and Spa. Not only do residents of the hotel have access to a private beach, but there are also two infinity pools at the resort for guest usage.

On the pool side, there are servers available that will bring you food and drinks straight from the bar.  I ordered a fruit bowl and a pina-colada smoothie that was amazing. I was expecting the fruit bowl to be a little smaller considering I only payed about seven dollars for it, however there was enough for my friend and I to share.

Having spent most of the morning at the pool, later that afternoon my friend and I headed to the private Hilton Resort beach and went swimming. It was about 90 degrees that day, so the water was a perfect temperature. Later that evening we ventured down the street looking for a place to eat and found an outdoor restaurant. The area was shaded by an abundance of palm trees, and guests could seat themselves at any table.

Located next to the beach there is a local pier called “Pier 60” that is a very popular place for tourists to visit. The pier has many fun activities available, such as bungee jumping, and shows to watch. My friend Cloe and I chose to try the trampoline that hooks you up to bungee cords, allowing you to do multiple flips really high up in the air. Once dusk rolled around, the pier became quite crowded, vendors setting up stands to sell various things. There were a lot of creative and talented vendors at the pier and it served as a place where tourists, and locals, could come together and hang out.