Most Memorable Ways To Celebrate Valentine's Day In Tampa Bay

TAMPA BAY, FL -- Forget the usual candlelight dinner and roses. Here are some things to do on Valentine's that will be remembered long after Feb. 14.

Valentine's Day On Cloud 9

Enjoy the serenity and beauty of Tampa Bay above the treetops.

Big Red Balloon Sightseeing Adventures at 8710 W. Hillsborough Ave., Suite 189, Tampa, will give you and your Valentine an adventure to remember 1,000 feet above the ground in a hot-air balloon.

The Sweetheart (Private) Flight allows you and your Valentine to fly alone with the pilot for $500 a couple. The package includes a champagne toast and a full sit-down breakfast.

Click here for reservations.

Valentine Serenade

Make a reservation for one of the Tampa Bay Heralds of Harmony barbershop quartets to deliver a Singing Valentine on Feb. 14.

The Heralds of Harmony offer a premium package for an $80 donation that includes three love songs, a red rose, a coffee mug filled with chocolates and a card. The standard package for a $60 donation includes two love songs, chocolates and a card.

To order a Singing Valentine for your sweetheart, click here.

For selected Singing Valentine music, click here.

Romance Under The Sea

The Florida Aquarium is offering a romantic dinner among a host of mesmerizing sea creatures on Feb. 14 from 7 to 10 p.m. Stroll through the aquarium with your Valentine and a glass of champagne from 7 to 8 p.m. and then enjoy an elegant candlelit dinner alongside stingrays, sharks, sea turtles and thousands of colorful reef fishes.

The special dinner also includes appetizers during cocktail hour, complimentary beer, wine and soda for the evening.

The three-course dinner includes mixed greens with heart of palms, strawberries, cucumber and carrots with citrus vinaigrette; a choice of hand-carved beef tenderloin with Morell mushrooms, Porcini butter, smashed marble potatoes and asparagus bundles or potato-crusted salmon with champagne au jus, lemon risotto, spring peas, basil ricotta agnolotti and wilted spinach with roasted garlic or seared duck breast with chestnut and amerena cherry demi, Yukon mashed potatoes and haricot vert.

Top it off with chocolate fondue for two.

Tickets are $300 per couple. Click here.

Picnic On Honeymoon Island

What could be more romantic than a picnic at Honeymoon Island State Park?

The park has four miles of beaches to enjoy and some of the best seashell hunting around.

You can find peace and solitude by walking the 2 1/2-mile sand spit. Park at the northern-most parking lot, hit the beach and head north. The sand spit has grown during the past 40 years from a few sand bars to more than two miles of the most pristine beach you can find anywhere in Florida.

Head over to the South Beach Pavilion to rent bicycles or rent some kayaks at Cafe Honeymoon.

Ride A Sea Horse

Take your Valentine on a romantic horseback ride on the beach and discover what it's like to ride a "sea horse."

Cypress Breeze Farm at 8690 60th St., Pinellas Park, has a stable of horses that love to wade in the shallow waters of Tampa Bay and even swim in the ocean. The stable offers beach horseback-riding tours in North Skyway Park for $150 per person including photos.

Call 727-365-2194 for reservations or click here.

Get High On Love

Licensed skydiving couples are invited to spend Valentine's Day at Skydive City, 4241 Sky Dive Lane in Zephyrhills, and do a couples jump at sunset, landing for a picnic with a bottle of champagne, two Skydive City champagne flutes and chocolate-covered strawberries.

After enjoying the sunset, sweethearts are invited to hang out at The Jerry “Bird House” beer and wine bar at the Zephyrhills Airport, socialize at the tropical tiki bar or relax around the fire pit near the swoop pond.

The Champagne Tandem Package for two is $448.

Click here for reservations.

Get Away In A Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet Retreats, 5310 N. Central Ave., Tampa, provides vintage Airstreams for people to rent for $125 per night with a four-night minimum. The interiors are decorated in romantic shabby chic style.

Silver Bullet Retreats will deliver the Airstream to campsites at Hillsborough River State Park, Lake Manatee State Park, Little Manatee River State Park or Alafia River State Park, hook it up to sewer and water and then pick it up when it's time to get back to the real world.

Click here for information.

Romance In A Bubble Tent

Sleep under the stars in a bubble tent or rise above the fray in a romantic tree house getaway.

Both sit on a secluded 6-acre property in the Citrus Park area with a scenic oasis complete with a resort-style pool with a water slide, waterfall, grotto and beach entry. Sip drinks at the tiki bar, challenge your Valentine to a game of pool or volleyball or jump on the slackline.

This getaway is available for $100 a night through Airbnb.

Rolling On The River

Here are two romantic Airbnb getaways located in the heart of Tampa for $99 a night.

The quaint one-bedroom Boathouse on the River is actually a house built on a dock in the Hillsborough River. Couples can sit on the private dock sipping a cocktail while watching the wildlife, canoeists and kayakers pass by. The home features comfortable shabby chic decor but has been updated with modern amenities.

Click here for reservations.

Or check out The RiverShed in northeast Seminole Heights. Also located on the Hillsborough River, this getaway is surrounded by 100-year-old live oak and cypress trees.

You can relax in a hammock, on the screened porch or lounge on the floating dock and watch for tropical birds, manatees and dolphins in the river. The host's three-seater canoe and two kayaks are available for complimentary use and a saltwater pool was just installed on the property.

Click here for reservations.

Images

Order a Singing Valentine from Heralds of Harmony.

Enjoy some romance surrounded by the sea at The Florida Aquarium.

Fly high on Valentine's Day with Big Red Balloon Adventures.

Get away in a Vintage Airstream.

Take a romantic horseback ride on the beach with Cypress Breeze Farm.

Enjoy a cozy getaway without getting away. Check out these Tampa Airbnb offerings.

Ride a sea horse with Cypress Breeze Farm.

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