What is the difference between Tampa Bay and Tampa Florida?

Great question ! Tampa Bay is a large area, basically all of Hillsborough County FL. It includes the water bodies known as Tampa Bay, Old Tampa Bay and Hillsborough Bay which is the bay the City of Tampa Florida actually sets along side of.

Tampa Florida

The Tampa Bay Area

The Tampa Bay Area also contains Clearwater and St Petersburg Florida. Those are the cities that are along the western side of Tampa Bay and continue until they reach Florida's Gulf Coast & Gulf Of Mexico. Most people prefer to live in the Tampa Florida area as it is a more traditional city but just minutes away from the beach lifestyle so many crave.

Clearwater and St Petersburg are very nice places to live or to visit. There is an international airport in St Petersburg but it has nowhere near the options that the Tampa International Airport provides. If you have even been to Fort Lauderdale it is similar to St Pete and Clearwater.

Tampa Florida

Why do I say that Tampa Florida is a better place to live and more of a city? Well Tampa residents and visitors enjoy the Florida Aquarium, the Amalie Arena where the Tampa Lightning play, the Raymond James Stadium & Tampa Buccaneers, Ybor City, The Tampa Riverwalk along the Hillsborough River, Busch Gardens and much much more. You can even catch a cruise liner right in Downtown Tampa. Click the link on the top of this article to learn everything you ever wanted to know about what is the difference between Tampa and Tampa Bay.