After seeing how our experience went riding the trolley on a super busy day, do you think you would consider using the Suncoast Trolley during your visit? Let us know in the comments! Also, if you have already used the Suncoast Trolley, what was your experience? Would you recommend it? Let us know about your experiences and recommendations in the comments too!
Live tracking is available, it's called Google Maps, click on the bus stop you are at and a list of where buses are is there - works amazingly! Didn't use the beach trolley but worked amazingly on the Central Avenue Trolley! Used it all week long no issues at all. Think it works for any PSTA services. Heading back to the UK today it's been great to be back in St Pete seeing family and friends after a two year break. Also recommend using the cycle trail network here as well - we've used the Pinellas Trail all week long. So many alternatives to jumping in the car!
@@andyb56 thanks for sharing that tip. We did check Google on this adventure but I don't think we mentioned it in the video. Tracking on Google did seem to be accurate in the morning...but as the traffic got worse and worse in Clearwater so did the accuracy. We were using it on an incredibly busy day and would anticipate Google to be accurate on a more typical day. We are so glad you enjoyed your time in the area 😊 thanks for watching and for your helpful comments!
We love public transportation so we would definitely love taking the trolley. Excellent that you also have the "free" beach ride to supplement as well. Great tips guys and awesome that you are raising awareness about all the transportation options in these popular beach towns.
Yeah, having the free beach ride to fall back on if the trolley stalls out is a great luxury. It's certainly not a perfect public transportation setup, but it could be a lot worse!
Yeah, St Pete Beach is one of our favorite beaches in the entire Tampa Bay area. It's easily our favorite beach when it comes to beach bars, and like you said, the sand is amazing. Thanks so much for watching!
I love riding the trolley but I have experienced a long wait a few times when it gets later in the day. I travel by myself and the trolley is the best option for me. Thanks for the video.
I was wondering if you knew about the free ride..... cool ! You have no idea how much I look forward to your videos with my saturday morning coffee !!!!
Yeah we knew about it, but had not planned to ride it in our video. In retrospect we were really glad that we did, especially when that open air chopped top van rolled up 😂 We think it really added to the video!
Love your video. I'm sorry for you guys keep waiting, waiting &waiting .My family & I went to Indian shore 2 weeks ago ,we enjoyed alot. Thanks for sharing. Look forward for your next video.Have a great day you guys.
Thanks, Chris! We definitely had to wait a lot more than we were hoping for, but we knew that there was a pretty good chance that things wouldn't go smoothly, especially on a beautiful beach day on Easter weekend. That said, I don't think either of us were expecting to not get home until around midnight!
It really was. We had ridden it a few times before and had good experiences, but this was the first time we got to ride in the chopped top van! It was quite the experience.
That was a trolley wreck! When I lived in Sarasota 30 years ago it was kinda busy but seeing your vids man there are a lot of people there now! You guys are hard core!
Yeah, it certainly didn't go exactly as we would have liked. But to be fair, we had a decent idea of what we were getting into. Clearwater Beach traffic is pretty bad on a normal weekend, let alone on a perfect beach day on Easter weekend!
Another informative and fun video, guys! As an out of towner, if I were visiting the area I would definitely do the trolley rides. Of course, it wouldn't be on a weekend or holiday, maybe a mid week excursion. Thanks, as always, for sharing tips and tricks on how to enjoy the area you are so lucky to live in! 🙂
We're glad to hear that our experience wouldn't deter you from riding the trolley, Rhonda! We really do think that it's a really great option at most times, especially on a weekday!
Hi Guy's I love your videos my wife and I are planning on moving down to the Tampa Bay area and have watched a number of realtor videos. I have to say that I have learned much more about all the smaller communities by watching your videos.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to leave this kind comment, Ben! We always try to provide valuable information (and a little entertainment) in our videos, and we're always so glad to hear when people find our content to be valuable!
This was really helpful. Even if we will be renting a car, it will probably be helpful to use public transit when it will be hard to find parking. Thank you for your informative videos!
Trolleys are amongst the nicest public transit options in most US cities, and Suncoast Beach Trolley is no exception. The service would gain ridership if they increased their arrival frequency times, and converted a lane into a route for trolleys only, no cars.
How interesting. We aren't too experienced with the bussing systems around the US (or even outside of the Tampa Bay area of Florida), but we've always been interested in doing some bus trips. It's nice to know that Florida is doing it better than most other places!
We're so glad that you found the video to be entertaining! It was definitely quite a bit different than our typical videos, but even with all the waiting, we still had a fun (albeit exhausting) day. That's great to hear that you will be moving back soon! I bet you are so excited!
This is great overall review of the Sunrunner. This is ideal for people who live downtown. Im in Disston Heights so Uber to the beach is probably my best option still. Great video Explorcation.
Thanks so much for the kind comment! We agree 100% that it's ideal for people downtown.... probably not so as much for people further off the route like you. However you could still ride your bike (or scooter) to nearest Sunrunner stop and bring it with you out to St. Pete Beach!
Some days I can’t believe how much I want to visit your beaches even though I’m like 15 minutes from my beaches on the East coast. So,,,, see you Monday. Lol.
We're happy to hear that you'll soon be making it back over this way! We hope that we have the same excitement about exploring your east coast beaches when we finally get around to visiting some of those! But for now, exploring the gulf coast continues to keep us busy!
Thanks so much, Denise. I do think we will give it another go on a non-holiday weekend sometime. I have a feeling our experience would be quite a bit better!
Aww that long wait for the trolley back to Clearwater must've been a drag but it's great that you gave it a go and at least you had a good experience all round. We love the convenience of Uber etc but it does add up so sometimes we opt for the slower public transport options and just pray we won't be stuck waiting for an hour at 11pm! 😅
It sure was b/c by that time we were exhausted. I think that as long as one is prepared for what the experience could be, good or bad, public transportation is totally worth saving the money.
I visit that strip from Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach at least once a year with my friends that live less than an hour from there. We use the trolley all the time especially to go to Clearwater Beach because parking is so bad there. Easy to use and convenient.
I am looking forward to your next adventure. So enjoyable and full of great information. You both make it so interesting and I cannot wait to try your recommendations. You are an awesome couple! I highly recommend your videos for Fl residents as well as visitors!!!😎
Thank you so much for this incredibly kind comment, Donna. We always try to make our videos both informative and entertaining, and we're so glad to hear that we managed to do it with this one! We really appreciate all of your support!
Flamingo Pass is such a great tip!! How do you always wear long sleeves under the heat? It is definitely protecting you from the Sun but it is so hot in FL! :) So cool you got the free beach ride (wait it cost you more due to tipping, makes sense I guess) ! Ha! Caddy's has such a great vibe!! Thanks for recapping everything!!
We would def use the Flamingo Pass again...so cheap and convenient! As far as the heat, for me, it is worth it vs dealing with a bad sunburn 😆 thankfully there are some great breathable SPF fabric options so it doesn't get tooo bad wearing the long sleeves 😀
We hope you enjoy the trolley and sunrunner as much as we do! It really has allowed us to cut back quite a bit on the amount of miles we put on our car (and gas we put into it), which is great!
Another great video guys! I'm moving to Dunedin July 1st and your videos will be my go-to source for exploring the area. Glion doesn't have any scooters available at this time, but I'll make do. :-) If I ever run into you guys out and about, lunch is on me!! Thanks again for all the great information!
Hey Dave. That's awesome to hear that you'll be moving to Dunedin! It's such a great city that we have SO much more of to explore! We would love to run into you some day, and it wouldn't surprise us a bit if we do! I don't think that Glion makes the Dolly (the model we have) anymore, but I'm pretty sure they do make a new model called the Balto. I'll post a link below. I'm not sure if it's as good (possibly better) as the Dolly, but it does appear to have the same fold up and wheel behind feature! getglion.com/product/new-balto/
Using the trolley seems like such a cool and convenient experience…even though it didn’t run on time, it’s understandable during such a busy time of the year. We don’t have much public transport in South Africa so things like this really excite us 😅
Yeah even though we had to wait quite a bit we still saved a lot of money compared to what it would have cost to rent a car (and pay for parking) for the day or uber/lyft. Sorry to hear you guys don't have much public transport in your area. Florida is pretty far behind most of the eastern US when it comes to public transportation, but it does seem to be improving.
Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to comment, Bri! That's so exciting that you plan on moving here. We're sure you'll love it just as much as we do!
@@Explorcation Oh I know I’ll love it 😍 I can’t wait to see more of your videos. I eventually want to move to Hawaii too . Trying to give my kids the best life experiences and travel while we can. Going to homeschool 😊
Very good video! Whenever we travel west we always avoid Clearwater Beach since it's so crowded. We went to John's Pass about a month ago. Great info, we may take the trolley someday now thanks to your video.
We can certainly understand why one would want to avoid the crowds on Clearwater Beach. Being able to park in a less busy beach town and ride to Clearwater Beach on the trolley certainly makes for a much more enjoyable experience for us!
Wow! It’s crazy how with mobile cameras in everyone’s pocket and creepy internet now days that someone actually would have to worry about something by like that. Good for that guy for letting her know!
Yeah, we are so used to filming by now that we don't even think about what it might look like to bystanders. But like Skylar said in the video, we were a bit surprised that this was the first time someone actually said something about it, as it would have really creepy if we didn't know each other!
Those trolleys seem pretty great when they are operating on time. And great for not having to worry about parking. The free beach ride seems awesome though. Caddys looked awesome, I love a roof top beach view 😍 I was worried you weren't going to make it to the sunset spot in time! Looked beautiful 😍
They really are a pretty sweet deal when they are funning correctly, which I'm sure is the majority of the time. We were really concerned we were going to miss sunset too. Thankfully we made it just in time! And yeah, that rooftop view is hard to beat, and looks even better when you don't have to pay the ridiculous price to park there 😄
The free beach ride looks great, can't believe it's tips only! I think that combined with the trolley means I would definitely leave the car behind (even if the trolley experience went downhill!). Hopefully it's a much better experience not at peak time.
Yeah, having the free beach ride as a back-up really does make the risk of a trolley let-down much more bearable. We're pretty confident that the experience would be quite a bit better at non-peak time, but we're definitely going to fide it again to find out for sure someday!
We’re debating if we should move to Clearwater or St. Petersburg. Which would you recommend for a family of 5, kids age range from 8-15. Somewhat active and enjoys the outdoors. We love the beach.
As we don't have any kids or know much about school systems and such, it's hard to make a recommendation for what's best for a family of 5. But we can tell you that for us (a couple in their 30's) St. Pete is definitely our preference, as it's much more walkable, and the nearby beaches (Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, and St Pete Beach) are not as crowded as Clearwater Beach. That said, Clearwater is close to Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Largo, and Honeymoon Island, which area all places that we love !
The things you guys have to go through for your viewers, lol! I so appreciate your making this video and keeping in good spirits throughout the craziness 😆 I think I would still like to try riding the trolley because I think it would be a good way to see many of the beaches in the area in a short period of time. The cost of renting a car is sooo expensive (even more when you add in the cost of gas and parking) that I prefer to walk or Uber/Lyft when I'm on vacation. I'm hoping that if I take the trolley during the week and not during rush hour, I will have a better experience and not have to wait over an hour to get to the next stop 😱 I imagine it would be a pretty expensive Uber ride if I had to go from St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach! I clicked on the links you provided for the trolley service and I just want to make sure I understand...it costs $5 for one person to ride unlimited for one day, right? Also, in looking at the schedule, it looks like there are nine stops but I thought Skyler (I think it was Skyler) said that there were 64 stops 🤔 Maybe I misunderstood something? One of my favorite things to do when I went to San Diego a couple of years ago was ride the hop-on/hop-off trolley. The schedule was super easy to follow and the map was spot on. I haven't taken a bus since I was a kid and never alone so I'm ashamed to admit I don't know how to follow a bus schedule and route 😞 But the trolley service in San Diego was so easy for me to understand! I don't think I ever waited more than 10 minutes for a ride. I was hoping this trolley would be similar. I think I would still give it a try 🙂 Thanks for also providing information regarding the free ride service! How much do you recommend to tip? I'm not sure if I would utilize this service but it's nice to know that there are other options for transportation. Sorry for the super long comment! I think this is one of my favorite videos because I like to explore when I go on vacation and I don't like to drive. I liked getting to experience what it's like being on public transportation in a place I am planning to visit 😊
LOL yeah that day definitely had some inconveniences, but it still could have been a lot worse, and we were happy to be able to show some of the potential downfalls of riding the trolley to our viewers, all the we do think it's still a great option in many situations. Like you said, car rentals are so expensive, and taking the trolley can free up a lot of cash to spend on more fun things! And yeah, taking an Uber all the way from Clearwater Beach to St Pete Beach would likely have cost us 10 times what taking the trolley cost. The trolley map isn't too hard to follow on the app, although we found that it wasn't always 100% accurate on our trip. We would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you aren't riding it during the busiest times of the day/week. And if the trolley doesn't show up and you are closer to the St. Pete area, you can always call the fee beach ride like we did. Regarding the tipping on the free beach ride, it's really hard to give a recommendation, as our tip always depends on how long of a distance we ride it for. Sometimes we'll look up what a similar trip via Uber of Lyft would cost and use that as a guide for our tip for the free ride. When we rode the trolley, it was only $5 per person. We've actually heard from others that if ridden it at different times that they sometimes run specials where it is only $2.50 per person for the entire day. Whether you're paying $2.50 or $5.00, it's a great deal for how far it will take you. There are actually well over a 100 stops total on the Suncoast Trolley route. On the scheduled they only identify times for some of the major stops, as they probably don't want to list out all of the stops. But if you drive along Gulf Boulevard you will see a sun sign almost every block or two the majority of the way from Clearwater to St. Pete Beach. We always appreciate your questions and comments, regardless how how short or long they may be. Thanks for the support, as always, Tonya!
Thanks for the video…just moved to the area a few months ago and need to learn all the great spots and travel hacks. How did you score free parking at IRB?
There's actually quite a few smaller accesses in IRB that have free parking, but they fill up quickly on the weekends. There's also some free street parking throughout the town, which is where we found a spot on this day. Thanks so much for watching, Kate!
Is there a trolley that go straight to Clearwater from St Pete Beach and vice versa or you have to change trolley all the time. Or only change trolly if you stop to see other places along the way?
You can go from downtown St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach on one trolley. But if you want to go further south on St. Pete Beach, you'll have to switch buses in downtown St. Pete Beach.
wow the trolleys are cute but when they didn't show up and you called the free beach ride that looked awesome! Had no idea there was such an option. The US is so well set up, love the friendly driver of the trolley that took you to the sunset beach! OMG that was so funny that guy warning Jamie that she was being filmed! 😂 I'm surprised that's the first time it's happened too, we have yet to experience it but I would probably react the same way Jamie did.
This area of Florida really does have some great options for transportation 🙌 It wouldn't surprise me if you two have a similar experience too with the filming. It is nice to know people will speak up if they are curious or concerned :)
Hi Guys, thank you for your videos, they are amazing. I'm from Brazil and I'm going to visit Tampa Bay in august, I'd like to ask if is it easy to find a good place to park near the Pier 60 during the week days? I´d like to park in a place that can offer shower and restroom, is it possible too?
Thanks so much for watching and for the kind comment, Fabio. We're glad you are enjoying our videos! In regards to parking around Pier 60, I'd suggest check out the map on the below website to help you locate places to park. Clearwater beach is pretty busy this time of year even on week days, but if you show up relatively early, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a spot. www.myclearwater.com/government/city-departments/engineering/parking-system/beach-parking
Skylar, where did you get the t shirt with the flamingo? I want one. Love the videos. They help get us through the winter up here in northern Illinois as we dream of our yearly visit to Tarpon Springs-Madeira beach.
Hey David. I got it on the O'Neill website. I did a quick search for it and I couldn't find it anymore, but I think you still might be able to find it on some other third party sites, including Ebay. Thanks for watching and for the kind comments!
well, what an interesting experience ! I tend to travel in low periods, but getting an aspect on the busy times is a great idea too. The trolley does look very cool and a cheap way to ride, but you might think twice after the traffic obviously put off your schedule several times. That beach ride car does look like a great alternative though. OMG - crack myself laughing over that guy telling you that your were being filmed. But on the other hand, so nice, when it could have easily been some random person behind you. I'm glad you kept that in the video !
Yeah, we had a pretty good idea what we were getting ourselves into, but it still was a little more than we bargained for! We love it when random stuff like that guy stopping us happens when we're filming. We wish they would happen more often! We think the guy was half joking as I think to most it's pretty obvious that we are together, but there are definitely plenty of creepers out there filming unknowing women, so we appreciate the guy saying something!
@@Explorcation people are going to travel in busy times and over holiday. Having the understanding to be a little flexible due to traffic is value people need to know 👍😁
Me and the hubby will be In Madeira beach at the end of June for our anniversary what would recommend for food and night life? We love y’all vlogs thank you for all the hard beautiful work
The new Caddy's in Madeira Beach is a great spot for some tropical drinks or cold beers with an amazing view. If you are looking for fresh Florida seafood, check out Dockside Daves. It's far from fancy, but it offers fresh and delicious seafood and good prices. Sweet Brewnette is a great spot for coffee and pastries. Mad Beach Brewhouse is a great spot for craft beer and also has great food. For nightlife, you'll probably want to be on John's Pass. Just to the north in Redington Beach/Shores we also really like the Friendly Tavern for wings and the Conch Republic for their early bird dinner specials and their happy hour! We hope this helps!
@@Explorcation yes thank you much we have watched all of y’all’s vlogs over these places and making sure we hit them up. We really appreciate all the information y’all have put out there. We can’t wait of our trip y’all sold us on it thank you again 😉
We're always so appreciative of your kind comments and positive vibes, Scully! It's been rewarding to see the channel grow, but it sure is a long road full of ups and downs. But we keep plugging away, and support from our best supporters like you sure does help to keep us motivated.
I lived in Clearwater St Pete in the early 2ks for many years, long before this new influx of expats. And Sarasota siesta key in the mid 90's. Beloved memories. And while people were busy bashing Florida, it was clear these people didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. The place is great now, and was even better in the past because of far less people. I miss it for sure.
We agree 100%. We enjoyed Florida a bit more 10 years ago when we first moved hear due to it being less crowded and much less expensive. That being said, we still love it here, and as long as we can comfortably afford to stay living here, we will!
Nice show. Could you,,, would you please petition whomever. Some of us can't walk far enough to the next trolley stop. No wonder they are empty! Use the app to schedule pick up. Inside cord to signal stop. I would definitely pay for that service and should be free for residents....no I'm too old to run for office! But you aren't 🌞
We have just come home from St Pete Beach. We used the Flamingo App and the transit App to go to and from St Pete Beach to Clearwater on the trolley. We also used the Central Avenue Trolley from St Pete Beach to St Pete Pier/Downtown several times and also stopping off earlier than the Pier down Central Avenue to photograh the murals, visit 3 daughters and eat at Red Mesa Cantina. The only thing is that the trolley does carry some "interesting" characters...especially in the evening. I was surprised at the lack of tourists using it. Soooo cheap, we used them in the week though with no issues, they had a deal on, max cost within one day $2.50. Within St Pete Central Ave it's free within St Pete.
Wow, max cost of $2.50 for one day is an amazing deal. I think that it's typical to find some "interesting" characters on most forms of public transportation, but many probably find us to be "interesting" characters after a long day on the beach too 😅
Been contemplating doing just this, alas not during a weekend or holiday tho. Great to see your experience with it. A little concerned about the reliability of it though. Would love to hear how you know what trolley you need to take when riding? Was thinking of leaving Tarpon Springs to get to the beaches but not sure about changing routes? Enjoying video as usual. You guys visit some of the coolest eateries/shops.
We would definitely recommend waiting to do this during a week...or a least a non holiday weekend 😆 The app was very helpful in knowing what trolley to catch, and also what stop to request to get off. Unfortunately we have no experience changing routes from the Tarpon area. Thanks again for watching and commenting :)
Treasure Island has really wide beaches with nice white sand, although it's probably not as soft as St. Pete Beach and Clearwater. Treasure Island is a little less touristy than both SPB and Clearwater though. The water is going to be pretty much the same (temperature and clarity-wise) anywhere from SPB to Clearwater.
Love all the beach trolly’s in FL! We just took one recently in Miami and loved the convenience and charm of it! Your first trolly ride looked so much more convenient and cheaper then an Uber and that pier looked so colorful and fun! That fruit bowl also looked deeeelic! Amazing how different the sand is from beach 1 and 2 and it’s only 12 or so stops away too! The whole trolly experience seems like a great deal and way to see the area. Loved that you showed the phone app. Makes for an easy, cheap, and comfortable experience! Great video.
It always amazes us how much the sand can change in such a short distance. We've never experienced the trolley in Miami, but next time we visit, we will surely keep an eye out for it.
In your defense, as a local we never go beach hopping. You have your favorite and just park your family there for the day. We are spoiled though, we have property on one of the smaller beaches, Indian Shores which is still a sleepy beach town vs the touristy CW beach or Sand Key (which is fine except when Shepards has their bass booming across the inlet)
Yeah, this particular video was definitely made more with the tourist in mind. Many St. Pete locals we know never even go to the beach, and when they do, they definitely aren't going to multiple ones in the same day!
They should invest in a tracking system similar to Uber so that you know where the bus you’re looking for is at all times. It can help you gauge when you should actually be at the stop. They can even set it up with an alert when the bus is 5 mins away. I know St. Pete wants to become a smart city so hopefully they will invest in something like that. Great video, as always!
Agreed. They do have an ap that we think is at least supposed to work that way. From our experience, it was a nice guide, but not something that was always accurate. We hope that they are able to improve on it. An alert like you mention when your bus is 5 minutes away would be fantastic! Thanks again for watching and always taking the time to comment!
@@dee101472 you are right, the app worked really well for us in the morning and most of the afternoon, but later in the day it wasn't updating accurately. We think it was due to the crazy traffic jams (since we were riding on a holiday weekend).
Hi guys again 😊, hopefully you can help. Staying at the residence inn Clearwater and don't like the idea of having to pay $30 a day for parking. Is there a safe place to park for free or less than $30 per day? Any help would be highly appreciated!! Caladesis here we come(thanks to you guys and your AMAZING videos)🎉
The biggest negative of Clearwater Beach honestly is the parking situation. We often will park on the Causeway (which is free) and ride our scooters onto the island, but it's definitely a bit of a hassle. Unfortunately we are not aware of any spots on the actual island with free or cheap parking. Who hope yo do make it to Caladesi and have an awesome time!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. We're just going to take the chance and rent the car and pay for the hotel parking but, Caladesis island god willing..here we come🤪. Thanks again!!!
That's something we probably will address in a video someday. But to answer it right now, our favorite time in Florida is usually October/November. Tourist traffic is relatively low, rainy season is over, weather is starting to cool down, and the gulf is still warm enough to swim in! We really enjoy April/May for the same reasons.
Will do. Thanks for your videos. We will be in st.pete Beach next month. It's my favorite vacation spot. Gonna do it with no car this time and I've learned a lot from you guys. Keep up the good work.
@@rockybarr8584 our pleasure. We plan to have another St. Pete Beach video coming out at the end of this month or very beginning of next month, so perhaps that one will give you some more ideas on spots to visit on your next trip. We just finished filming it today. We spent the majority of the last 3 days in St. Pete Beach filming, all without a car. Between the Sunrunner, Central Ave Trolley, Free Beach Ride, and Freebie, you can definitely get around just fine without a vehicle!
That Trolley stops and backs up traffic every time it stops, for much of the way is but a two lane road, and it doesn't pull off the road to make a stop.
Yeah we can see that. It would certainly be better if it had it's own lane (like the new Sunrunner bus from downtown St. Pete to SPB is going to have).
why would you park at Indian Rocks and then go north to Clearwater? Indian Rocks beach is FAR better than Clearwater. We recommend walking over the bridge on 688 to the Yellow Banks Grove. Most fresh orange anything in the state of Florida. The mix of orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream is amazing. They also have blown class decor and shells and other refreshments. The Hurricane in Pass-a-Grille has some great lobster pasta.
A lot of people prefer Clearwater Beach because there is so much to do there in terms of drinking, dining, nightlife, etc... For those people who want to experience that without having to pay a premium for staying on Clearwater Beach, we think staying in IRB and taking the trolley would be a great option. That being said, we are with you and would prefer a day on IRB over Clearwater more often than not. Thanks for watching, Patrick.
@@Explorcation we're in Odessa and my mom is in Largo right down the street from IRB. We also love Anna Maria Island. If you haven't, you should travel down there. You can kayak in the canals at northern most part. We even found a wild beehive there last year but it looks like they removed it.
@@patrickparker6153 she is really close to IRB! Anna Maria is also one of our faves too, although we haven't spent much time kayaking/paddling there yet but will have to give it a try :)
Thanks so much, Bob. Feel free to shoot us an email at explorcationblog@gmail.com with info on your tours. We always do enjoy learning more about St. Pete and what it has to offer!
I guess it depends on where you come from and what you are used to, but it's definitely not great. That said, it's about to get a lot better with the upcoming SunRunner project and we're hoping to share that experience in the near future. Thanks for watching, John.
After seeing how our experience went riding the trolley on a super busy day, do you think you would consider using the Suncoast Trolley during your visit? Let us know in the comments!
Also, if you have already used the Suncoast Trolley, what was your experience? Would you recommend it? Let us know about your experiences and recommendations in the comments too!
On our last trip down, after over an hour of waiting for the Trolley, we decided the Free Beach Rides were the way to go, as well.
Live tracking is available, it's called Google Maps, click on the bus stop you are at and a list of where buses are is there - works amazingly! Didn't use the beach trolley but worked amazingly on the Central Avenue Trolley! Used it all week long no issues at all. Think it works for any PSTA services. Heading back to the UK today it's been great to be back in St Pete seeing family and friends after a two year break. Also recommend using the cycle trail network here as well - we've used the Pinellas Trail all week long. So many alternatives to jumping in the car!
We have stayed on Sand Key several times and always had good luck riding the Jolly Trolley to Clearwater Beach and up to Dunedin,
@@Soupcan35 it is nice that there are a few options to get around. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
@@andyb56 thanks for sharing that tip. We did check Google on this adventure but I don't think we mentioned it in the video. Tracking on Google did seem to be accurate in the morning...but as the traffic got worse and worse in Clearwater so did the accuracy. We were using it on an incredibly busy day and would anticipate Google to be accurate on a more typical day.
We are so glad you enjoyed your time in the area 😊 thanks for watching and for your helpful comments!
Clearwater is so beautiful. Everytime I go visit Florida which is where I’m from I enjoy it
It really is a beautiful place, and we always enjoy our visits there as well!
We love public transportation so we would definitely love taking the trolley. Excellent that you also have the "free" beach ride to supplement as well. Great tips guys and awesome that you are raising awareness about all the transportation options in these popular beach towns.
Yeah, having the free beach ride to fall back on if the trolley stalls out is a great luxury. It's certainly not a perfect public transportation setup, but it could be a lot worse!
Awesome video. Thank you for sharing👏🌸
Our pleasure! Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment!
I absolutely love this video. So very helpful. We are traveling to this area next month and will be riding the trolley for sure!!!!
We're so happy that you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. We hope you have great time down here in Florida next month!
We were just in St Pete beach and it’s amazing. The sand is a football field long and feels like powder.
Yeah, St Pete Beach is one of our favorite beaches in the entire Tampa Bay area. It's easily our favorite beach when it comes to beach bars, and like you said, the sand is amazing. Thanks so much for watching!
I’m going there soon I have been to Florida many times but never to st Pete beach so I’m very excited 🎉❤
I love riding the trolley but I have experienced a long wait a few times when it gets later in the day. I travel by myself and the trolley is the best option for me. Thanks for the video.
That's great to hear that you generally have good experienced riding the trolley. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment, Melissa!
I was wondering if you knew about the free ride..... cool ! You have no idea how much I look forward to your videos with my saturday morning coffee !!!!
Yeah we knew about it, but had not planned to ride it in our video. In retrospect we were really glad that we did, especially when that open air chopped top van rolled up 😂 We think it really added to the video!
Love your video. I'm sorry for you guys keep waiting, waiting &waiting .My family & I went to Indian shore 2 weeks ago ,we enjoyed alot. Thanks for sharing. Look forward for your next video.Have a great day you guys.
Thanks, Chris! We definitely had to wait a lot more than we were hoping for, but we knew that there was a pretty good chance that things wouldn't go smoothly, especially on a beautiful beach day on Easter weekend. That said, I don't think either of us were expecting to not get home until around midnight!
The free beach ride experience looks so cool! What a great second option to the trolly when traffic gets bad!
It really was. We had ridden it a few times before and had good experiences, but this was the first time we got to ride in the chopped top van! It was quite the experience.
That was a trolley wreck! When I lived in Sarasota 30 years ago it was kinda busy but seeing your vids man there are a lot of people there now! You guys are hard core!
Yeah, it certainly didn't go exactly as we would have liked. But to be fair, we had a decent idea of what we were getting into. Clearwater Beach traffic is pretty bad on a normal weekend, let alone on a perfect beach day on Easter weekend!
👍Thanks for the video ❤
Our pleasure! Thank you for watching.
I love the video ❤❤❤ Thank you
Thanks so much for watching :)
Another informative and fun video, guys! As an out of towner, if I were visiting the area I would definitely do the trolley rides. Of course, it wouldn't be on a weekend or holiday, maybe a mid week excursion. Thanks, as always, for sharing tips and tricks on how to enjoy the area you are so lucky to live in! 🙂
We're glad to hear that our experience wouldn't deter you from riding the trolley, Rhonda! We really do think that it's a really great option at most times, especially on a weekday!
Awesome video. Thank you so much!
Our pleasure. We're glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Guy's
I love your videos my wife and I are planning on moving down to the Tampa Bay area and have watched a number of realtor videos. I have to say that I have learned much more about all the smaller communities by watching your videos.
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to leave this kind comment, Ben! We always try to provide valuable information (and a little entertainment) in our videos, and we're always so glad to hear when people find our content to be valuable!
I love it
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this! I was wondering what this ride would be like!
Our pleasure. It was quite the experience, and even though we had some hiccups, we had a great time making the video!
This was really helpful. Even if we will be renting a car, it will probably be helpful to use public transit when it will be hard to find parking. Thank you for your informative videos!
Our pleasure! There are definitely many times when we we prefer to take the bus/trolley even when we have a vehicle available.
Great video. Going to the area for the first time in a few weeks. Plus I am a bus driver so need to check out these trolleys.
Thank you so much. We hope you have a fun time checking out the trolley!
We love riding with our friends at the Jolley Trolley.
Such a great way to get around in that area! Thanks so much for watching :)
I need to do that Flamingo App for our 2024 winter vac. Thanks for the tip.
We would definitely recommend it, Gladys!
Thanks guide for us to see beautiful places
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! We really appreciate it.
Trolleys are amongst the nicest public transit options in most US cities, and Suncoast Beach Trolley is no exception. The service would gain ridership if they increased their arrival frequency times, and converted a lane into a route for trolleys only, no cars.
Thanks for the info. Clearwater is awesome.
We agree, Eduardo. Thanks so much for watching and for taking the time to comment!
Love your channel. Thanks!
Thank you so much for the kind comment!
Those were the times love ya
Thanks so much for watching, Dawn.
Happy Labor Day!
Thank you Carlos!
Florida, now honestly has one of the BEST bussing systems in the country! The apps are easy to use and putting money on a card makes things SO easy.
How interesting. We aren't too experienced with the bussing systems around the US (or even outside of the Tampa Bay area of Florida), but we've always been interested in doing some bus trips. It's nice to know that Florida is doing it better than most other places!
Thank you for your video's!!
Our pleasure, Tim. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! We really appreciate it.
OMG ! You guys are killing me !!! All my favorite spots ! Moving back soon !
We're so glad that you found the video to be entertaining! It was definitely quite a bit different than our typical videos, but even with all the waiting, we still had a fun (albeit exhausting) day. That's great to hear that you will be moving back soon! I bet you are so excited!
This is great overall review of the Sunrunner. This is ideal for people who live downtown. Im in Disston Heights so Uber to the beach is probably my best option still. Great video Explorcation.
Thanks so much for the kind comment! We agree 100% that it's ideal for people downtown.... probably not so as much for people further off the route like you. However you could still ride your bike (or scooter) to nearest Sunrunner stop and bring it with you out to St. Pete Beach!
i'm planning to visit FL next mai, the information is very helpful thank you all
We're so glad you found the video to be helpful! We hope you enjoy your time in Florida!
Some days I can’t believe how much I want to visit your beaches even though I’m like 15 minutes from my beaches on the East coast. So,,,, see you Monday. Lol.
We're happy to hear that you'll soon be making it back over this way! We hope that we have the same excitement about exploring your east coast beaches when we finally get around to visiting some of those! But for now, exploring the gulf coast continues to keep us busy!
Love the videos.
Since the holiday weekend created a challenging experience, I'd love to see you try again on a normal weekend.
Thanks so much, Denise. I do think we will give it another go on a non-holiday weekend sometime. I have a feeling our experience would be quite a bit better!
Aww that long wait for the trolley back to Clearwater must've been a drag but it's great that you gave it a go and at least you had a good experience all round. We love the convenience of Uber etc but it does add up so sometimes we opt for the slower public transport options and just pray we won't be stuck waiting for an hour at 11pm! 😅
It sure was b/c by that time we were exhausted. I think that as long as one is prepared for what the experience could be, good or bad, public transportation is totally worth saving the money.
I visit that strip from Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach at least once a year with my friends that live less than an hour from there. We use the trolley all the time especially to go to Clearwater Beach because parking is so bad there. Easy to use and convenient.
We're glad to hear that you've had positive experiences with it, Deb. Thanks for watching!
I am looking forward to your next adventure. So enjoyable and full of great information. You both make it so interesting and I cannot wait to try your recommendations. You are an awesome couple! I highly recommend your videos for Fl residents as well as visitors!!!😎
Thank you so much for this incredibly kind comment, Donna. We always try to make our videos both informative and entertaining, and we're so glad to hear that we managed to do it with this one! We really appreciate all of your support!
Flamingo Pass is such a great tip!! How do you always wear long sleeves under the heat? It is definitely protecting you from the Sun but it is so hot in FL! :) So cool you got the free beach ride (wait it cost you more due to tipping, makes sense I guess) ! Ha! Caddy's has such a great vibe!! Thanks for recapping everything!!
We would def use the Flamingo Pass again...so cheap and convenient!
As far as the heat, for me, it is worth it vs dealing with a bad sunburn 😆 thankfully there are some great breathable SPF fabric options so it doesn't get tooo bad wearing the long sleeves 😀
looking forward to running the trolly and the sun runner. Actually looking at selling car and take bus
We hope you enjoy the trolley and sunrunner as much as we do! It really has allowed us to cut back quite a bit on the amount of miles we put on our car (and gas we put into it), which is great!
This is helpful thanks guys
Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching!
@@Explorcation it too bad that we couldn't collaboration with each other for this
Yes
Another great video guys! I'm moving to Dunedin July 1st and your videos will be my go-to source for exploring the area. Glion doesn't have any scooters available at this time, but I'll make do. :-) If I ever run into you guys out and about, lunch is on me!! Thanks again for all the great information!
Hey Dave. That's awesome to hear that you'll be moving to Dunedin! It's such a great city that we have SO much more of to explore! We would love to run into you some day, and it wouldn't surprise us a bit if we do!
I don't think that Glion makes the Dolly (the model we have) anymore, but I'm pretty sure they do make a new model called the Balto. I'll post a link below. I'm not sure if it's as good (possibly better) as the Dolly, but it does appear to have the same fold up and wheel behind feature!
getglion.com/product/new-balto/
Using the trolley seems like such a cool and convenient experience…even though it didn’t run on time, it’s understandable during such a busy time of the year.
We don’t have much public transport in South Africa so things like this really excite us 😅
Yeah even though we had to wait quite a bit we still saved a lot of money compared to what it would have cost to rent a car (and pay for parking) for the day or uber/lyft. Sorry to hear you guys don't have much public transport in your area. Florida is pretty far behind most of the eastern US when it comes to public transportation, but it does seem to be improving.
I just love your videos! I’ve been wanting to live by the ocean since I was a teen. I can’t wait to move there soon. And I love his shirt !! 😊
Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to comment, Bri! That's so exciting that you plan on moving here. We're sure you'll love it just as much as we do!
@@Explorcation Oh I know I’ll love it 😍 I can’t wait to see more of your videos. I eventually want to move to Hawaii too . Trying to give my kids the best life experiences and travel while we can. Going to homeschool 😊
@@brislife2924 ahh Hawaii has been on our list of places to visit 😁
Good luck on your move, we hope it goes smoothly!
I would have been stressed out waiting for that trolley. I would have thrown in the towel lol
We'd be lying if we said the thought didn't cross our mind! 😅
Very good video! Whenever we travel west we always avoid Clearwater Beach since it's so crowded. We went to John's Pass about a month ago. Great info, we may take the trolley someday now thanks to your video.
We can certainly understand why one would want to avoid the crowds on Clearwater Beach. Being able to park in a less busy beach town and ride to Clearwater Beach on the trolley certainly makes for a much more enjoyable experience for us!
@@Explorcation we are going to try that
@@PrimeTimeTravelers we hope you have a great time when you visit again 😊
Wow! It’s crazy how with mobile cameras in everyone’s pocket and creepy internet now days that someone actually would have to worry about something by like that. Good for that guy for letting her know!
Yeah, we are so used to filming by now that we don't even think about what it might look like to bystanders. But like Skylar said in the video, we were a bit surprised that this was the first time someone actually said something about it, as it would have really creepy if we didn't know each other!
If you go to Caddy’s make sure to see the Hurricane Shane band playing there!
Thanks so much for the suggestion. We'd love to check them out!
Those trolleys seem pretty great when they are operating on time. And great for not having to worry about parking. The free beach ride seems awesome though. Caddys looked awesome, I love a roof top beach view 😍 I was worried you weren't going to make it to the sunset spot in time! Looked beautiful 😍
They really are a pretty sweet deal when they are funning correctly, which I'm sure is the majority of the time. We were really concerned we were going to miss sunset too. Thankfully we made it just in time! And yeah, that rooftop view is hard to beat, and looks even better when you don't have to pay the ridiculous price to park there 😄
The free beach ride looks great, can't believe it's tips only! I think that combined with the trolley means I would definitely leave the car behind (even if the trolley experience went downhill!). Hopefully it's a much better experience not at peak time.
Yeah, having the free beach ride as a back-up really does make the risk of a trolley let-down much more bearable. We're pretty confident that the experience would be quite a bit better at non-peak time, but we're definitely going to fide it again to find out for sure someday!
HA! I stand corrected!
😂 thanks so much for watching!
We’re debating if we should move to Clearwater or St. Petersburg. Which would you recommend for a family of 5, kids age range from 8-15. Somewhat active and enjoys the outdoors. We love the beach.
As we don't have any kids or know much about school systems and such, it's hard to make a recommendation for what's best for a family of 5. But we can tell you that for us (a couple in their 30's) St. Pete is definitely our preference, as it's much more walkable, and the nearby beaches (Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, and St Pete Beach) are not as crowded as Clearwater Beach. That said, Clearwater is close to Dunedin, Palm Harbor, Largo, and Honeymoon Island, which area all places that we love !
The things you guys have to go through for your viewers, lol! I so appreciate your making this video and keeping in good spirits throughout the craziness 😆 I think I would still like to try riding the trolley because I think it would be a good way to see many of the beaches in the area in a short period of time. The cost of renting a car is sooo expensive (even more when you add in the cost of gas and parking) that I prefer to walk or Uber/Lyft when I'm on vacation. I'm hoping that if I take the trolley during the week and not during rush hour, I will have a better experience and not have to wait over an hour to get to the next stop 😱 I imagine it would be a pretty expensive Uber ride if I had to go from St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach!
I clicked on the links you provided for the trolley service and I just want to make sure I understand...it costs $5 for one person to ride unlimited for one day, right? Also, in looking at the schedule, it looks like there are nine stops but I thought Skyler (I think it was Skyler) said that there were 64 stops 🤔 Maybe I misunderstood something?
One of my favorite things to do when I went to San Diego a couple of years ago was ride the hop-on/hop-off trolley. The schedule was super easy to follow and the map was spot on. I haven't taken a bus since I was a kid and never alone so I'm ashamed to admit I don't know how to follow a bus schedule and route 😞 But the trolley service in San Diego was so easy for me to understand! I don't think I ever waited more than 10 minutes for a ride. I was hoping this trolley would be similar. I think I would still give it a try 🙂
Thanks for also providing information regarding the free ride service! How much do you recommend to tip? I'm not sure if I would utilize this service but it's nice to know that there are other options for transportation.
Sorry for the super long comment! I think this is one of my favorite videos because I like to explore when I go on vacation and I don't like to drive. I liked getting to experience what it's like being on public transportation in a place I am planning to visit 😊
LOL yeah that day definitely had some inconveniences, but it still could have been a lot worse, and we were happy to be able to show some of the potential downfalls of riding the trolley to our viewers, all the we do think it's still a great option in many situations. Like you said, car rentals are so expensive, and taking the trolley can free up a lot of cash to spend on more fun things! And yeah, taking an Uber all the way from Clearwater Beach to St Pete Beach would likely have cost us 10 times what taking the trolley cost.
The trolley map isn't too hard to follow on the app, although we found that it wasn't always 100% accurate on our trip. We would still recommend giving it a try, especially if you aren't riding it during the busiest times of the day/week. And if the trolley doesn't show up and you are closer to the St. Pete area, you can always call the fee beach ride like we did. Regarding the tipping on the free beach ride, it's really hard to give a recommendation, as our tip always depends on how long of a distance we ride it for. Sometimes we'll look up what a similar trip via Uber of Lyft would cost and use that as a guide for our tip for the free ride.
When we rode the trolley, it was only $5 per person. We've actually heard from others that if ridden it at different times that they sometimes run specials where it is only $2.50 per person for the entire day. Whether you're paying $2.50 or $5.00, it's a great deal for how far it will take you.
There are actually well over a 100 stops total on the Suncoast Trolley route. On the scheduled they only identify times for some of the major stops, as they probably don't want to list out all of the stops. But if you drive along Gulf Boulevard you will see a sun sign almost every block or two the majority of the way from Clearwater to St. Pete Beach.
We always appreciate your questions and comments, regardless how how short or long they may be. Thanks for the support, as always, Tonya!
Thanks for the video…just moved to the area a few months ago and need to learn all the great spots and travel hacks. How did you score free parking at IRB?
There's actually quite a few smaller accesses in IRB that have free parking, but they fill up quickly on the weekends. There's also some free street parking throughout the town, which is where we found a spot on this day. Thanks so much for watching, Kate!
Is there a trolley that go straight to Clearwater from St Pete Beach and vice versa or you have to change trolley all the time. Or only change trolly if you stop to see other places along the way?
You can go from downtown St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach on one trolley. But if you want to go further south on St. Pete Beach, you'll have to switch buses in downtown St. Pete Beach.
wow the trolleys are cute but when they didn't show up and you called the free beach ride that looked awesome! Had no idea there was such an option. The US is so well set up, love the friendly driver of the trolley that took you to the sunset beach!
OMG that was so funny that guy warning Jamie that she was being filmed! 😂 I'm surprised that's the first time it's happened too, we have yet to experience it but I would probably react the same way Jamie did.
This area of Florida really does have some great options for transportation 🙌
It wouldn't surprise me if you two have a similar experience too with the filming. It is nice to know people will speak up if they are curious or concerned :)
Also Fenchy’s is worth that wait and there are 3 Frenchy’s in Clearwater Beach with great food and drinks.
Yeah, if we weren't crunched for time we definitely would have waited. It really is an awesome place.
The Freebee in St. Pete Beach is pretty great as long as you don't stray from between Pass a Grille and Blind Pass.
Thanks for the tip! John's Pass to Caddy's was the farthest we've ever taken it, and it was a pretty awesome experience!
Hi Guys, thank you for your videos, they are amazing. I'm from Brazil and I'm going to visit Tampa Bay in august, I'd like to ask if is it easy to find a good place to park near the Pier 60 during the week days? I´d like to park in a place that can offer shower and restroom, is it possible too?
Thanks so much for watching and for the kind comment, Fabio. We're glad you are enjoying our videos! In regards to parking around Pier 60, I'd suggest check out the map on the below website to help you locate places to park. Clearwater beach is pretty busy this time of year even on week days, but if you show up relatively early, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a spot.
www.myclearwater.com/government/city-departments/engineering/parking-system/beach-parking
Skylar, where did you get the t shirt with the flamingo? I want one. Love the videos. They help get us through the winter up here in northern Illinois as we dream of our yearly visit to Tarpon Springs-Madeira beach.
Hey David. I got it on the O'Neill website. I did a quick search for it and I couldn't find it anymore, but I think you still might be able to find it on some other third party sites, including Ebay. Thanks for watching and for the kind comments!
well, what an interesting experience ! I tend to travel in low periods, but getting an aspect on the busy times is a great idea too. The trolley does look very cool and a cheap way to ride, but you might think twice after the traffic obviously put off your schedule several times. That beach ride car does look like a great alternative though.
OMG - crack myself laughing over that guy telling you that your were being filmed. But on the other hand, so nice, when it could have easily been some random person behind you. I'm glad you kept that in the video !
Yeah, we had a pretty good idea what we were getting ourselves into, but it still was a little more than we bargained for! We love it when random stuff like that guy stopping us happens when we're filming. We wish they would happen more often! We think the guy was half joking as I think to most it's pretty obvious that we are together, but there are definitely plenty of creepers out there filming unknowing women, so we appreciate the guy saying something!
@@Explorcation people are going to travel in busy times and over holiday. Having the understanding to be a little flexible due to traffic is value people need to know 👍😁
@@AquariusTraveller we sure do agree!
Me and the hubby will be In Madeira beach at the end of June for our anniversary what would recommend for food and night life? We love y’all vlogs thank you for all the hard beautiful work
The new Caddy's in Madeira Beach is a great spot for some tropical drinks or cold beers with an amazing view. If you are looking for fresh Florida seafood, check out Dockside Daves. It's far from fancy, but it offers fresh and delicious seafood and good prices. Sweet Brewnette is a great spot for coffee and pastries. Mad Beach Brewhouse is a great spot for craft beer and also has great food. For nightlife, you'll probably want to be on John's Pass. Just to the north in Redington Beach/Shores we also really like the Friendly Tavern for wings and the Conch Republic for their early bird dinner specials and their happy hour! We hope this helps!
@@Explorcation yes thank you much we have watched all of y’all’s vlogs over these places and making sure we hit them up. We really appreciate all the information y’all have put out there. We can’t wait of our trip y’all sold us on it thank you again 😉
@@sarahmcalister281 😊♥️ we hope you have a fantastic time!
It's so totally cool to see you reaching this next big milestone. I'm telling you: you're channel's going to blow up.
We're always so appreciative of your kind comments and positive vibes, Scully! It's been rewarding to see the channel grow, but it sure is a long road full of ups and downs. But we keep plugging away, and support from our best supporters like you sure does help to keep us motivated.
I lived in Clearwater St Pete in the early 2ks for many years, long before this new influx of expats. And Sarasota siesta key in the mid 90's. Beloved memories. And while people were busy bashing Florida, it was clear these people didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about. The place is great now, and was even better in the past because of far less people. I miss it for sure.
We agree 100%. We enjoyed Florida a bit more 10 years ago when we first moved hear due to it being less crowded and much less expensive. That being said, we still love it here, and as long as we can comfortably afford to stay living here, we will!
Nice show. Could you,,, would you please petition whomever. Some of us can't walk far enough to the next trolley stop. No wonder they are empty! Use the app to schedule pick up. Inside cord to signal stop. I would definitely pay for that service and should be free for residents....no I'm too old to run for office! But you aren't 🌞
I gonna attemp to try that one day
Best of luck to you when you do! Just don't pick a holiday weekend to try it like we did, and it should go just fine!
@@Explorcation trust me I avoid those areas on holiday weekends
@@Timcastcomedy very smart decision!
We have just come home from St Pete Beach. We used the Flamingo App and the transit App to go to and from St Pete Beach to Clearwater on the trolley. We also used the Central Avenue Trolley from St Pete Beach to St Pete Pier/Downtown several times and also stopping off earlier than the Pier down Central Avenue to photograh the murals, visit 3 daughters and eat at Red Mesa Cantina. The only thing is that the trolley does carry some "interesting" characters...especially in the evening. I was surprised at the lack of tourists using it. Soooo cheap, we used them in the week though with no issues, they had a deal on, max cost within one day $2.50. Within St Pete Central Ave it's free within St Pete.
Wow, max cost of $2.50 for one day is an amazing deal. I think that it's typical to find some "interesting" characters on most forms of public transportation, but many probably find us to be "interesting" characters after a long day on the beach too 😅
Been contemplating doing just this, alas not during a weekend or holiday tho. Great to see your experience with it. A little concerned about the reliability of it though. Would love to hear how you know what trolley you need to take when riding? Was thinking of leaving Tarpon Springs to get to the beaches but not sure about changing routes? Enjoying video as usual. You guys visit some of the coolest eateries/shops.
We would definitely recommend waiting to do this during a week...or a least a non holiday weekend 😆 The app was very helpful in knowing what trolley to catch, and also what stop to request to get off. Unfortunately we have no experience changing routes from the Tarpon area. Thanks again for watching and commenting :)
Hi! what is the location of the free parking at Indian Rocks Beach?
Hi, it is just south of Salt Rock Grill's parking lot in Indian Shores, we haven't been in a while to confirm it is still free.
How was the water and sand in Treasure Island?
Treasure Island has really wide beaches with nice white sand, although it's probably not as soft as St. Pete Beach and Clearwater. Treasure Island is a little less touristy than both SPB and Clearwater though. The water is going to be pretty much the same (temperature and clarity-wise) anywhere from SPB to Clearwater.
Love all the beach trolly’s in FL! We just took one recently in Miami and loved the convenience and charm of it!
Your first trolly ride looked so much more convenient and cheaper then an Uber and that pier looked so colorful and fun! That fruit bowl also looked deeeelic!
Amazing how different the sand is from beach 1 and 2 and it’s only 12 or so stops away too!
The whole trolly experience seems like a great deal and way to see the area. Loved that you showed the phone app. Makes for an easy, cheap, and comfortable experience! Great video.
It always amazes us how much the sand can change in such a short distance. We've never experienced the trolley in Miami, but next time we visit, we will surely keep an eye out for it.
In your defense, as a local we never go beach hopping. You have your favorite and just park your family there for the day. We are spoiled though, we have property on one of the smaller beaches, Indian Shores which is still a sleepy beach town vs the touristy CW beach or Sand Key (which is fine except when Shepards has their bass booming across the inlet)
Yeah, this particular video was definitely made more with the tourist in mind. Many St. Pete locals we know never even go to the beach, and when they do, they definitely aren't going to multiple ones in the same day!
They should invest in a tracking system similar to Uber so that you know where the bus you’re looking for is at all times. It can help you gauge when you should actually be at the stop. They can even set it up with an alert when the bus is 5 mins away. I know St. Pete wants to become a smart city so hopefully they will invest in something like that. Great video, as always!
Agreed. They do have an ap that we think is at least supposed to work that way. From our experience, it was a nice guide, but not something that was always accurate. We hope that they are able to improve on it. An alert like you mention when your bus is 5 minutes away would be fantastic! Thanks again for watching and always taking the time to comment!
The app has live bus tracking. So you can see exactly where it's at with estimated time arrival.
@@dee101472 you are right, the app worked really well for us in the morning and most of the afternoon, but later in the day it wasn't updating accurately. We think it was due to the crazy traffic jams (since we were riding on a holiday weekend).
👍👍
Thanks for the continued support, Shawn!
Hi guys again 😊, hopefully you can help. Staying at the residence inn Clearwater and don't like the idea of having to pay $30 a day for parking. Is there a safe place to park for free or less than $30 per day? Any help would be highly appreciated!! Caladesis here we come(thanks to you guys and your AMAZING videos)🎉
The biggest negative of Clearwater Beach honestly is the parking situation. We often will park on the Causeway (which is free) and ride our scooters onto the island, but it's definitely a bit of a hassle. Unfortunately we are not aware of any spots on the actual island with free or cheap parking. Who hope yo do make it to Caladesi and have an awesome time!
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. We're just going to take the chance and rent the car and pay for the hotel parking but, Caladesis island god willing..here we come🤪. Thanks again!!!
@@ye9439 You are welcome!
How much coffee do I need to hear about?
ALL of the coffee 😂
Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on when is the "Best" (meaning least crowded) month to visit the area?
That's something we probably will address in a video someday. But to answer it right now, our favorite time in Florida is usually October/November. Tourist traffic is relatively low, rainy season is over, weather is starting to cool down, and the gulf is still warm enough to swim in! We really enjoy April/May for the same reasons.
What's a good $ tip for the free beach ride in St.Pete beach ?
That's a really good question, and one that we unfortunately have never really gotten a good answer to. If you figure it out, please let us know!
Will do. Thanks for your videos. We will be in st.pete Beach next month. It's my favorite vacation spot. Gonna do it with no car this time and I've learned a lot from you guys. Keep up the good work.
@@rockybarr8584 our pleasure. We plan to have another St. Pete Beach video coming out at the end of this month or very beginning of next month, so perhaps that one will give you some more ideas on spots to visit on your next trip. We just finished filming it today. We spent the majority of the last 3 days in St. Pete Beach filming, all without a car. Between the Sunrunner, Central Ave Trolley, Free Beach Ride, and Freebie, you can definitely get around just fine without a vehicle!
I am going to st.pete beach in 3 days
We hope your time on SPB was fantastic!
Have your hot dogs on me!
Thank you so much. Now we're gonna have to go back and by more!
That Trolley stops and backs up traffic every time it stops, for much of the way is but a two lane road, and it doesn't pull off the road to make a stop.
Yeah we can see that. It would certainly be better if it had it's own lane (like the new Sunrunner bus from downtown St. Pete to SPB is going to have).
why would you park at Indian Rocks and then go north to Clearwater? Indian Rocks beach is FAR better than Clearwater. We recommend walking over the bridge on 688 to the Yellow Banks Grove. Most fresh orange anything in the state of Florida. The mix of orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream is amazing. They also have blown class decor and shells and other refreshments. The Hurricane in Pass-a-Grille has some great lobster pasta.
A lot of people prefer Clearwater Beach because there is so much to do there in terms of drinking, dining, nightlife, etc... For those people who want to experience that without having to pay a premium for staying on Clearwater Beach, we think staying in IRB and taking the trolley would be a great option. That being said, we are with you and would prefer a day on IRB over Clearwater more often than not. Thanks for watching, Patrick.
@@Explorcation we're in Odessa and my mom is in Largo right down the street from IRB. We also love Anna Maria Island. If you haven't, you should travel down there. You can kayak in the canals at northern most part. We even found a wild beehive there last year but it looks like they removed it.
@@patrickparker6153 she is really close to IRB! Anna Maria is also one of our faves too, although we haven't spent much time kayaking/paddling there yet but will have to give it a try :)
Is it actually called the “Suncoast Trolley?” It was the Jolly Trolly. 😟
I think the Jolly Trolley runs a different route. We've never ridden it but have seen signs for it.
Hi. You guys are great! I own Bay Area Info Tours. Would love to give you a private tour.
Thanks so much, Bob. Feel free to shoot us an email at explorcationblog@gmail.com with info on your tours. We always do enjoy learning more about St. Pete and what it has to offer!
Seems like public transportation sucks there.
I guess it depends on where you come from and what you are used to, but it's definitely not great. That said, it's about to get a lot better with the upcoming SunRunner project and we're hoping to share that experience in the near future. Thanks for watching, John.
I would have went a different way. Mask..😂
Too long to wait in heat and too much light for app. Too complicated to just get a ride up the street for two long blocks
We certainly understand that it's not for everyone. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Would you raise kids there?
On a trolley? Probably not 😂 Thanks for watching, Steve!