The Many Beaches of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg's glory is its beaches and fun beach towns. You can spend a week relaxing in any of them, or make St. Petersburg your home base and head out to a different beach destination every day. Here are a few to get you started.

For a family-friendly vacation right in the center of all the fun, St. Pete Beach is the obvious pick. This is actually four beach areas combined into one resort town with dozens of hotels, inns, restaurants, and a fun shopping strip.

Laid-back, unspoiled, and charming, Gulfport is what Florida natives fondly call a throwback to old Florida. It's also a place where beachfront digs won't break your wallet—and the setting is beautiful, right on Boca Ciega Bay. This is something of an artists' haven, with two art walks a month (first Friday, third Saturday).

Florida's Beach: St. Petersburg/Clearwater

In the 1500s Spanish pioneers, including Ponce de Leon, explored the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area in their quest to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Today, visitors are more likely explore the 35 miles of pristine beaches that have earned the area the name "Florida's Beach."

Photo credit: St.Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Spring Break Shorts: Florida's "Grapefruit League"

Major League Baseball spring training gets underway in Florida on March 2 for a month-long series of practices and pre-season games that's known as the "Grapefruit League" (the West Coast's equivalent is the Cactus League, which takes places around the Greater Phoenix area over the same dates). The 2010 season sees 15 MLB teams traveling to Florida venues including Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota, and Clearwater. The New York Yankees will be based out of Steinbrenner Field in Tampa; both the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins will be batting out of Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, a short drive north of Fort Lauderdale and Miami in Palm Beach County. Take advantage of pre-spring break flight and hotel deals, as well as affordable game-day tickets and better-than-usual access to some of he league's top sluggers. More info about the Grapefruit League can be found at www.floridaspringtraining.com.

Photo credit: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida (courtesy, Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Value-Packed Spring Break Escapes

From all-inclusive packages to amenity-packed resorts, it is possible to take a sunny beach vacation without blowing your budget at these four spring-break hot spots.

Nassau
Specials and packages at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort make this luxury Caribbean escape affordable. Enjoy the three freshwater pools with swim-up bar, kids' club for the little ones, windsurfing, golf lessons, kayaks, and more. (Also take advantage of resort's "Warm Coats Warm Hearts" offer, good till mid-March, to earn free night's stay on your next visit.)

Cancun
Luxurious suites with separate living areas, nightly entertainment, water activities, wine tasting, cooking classes, and much more are part of the experience when you book an all-inclusive package at Paradisus Riveria Cancun Resort.