Helicopter tours over Tampa Busch Gardens and the Alafia River. - Orlando / Florida Guide
Florida Guide > Travelling
I want to tell you about a unique experience I discovered when I was looking at things to do at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I was told about a helicopter tour over the Theme Park, not only that but you also took in other areas of Tampa.
We set off From the Peter O. Knight Airport, we had an aerial view of downtown Tampa and all the skyscrapers below. As you fly just above the roofs of the city’s skyscrapers you see the St Petersburg Times Forum, the Florida Aquarium and the University of Tampa. You then, fly over Ybor City, a historical district north of downtown named for the local cigar manufacturer.
From Tampa we headed north to Busch Gardens, where you’ll circle the amusement park’s roller coasters and view its exotic wildlife. Busch Gardens has lots of animals like giraffes, lions and tigers! It almost felt like you were on an African safari as the pilot flew over the park, he also pointed out the different animals and naming the different species.
On the way back to Tampa we flew over the Alafia River State Park. The pilot again was very informative and he also lowered the helicopter closer to the ground so that we could spot some of the park’s residents, like blue herons and alligators.
We could also see lots of bike trails and people riding their mountain bikes along them. The park was particularly fascinating because when we flew over the pilot also informed us of many lakes scattered around the Alafia park, the size of the park in total is 6260 acres. We could also see many horse trails and people in canoes along the river. We also had many people waving to us who were enjoying a picnic among the many playgrounds and rest areas.
From the Alafia River we headed back to the Peter O. Knight Airport, where the Tampa Bay adventure came to an end.
To sum up the Helicopter tour I thought it was exciting and a unique take on Busch Gardens and the Metropolis of Tampa, I would thoroughly recommend taking this trip when visiting Tampa. I have done Helicopter tours before but I thought this was excellent value for money and the pilot went out of his way to show us all that Tampa has to offer. He also gave us some tips on the best restaurants if we planned to stay in Tampa.
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