TAMPA, Fla. — If you're a Tampa Bay resident and are planning a summer vacation, it looks like you don't have to go too far.
The Tampa Bay area ranked as one of the top summer travel destinations, according to a study by WalletHub that ranked the cheapest destinations in the United States that are also easy to reach
The Tampa-St.Pete-Clearwater area placed at No. 5 while Orlando came in at No. 3 out of the 100 areas listed.
What were the factors?
- Travel costs and hassles
- Local costs
- Attractions
- Weather
- Activities
- Safety
Tampa's Score
Out of 100, Tampa scored 63.16 and ranked No. 11 for the activities score, which considered things like the amount of restaurants, amusement parks, shopping, music venues and other things to do around the area.
The destination with the highest score was Atlanta with 66.77. The metro area was ranked the best because of the cheap flights and diversity when it comes to attractions.
Orlando scored 65.90 and researchers pointed to the major attractions such as Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. They also pointed to the variety of activities and cheap flights.
Top 10 destinations
- Atlanta
- Washington D.C.
- Orlando
- Honolulu
- Tampa
- Austin
- Philadelphia
- Chicago
- El Paso
- Cincinnati
The bottom destinations included cities in California like Santa Rosa and San Jose. The Cape Coral and Fort Myers area also ranked low on the list.
Other Florida cities that made the list include Miami at No. 14, Jacksonville at No. 40 and the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area at No. 88
You can read the full list of destinations here