There’s a sunny side to this West Coast community that makes this a true hot spot among the world’s destinations. Naturally there’s lots of water and sunshine. But you’ll also discover an area that’s full of rich arts, professional sports, sights to see and things to do you won’t find anywhere else. Whatever your pleasure, you’ll find it in Tampa Bay!

Here are some great things to do in Tampa, FL after booking your Group Hotel through grouphotels.com:

Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center: Visitors come to this warm water viewing center to see manatees, an endangered species of marine mammals. The Manatee Viewing Center is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., November 1 through April 15. (The center is closed Thanksgiving, at 3 p.m. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Easter.) From home, you can operate the center’s east and west Web cameras. Make your reservations here for your class or group to visit the Manatee Viewing Center.

Big Cat Rescue: Do you see yourself looking over the vast Serengeti plains, searching the horizon for a glimpse of a pride of Lions, or a Leopard lounging in the trees? Do you imagine yourself in India, riding an elephant through the high grass with your eyes peeled for the elusive Tiger? Have you ever thought how great it would be to hike through the rainforest, listening to the tropical birds, ever on the lookout for a Leopard or an Ocelot high in the canopy? Have you ever been to the zoo and wanted to be closer to the exotic cats; so close you could almost touch them? You don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make these dreams come true. The world’s largest accredited big cat rescue facility is right here in Tampa, Florida at Big Cat Rescue.

Busch Gardens: Just over an hour west of Orlando near Florida’s beautiful Gulf Coast, you’ll find yourself on the edge of Africa at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. Experience up-close encounters with amazing animals, take an unforgettable safari across the Serengeti Plains, test your courage on pulse-pounding coasters, or catch live entertainment all year long.

Lowry Park Zoo: Voted the “#1 Zoo in the U.S.” by Parents Magazine (2009) and Child Magazine (2004), Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo features more than 2,000 animals in 56 acres of lush natural habitats.

Henry Bradley Plant Museum: If you’re railroad magnate Henry Bradley Plant, in the midst of the sand swamps that would be Tampa, you construct the most astonishingly magnificent hotel of its day, then fill it with treasures from around the world. With its splendid Moorish architecture, opulent furnishings, and spectacular tropical gardens, Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel attracted a host of celebrated guests, from Teddy Roosevelt to Sarah Bernhardt to Babe Ruth. A visit to the Henry B. Plant Museum and the authentically restored rooms of the Tampa Bay Hotel will transport you back to a time of indulgent ten-course meals, waltzing on the veranda and alligator hunting by moonlight.