Paddle Plan It

We went recently went on a paddleboarding trip on the Florida gulf coast. We stayed at an amazing rental right on the water. You can find out about our whole Gulf Coast Paddleboarding trip here. Our trip was action-packed, so much so, that I had to break the trip up into multiple posts. One of the places we visited while on vacation was the charming town of Tarpon Springs. This is a post about the top things to do in Tarpon Spring, Florida.

Tarpon Springs, FL Outdoor Wine, Olive Oil, and Olives Bar — Having a glass of red wine at the outdoor Greek Wine, olive oil, and olives bar

Things to Do in Tarpon Springs, Florida – The Greek Fishing Town

We didn’t know about Tarpen Springs until some of the Aripeka locals told us about it. Now, Tarpen Springs. FL is a must-do whenever we travel near it. Tarpen Springs is an actual Greek Fishing Town located about 20 miles from Aripeka, FL. In fact, you can hear people speaking Greek as you walk down the streets. Some of the books in the stores were even written in Greek. I couldn’t capture the charm of Tarpen Springs in pictures, but trust me, it is something to see.

a mom and daughter posing with a dolphin statue at Tarpon Springs, FL — The Shopping Courtyard at Tarpon Springs

Shopping at Tarpon Springs, FL

Cute “beachy” shops were located on the main streets as well as back in the little courtyards and alleyways.

Mom and children posing in front of a boat and shark statue in the Tarpon Springs Courtyard — Another section of the shopping courtyard in Tarpon Springs

I tried to take a few pictures of the types of things you could buy at Tarpon Springs (see below), but really there are too many unique stores to do them all justice in this little post.

Children inside the candy store in Tarpon springs — The Candy store was huge and full of classic and unique candy

The Flip Flop Shops entrance at Tarpon Springs — My mom snagged some inexpensive flip-flops at the Flip Flop Shops in Tarpon Springs

Cup of Shells bin at Tarpon Springs, Fl — Many of the shops had interactive gifts. My daughter liked the idea of filling up a cup with the shells of her choice.

The sigh for the "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Gift Shop in Tarpon Springs — Tarpon Springs has so many stores that we couldn’t visit them all. We did enjoy shopping for “beachy” items at the It is 5 O’clock Somewhere Gift Shop

Pick-a-pearl necklace kit — Another fun interactive gift we found in one of the stores was this pick-a-pearl kit. The kit came with a clam and a necklace. With this fun set, you open the clam to discover your pearl. Then you add your pearl to the necklace.

I purchased some paddleboard earrings, a comfy beach dress, and, of course, a sponge.

You could purchase authentic sponges and soaps in almost every store.

A boy walking out of the Tarpon Springs Sponge Exchange — Tarpon Springs Sponge exchange had every size sponge you could ever image

In fact, the town is known for its sponges because the town literally grew up around the sponge industry. You could see sponges in the nets on the boats and some of the sponges in the stores were slightly damp as if they had just been pulled from the water recently.

A boat with sponges hanging from it. The boat was docked along the waterway at Tarpon Springs

A tree decorated with sponges at Tarpon Springs, Fl

Restaurants and Bars at Tarpon Springs, FL

Tarpon Springs is home to fantastic restaurants, many of which are, you guessed it, Greek. We ate at Hellas, a delicious Greek restaurant.

a man and little girl standing in front of Hellas Restaurant in Tarpon Springs — My Dad and Daughter Standing Outside of Hellas Restaurant

Hellas had a calming blue glow inside which instantly put you in a dreamy mood. The kids and adults loved that the waiters brought crayons to the table and encourage their guests to draw on the paper tablecloths.

A woman drawing on the paper tablecloth at Hellas in Tarpon Springs — The kids and adults enjoyed coloring on the tablecloth at Hellas

The Greek food was just as pleasing as the atmosphere. This place came highly recommended by the locals, and I can see why.

We also bought some sweet treats at their connecting bakery shop.

A Bakery Pastry Box from Hellas Bakery — We picked out a few sweet treats to take home. The treats came in this little square box.

Chad and I stopped by a Greek wine, olive oil, and olives bar called Katina’s Greek Market. I had a glass of red wine and Chad purchased a jar of olives.

Katina's Greek Market in Tarpon Springs, FL — This is the charming little Wine Bar where I purchased a glass of red wine.

Things to Do Near Tarpon Springs

We spent a week on the Gulf of Florida and finding things to do in Tarpon Springs was just one of our adventures. We stayed at the Optimystical Vista house, which was an attraction all on its own. (Here is a video of our reaction when we saw the Optimystical Vista house). We didn’t leave the house for several of the days we were there. A good bit of our time was spent paddleboarding and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. A dolphin even came right up to our paddle boards! Finally, we visited the waterpark and paddled down the river at Weeki Wachee Springs. You can find out about all of these amazing vacation spots on the links above.