Alaska Airlines Flights from Chicago (ORD) to Tampa (TPA)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Chicago (ORD) to Tampa (TPA), departing between 7:05am and 7:50pm. Usually a McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Chicago, IL to Tampa, FL is 2 hours and 36 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
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During your Tampa vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry)
A great place to take the kids, MOSI is the largest science center in the Southeast, with more than 450 interactive exhibits. Step into the Gulf Hurricane to experience 74 mph winds, explore the human body in The Amazing You and, if your heart is up to it, ride a bicycle across a 98-foot-long cable suspended 30 feet above the lobby (don't worry: you'll be harnessed to the bike). You can also watch stunning movies in Florida's first IMAX dome theater and take a 5-minute ride in a flight simulator ($3.50 additional charge). Outside, trails wind through a 47-acre nature preserve with a butterfly garden.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Although its heart-stopping thrill rides get much of the ink, this venerable theme park (it predates Disney World) ranks among the largest zoos in the country. It's a don't-miss attraction for children and adults, who can see, in person, all those wild beasts they've watched on Animal Planet -- and they'll get better views of them here than at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Busch Gardens has several thousand animals living in naturalistic environments that help carry out the park's overall African theme. Most authentic is the 80-acre plain, strongly reminiscent of the real Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, upon which zebras, giraffes, and other animals graze. Unlike the animals on the real Serengeti, however, these grazing creatures have nothing to fear from lions, hyenas, crocodiles, and other predators, which are confined to enclosures -- as are the hippos and elephants. The park's sixth and newest roller coaster, SheiKra, is the nation's first dive coaster that carries riders up 200 feet at 45 degrees and then hurtles them 70 mph back at a 45-degree angle. Yikes.The park has eight areas, each with its own theme, animals, live entertainment, thrill rides, kiddie attractions, dining, and shopping. A Skyride cable car soars over the park, offering a bird's-eye view of it all. Turn left after the main gate and head to Morocco, a walled city with exotic architecture, crafts demonstrations, a sultan's tent with snake charmers, and an exhibit featuring alligators and turtles. The Moorish-style Moroccan Palace Theater features an ice show which many families consider to be the park's best entertainment for both adults and children. You can also attend a song-and-dance show in the Marrakech Theater. Overlooking it all is the Crown Colony Restaurant, the park's largest.After watching the snake charmers, walk east past Anheuser-Busch's fabled Clydesdale horses to Egypt, where you can visit King Tut's tomb with its replicas of the real treasures and listen to comedian Martin Short narrate "Akbar's Adventure Tours," a wacky simulator that "transports" one and all across Egypt via camel, biplane, and mine car. The whole room moves on this ride, which lasts only 5 minutes -- much less time than the usual wait to get inside. Youngsters can dig for their own ancient treasures in a sand area. Adults and kids 54 inches or taller can ride Montu, the tallest and longest inverted roller coaster in the world, with seven upside-down loops. Your feet dangle loose on Montu, so make sure your shoes are tied tightly and your lunch has had time to digest.If you're going to Orlando as well, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is included in the five-park version of the FlexTicket, a 14-day pass that also admits you to Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld, Islands of Adventure, and Wet 'n' Wild, for $225 adults and $190 children 3 to 9.From Egypt, walk to the Edge of Africa, the most unique of the park's eight areas, and home of most of the large animals. Go immediately to the Expedition Africa Gift Shop and see if you can get on one of the park's zoologist-led wildlife tours.Next stop is Nairobi, the most beautiful part of the park, where you can see gorillas and chimpanzees in their lush rainforest habitat in the Myombe Reserve. Nairobi also has a baby-animal nursery, a petting zoo, turtle and reptile displays, an elephant exhibit (alas, the magnificent creatures seem to be bored to the point of madness), and Curiosity Caverns, where bats, reptiles, and small mammals that are active in the dark are kept in cages (it's the most traditional zoolike area here). The entry to Rhino Rally, the park's safari adventure, is at the western end of Nairobi.Now head to The Congo, where the highlights are the rare white Bengal tigers that live on Claw Island. The Congo is also home to two roller coasters: Kumba, the largest and fastest coaster in the southeastern United States (54-in. minimum height); and the Python (48-in. minimum), which twists and turns for 1,200 feet. You will get drenched -- and refreshed on a hot day -- by riding the Congo River Rapids, where you're turned loose in round boats that float down the swiftly flowing "river" (42-in. minimum). Bumper cars and kiddie rides can be found here, too.From The Congo, walk south into Stanleyville, a prototype African village, with a shopping bazaar, orangutans living on an island, and the Stanleyville Theater, usually featuring shows for children. Two more water rides here are the Tanganyika Tidal Wave (48-in. minimum height), where you'll come to a very damp end; and the Stanley Falls Flume (an aquatic version of a roller coaster). Also here is the picnic-style Stanleyville Smokehouse, serving ribs and chicken that are among the best chow in the park.Up next is Land of the Dragons, the most entertaining area for small children. They can spend an entire day enjoying a variety of play elements in a fairy-tale setting, plus just-for-kids rides. The area is dominated by Dumphrey, a whimsical dragon who interacts with visitors and guides children around a three-story treehouse with winding stairways, tall towers, stepping stones, illuminated water geysers, and an echo chamber.The next stop is Bird Gardens, the park's original core, offering rich foliage, lagoons, and a free-flight aviary for hundreds of exotic birds, including golden and American bald eagles. Be sure to see the Florida flamingos and Australian koalas while you're here.Then you're off to take a break at the Hospitality House, which offers piano entertainment and free samples of Anheuser-Busch's famous beers. You must be 21 to imbibe (there's a limit of two free mugs per seating), but soft drinks are also available.If your stomach can take another hair-raising ride, try Gwazi (48-in. minimum), an adrenaline-pumping attraction in which a pair of old-fashioned wooden roller coasters (named the Lion and the Tiger) start simultaneously and whiz within a few feet of each other six times as they roar along at 50 mph and rise to 90 feet. In Gwazi's "Water Wars," participants shoot water-filled balloons at each other with big slingshots. It's a soaking way to end your visit.If you want to experience the park's fifth roller coaster, head to Timbuktu and climb aboard the Scorpion, a high-speed number with a 60-foot drop and 360-degree loop (42-in. height minimum).Added attractions are a $325, 6-hour zookeeper-for-a-day program, the devotion of 26 acres of the 65-acre Serengeti Plain to free-roaming white rhinos, and a 4-D multisensory R. L. Stine film.You can exchange foreign currency in the park, and interpreters are available.Note: You can get to Busch Gardens from Orlando via shuttle buses, which pick up at area hotels between 8 and 10:15am for the 1 1/2- to 2-hour ride, with return trips starting at 5pm and continuing until the park closes. Round-trip fares are $5 per person. Call tel. 800/511-2450 for schedules, pickup locations, and reservations.Note: Admission and hours vary so call ahead, check website, or get brochure at visitor centers. If You Need Another Day--Once you're inside Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and decide you really need more time to see it all, check to see if the park has (frequently offered) Next-Day Tickets, which let you back in the next day for about $16 per person.
Tampa Museum of Art
Located on the east bank of the Hillsborough River, next to the round NationsBank building (locals facetiously call it the "Beer Can"), this fine-arts complex offers eight galleries with changing exhibits ranging from classical antiquities to contemporary Floridian art. There's also a 7-acre riverfront park and sculpture garden. Call or check the website for the schedule of temporary exhibits. However, if you have time for only one art museum on your trip, skip this one and head to St. Petersburg for the more innovative Salvador Dalí Museum.
Hilton Garden Inn
This modern, four-story hotel stands just 2 blocks north of the heart of Ybor City's dining and entertainment district. A one-story brick structure in front houses the bright lobby, a comfy relaxation area with fireplace, a dining area providing cooked and continental breakfasts, and a small 24-hour pantry selling beer, wine, soft drinks, and frozen dinners. You can heat up the dinners in your comfortable guest room's microwave or store them in your fridge. Since Hilton's Garden hotels are aimed primarily at business travelers (they compete with Marriott's Courtyards), your room will also have a large desk and two phones. If you opt for a suite, you'll get a separate living room and a larger bathroom.
Tampa Riverwalk Hotel
Set on the east bank of the Hillsborough River, this six-story hotel was formerly a Radisson, but not much has changed since it left the chain -- and that's a good thing. Half the rooms face west and have lovely views from their (unlighted) balconies of the Arabesque minarets atop the Henry B. Plant Museum and the University of Tampa across the river -- quite a scene at sunset. These rooms cost more, but are preferable to units on the east side of the building, which face downtown's skyscrapers and lack balconies. Rooms here are clean and of moderate size, but are rather tired, impersonal, and decorated in Drexel Heritage furniture (as is common with any chain hotel of this size). Set beside the river, the Ashley Drive Grill serves indoor-outdoor breakfasts and lunches, then offers fine dining in the evenings. The Boulanger bakery and deli, open from 5am to midnight, purveys fresh pastries, soups, sandwiches, and snacks. Unless you're here on business, or are intent on staying downtown to be close to a specific attraction such as the performing-arts center, there's not much here to entice a mainstream traveler.
Baymont Inn & Suites
Fake banana trees and a parrot cage welcome guests to the terra-cotta-floored lobby of this comfortable and convenient member of the small chain of cost-conscious but amenity-rich motels. All rooms are spacious and have ceiling fans and desks. Rooms with king-size beds also have recliners; business rooms sport dataport phones; and suites have refrigerators and microwaves. Outside, a courtyard with an unheated pool has plenty of space for sunning. There's no restaurant on the premises, but many are within walking distance.
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Other direct flights to Tampa (TPA) on Alaska Airlines
