The recently named ‘Sunset Capital of Florida’ is waiting for you to visit. But what and where is Pass-a-Grille and what can you do there? Well, it is a beautiful beachfront paradise situated at the southern end of St. Pete Beach in Pinellas County, Florida. The neighbourhood of Pass-a-Grille is a vibrant yet laid back town with an interesting and magical past. It is the ultimate getaway where you can leave your usual day to day behind.

What’s in a name?

The name is believed to come from the French ‘Passe aux Grilleurs’, meaning Passes to the Grillers. It is thought that for over 10,000 years people have been hunting the lands and fishing in the local waters. But it wasn’t until around 1530, that fisherman began to set up camp to fish and then grill the catch of the day on a handmade lattice.  To this day, this remains a popular local activity, when you visit you are sure to see a few fishermen and women along the fishing piers.

If the history of Pass a Grille interests you, be sure to visit Gulf Beach Museum. It is free to enter and they house a massive collection of incredible photos, from the past 100 years. This is a great way to truly understand and see what Pass a Grill was once like.

Fun in the Sun

Pass-a-Grille has an incredible golden sandy beach with a safe and warm ocean, perfect for a range of water activities like paddle boarding. Get your towel and put your swimsuit on and be ready to forget about school, chores and work. It’s time to take some time for yourself and nowhere supports this better than the peaceful town of Pass-a-Grille.  You can relax all day on the beach, read the latest bestselling book, play beach ball games and go swimming.

Alternatively, you can hit up Historic 8th Avenue, where the streets are paved with boutique stores, delicious restaurants and ice cream parlours. Discover this boulevard and escape the heat of the sun for a while, to fill up your tummy with freshly caught shrimp and pick up a cute new outfit or swimsuit. Don’t forget to keep an eye open for a souvenir to take home so you can remember your wonderful vacation. If you don’t feel like walking, no problem, hire a bicycle to explore this quaint town of Pass-a-Grille.

Marine Life

Pass-a-Grille is the perfect location for an afternoon spent watching marine life.  Along with searching for jumping dolphins, swimming whales and fish, it’s a great place to get into the water and snorkel. There are a few tours available to enjoy this leisurely activity, for example the Island Ferry and Shell Key Shuttle. But if you are looking for ‘The Fast and Furious’ on water, check out Tampa’s Speed Boat Adventure

A major sea life event occurred in the waters of Pass-a-Grille, in March 1946. Locals witnessed an unusual, sad and thankfully rare occurrence, when a pod of more than 20 whales swam into the shallow waters and ran aground.  While nobody can know exactly why this happened, a possible theory is that a member of the pod was ill, so swam to shore to rest and die. As highly social creatures it is possible that the other members of the pod refused to leave the sick whale and in doing so created an unknowingly mass suicide.

Local Events in Pass-a-Grille

Every Saturday from 9am until 2pm, you can visit the outdoor art market on Paradise Grille. You can go from stand to stand to see what interesting and unique creations the local artists have to offer.

The sheer beauty of the setting sun, can be described as local event and will never disappoint. If you missed it, don’t worry, the sun will be back again the next day. Even though you are on holiday, get up early and witness the sunrise. The still and calm atmosphere of a new day is like Disney magic, especially with the early morning sounds of the local wildlife.