River of Lights Holiday Boat Cruise (Pirate Water Taxi)
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
Where: Boarding at Tampa Convention Center, 333 S Franklin St, Tampa, Florida
When: Select nights in November and December
Hours: typically dusk – 10 PM
Cost: $10+
boat-level views of riverfront holiday lightspirate elf visitChristmas sing-alongssnow flurriesfloating mailbox for letters to Santaattraction
The Pirate Water Taxi's holiday cruise gives up-close, water-level views of downtown Tampa's riverfront decorations, complete with a pirate elf, carol sing-alongs, snow flurries, and a floating mailbox where kids can post letters to Santa.
Best time to arrive. Sunset in Tampa is around 5:36 PM in mid-December, fully dark by about 6:02 PM. A typical December night here bottoms out near 52°F, so dress for standing around outside.
Other displays nearby
There are 8 other displays within 5 miles of this one, and 12 within 15 miles. Most people make a loop of it rather than driving out for a single house.
- Bayshore Boulevard / Hyde Park
- Holiday Spectacular on the Tampa Riverwalk
- Streamside Drive in Carrollwood
- Tampa Holiday Lighted Boat Parade
- Winter Village Express Streetcar
- Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Park
- YuleTides at The Florida Aquarium
- Christmas In The Wild at ZooTampa
Make a night of it. This is stop 4 on our 11-stop Tampa lights loop — about 19.9 miles and 92 minutes of driving in total.