Best Family-Friendly Bowling Alleys in Tampa
One of the best family activities around — and one of the most wallet-friendly — is bowling with your kids. Everyone (and every skill level) will find something to enjoy in a friendly game or two! Tampa’s bowling alleys offer a great opportunity for your family to be together, get active, and be indoors — great when the weather’s rough outside or it’s too hot to play in the sun.
Try one of these local bowling alleys and remember how much fun it is to hear the crash of the pins!
Before getting on with the discussion, let us give a shout out to the best bowling alleys in town and Tampa is anyhow famous for bowling compared to other cities in Florida that you can learn more about at aboutbowlingballs.com
MacDill Lanes
Our favorite bowling spot in Tampa is MacDill Lanes at the MacDill Air Force Base. While you can only bowl here if you are in the military, retired military, or a military dependent, there are always families bowling here, and there’s a warm feel to the place overall. It’s clean, friendly and efficient, and a wonderful way for local families to spend a few hours having good, wholesome fun. Our youngest enjoys the alligator bowling ball ramp: it’s a little helper for the tiniest bowlers, and rolls up to the lane and out of the way when not in use. The fully-automated alley also provides bumpers and the animation the kids see on many arcade bowling games, which makes even the occasional gutter ball fun to watch!
Hours are as follows: Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays from 11 a.m. to midnight; and Saturday from 1 p.m. until midnight. MacDill Lanes is located at 8216 Hangar Loop Drive, MacDill AFB, in Tampa. Game prices range from $2-$3, depending on the day and time you bowl. Call (813) 828-4005 for information about special events and promotions.
Pinarama Bowling
Here you’ll find a bowling alley perfect for the whole neighborhood. This is the kind of bowling alley we spent summers at growing up! Located on Dale Mabry (across from the Home Depot), south of Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa, it’s a great meeting spot for family get-togethers. On week days and Sunday, bowl a game for under $3; Friday and Saturdays, bowl for $1 more. Shoe rental is $2.66 a pair. If you have any questions about group rates or special events, call Pinarama at (813) 835-7665 for more information.
Pin Chasers
This is the bowling alley your kids will want to visit with their friends! It’s geared toward a younger crowd. Great for beginners and family-friendly, Pin Chasers even has a website the kids will love (my kids had fun with the bowling pin game). They offer a reward card, too, which gives incentives for folks who spend lots of family time knocking down pins! Their on-site restaurant offers a full menu of salads, drinks, burgers (even breakfast items!) from $2-$10.
With three Pin Chasers around Tampa (two in Tampa and one in Zephyrhills), visit their website for addresses and operating hours (which vary at each of the three Pin Chasers locations). It’s a good idea to call ahead to reserve a lane, as it’s usually pretty crowded and the wait can be fairly long, particularly on weekends.
Bring back those memories of bowling from your childhood by knocking down some pins with your own kids at one of these great local bowling alleys. You’ll be glad you did — and your kids might even decide they have a new favorite game!
