Southwest® flights from Baltimore/Washington to Sarasota/Bradenton from $147

When it’s time to take in the Tampa Bay area, Sarasota/Bradenton is the perfect jumping off point. You can choose to stay in town, explore the keys, or work your way up or down the coast. You’re only three miles outside of downtown Sarasota when you land at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport—grab a rental car or call a cab and get going.

While the circus is no longer in town for the winter, the Ringling family still looms large in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is just one example of the area’s former benefactors’ influence. Amongst 21 galleries, you can find art and artifacts both ancient and modern from around the globe. On the Ringling campus you can also visit the Circus Museum—the first museum of its kind to catalog the history of this long-beloved form of family entertainment. You can even try your hand at one of the many interactive exhibits—care to climb into a clown car, anyone?