Anna Maria Island is a barrier island a little west of Bradenton, and south of St. Petersburg, Florida where you still find some of that classic Old Florida vibe that’s getting harder to find these days. This isn’t one of those places that’s been taken over by tourists and covered in souvenir shops. It’s a place for locals, but welcoming to visitors. It’s an underrated, and unsung gem of a place on Florida’s west coast that’s become one of our favorite little beach towns in Florida. Here’s just 10 things we love about Anna Maria Island.
Anna Maria Island isn’t too touristy, but still welcoming to visitors
AMI is not full of hotel resorts, tourist traps, t-shirt shops, and chain restaurants. There are a few hotels, but it’s mostly a place where people actually live so it’s not full of things that are trying to separate tourists from their money. That’s a really refreshing change from some of the more touristy beach towns in Florida. There is a little bit of Florida touristy stuff down on Bridge Street near the Bradenton Pier, but you won’t find a bunch of mini-golf courses and go-karts tracks . But that doesn’t mean AMI is a place that doesn’t welcome visitors. There are a lot of nice little mom & pop ice cream shops, local restaurants, and bars to explore. If you want to stay here, there are a few smaller hotels you can stay at, but renting a vacation house tends to be the more popular option. When you stay in house here, you get to feel like you’re living here, and not just another tourist.
Anna Maria Island is easy to get to for a lot of people
Anna Maria Island is on Florida’s Gulf Coast, just a little west of Bradenton. It’s just a short hop over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge from St. Pete, and a little north of Sarasota, so it’s easy to reach for millions of people. It’s even a fairly easy drive from Orlando if you’re looking for a nice gulf coast beach experience for a few days.
It’s not overly developed and crowded
Since it’s not really a place that’s going out of it’s way to attract hoards of tourists, the beaches at AMI aren’t all built up with massive hotel towers and condos. In fact, there are no buildings on Anna Maria Island that are higher than three stories! The beaches here are still lined with gorgeous sand dunes, and beachfront homes You get the sense that this is one of those places where the “Real Florida” still exists. But it can still be tricky to find beach parking if you’re driving here for a day trip. There aren’t tons of public parking lots, and smallish parking lots at some of the beaches can fill up quickly, especially on weekends. If you’re staying here, it’s usually a good idea to travel light and walk or take a bike down the beach.
Unlimited Water Activities
Anna Maria Island sits just over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to the south of the entrance to Tampa Bay. When you’re here you’ll have easy access to both bodies of water, and this means you can enjoy a huge variety of watersports activities. You can spend a day in the gentle surf of AMI’s beautiful white sand beaches, then go spend time on Tampa Bay’s usually calm waters that are perfect for stuff like standup paddleboarding, kayaking, and fishing. The waters here are among the best in Florida for catching snook & tarpon. Check out the area near the Bradenton Pier if you want to rent a boat, take a sightseeing tour or even go parasailing. With access to both bodies of water, there are endless water activities you can do here.
Anna Maria Island is very walkable & bikeable
When staying here you can usually leave the car at home and walk to the beach or ride a bike around town. Most of AMI is pretty compact, so it’s really fun to just peddle around the island and explore. Go out and grab some ice cream, or take your bike down the Rod & Reel Pier to grab a bite and watch the sunset. Parking can be tricky at the beach, so a bike can often be the best way to get to the beach if you don’t mind packing light. If you have one of those beach cruiser bikes with the big fat tires you can even go for a ride along the waterline on a seven-mile stretch of uninterrupted beach. A bike is a great way to get to some of the more isolated and hard to reach parts of the island, like Bean Point at AMI’s northern end.
An easygoing Anna Maria Island culture
Anna Maria Island isn’t a place that puts the tourists ahead of the locals. It’s a beach community where a lot of people actually live, so the lucky folks who call this island home take a lot of pride in this place. It’s not a beach town that’s overrun with people who have no roots here, who just use it as a temporary playground and leave a mess behind. (I’m looking at you Daytona & Panama City). Many of the locals here live by the mantra “It’s not my trash, but it is my island” and will try and leave the beach a little cleaner than they found it. That’s a practice we should all be doing whenever we visit any beach in Florida or anywhere else. Sea Turtles make their way to the beaches on Anna Maria Island in the spring through summer months to lay eggs, and locals are very aware of sea turtle nesting season. Local ordinances here ask that all beachfront houses keep their outdoor lights off at night because hatchling turtles might head inland toward the lights, instead of out toward the sea. Anna Maria Island loves to protect their beaches and the sea turtles that visit here! There’s also an active little art scene here. The island is home to a handful of small galleries, local artists, and the Bradenton Village of Arts is just a short drive away.
Scenic Views & Sunsets
Standing anywhere on Florida’s gulf coast will give you a front-row seat to some of the best sunsets in the world. Anna Maria Island is no exception. But here you can go take a walk up to Bean Point where you’ll also see huge white sand dunes, million-dollar mansions, and a glimpse of downtown St. Petersburg in the distance. On a clear day you can make out the outline of Tropicana Field, the domed stadium that’s home to the Tampa Bay Rays. That lighthouse you see on that island out there? That’s Egmont Key, home to a Florida State Park that’s only accessible by boat and the remains of an old Spanish American War fort. Continue along the northern end of the island, and you’ll see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. This huge bridge connects St. Petersburg to the Bradenton area while spanning the entrance of Tampa Bay and is spectacular at night. It’s fun to sit back on the sand to watch the cargo and cruise ships traveling in and out of this busy patch of ocean.
No chain restaurants
There are no chain restaurants on Anna Maria Island. Instead you’ll find a bunch of locally-owned restaurants and mom & pop ice cream shops that help give AMI a lot of great local character. Places like the Sandbar (right on the beach), the Ugly Grouper, Hurricane Hanks, and Duffy’s are AMI mainstays. Don’t miss Skinny’s if you’re looking for a place to grab a greasy burger in a little dive bar, and of course, the rustic Rod & Reel Pier for cheap and simple bar food served while surrounded by the calm waters of Tampa Bay with a view of the iconic Sunshine Skyway Bridge. There aren’t any chain restaurants on the island, but there is still a Publix because this is still Florida after all.
Powdery white sand beaches
Other gulf coast beaches like Clearwater and Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota are famous for the powdery white sand, but the beaches on Anna Maria Island are kind of flying under the radar in this category. The beaches here are just as brilliantly white and fluffy soft as their more famous neighbors, but not as crowded or as developed. The southern end of Anna Maria Island at Bean Point is home to a large stretch of sand dunes and a huge beach where you can watch fishing boats and cruise ships making their way in and out of Tampa Bay.
Great shelling
The shelling on Anna Maria Island is some of the best in Florida. AMI is a barrier island that kind of sticks out from mainland Florida a bit, pointing northwest, so it acts as a gathering spot for a lot of shells that get rolled around and carried in the surf along the Florida coast. If you can’t make it down to Sanibel Island (the Seashell Capital of the World!) AMI isn’t a bad alternative to do some shelling. Here you can find a huge variety of shells for your collection. Manatee Beach, Coquina Beach, and Bean Point are some of the best places on the island to look for shells. Then head over to one of the locally famous shell trees on the beach, and leave a message for there for the rest of the world.
What do you love about Anna Maria Island? Let us know in the comments!