Anna Maria Island ~ Travel

Anna Maria Island

“I need to forget, so take me to Florida. I’ve got some regrets, I’ll bury them in Florida.” We recently spent a week in Anna Maria Island, Florida and I could not stop singing the lyrics to Taylor’s “Florida!” in my head … the entire week. It was a bit much. 😂

Anna Maria Island. My husband spent time on this barrier island (on the coast of Manatee Co, Florida) growing up. His lifelong bestie’s family had a house there and he’d often visit with them. He even had his Bachelor Party there prior to our wedding! I had visited twice – for that same friend’s wedding and his 40th birthday celebration. I’ve always wanted to go back as a family.

So, this July, that’s just what we did. We rented their AMI house and spent a very laid-back, low key week relaxing, eating and driving around on our rented golf cart. We had some excursions and adventures planned (i.e. renting a boat, jet ski, mantee cruise) … but it was HOT and we quickly decided that less was going to have to be more for this particular trip. So, we parked our butts in the pool and we mostly stayed there. 😉

I’m absolutely not an expert on this island or the best things to see or do there. Yet, here I am .. sharing a mini recap our trip and a few of my own recommendations. After a week (and a bit of research) I felt like I had a decent grasp on it.

Take that for what it is — here’s a total newbie’s guide to AMI …

Where to Eat: 

•Shore – beautiful restaurant, beautiful sunset, good food. We had a lovely evening here.

•North Shore Cafe – head here for your morning coffee, acai bowls, smoothies, breakfast … or even dessert

•Mademoiselle Paris – great for coffee and baked goods … or a yummy breakfast

•Pizza Social – We really liked their pizza and ended up eating here twice!

•Sandbar – We attended a beautiful wedding here once upon a time! But, this time around it ended up being a great lunch option for us to stroll in off the beach … sandy clothes and all. We had a fun family cheers with our cocktails and mocktails!

•Wicked Cantina – It doesn’t look like much when you pull up, but the food was excellent and so were the margaritas!

•Poppos – Excellent tacos!

•Harry’s Grill – the food was decent and the atmosphere on the patio + the live music was even better

Other/Restaurants we didn’t make it to, but heard were good…

•The Waterfront Restaurant – We didn’t get to eat here, but it looked and sounded lovely. I’m looking forward to trying it on our next trip.

•The Porch Restaurant – looked charming

•Anna Maria Oyster Bar

•Graze Street – heard this was a great place to pick up a charcuterie board for a picnic on the beach

•Rod & Reel Pier

•Whitneys

•Tide Tables

•Smoqehouse

For Sweets:

•The Donut Experiment – it’s kind-of a build your own donut experience, except … you aren’t actually physically building your own donut

•Two Scoops

To Do:

•Rent a golf cart for the week

•Rent a Boat/

•Take a “cruise”/manatee tour

•MiniGolf at The Fish Hole (we had a great time here!)

•Have a picnic on the beach

•Watch sunset on the beach each evening

Where to Shop:

There isn’t a ton of shopping on AMI honestly. It’s definitely not a shopping destination. But, there are few good places to browse …

• Shiny Fish Emporium – my daughter painted her own sand dollar ornament here and we had a lovely time browsing!
• The Fox Merchantile – great for gifts, books, souvenirs and coffee!
• Three Island Monkeys
• Pink & Navy
• Bridge Street Bazaar
• Back Alley Treasures
• The Uptown Lot
• Sand Dollar
• Island Cabana 

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Even though the air was thick and the temps were oh-so-hot that week in July, we still had a really good, really relaxed time on Anna Maria Island. We’d definitely go back.

And, now … a little round up of beach gear … because there’s never a bad time of the year for a beach vacation!

Links: Palm Leaf Tote, Travel or Pool Pouch, Flip Flops, Beach or Pool Chair, Cooler Bench, Beach Cart, Hat, Tommy Chair, Pool Float, Striped Beach Blanket, Green Beach Beach Blanket, Umbrella, Cooler Bag, Striped Beach Towel, Navy Tote, Lounger Float, Cabana Stripe Weekender

If you ever head to AMI, I hope this is a good resource and I hope you have as sweet of a time as we did!