Anna Maria Island, Anyone?

[snyder66]

So, We found a place to stay over Christmas. A very highly rated place on Anna Maria Island. Just wondering if anyone has been here. Any advice on where to go? What to do? Where to eat? Thanks in advance!

[EternalOptimist]

Check it out here:

www.tripadvisor.com

[soaring]

how long are you there for? Driving 25'ish miles ok for thinks to see?

[Mel Lindauer]

So, We found a place to stay over Christmas. A very highly rated place on Anna Maria Island. Just wondering if anyone has been here. Any advice on where to go? What to do? Where to eat? Thanks in advance!

AMI is my favorite getaway place. We've been going there since 1995 and spend a month or two there each year. Some things to do:

1. Stroll Pine Avenue and visit the neat little shops there.
2. You have to visit the historic Anna Maria City Pier. Eat dinner there at least once.
3. Ride the free trolley from one end of the Island to the other. Get off anywhere you see something that looks interesting and get back on again when you're finished exploring.
4. Go to Two Scoops for ice cream. It's right across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier.
5. Go fishing from the Anna Maria City Pier. It's free.
6. Have lunch and/or dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant (it's across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier).
7. You can't visit AMI without having the "all you can eat" pancakes and sausages at the Manatee County Beach Cafe right on the beach (the trolley stops there).
8. If you're into fine dining, the (pricy) Beach Bistro is rated as the best dining establishment in Florida. http://www.beachbistro.com/menu-wine-list/
9. Visit nearby Sarasota and the Ringling Museum.
10. Visit the Mote Marine Museum.
11. Visit nearby Longboat Key.
12. Have lunch and/or dinner at the waterfront Sandbar Restaurant.
13. Relax on the sugar-white beach.
14. Take a long walk on the beautiful beach.
15. Etc. (You get the picture.)

[snyder66]

Thanks, Mel. Just what I was looking for!

[kenner]

I used to live in Sarasota, just minutes from AMI. I agree with everything Mel said - just one additional consideration, you might want to check out the entertainment and nightlife in Siesta Key.

[BIGal]

Have lunch (fresh fish) at the Rod and Reel Pier on the north and east end of the island. Everything else on the list too.... We've stayed (and visited) AMI several times and have always had a wonderful time there.

[Mel Lindauer]

Have lunch (fresh fish) at the Rod and Reel Pier on the north and east end of the island. Everything else on the list too.... We've stayed (and visited) AMI several times and have always had a wonderful time there.

I certainly would have added that to my list except the Rod and Reel Restuarant had a fire and the pier is closed while they do the needed renovations. I just left AMI on Dec 10th and the latest projections were for a hoped-for reopening date sometime in January.

[dowse]

If you don't mind traveling a bit further, try the Columbia Restaurant on St. Armond's Key, about 30 mi. drive or so.

[pablolo]

anna maria is paradise,especially the northern part of the island. try anna maria donuts on pine ave. best donuts I've ever tasted. explore the island on a bicycle. if you get tired,just put the bike on frot of the trolley bus. best hamburer imo is at coquina beach cafe.sunsets at bean point. be sure to walk on the beach after sunset and enjoy star gazing.

[Professor Emeritus]

So, We found a place to stay over Christmas. A very highly rated place on Anna Maria Island. Just wondering if anyone has been here. Any advice on where to go? What to do? Where to eat? Thanks in advance!

AMI is my favorite getaway place. We've been going there since 1995 and spend a month or two there each year. Some things to do:

1. Stroll Pine Avenue and visit the neat little shops there.
2. You have to visit the historic Anna Maria City Pier. Eat dinner there at least once.
3. Ride the free trolley from one end of the Island to the other. Get off anywhere you see something that looks interesting and get back on again when you're finished exploring.
4. Go to Two Scoops for ice cream. It's right across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier.
5. Go fishing from the Anna Maria City Pier. It's free.
6. Have lunch and/or dinner at the Waterfront Restaurant (it's across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier).
7. You can't visit AMI without having the "all you can eat" pancakes and sausages at the Manatee County Beach Cafe right on the beach (the trolley stops there).
8. If you're into fine dining, the (pricy) Beach Bistro is rated as the best dining establishment in Florida. http://www.beachbistro.com/menu-wine-list/
9. Visit nearby Sarasota and the Ringling Museum.
10. Visit the Mote Marine Museum.
11. Visit nearby Longboat Key.
12. Have lunch and/or dinner at the waterfront Sandbar Restaurant.
13. Relax on the sugar-white beach.
14. Take a long walk on the beautiful beach.
15. Etc. (You get the picture.)

oh its much nicer than you suggest

[Retread]

This reminds me of once being able to charge savings bonds on a credit card. Too much publicity and something gets ruined. I've lived in Florida since '77 and have seen one place after another fall to too much publicity. Siesta Key is experiencing it at the moment. Orlando has been spoiled with the arrival of Disney in the '70's. Naples, where I once lived, was spoiled in the '80's with the arrival of the Ritz Carlton and worldwide publicity. Anna Maria Island isn't far off.
Bruce

[Mel Lindauer]

This reminds me of once being able to charge savings bonds on a credit card. Too much publicity and something gets ruined. I've lived in Florida since '77 and have seen one place after another fall to too much publicity. Siesta Key is experiencing it at the moment. Orlando has been spoiled with the arrival of Disney in the '70's. Naples, where I once lived, was spoiled in the '80's with the arrival of the Ritz Carlton and worldwide publicity. Anna Maria Island isn't far off.
Bruce

You're definitely correct, Bruce. I used to spend two months (March and September) there, but too much publicity calling AMI "Florida's Best-Kept Secret" brought so many visitors that it made it impossible to enjoy the month of March, due to gridlock on the only North-South road. It got so bad that we quit going there in March. However, the off season in November is still enjoyable.

[Retread]

Glad you agree, Mel. I feel like an old grinch saying what I did, but I find it sad to see so many of the beautiful places in Florida spoiled one after another. I lived here before I-75 came through, and that was the biggest single factor that led to spoiling much of the Gulf coast of Florida. I don't go near Southeast Florida unless I absolutely have to. I still live here and enjoy it but it still ain't the same as it once was.
Bruce