Bradenton Gulf Islands, Florida: Anna Maria Island
Despite being only seven miles long (and half a mile wide), Anna Maria Island – one of the Bradenton Gulf islands on Florida’s Gulf Coast – somehow fits in three different cities.
press trip*
Holmes Beach is the busiest part, Bradenton Beach in the south has some of the oldest sections, plus a pier and nature reserve. But Anna Maria City in the north, where we were staying, is perfect for capturing the chilled-out atmosphere.
And the heart of the area is Pine Avenue, which runs to the city pier with a scattering of boutiques and places to eat, Old Florida charm and brightly painted buildings.
It’s also one of the spots where the ‘trolley’, a free bus which runs regularly across the island, makes some of its first stops before heading south, so it’s a great starting point if you want a free mini tour across the island.
Looking on Google Maps, our house on Willow Avenue was only about a 10 minute walk from Pine, so as the sky was slightly grey I pulled out the buggy and decided to walk.
As I soon discovered, this was a bit of an error – Florida in September is still pretty hot and humid, and a shower or thunderstorm in the morning doesn’t mean the sun isn’t about to shine in five minutes.
But a gentle amble at my rather jetlagged pace wasn’t a bad way to get a feel for the area. First stop: the Donut Experiment. Coffee and sugar, just what I needed.
It’s a simple idea, but a very delicious one. The store makes vanilla ring doughnuts fresh at least every hour – at busy times, they don’t have a chance of lasting 60 minutes – and then you pick your glaze and topping, or go for one of the specials such as key lime.
I worked out there were about 70 combinations… although when I spotted caramel with sea salt as one option, I didn’t have to wonder any more.
And wow they were fantastic. Minnie was still licking the raspberry syrup off hers when I wolfed mine down.
Fuelled up, we headed further on to Shiny Fish Emporium (what a great name!) to paint sand dollars. A type of sea urchin, they look pretty much like large round flat shells with holes in – perfect for decorating.
Wrapped up in an artist’s smock (this paint doesn’t wash out), Minnie managed to get through every brush and most of the colours in the paintbox as she splodged her choices over both our sand dollars.
I seized the opportunity to wander around the rest of the shop, which is packed with all kinds of things you suddenly urgently want to buy.
There are some fantastic kids’ toys, puzzles and games too, so when Minnie moved on to playing with the blocks in a corner, I picked up a cute pack of story cards which I thought would be entertaining on the plane.
Rebecca, who owns the shop with her husband, gave the impression she’d have been happy for us to stay there all day, but eventually it was time to wander on, picking up Minnie’s creations another day once they’d dried, been glittered and sealed.
First, a quick walk to the pier which dates back to the early 20th century – passing Poppo’s Taqueria, which I headed back to for fabulous tacos later in the trip, and the Anna Maria general stores where we had stocked up straight on arrival, and whose bakery I kept revisiting.
Then north, almost to Bean Point at the tip, along the white sand beaches with those ridiculously turquoise waters. We passed a playground, which Minnie was desperate to try out but it was just tooooo hot, and Bayfront Park.
For more of the best beaches in Florida with kids, check out my top picks
And finally to Rod & Reel Pier. If you want to hire fishing gear, this is one place to do it – the pelicans floating lazily on the water know this is a good spot.
Or if you prefer that someone else catches your fish, just head upstairs: we sat on the shady balcony looking to the coast and to see, or there’s a cool indoor area as well.
Blackened grouper for me, with a choice of sides, which was fantastic and slightly spicy.
Minnie, meanwhile, wolfed down an impressive amount of her chicken salad (given that this was a US adult size portion) before deciding she wasn’t impressed with key lime pie – only a three-year-old can get away with pulling such dramatic faces and not offend the chef.
At 1 mile square, this is the smallest of the island’s three cities, and it felt like we’d walked across most of it. It might just be the sleepiest part too. Exactly what we needed to start our trip.
To read more of what we did on Florida’s Gulf Coast, check out my post on our visit back to the mainland and Bradenton’s museum and manatees, as well as a dolphin spotting cruise
PIN FOR LATER: BRADENTON GULF ISLANDS – ANNA MARIA ISLAND
Disclosure: My stay was courtesy of Visit Bradenton. All opinions, doughnut preferences and daft decisions to walk in 70% humidity are my own.
Rod & Reel Pier image courtesy Depositphotos; all other images copyright MummyTravels
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Sounds like a pretty perfect first day of holidays to me. And your photos are making me crave sunshine after the rubbish weather here.
Looking forward to reading more about your trip
Definitely – food, beach, fun and all very laidback. I feel like I’ve returned to the Arctic so am reliving vicariously through my photos too! Brrrr.
Wow, looks an amazing place for a holiday. #WhatevertheWeather
It really is a gorgeous part of the world.
It’s always humid in the Florida. Makes it colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. It’s still one of my favorite places in the world. I will have to try the doughnuts next time.
The doughnuts were fantastic – I can practically taste them now. I think I’ve mostly been in Florida between November and February, so not quite as melting, but still definitely worth some humidity to see this lovely island.
It looks amazing! I am now craving some sun, sea and a donut 😉 I’d love to go to Florida one day x
It was a great combination! Definitely recommend this part of Florida if you do go…
Wow it looks amazing and the doughnuts sound yummy I would have been in there for ages deciding on what topping to have
Salted caramel is one of my favourites – I would have struggled otherwise. SO much choice…
Wow! I am so jealous, not only of your wonderful travels but also of those delicious looking doughnuts
They were SO good…
Love your disclaimer ‘all doughnut preferences and decisions to walk in 70% humidity are my own’! It’s great that there is a free bus over the island though, excellent for visitors and locals alike! I absolutely love the name Shiny Fish Emporium, it sounds like my kind of shop and sand dollars are just perfect for decoration aren’t they. Gorgeous beaches, the photographs are just stunning! I haven’t been to Florida since a child and didn’t appreciate the beauty of the outdoors then, it really is a great place to visit.
Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x
Thank you 🙂 And the bus is so unusual for America but such a great idea to get around.
This looks like an amazing way to start your holiday in Florida, I must admit walking in that heat does look like it would’ve been painful. It’s great that you enjoyed exploring the first city on the island, it looks like it had plenty to keep both you and Minnie entertained. This definitely a lovely relaxed way to explore and enjoy your first day on the Island. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.
It was a lovely first day pootling round, getting our bearings, just soaking up the atmosphere. I do enjoy walking to get a sense of where I’m visiting but definitely harder work in the heat with jetlag! And so much to do: our manatee museum visit is up, and another post to come on dolphin spotting.
This place looks so chilled out and wonderful! I’d love to go somewhere like here for a holiday. Everyone sounds so friendly although I think i’d get pretty chunky because I’d be in the donut shop ALL the time. I love sea salt, we tried some fudge the other day with SEAWEED salt which was really interesting. I think any type of salt with something sweet tastes really strange but great! I love the place where you can decorate shells, it sounds like there is lots of family friendly things to do. Coupled with those views it’s the perfect family spot to stay. Thank you so much for linking up to #whatevertheweather x
It was so relaxed, just instant holiday vibe. And the doughnuts and goodies at the bakery in the general store were VERY tempting – I’m intrigued by the idea of seaweed salt now, although I’m happy to experiment when it comes to fudge. mmmm
My husbands grandparents live here, it’s such a beautiful place! We always do the same things when we visit, though, so I’ll have to remember some of these tips for next time.
It is stunning there, isn’t it – Anna Maria Island was just beautiful.