Anna Marie Island
 

Any hotel, restaurant and things to do recommendations please? Planning on a couple of nights rest after WDW.

Thanks

Ive got ‘fishing on rod and reel pier’ on my itinerary after seeing it recommended on here so many times...

Catch the free trolley which runs the whole length of AMI - get on and off where you like.

https://www.islandreal.com/blog/anna...-free-trolley/

Mick

We have stayed at the following places and loved them. I loved exploring the beach and island both on foot and via the free trolley. My family particularly enjoyed hiring a motorboat. We had dolphins swimming along side us. There are details in my trip reports - 2016, 17 and 18 if you’re interested in things to do.

https://www.bungalowbeach.com/room-d.../the-catamaran

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3942608

https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p759069vb

For a two night stay this would be my recommendation -

https://www.silverresorts.com/

You're near to the beach, restaurants and attractions such as a dolphin boat trip.

Hurricane Hanks great food , Skinnys for Burger , Anchor for a real American pool bar feel, Solos pizza and beer , 2 scoops for icream . A sunset boat trip to see the dolphins and beer can island for some fab photos with Cpt Kates boat trips out of Cortez . If you are in car ..just be aware of their road and parking restrictions .They were out in force Sept

Ice Cream at Two Scoops is a must!

We've stayed there twice and been once for the day.

We stayed at Cedar Cove for 8 nights and over Xmas we were in a condo at "sea pirates" which was less than a minute walk to the beach.

We loved Cedar Cove as it was right on the beach but it was too expensive for this last trip.

Both places were within waking distance of the Anna Maria Beach cafe so we could go up there for breakfast.

One afternoon we walked from the condo to the Rod and Reel pier - took us a couple of hours at least but it was all on the beach - perfect!

The trolley bus is really great - never have to wait long.
We ate at Ginny and Janes for lunch - you could easily share a sandwich and chips and also had Xmas day buffet lunch at the Bridge Street Bistro - fabulous!
We went to eat at the Rod and Reel pier but there was a 2hr wait... (we'll it was xmas!)

We actually ate in quite a few nights - it was cold and wintry some nights so we really didn't feel like going out. We bought fresh soup from Publix - i grew up on my mums home made soup!
We had Clam chowder and lobster bisque,
One night DH BBQ'd some great steak from Publix too.

We also ate a late lunch at Star Fish Co - my favourite place in the whole world - and our last night we ate at Cortez Kitchen - rubbish food but they had a great band on which made our night :pgig::pgig:

Previously we have eaten at The Sandbar - one good and one diabolical meal and the restaurant at the City Pier - currently under reconstruction.

And last but not least - Two Scoops! There are other ice cream places but we've not tried them - but we absolutely love TS! And you can get a takeaway carton which you can have for pudding at home!

Next time we said we would hire a paddle board and some bikes but this time it was a bit too cold and windy :cry::cry:

We like the top end but you can't go wrong anywhere!

Eating : Rod and Reel Pier, Ginny and Jane E's for breakfast, The Ugly Grouper, The Waterfront and Two Scoops for ice cream. The Sandbar is usually everyone's recommendation (sitting outside on the beach watching a glorious sunset over dinner) but it's popular and we sat inside last year to save a huge wait but the food was average and the service poor. Another recommendation for the free trolley service as well ('google' it)

We visited for an overnight in 2018 and fell so in love with the place we stayed for a week in 2019.

We love the north of the island as it’s so much quieter, and the beach at bean point is like sitting on the edge of the world.

My trip report from last year (link is in my signature) shows everything we did that week with lots of pics if you like to see the place, but my list of stuff to see and do would be:

Eat at rod n reel pier
Fish off rod n reel pier
Watch the dolphins at rod n reel
Walk right around Bean Point
Visit beer can island
Eat crab cakes at starfish company
Watch the sunrise from the bay (magical)
Watch the sunset from Bean Point
Use the free trolley to explore the length of the island (we did it once but should have done more)
Visit the donut experiment store (yum!)


I do have a bug repellant warning though. Mossies love me but I can usually keep them at bay with antihistamine, Avon SSS, and jungle formula. Not on AMI. I was eaten alive! Eventually I got stuff called ‘Off! Deep Woods’ which worked for me. So if you have anyone tasty in your party, stock up.

We ate at the sandbar 2018 and while it was nice, it was spoiled for us by the beach being too crowded at sunset. Bean Point sunset is magical. We ended up preferring a bbq at the house then walking up to watch the sun go down.

It’s pretty much my favourite place in the world now.