Anna Maria Island - Hit Me With Your Tips

[su708]

All of the above are great recommendations 👌 we've been going for 12 years, its got very expensive over the years, we've stayed on all parts of the island, all are great! Sunrise gardens is excellent & the location is perfect however its been taken over by Vacassa & the prices are way more than what we've ever payed. If you want cheap & cheerful, check out SilverSurf Resort, rooms are great, free breakfast & they have their own section on the beach with free sunloungers (Trust me, not many places have sunbeds ,everyone seems to take chairs) Trolley stops right outside & walking distance to Bridge Street with bars & restaurants. Definitely go the Rod and Reel, food had always been amazing for us & you can't beat eating whilst watching dolphins & manatees swim by, it's very rustic. The Swordfish grill over cortex Bridge is fab, they do crab racing which is entertaining! Sandbar we've been going since it looked like a shack, it's had alot of investment over the years, food used to be great but we feel its gone very expensive for what you get now, however, go for just a drink & watch the sunset 🌇 Enjoy!

[Sandra & co]

We stayed in Bradenton and explored the area, much cheaper than staying on AMI. Enjoy it’s beautiful even if we did have a hurricane, one of the best days of my life was having lunch at the sandbar and then sitting on the beach and watching the sunset with these idiots!

[macjaddie]

I love Anna Maria, my parents have been going there for 25 years! We really like 2 Scoops Ice Cream Parlour and The Cafe on the Beach- last time we went they still did the unlimited pancake breakfasts, but I am not sure if they still do.

The trolly bus is great, gets you to all of the important places. You don't need to drive on the island at all.

The beach is just wonderful, but the best is up at the north of the island.

[Lola]

We’ve always found two scoops to be great and have never had a problem with the servers

[jdybnsn]

Please look out for "my" planks on the City pier.

We visited in 2012 and they were raising money to replace the hurricane damaged City pier at the time. You could buy planks for the new pier and have them inscribed.
We bought 2
- One for my kids Joe & Vyrnwy Benson
- one inscribed " Rwy n dy garu di Brian ! Judy "(I love you Brian in Welsh)

Never been back to see them installed since then. Hoping we do get a chance before another hurricane hits it and they disappear !

If anyone sees them would you photo them and PM - would so love to see them in situ and the chances of going myself any time soon are slim

[goodevans]

Originally Posted by jdybnsn

Please look out for "my" planks on the City pier.

We visited in 2012 and they were raising money to replace the hurricane damaged City pier at the time. You could buy planks for the new pier and have them inscribed.
We bought 2
- One for my kids Joe & Vyrnwy Benson
- one inscribed " Rwy n dy garu di Brian ! Judy "(I love you Brian in Welsh)

Never been back to see them installed since then. Hoping we do get a chance before another hurricane hits it and they disappear !

If anyone sees them would you photo them and PM - would so love to see them in situ and the chances of going myself any time soon are slim

See more...

We will try and spot them for you when we are there hopefully on 4-8 May 2022.
Wonder if every single plank is inscribed?
Don't suppose they gave you any idea of location by any chance?

[scottishnellie]

I’m on the pier right now and had intended to find your planks, but there isn’t a single plank with any inscription on it anywhere. All the planks are blank as are the benches 🤷

[MinniMouse]

I've just done a quick google. All the planks were removed, stored in someone's mill and to be made in to memorial walls.

Here's the article amisun/2018/01/06/pi...ety%20 Museum.

[scottishnellie]

Right - we’ve just been & asked and it’s not great news I’m afraid 🙁

The girl said the planks weren’t used on the pier and people were given the option to collect them. If not collected they were used to build the fence across the road at the entrance to the pier.

So we set off there. And we did find the fencing with the inscribed planks but couldn’t find yours. I’m so sorry. We checked every plank, front and back of the fence, and walked down the street a wee bit in every direction incase there was another stretch of fence anywhere. But definitely not there.

[sparrow]

One place that hasn’t been mentioned is Hurricane hanks. Great food, no sea view but good value and the best ever margaritas.