Anna
Maria Island & why you'll love it Seven miles of
sub-tropical splendour!
No matter which of the
three bridges you use to get on to Anna Maria Island,
the first impression is one of wide open spaces, with
plenty of sea and sky. Not a high-rise in sight! - you’ll
find those across the other side of Tampa Bay in Clearwater
and St.Pete’s. One cannot help being impressed
by the white beaches, the crystal-clear blue waters
of the Gulf of Mexico, and the abundance of wild life,
- pelicans, egrets and herons are everywhere. Man hasn’t
been too pushy here, and so the wild-life has stayed,
creating a balanced relationship that seems to work
remarkably well, maintaining a nature-reserve atmosphere.
There is a distinct
feeling of small-town America on Anna Maria Island.
Ordinary people live here. Many work on the island,
some just across the bridge on the mainland. That’s
why you’ll find several churches, a couple of
small schools, a community centre, a drama society,
and other organisations that you would expect to find
in any small community. It’s a friendly society,
and the locals love to meet up with folk from the old
country! They’ll recognise your accent, and won’t
be slow to give you a welcoming smile and a genuine
hello. The restaurants and cafés reflect this
atmosphere, where you can find food to suit every taste,
with or without your shoes on!
With year round sunshine,
a warm tropical climate and water temperature averaging
80 degrees, visitors find Anna Maria Island very hard
to resist, and just like the wildlife, will return year
after year. The natural attractions are of the highest
quality, from spectacular beaches, frolicking dolphins,
and the elusive manatee. With an abundance of nature
trails and inland estuaries, warm secluded bays amongst
the smaller barrier islands, you will experience one
of the last frontiers of nature to be found in Florida.
During spring and summer months, you will be joined
by the loggerhead turtles who lay their eggs on Anna
Maria Island.
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