Anna Maria Island's southern city — Bridge Street's historic walking strip, Coquina Beach's Australian-pine canopy, and the Cortez Bridge bay-side fishing pier.
Bradenton Beach is the southernmost of Anna Maria Island's three cities, on the southern end of the seven-mile north-south barrier island. Bridge Street's three-block historic walking strip runs east-west from Gulf Drive (the Gulf side) to the bay-side Bridge Street Pier, anchored by the 1920s-era Bridge Tender Inn (the only Gulf-coast restaurant where you can sit at the bar with feet-on-the-floor instead of stool-and-rail), the Sea Hagg gift shop, Slim's Place burger joint, and the Sea Side Quarters arcade. Coquina Beach (the island's main southern Gulf access) sits just south of Bridge Street with free public parking under a canopy of Australian pines and a swim-zone lifeguard tower. The Longboat Pass jetty at the very south end is the local-favorite snook-fishing spot. The free Anna Maria Island Trolley terminates at Bridge Street's east end and runs Gulf Drive every 20 minutes north to Holmes Beach's Manatee Public Beach and Anna Maria's Pine Avenue.
Bridge Street's historic walking strip, Coquina Beach's Australian-pine canopy, the bay-side Bridge Street Pier for fishing, and the Longboat Pass jetty at the south end of the island.
Bradenton Beach's three-block east-west walking strip, the only AMI dining-and-drinking row where you can drink-and-walk on the bay-side promenade — the 1920s-era Bridge Tender Inn, the Sea Hagg gift shop, the Slim's Place cash-only burger joint, the Sea Side Quarters arcade, and a small ice cream stand. Free parking lots at the east and west ends. Most-photographed at sunset.
Anna Maria Island's main southern Gulf access, two blocks south of Bridge Street — a long crescent of free parking under Australian pines, a lifeguarded swim zone, the Coquina Bayside snack bar, restrooms, outdoor showers, kayak racks, and the Longboat Pass jetty fishing at the south end. The local-favorite shelling stretch and the easiest AMI free-parking beach.
The free public bay-side fishing pier at the east end of Bridge Street — grouper, snook, and trout year-round; sheepshead in winter; the most-photographed sunset over Sarasota Bay; the Pier-side bar and grill at the head of the pier (the Bridge Tender's sister); and the only Bradenton Beach pier where you can drink-and-fish at the same time. Free; no fishing license needed for kids under 16.
Manatee County's free open-air trolley terminates at Bridge Street's east end and runs Gulf Drive end-to-end (Bradenton Beach → Holmes Beach → Anna Maria City Pier) every 20 minutes, 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. — Bradenton Beach stops at Bridge Street, Coquina Beach, and the Cortez Bridge approach. Download the Bradenton Trolley app for live-tracking arrivals.
The rock-jetty at the very south end of Anna Maria Island where Longboat Pass separates AMI from Longboat Key — the local-favorite snook-and-redfish fishing spot, a wading swim area inside the pass, and the most-photographed view back at the seven-mile chain of the island. Walk the Coquina Beach south access; bring water and shoes.
A working commercial fishing village on the mainland side of the Cortez Bridge, founded 1880 — original wood-frame fishing cottages, the Florida Maritime Museum, the Star Fish Company dockside fish market and outdoor lunch counter (the local-favorite peel-and-eat-shrimp lunch), and the Cortez Bait & Seafood retail counter. Free walk-around access; museum free.
Bradenton Beach is the only Anna Maria Island city where the historic-walking-strip drinking-and-strolling tradition is actually a thing — Bridge Street, three blocks long, ten or so bars and casual dining rooms, the bay-side fishing pier at the east end, and Coquina Beach two blocks south. The whole rhythm of the week becomes morning Coquina shelling, mid-day bike loop north to Holmes Beach, sunset on the Bridge Street Pier — and the only argument is whether to walk to the Bridge Tender Inn or take the trolley north to Sandbar.
The AMI Trolley north to Holmes Beach's Manatee Public Beach, the Robinson Preserve mangrove tunnels, the Sarasota Ringling Museum, and an Egmont Key boat day.
Anna Maria Island's main free Gulf-front access at the foot of Manatee Avenue, 10 minutes north of Bradenton Beach by trolley — a wide white-quartz-sand beach, a 1953-era public pavilion with the Manatee Public Beach Cafe, free public parking (limited; full by 9 a.m. on weekends), restrooms, outdoor showers, and a covered lifeguard stand year-round. The AMI default beach.
A 600-acre Manatee County mangrove-and-tidal preserve five minutes east of the AMI Bridge in west Bradenton — paved bike loops, a 50-foot observation tower (the NEST), kayak launches into the mangrove tunnels, the Mosaic Center for Nature interactive children's museum, and miles of single-track. Free entry. The bay-side morning when the Gulf is too breezy.
Anna Maria Island's northern tip, 25 minutes north of Bradenton Beach by trolley — the wildest, least-developed Gulf-meets-bay sand spit on the island, the local-favorite shelling stretch, and the most-photographed sunset spot at the north end. No facilities; bring water and a beach umbrella. The classic AMI sunset move.
A free local-history museum in a 1920s ice plant on Pine Avenue (north end of the island, 25 minutes by trolley from Bradenton Beach) — the original Anna Maria Island bridge tender's house, vintage fishing-charter photographs, and shell-and-coral display cases. Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free; donations welcome.
A free Manatee County museum in the Cortez fishing village — the history of Cortez's commercial fishing trade since the 1880s, original wood-built fishing boats, working net-mending demonstrations on first Saturdays, and a small front-porch oral-history library. Free; the Cortez-village rainy-morning default.
Anna Maria Island's iconic 1911-era wooden Gulf pier on the north end (rebuilt 2020 after Hurricane Irma) — the Rod & Reel Pier restaurant at the head, free fishing along the railings (no license needed for kids under 16), and the most-photographed sunrise spot on the entire island. The classic AMI postcard view.
The middle and largest of Anna Maria Island's three cities, 10 minutes north of Bradenton Beach by trolley — Manatee Public Beach, Skinny's Place burger window, the Doctor's Office ice cream and wine bar, and the Beach Bistro fine-dining institution. Browse our separate Holmes Beach microsite.
Forty minutes south on Tamiami Trail — the John & Mable Ringling Museum's 66-acre Sarasota Bay campus (Ca' d'Zan mansion, the Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Asolo Theater), the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens orchid collection, and St. Armands Circle's Italian-villa shopping ring on Lido Key.
An offshore state park island at the mouth of Tampa Bay, accessible only by boat — the 1858 Egmont Key Lighthouse, Spanish-American War-era Fort Dade ruins, gopher tortoises and box turtles, and the most-shelled stretch on the central west coast. Captain Kathe's runs daily Egmont Key shelling cruises out of the Bradenton Beach marina (around $65 adult).
Bradenton Beach is the southern city of Anna Maria Island's three; our broader Anna Maria Island microsite covers the full seven-mile chain, including the Anna Maria pier strip on the north end and Holmes Beach's Manatee Public Beach in the middle. Use Anna Maria Island for trip-wide planning; use Bradenton Beach for the Bridge Street walking-strip rental concentration.
The Bridge Tender Inn for the historic bay-side bar, Slim's Place for the cash-only burger, the Star Fish Company in Cortez for the dockside lunch, and a free trolley north to Holmes Beach's Sandbar.
Bradenton Beach's 1920s-era Bridge Street bay-side institution — the only Gulf-coast bar where you can sit at the rail with feet on the floor instead of a stool, the local-favorite grouper-and-shrimp basket, a wraparound bay-view deck, and live acoustic music most nights. No reservations; arrive before 6 for weekend dinner.
A cash-only Bridge Street burger and chili joint since the 1980s — house-grilled cheeseburgers, the local-favorite Slim's chili, fried-pickle appetizer, and a covered side patio. Cash only. No reservations. The Bridge Street walking-distance lunch institution.
A casual seafood-and-raw-bar local chain with a Cortez Bridge dockside location — fresh-shucked oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, the local-favorite grouper sandwich, fried-pickle appetizer, and a covered outdoor seating area. No reservations. The default casual dinner; trolley or short drive.
Sean Murphy's 1985-opened Gulf-front fine-dining room on Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, 10 minutes north by trolley — a tasting-menu-and-coursed-wine evening, the local-favorite Floribbean Bouillabaisse, an oak-aged steak room, and a 16-table dining room. Reservations a month out for any winter weekend.
A waterfront New American room on the Manatee River in downtown Bradenton, 15 minutes east of Bradenton Beach over the AMI Bridge — the most-photographed Riverwalk-side terrace, a full Sunday brunch, the local-favorite blackened mahi-mahi tacos, and the easiest off-island dressy dinner.
A small Holmes Beach hot-and-fresh donut shop on Marina Drive, 10 minutes north by trolley — old-fashioned cake donuts cooked-to-order, glazed-while-still-warm yeast donuts, and a small espresso bar. Open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.; sells out by 11 most days. The trolley-from-rental morning treat.
A converted-1950s-doctor's-office turned ice-cream-and-wine bar on Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, 10 minutes north — Working Cow homemade ice cream, a 40-bottle Italian-leaning wine list, antique medical-cabinet decor, and a back-patio under live oaks. The local-favorite after-dinner stop.
The 80-year-old Cortez fishing-village dockside fish market and outdoor picnic-table lunch counter — the local-favorite fried-grouper basket, peel-and-eat Gulf shrimp, hush puppies, the daily-fresh fish sandwich, and beer-and-wine. No reservations; outdoor only. The classic Cortez lunch.
Anna Maria Island's most-photographed Gulf-front dining room on the north end of the island, 25 minutes north of Bradenton Beach — open-air decks straight onto the sand, the local-favorite grouper-in-a-blanket, a sunset-timed seating that books out a month ahead in winter, and a casual dress code.
Best season for Anna Maria Island, the SRQ vs TPA airport pick, neighborhoods inside Bradenton Beach (Bridge Street strip, Coquina-side cottages, Sunbow Bay condos), what a Bradenton Beach week actually costs, and whether you really need a car.
Every property in our Bradenton Beach collection is hand-checked, hand-photographed, and backed by twenty-four-hour concierge support. The guide is the warm-up. The home is the trip.
Browse Bradenton Beach rentals