17 Things To Do In Bradenton Area, Florida
[ This blog post is kindly sponsored by Visit Florida ]
Sharing 17 things thing you need to do in the Bradenton Area, Florida!
I’m writing this post on the flight home from an INCREDIBLE work trip to Florida with Visit Florida, and well… I don’t really know where to start!
It was honestly one of the best weeks EVER (and for sure the best work trip I’ve been on, the fact that I can call a trip that incredible work, is something I’ll forever be grateful for!).
We spent nearly a week in the Bradenton Area, which covers Bradenton, Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island. We stayed in a STUNNING four bedroom villa on Anna Maria Island (booked via Anna Maria Vacations – I’d highly recommend if you’re looking to visit, the villa we had was beautiful!), we had a gorgeous pool and the beach was at the end of our road, it was the perfect base for our time exploring the Bradenton Area.
I have so many tips and pictures to share with you guys – I felt like we really learnt so much about the area, from the best beaches, to the local cuisine, best shopping and sunset spots! I’ve been so excited to sit down and write up my content for you all.
I thought I’d kick it off with my top 17 things to do in the Bradenton Area:
1.) Watch the sunset on Bean Point: We met a lovely local who told us about watching the sunset from Bean Point – it’s not *that well known amongst tourists as it’s a hidden spot on the northern tip of Anna Maria Island but it’s the PERFECT spot to watch the sunset over the island – so romantic!
2.) See Manatees at the The Bishops Museum of Science and Nature: We spent one morning wandering around the Bishops Museum in Bradenton which we loved! My favourite part? The Parker Manatee rehabilitation centre where you can watch rescued Manatees nursed back to health before being released back into the wild, so cute!
3.) Pick up some bargains at the Ellenton Premium Outlet Mall: You guys KNOW I love an outlet so we spent one morning at the Ellenton Outlet Mall (around a 35 minute drive from our villa on Anna Maria Island), to browse the shops! I picked up some bargains from Kate Spade, Michael Kors & Under Armour, I was so tempted by a couple of pairs of Converse too - they had so many great stores & offers!
4.) Grab donuts for breakfast at The Donut Experiment: We went for a breakfast of iced coffee & donuts one morning at The Donut Experiment and oh my GOD they were amazing!! You could pick your own icing and toppings - I went for a glazed donut with Oreo chunks & peanut butter drizzle (YES I KNOW RIGHT?!). The Donut Experiment is super popular on the island and SO worth a visit!
5.) Go Dolphin spotting with The Paradise Boat Tours: We went on our a boat tour with our captain's Jake and Phil (who were both incredible and so knowledgeable of the area!), we spotted Dolphin in the wild and it was such a great morning!
6.) Eat fresh seafood on the pier at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar: Straight from our boat tour we stopped off for lunch at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar on the pier for the most delicious lunch! We had coconut shrimp with a mustard and Apricot dressing (yes they tasted just as incredible as they sound!), and Grouper burgers - I'd highly recommend a visit for some fresh, delicious seafood!
7.) Kayak through the Mangroves with Beach Bums: Another highlight of the trip for me was kayaking through the mangroves with Beach Bums (Jerry was our tour guide and also amazing!), it was so surreal paddling alongside Dolphins!
8.) Check out Beer Can Island on Longboat Key: See the first image in this blog post to really experience the beauty of Beer Can Island! I'd seen pictures on Instagram and it looked stunning so we stopped by for a visit and to shoot some picture (the trees have fallen into the ocean an on the beach and it just look SO picturesque!).
9.) Grab a beer at the Motorworks brewery: We stopped by Motorworks Brewery one afternoon to grab a beer (I went for the Tangerine and Lime flavoured one - it was delicious!), we sat in the beer garden and soaked up some rays, it was the perfect afternoon!
10.) Stay in a beautiful Anna Maria Vacations villa: I could rave about our beautiful villa ALL DAY LONG! We had a stunning four bedroom villa with a pool and the beach was at the end of our road - it was blissful and the perfect base for our trip!
11.) Order an ice cream from Dips: Dips quickly become a favourite for us and we went back twice as the ice cream was so good! Located on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria Island, it wasn't far from our villa which was ideal! I went for the Peanut Butter ice cream both times and Ben went for Pistachio - WELL worth a visit!
12.) Drive a Mustang around Anna Maria Island with Hertz: One of the highlights from this trip for me, had to be driving our Mustang convertable from Hertz! It fulfilled all of my American road trip dreams and I loved every second of it! Just driving around in the sunshine with the roof down was BLISS!
If you're looking to live our all of your American dreams too - the Mustang is a part of the Hertz American Collection (available from Tampa and other major locations across Florida!), our hire was £284 for one week which I think is a great price!
13.) Have dinner on the beach at Gulf Drive Café: One night we went for dinner on the beach at the Gulf Drive Cafe - a cute tiki bar with GREAT cocktails! The perfect spot to watch the sunset, it was so cute and dead romantic!
14.) Paint a Sand Dollar at the Shiny Fish Emporium: We spent an hour or two checking out the Shiny Fish Emporium, a gorgeous boutique shop on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria Island!
We painted Sand Dollars (a species found at the bottom of the sea), which was such a fun experience! It's $15 to paint one and such a nice gift to bring home - I can't wait to hang ours up!
15.) Visit Village of the Arts: The Village of the Arts was so fascinating to me, and worth a visit to anyone in the Bradenton Area! It's an eclectic work-live community, that houses everything from award winning restaurants, to healing shops, art galleries, studios and much more! It's definitely worth parking up and spending an hour wandering around the cute shops here!
16 .) Grab an Iced Coffee (or a boozy smoothie) at Back Alley Treasures: Back Alley Treasures is absolutely worth checking out! Located on Bridge Street on AMI, it's packed full of cute treasures and souvenirs - plus they sell the most delicious coffee (they have special blends such a white chocolate and mint and cinnamon - YUM!), they also sell Boozy smoothies if you're looking for something alcoholic!
17.) Eat lunch at the Smoqehouse: We stopped by the Smoqehouse one day for lunch after driving past and noting to go there - and it absolutely didn't disappoint, the food was SO good! We ordered pulled pork burgers - the perfect pit stop for a quick and delicious lunch!
I wanted to say thank you SO much to each and every one of you who follow me and make this journey possible – there’s nothing more that I love than exploring the world, and being able to share it with you all!
I LOVE being able to capture the best parts of the places we travel to and to encourage you to visit them / share destinations with you that you may never have considered visiting before!
Thank you for following our insane week in the Florida, I’ve received so many incredible messages from you guys saying that you’d now love to visit, which makes me SO happy & I feel like I’ve put the Bradenton Area on lots of travel bucket lists which makes me so thrilled as I know you’ll all love it!
Keep your eyes peeled for the next few posts in my Florida series, I can’t wait to share the rest of the content with you all! :)
Lots of love!
Hayley xo
*This trip & content was kindly sponsored by Visit Florida, we honestly had the best week EVER and I feel so truly grateful to have experienced the beauty of the Bradenton Area! Thank you to Hertz for making our road trip dreams come true!
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