The Best Boat Rental On Anna Maria Island For Families
If you are searching for the best boat rental on Anna Maria Island for families, look no further than Anna Maria Island Water Sports. Imagine spending the day on the water while visiting a secluded island, a state park, and stopping by a sandbar for some swimming. When you rent a boat with Anna Maria Island Water Sports you can experience all this and so much more!
❤️ A special thank you to Anna Maria Island Water Sports for providing our family with a complimentary boat rental in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own. ❤️
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Best Boat Rental On Anna Maria Island For Families
Each time our family visits Anna Maria Island, my husband usually drops a hint, or two or three, about how he would love to experience the Island from the water. He grew up in Bradenton, and every weekend his family would head to Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island. While planning this vacation, I knew I had to surprise him with a day out on the water.
I started searching for the best boat rentals on Anna Maria Island for families and came across Anna Maria Island Water Sports. They had exactly the type of boat I was looking for and they were only a short five minute drive from where we were staying.
Anna Maria Island Water Sports
Anna Maria Island Water Sports is conveniently located by the Waterline Marina, at the intersection of Gulf Drive & Marina Drive, in Holmes Beach. They offer rentals for pontoons, jet skis, deck boats, and Craig Cats. Your rental can be for 2 hours, 4 hours (half day), or 8 hours (full day). They also offer long term rentals such as multi-day, weekly, and monthly.
We decided to go with the half day Bennington pontoon rental. It was the perfect size and even had a bimini top to protect us from the Florida sun. It was a great fit for our family!
Whatever Floats Your Boat
Upon our arrival at the Marina, we were greeted by Logan who gave us a brief run through of where to find thing on the boat. He also went over a map that listed some places we could go to. I knew of a couple islands I wanted to visit so those were at the top of our list.
Before you venture out, make sure you bring along some sunscreen, snacks, plenty of water, and a fully charged cell phone. And don’t forget your swimsuits and towels!
Egmont Key
After looking over the map, we decided to head over to Egmont Key which is actually a Florida State Park.
Egmont Key is a secluded island located at the mouth of the Tampa Bay. Although most of the park is a wildlife refuge for gopher tortoises, box turtles, and a few species of nesting birds, you will also find it is filled with history, and beautiful beaches that are perfect for walking and searching for shells.
Fort Dade was built on the island in 1898 and remained active until 1923. Due to the many sand bars that surround the island, a lighthouse was built in 1858 and still stands to this day.
There are ruins surrounding the island, as well as old brick roads on the island which will help spark your imagination for what this island was like many years ago.
If you do decide to visit with your boat rental, please note that there is no place to dock on the island. You can only anchor in waist deep water in certain spots surrounding the island.
Passage Key
Passage Key is another secluded island located just north of Anna Maria Island. There isn’t much on the island, not even a palm tree, but it was the perfect spot for lunch and searching for shells.
Please note, thanks to a helpful tip from Logan, during the warmer weather, Passage Key can be a “clothing optional” island. Our visit was during the off season so, thankfully, we were the only people on the island. But that didn’t stop our kids from telling their grandparents that we stopped at “naked island” as they like to call it. 😂
After eating lunch, we made our way around the island looking for shells. The kids found so many large, beautiful shells and some of which still had creatures living inside! After inspecting them, we made sure to put them back as we watched them scurry away. Passage Key is a great spot if your family loves to collect shells.
Check out our list of Over 30 Incredible Ocean Themed Books, Games and Resources for Kids.
After spending a couple hours on Passage Key, we realized how much time had flown by!
Anna Maria Island
On the way back to the Marina, we were able to take in the beauty of our favorite island, Anna Maria Island. We passed by the Rod n Reel Pier, and the Anna Maria City Pier where we had spent the day before swimming.
Our family had such a memorable time during our boat rental with Anna Maria Island Water Sports. If you are planning a trip to Anna Maria Island, I highly recommend you rent a boat and get out on the water.
Read About Our Other Adventures in Florida:
Southwest
- Step Back In Time At The Bishop Museum of Science & Nature (Bradenton)
- Bradenton Beach Marina Dolphin Eco Tour (Anna Maria Island)
- Parasailing On Anna Maria Island: 9 Things You Need To Know (Anna Maria Island)
- Sand & Sea Vacation Rental – Family Friendly (Anna Maria Island)
- Happy Paddler Coastal Island Kayak Eco Tour (Anna Maria Island)
- Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium (Sarasota)
Central East
- Insider’s Guide to Planning Your Kennedy Space Center Tour (Titusville)
- 6 Reasons We Love The Brevard Zoo (Melbourne)
- Kayaking Along Florida’s Space Coast (Merritt Island)
- The Best Airboat Ride In Central Florida (Christmas)
- How Our Family Of 5 Flew Roundtrip To Florida For Less Than $325
- Our Top 3 Fascinating Outdoor Activities for Families – Florida’s Space Coast
Central West
- The Ultimate Guide to ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa)
- EVOS Restaurant (South Tampa)
Central
- Top 10 Toddler Friendly Rides at LEGOLAND Florida (Winter Haven)
Be sure to check out our Top 30 Gift Ideas for Travelers. It is full of unique gift ideas for those in your life who love to travel… or to add to your own personal carry-on. We’ve even included the one item we won’t go to Disney without! It might surprise you!
20 Comments
Donna Lynn Starling
Looks like a beautiful relaxing day. Water always adds a sense of calm, something we all need on vacation! I live in Florida will have to check out Anna Marie Island!
Trisha
I totally agree! It was so peaceful to just toss the anchor out and just enjoying being in the moment.
Cindy
What a fun day on the water! Anna Maria Island sounds amazing.
Trisha
Our whole family had an amazing time on the boat and discovering the islands.
Barbara
Great advice and interesting FL ideas!
Trisha
Thank you, Barbara!
Leeanne
With lots to see in the area and a great place to rent a boat, why wouldn’t you take to the open waters? I grew up going sailing every weekend so this is in my blood. I love being out on a boat and seeing the ocean creatures and the land from a different perspective. I will definitely rent from Anna Maria Island Water Sports after this review.
Trisha
I totally agree, Leeanne! We just recently sold our family’s lakefront cottage, so we have been suffering major boating withdrawals since then. It was great to be able to get back out on the water for the day.
Pam
Those pictures make me long for warm days to get outside on a boat!
Trisha
No doubt! While writing this post I kept daydreaming every time I added a photo from our trip. My fingers are crossed that the warmer weather is around the corner!
Chantelle
This looks beautiful! I would love to rent a pontoon boat to explore. Knowing the clothing optional area is a great tip! Better to know ahead than to find out the hard way 😊
Trisha
Ain’t that the truth, Chantelle!! I only have 2 hands and 3 kids so I could possibly cover all those eyes! 😉
lisa Manderino
I was looking an Anna Maria Island a few weeks ago. It looks like such a fun area to visit!
Trisha
It is the best! There are tons of things to do for the whole family like parasailing and hiking a nature preserve. Plus it’s a great location if you wanted to visit some of the larger cities like Tampa or Sarasota.
Carey
This looks like an a wonderful place to vacation. I love all the sealife you found on the beach.
Trisha
Anna Maria Island is one of our favorite places to visit in Florida. It still has that “old Florida” charm and tons of wildlife too!
Marianne
We have actually never rented a boat ourselves! But this looks like such a lovely place to rent one! I wish I was on a beach right about now! LOL
Trisha
Renting the boat during this trip was so much fun! It was great to be able to get out on the water and explore other islands.
I wish I was back on those beaches right now too! 😉
Sara Moore
The entire area looks amazing! I am actually going on a trip here in October so this is so helpful! I wasn’t thinking about renting a boat but now I need to- so cool 🙂
Trisha
Oh, that’s awesome! You’re going to love the area! I hope you get a chance to get out on the water!