Travel | Family Vacation at Anna Maria Island
Every other summer we get to take a Mach family vacation. This summer we were lucky enough to get to still travel, despite the circumstances with the current state of COVID-19. We were a little apprehensive at first, but we took every precaution possible and felt safe the entire time. Before I get into the details of our trip, I wanted to provide a quick recap of our overall travel experience - especially if any of you are looking to take a vacation in the near future and are looking at traveling somewhere warm ☺️
Our COVID-19 Travel Experience
I will start off by saying I was pretty anxious to travel (in terms of flying). I knew once we got to Florida and to our Airbnb that we would be able to control more factors when it came to social distancing, sanitizing, etc. but getting on a plane made me feel a little uneasy. However, we flew Southwest Airlines to and from Florida and I was shocked with just how safe and at ease I felt throughout the entire process.
In case you didn't know, Southwest Airlines requires all customers wear their masks the entire flight (from the moment you board), unless you are eating or drinking. The tickets were limited so that all middle seats were left open, unless you were flying with your family. This was great for us in particular because we had three little kiddos we were traveling with (Cooper and I's nieces and nephew), so this put everyone a little more at ease that we were only sitting next to our family and not strangers. This was really comforting knowing that their decision to limit tickets allowed us to observe the recommended social distancing .
Cooper and our niece, Alma getting ready for takeoff!
While I missed using our drink coupons on the flight down 😉I was thankful that their complimentary drink/snack service was limited. Only canned waters with straws and one snack bag per flight were served - creating less contact from the flight attendants as possible and limiting their trips down and up the aisles.
Obviously I know that everyone feels differently on the topic of traveling right now but I did wanted to provide some details behind our experience to maybe help others who have any future travel coming up! Highly recommend flying Southwest if you can. Again, my personal experience was great, and we still socially distanced as much as we could getting on and off our flight.
About Anna Maria Island
Okay, onto the actual trip 😍Anna Maria Island was the perfect spot for our family of ten - especially the little ones. It is located in Manatee County just 20 minutes from Sarasota and about an hour outside of Tampa - making it a super easy to drive from the Tampa airport.
the ocean was pretty rough the first couple of days of our trip due to the Tropical Depression but after it had passed, the waves were so calm and it was so relaxing to just float!
This little island is only 7 miles long and just a short 2 miles wide. Even though it’s a small island – it’s packed with things to do and adorable shops and restaurants all near the beach.
Where We Stayed
We stayed at an Airbnb rental on the island that was four houses down from the beach, so the beach was easily walkable and accessible! Which in my opinion is always the way to go if you can to avoid having to drive and finding a place to park each time.
In terms of food, we ended up making most of our meals at the house and hung out there for most evenings - those nights were some of the best parts of the trip. We just hung out in the kitchen and spent some quality time together as a family. With everything considered that is happening in our world right now, those moments were SO nice. Our Airbnb also had a really great little backyard pool, so some days we even hung out at the house for the entire afternoon if we weren't feeling up for the beach.
you can shop all of the bikinis + beach essentials I brought on our trip by heading here. All sizing information is within the captions on my posts! But always feel free to email or message me directly if you have a question 😘
The week before we went down for our trip, Florida had just re-opened the bars and beaches. So while the beach was fairly crowded, I never felt unsafe. It was SO easy to socially distance on the beach. Everyone seemed to respect each others space as well. Despite the large amount of people on the beach, everyone pretty much kept their distance.
Favorite Restaurants, Bars & Shops
There was a spot along the beach that we could walk to for lunch and cocktails, and we did that a couple of times on the trip. The restaurant was called The SandBar. If you ever go, I highly recommend getting their Pina Colada 🍹 - it is one of their signature cocktails! All of the servers wore masks and we were only allowed to sit outside, which in my opinion was the best place to be since the restaurant looked over the beach 🏖
The downtown area of Anna Maria Island was within a mile of our Airbnb, so it was easily walkable or if we were feeling lazy, drivable 😜Coop and I love to walk and get coffee after our workouts on vacation and one of our favorite spots on the island for coffee was Ginny's and Jane E's Bakery Cafe. Another great spot for coffee/breakfast was Island Coffee Haus! Both great options if you want to grab some coffee and walk around downtown.
Another fun spot that we went to for lunch one day as a family was The Rod and Reel Pier. Y'all, this spot was so fun! There was a little bait and tackle shop underneath the restaurant out on a private pier, so while you waited for your table, you (or your little ones) could fish. It was fun watching the kids that were there catch some fish! Our nieces absolutely loved it. The food there was also really yummy. I had the crab cake sandwich and I wish I could have it again 😂The restaurant sat over the water and overlooked downtown Tampa across the bay. Definitely a must in my book if you ever visit the island!
Another restaurant that some of us went to was called The Ugly Grouper. Again, this space was all outdoor seating, so we felt pretty safe. Their staff were all wearing masks as well. There was a live musician and their cocktails were super refreshing. Another fun spot to check out.
One of my favorite spots though, was a cocktail bar called The Doctor's Office. It was still closed due to COVID-19 but they were doing to-go cocktails on Friday, so we obviously had to swing by! This spot actually used to be the only doctor's office on the island back in the day, hence the name. We didn't really get to go inside, but when we picked up our cocktails, the temporary setup allowed us to see the bar and the bartenders making our drinks. If we ever go back to AMI, we will FOR SURE be going back here for a pre or post-dinner drink. Such a cool spot. Trust me on this one!
one of my favorite summer dresses to date! Fits true to size and is super affordable. Shop this look here.
Another fun spot that we enjoyed for breakfast one morning was called The Donut Experiment. It is somewhat similar to Donutology here in KC or Duck Donuts, but it was a fun place and it was hoppin' with little kids and families. After we got our donuts and coffee, we walked a little bit more around downtown and did some shopping. We stopped by a little boutique called Pink and Navy and it was probably my favorite shop on the island. Such cute stuff and Cooper ended up buying some really cute new swim trunks 😎
That pretty much wraps up all the restaurants and shops on the island - at least the ones we visited! We didn't really do any activities on the island other than lounging by the beach or the pool and that was a-ok with me 😂Nothing is more relaxing in my book. However, I know there were bike rentals that you could do, kayaking with the manatees, etc. so still plenty of options for those of you who like to have an active vacation vs. lazy.
If you are considering going to AMI in the future, let me know! I would be happy to share more details about our Airbnb or anything else related to the island in general. Overall, I highly recommend this trip for any young families looking to go. Such a fun spot to make memories together! Even as an adult, I know i will cherish this vacation for many years to come.
with love,
~Katie