We decided on Anna Maria Island after hearing how amazing it was from my sister in law and brother in law. After a couple months of worrying about red tide, we decided to go for it and hope for the best.
To our surprise when we arrived, the water (and weather) was perfect! I honestly do not know how we got so lucky since before we left there were still traces and after we left the hurricane brought some nasty weather
We rented a condo right on the beach, we were literally steps away. The best part of anna maria is there are no high rises, most places are not higher than 2 stories which totally keeps the old feel charm in affect. The beaches are gorgeous, white sand and so soft!
The island is small and pretty quiet/quaint with not a ton to do (which we actually loved!) but what there was to do, we did. We painted sand dollars, went fishing, we went to the aquarium a town over, we ate at the best donut place, we ate all the ice cream, and most of the food we ate was amazing!! If we weren't venturing around town, we would be lounging and playing on the beach every day! It was pure perfection!!