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How do these two islands compare?

Patrick

Both have great beaches, first of all. Anna Maria is more downscale -- relaxed -- ramshackle. Lots of funky older cottages and places to stay, family style restaurants, souvenier shopping. Although it does have at least one really good restaurant (Beach Bistro). Sanibel is more high scale (and of course a lot more expensive to go with it). Much of Sanibel is very expensive condiminiums and some upscale resort type hotels -- not huge and flashy -- but much more upscale than Anna Maria. You might find a simple little old cottage to rent on Anna Maria -- those are long gone on Sanibel.

Now the question is, which would you prefer? I know lots of people who hated Sanibel and love places like Anna Maria. And of course many others feel just the opposite.

Tandoori_Girl

Anna Maria island has a few cities -- Anna Maria is the northernmost city on the island. Before you get to the city of Anna Maria , you'll go through Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach, and then Anna Maria. Bradenton Beach has a wonderful beach area, full of long-leaf pines (locally called Australian pines), lots of gorgeous sand, and picnic tables. The city of Bradenton Beach has a nice little restaurant area, walking area, but it is generally very congested with traffic that crawls -- especially during winter tourist season. The next city on the island, Holmes Beach, has little to offer in terms of restaurants and shopping, and many of its beaches have low-rise condos (6 stories). And there aren't many places to stay there, this is mostly a residential part of Anna Maria island. The city of Anna Maria is the crown jewel of the island. Located at the northern end of the island, you don't have the traffic traversing the roads of Holmes Beach and Bradenton (heading south to Long Boat Key with its terrific restaurants). This creates a wonderful walking community. And you can literally walk leisurely down Pine Street from the Gulf beaches to the bayside, stopping as you go at the few shops along this main stretch. There are two fishing piers (they rent poles and bait), each with restaurants, and there are a few hotels. But mostly, the island is residential so the best deals for staying on Anna Maria are through beach rentals from real estate companies. I booked a small waterfront cottage recently, and enjoyed the island immensely. There are a few casual waterfront restaurants that offer the usual seafood fare and tropical drinks. This is a terrific place to boat, this island that sits at the south side of the mouth of Tampa Bay.

Sanibel is about an hour or so south of Anna Maria -- and so it is just a tad more tropical (this is most likely negligible to non-Floridians). Sanibel has embraced tourism more ambitously than Anna Maria. The main north-south road goes through the city of Sanibel and on to the island of Captiva just north of Sanibel. A tourist has much more to choose from here -- lots of hotels, lots of resorts, lots of restaurants. I've spent some time bicycling on Sanibel and I really enjoyed getting to know the island that way. It has some wonderful historic buildings that give it its charm.

My favorite of Sanibel, Anna Maria, and Captiva is Captiva. The artist Robert Rauscenberg has bought up a lot of property on Captiva and (thank the lawd) protected it from development. It is very funky, lots of mangroves that extend over the roads, creating mangrove canopies (something you'll also find in Manasota Key). And the island, like Anna Maria, is very narrow so you can easily walk from the beachside to the bayside, both of which offer different amenities.

Ta-da! That's it.

LN

Anna Maria Island is primarily an island of homes or cottages - it is not filled with high rise condos. It's a lovely, laid-back community with one of the most beautiful beaches around. There are a number of restaurants on AMI, and most are on the reasonable priced category like the Sandbar and the Beach House. Beach Bistro is one of the more expensive eateries.

I live on the next island south, Longboat Key, and I'm on AMI quite often. It's a very family oriented community.

I don't know Sanibel so you'll have to get info elsewhere.

dln

I, on the other hand, don't know Anna Maria Island but I've spent many a spring break on Sanibel. It's very family-friendly. As mentioned, there are mostly condos, but they're not wall-to-wall highrises, thankfully. They fit nicely into the tropical, lush landscape. Plenty of bike paths, nice shopping available, a tiny historical village that brings you back to Sanibel's early days, a wildlife refuge and more can keep you occupied for days on end. The shelling is amazing. The one downside to Sanibel is that it's crowded beyond belief at Spring Break and it can take hours to cross the bridge onto the island when everyone is aiming for that Saturday afternoon check in! That's aggravating, as is waiting for dinner at the restaurants.

LilMsFoodie

In season it would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to travel from Anna Maria to Sanibel and that doesn't include time to cross the Causeway.

In March it can take me 1 1/2 hours to travel from Fort Myers to Captiva, a 26 mile trip.

Captiva has undergone a building boom the past two or three years and is unrecognizable to many. Funky cute beach houses have been razed to build mediterranean monstrosities and painted cottages on steroids. The main heart of Captiva, Andy Rosse Lane still has charm but it is rapidly getty Disneyed.

This being said, the lush landscape of Captiva with bouganvilleas draped everywhere still enchants visitors and the relaxed pace makes for a wonderful, if very quiet, vacation.

LMF

Tandoori_Girl

What you'll most likely get a sense of from these posts is that the two islands are very different to the beholder. So you'll have to go see for yourself. And let us know what you think!

Tandoori_Girl

...and those arbors across the road in Captiva -- they're seagrapes, not mangroves. I'm editing myself here.

Kimi

My vote is for Anna Maria Island ... I know that you are looking at the Harrington House (amazing) or I also vote for condo rentals through www.annamaria.com (we have rented the Beachfront). AMI is truly a rare jewel!