There’s no doubt about it—the best time to shop is when you’re on vacation! With time to relax, you can actually enjoy yourself, and when you’re traveling away from home there are all sorts of treasures you can find when you engage in a little retail therapy—and especially on Anna Maria Island! Here you won’t find chain brands and common, mass-produced items—instead, you’ll find a variety of local shops and boutiques selling everything from homemade sea salt candles to exclusive beachwear from high-quality independent designers.
Even better, once you’ve indulged in your shopping for the day, you can hit the beach and relax on sugary-white sands and swim in strikingly clear-blue water. In addition to our amazing shopping, we also offer tons of excellent island restaurants serving up fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico—basically, AMI checks all the boxes for a perfect beach getaway. If you’re interested in discovering some of our local island shopping while you’re here, check out our best places to go shopping on Anna Maria Island!
Bridge St, Bradenton Beach
Starting on the southern end of the island, we have the Historic Bridge St District, home to the Bridge St Pier, where you can walk, fish, and even stop in for a bite at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar. Just near the pier on Bridge St, you’ll find a number of shops to explore, making it a great afternoon out, or to browse before grabbing dinner.
You can find your typical beach souvenir shops here, like the Sun and Surf Beach Shop, which sells beachwear, AMI shirts and clothing, and a wide assortment of other gifts, such as totes, jewelry, kid’s books, and more. The Bridge Street Bazaar offers a similar array of items, including tumblers, pool toys, hats, sandals, sunglasses, and plenty more—you’ll have to go see for yourself! Finally, Back Alley Treasures is an adorable coffee shop that also offers a selection of wine and a quirky, colorful gift shop to explore. These are just a few of the amazing shops you can find on Bridge Street!
East Bay Dr, Holmes Beach
Just off the lively Manatee Beach, you’ll find E Bay Dr, which offers a few shops that you can peruse after your morning at the beach, or between grabbing lunch at a nearby restaurant. A charming strip of stores with white and green striped awnings offers a selection of eateries and shops—stop for a sandwich at The Cheesecake Cutie and Café, and after you can browse the Island Bazaar, a gift shop offering stuffed animals, seashells, and sunglasses in addition to your typical beach store finds like swimsuits, boogie boards, and totes—even books for a little oceanfront reading!
This isn’t all you’ll find here, as there’s also Alvin’s Island, a large souvenir store offering a wide selection of everything you could dream of—colorful beach towels, different styles of hats, souvenir mugs, kid’s toys, men’s and women’s beachwear, and other delightful oddities you’ll discover as you explore!
Marina Dr, Holmes Beach
North of E Bay Dr, still in Holmes Beach, you’ll encounter Marina Dr, which offers a variety of boutique shops and delicious restaurants. This area is also on the island trolley route, which you can take up and down the island for free!
Swing by the Island Trader gift shop for the perfect home décor to take back to your own place—everything from wall art to hanging fixtures made from seashells, as well as glassware and tons of clothing. If you’re looking for a fashionable new swimsuit, be sure to take a look at Irene’s Resort Wear. For men, there’s Mister Robert’s Resort Wear. There are also other beach stores like Original Sand Dollar, Vintage Beach, and HowluckyAMI.
Pine Ave, Anna Maria
Well known as one of the best spots for shopping on Anna Maria Island, you’ll find Pine Ave on the north end of the island in the town of Anna Maria. This area is easy to reach by the free island trolley, and also offers an assortment of restaurants, such as Pizza Social, Grub Tropical BBW, Poppo’s Taqueria, North Shore Café, and, Lazy Turtle Beach Rentals, and you can find even more restaurants up and down the avenue, making it easy to combine your shopping experience with a festive evening or afternoon out.
On Pine Ave you’ll find lots of boutique beachwear spots, such as Pink & Navy, Bella by the Sea, and The Island Cabana. Perfect for picking up a new swimsuit, hat, pair of sunglasses, really any item of clothing you could need or want at the beach! There’s also Emerson’s Studio Store and Beach Blossom Studio.
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