Holmes Beach Live Cam

White sand; clear, turquoise waters; luxurious resorts; and the beauty of a natural Gulf Coast setting draw many of visitors to area each year.

Visitors can enjoy the natural side of Bradenton & Anna Maria Island by visiting its many parks or public beaches. Anna Maria Island has 3 fishing pier with restaurants, 3 public beach with picnic tables, near by public tennis courts, a playground, Community center Island Player theater & the Island Branch of the Manatee Public Library.

The Island's rich history is meticulously preserved by residents and the Anna Maria Island Historical Society efforts. Explored around 1530 by Spanish adventurers, Anna Maria Island has intrigued people of all ages for centuries. According to records, Timucuan Indians who were physically large and fierce fighters, met the Spaniards. Unfortunately, there is no trace of the Timucuan in modern times.

The Old Anna Maria Jail still stands -- minus its roof -- and the Anna Maria Island Museum can be visited next door. The City Pier, located on Tampa Bay at the end of Pine Avenue, belongs to the city of Anna Maria. Built around 1910 before any bridges connected the Island to the mainland, the pier served as the arrival/departure area for visitors and supplies.

For years the only way to Anna Maria was by boat. Completed in 1921, the Cortez Bridge was a narrow, shaky wooden structure. By the 1950's with the addition of the Manatee Avenue Bridge, there were two structures linking the Island to the mainland.

Over the years, the Island and its history have attracted developers, visitors and residents from all over the world. A vacation here will give you the best everything. Discover the reason for yourself and come visit Anna Maria Island - "Your Island in the Sun!".

Located on Florida's renowned West Coast seven-mile long Anna Maria Island is situated south of Tampa Bay and is surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico on its western shore and Sarasota Bay and beautiful Anna Maria Bay on its eastern shores.

The Island's three cities (Anna Maria at the northern end, Holmes Beach in the middle and Bradenton Beach at the southern end) are easily accessed by three draw bridges - one from Longboat Key to the south and two from the mainland which lie off the Island's eastern shore across Sarasota Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway. The northernmost entry to the Island is from Bradenton via SR 64 - a cross-Florida link which runs almost to the state's Atlantic coast.

The Island is a short ninety minute drive via the Sunshine Skyway bridge to Tampa International Airport, it is only thirty minutes from the local Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport which is served by direct flights from many major midwestern and eastern hub cities.

Nearby arterial highways include Interstates 75 and 275, US 41 and US 301. These provide residents and visitors with easy access to a vast assortment of internationally recognized entertainment centers including Busch Gardens in Tampa and Disney World, Epcot and Sea World in the central Florida Orlando/Kissimmee vacation complex.

With its temperate year-round weather, Anna Maria Island has truly become "My Island In The Sun" for not only visitors but year-round residents.