Day Trips

WaterPlayUSA takes the effort out of planning your aquatic adventures and lets you get back to enjoying your vacation! With thousands of activities, tours and rentals, WaterPlayUSA is one of the largest watersport-booking platforms in the United States. By partnering with top activity providers throughout the nation, Waterplay USA brings them to one single location just for you! Whether you want to learn how to surf, go kayaking, let lose… Continue Reading WaterPlay USA

Great Explorations Children’s Museum has served the Tampa Bay area since 1987. Designed for children 10 and under, the 23,000 square foot museum is filled with exhibits and activities to stimulate learning through creativity, play and exploration. The museum is a learning playground where children can make a discovery, make a mess, and even make a new friend. The museum is the first mid-size children’s museum in the country and… Continue Reading Great Explorations Children’s Museum

When you want to get away from the beach and add some excitement to your Anna Maria Island vacation, spend the day or a few hours at TreeUmph, Southwest Florida’s only elevated adventure course! About a 45-minute drive from AMI, at TreeUmph! you’ll feel the exhilaration of climbing, zip lining, swinging and free-falling from 15 to 60 feet in the air . . . all while harnessed to equipment designed… Continue Reading TreeUmph! Adventure Course

Recognized as the second oldest continuously operating antique car museum in the country, the Sarasota Classic Car Museum is a must-see for any classic car enthusiast. As you stroll through the museum, which is about a 30-minute drive from Anna Maria island, travel back in time and into the future of man’s greatest invention . . . the automobile! The museum features over 75 automobiles, consisting of the alphabet of… Continue Reading Sarasota Classic Car Museum

Have you ever fed a giraffe? Have you ever smelled their grassy breath? These are memories that will last you a lifetime. At Giraffe Ranch in you’ll experience first hand, the lives of giraffe and other species from around the world living under huge live oaks in a setting that is right out of Africa. Giraffe Ranch is a licensed working ranch that specializes in exotic species as well as… Continue Reading Giraffe Ranch

Crowley Natural and Cultural History Center also known as “Crowley” is a non-profit organization furthering natural and cultural history located on 190 acres of pristine Florida including pine flatwoods, oak hammock, hardwood swamp, sawgrass marsh, and the Myakka River. Enjoy a guided or self-guided tour of untouched Florida landscapes. Kids love the Children’s Discovery Path with five interactive stations on native Florida creatures. Farm animals, organic garden, and more! Open… Continue Reading Crowley Natural and Cultural History Center

Just an hour’s drive from Anna Maria Island, the world famous dancing horses are a must see! Founded in the 16th century for the exclusive use of the Hapsburg Royal family of Austria, the Royal Lipizzans are unquestionably the rarest, most aristocratic breed of horses in the world. The pride of the Hapsburg Empire, the Lipizzan breed was first established by Archduke Charles at Lipizza (now part of what was… Continue Reading Lipizzan Stallions

Whether you are sitting on the beach or kayaking near the still water’s edge at Fort De Soto, you find yourself absorbed in the abundance of natural beauty for as far as the eye can see. The complexity of the ecology is not immediately apparent, but the park offers the greatest diversity of systems just about anywhere. Emerging from the wealth of bird life, sea life, wild life and plant… Continue Reading Fort De Soto Park

Hunsader Farms got its start in 1967 when three Hunsader Brothers left their Wisconsin dairy farm to try their hand at growing vegetables in the sunny south. The brothers cleared the land by hand and planted their first crop of 80 acres of tomatoes in the fall of 1967. Through the years the farm has added many events and activities, including a barn-style farmer’s market, a petting zoo, playground, an… Continue Reading Hunsader Farms

As part of the South Florida Museum, the Bishop Planetarium is the region’s premier astronomy education facility, as well as a multimedia theater for films, lectures, live music and digital art performances. Continue Reading Bishop Planetarium