Recently we traveled to the Sarasota area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. With so many things to see and do within about an hour of travel, we thought it was time to check it out and see what the Sarasota area had to offer. I’m so glad we did. Here are my top 5 Things to Love About Sarasota.
Staying on Lido Key
We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Lido Beach, and the location was perfect! We were able to quickly explore all that downtown Sarasota had to offer. As well as venture out a little further to Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island to the north and Siesta Key and Venice to the south. The hotel had all of the amenities you would expect including pool, outdoor bar, onsite restaurant as well as a fitness and business center. I would choose to stay at the Holiday Inn, Lido Beach, again the next time we visit the Sarasota area.
Our room had a great ocean view. The hotel was right across a small street from the beach. it was also walkable (about 1/2 mile) to St. Armands Circle and a had a very friendly staff. It was the perfect home base for all of the exploring that we wanted to do while in Sarasota.
St. Armands Circle –
What a great place! Brian was a little hesitant because he’s not a big shopper. But, we literally had to drive through the area to get to and from our hotel so he was willing to check it out. Because we had to drive through St. Armands Circle to start all of our driving adventures, it made my morning Starbucks trip very convenient.
St. Armands Circle does have a little something for everyone. This area offers great walkability and a large variety of shops, cafes, and restaurants. When the weather is nice, plan on spending an afternoon or evening here. You won’t regret it. Plus, you’ll be able to learn a bit about the Ringling Circus as Sarasota was the winter home of John Ringling during your outing.
It’s difficult to read but the monument pictured here is for Terrell Jacobs who was referred to as “The Lion King”. I snapped the photo for our daughter whose High School is performing the Disney version of Lion King this week.
Marina Jack and Downtown Sarasota –
Next on my list of top 5 things to love about Sarasota has to be the downtown area. There is so much to do in Sarasota but it still has that small city feel. The weekend we were there the downtown hosted a seafood festival and beer garden. There were so many people out enjoying the area.
One of the places we really enjoyed visiting was Marina Jack. First, we love marinas so we are a little biased. We enjoy looking at boats and just being around that environment. There are three dining options right at the Marina. We had dinner at the Blue Sunshine Patio. It’s a casual dining option at Marina Jack with a nice selection of food, cocktails and live entertainment. If you go, I recommend the Siesta Sands Martini.
Marina Jack also has a fine dining restaurant but we had been out exploring and were casually dressed so we opted for the Blue Sunshine Patio.
In addition to being a full-service marina, Marina Jack also offers sunset and dinner cruise options. We intended to book a sunset cruise but the weather was unusually cold during our visit so we are saving that for our next trip. We will definitely be back.
We made our way back to the marina area another evening and stopped in at O’Leary’s for a beer and a view. O’Leary’s has a fun tiki bar, picnic tables, and a great view. Grab a seat and a quiet moment and I bet you will see dolphins like we did! It really never gets old. Every time I see dolphin, it just makes my day.
Beaches –
Ok, this may seem like stating the obvious but the Sarasota area has so many wonderful beaches. I have already mentioned Lido Beach but to the north, you have Bradenton, Holmes, and of course the adorable Anna Maria Island. To the south, you can check out the amazing Siesta Key (I think it’s the Disney Land of beaches) with it’s cool, quartz sand or venture down to the town of Venice. There is so much to see and do within an hour of Lido Key. Of course, the beaches had to be among my top 5 Things to Love About Sarasota.
Venice, Florida –
One of the surprises of our trip was just how much we enjoyed the town of Venice, Florida. Honestly, we expected to love Lido Key and basically every beach leading up to Anna Maria Island (Check out my review of The Sandbar Restaurant on Anna Maria) and south to Siesta Key, but we didn’t expect to LOVE Venice.
Venice, Florida, is such a neat little town it had to be in my top 5 Things to Love About Sarasota. We may have been the youngest people on Main Street but we were ok with that. We explored the south jetty, walked the length of the huge fishing pier, strolled the beach and hung out at Sharky’s On the Pier which was quite lively on such a chilly day.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time visiting the Sarasota area of Florida. It may have been WAY too chilly to lay out on the beach but that encouraged us to hop in the car and really explore the area. We hope to one day retire to the beach so we really need to explore and find the beach that is just right for us. Although we traveled for nearly 24 hours to get to this little adventure, it was 100% worth it. You can read about how we were stuck in the Atlanta airport here.
Have you been to the Sarasota area of Florida? If so, tell me if you share any of my 5 Things to Love about Sarasota. Comment below!
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Happy Travels!
Jillian