Our First Post! Welcome to Lizzie Lu’s Island Retreat

We would like to share with you the many reasons why we love Anna Maria Island and the variety of activities and experiences available in this area. Of course, there is a lot of information available just by using google, but I find it is always nice to get a personal perspective and have the ability to ask additional questions! Hopefully, we can provide that here – please feel free to comment on any post we have and if there is anything we have not touched on that you are interested in, let us know and we will do our best to cover it!

Who owns Lizzie Lu's Island Retreat in Anna Maria Island? Ben and Keren Ten Haaf

If you enjoy islands, you’re probably are like us and really look forward to being on the beach. Anna Maria beaches are some of the best I have experienced. They are all accessible to the public, clean, and pet free. In most areas, the water is safe for swimming – it is clear and clean and remains a comfortable temperature for most of the year. The sand is white and fine – perfect for sand castles! And there are plenty of shells, although your best bet for finding shells is in the morning before most walkers are out. The beach is the perfect spot for families, friends, couples, and individuals enjoying the water, a good book or a walk along the shore. The shoreline is about 7 miles of white sand, so you are sure not to run out of places to explore.

You can choose to settle in front of places by Pine Avenue or down at the public beach near Beach Cafe and have breakfast, lunch, or an ice cream treat which are all easily accessible, or settle in a quieter location with your own snacks. Lizzie Lu’s Island Retreat properties have a wonderful beach access at the end of the road, likely you will see the beach from your front door from at least six of the rental units. As you enter the beach, there is a shaded bench welcoming those who need a break from the sun with a great view of the water and in the evening sunset. The sand is white and fine and perfect for a beach chair or towel. It is a beautiful area of the beach – and about a mile walk in either direction – you can find a good meal.

A mile may seem long, but along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, it goes by quickly when you are looking for dolphins, watching the birds run along the water, or searching for that perfect starfish that just washed up. Any time during the day is a great time to be at the beach, but we love to be there to watch the sunset. We have seen many sunsets from the beach and have yet to see a repeat! I am in awe of the colors of the sun, the sky, and the water during the evening and highly suggest that everyone take time for sunsets at least a few times while visiting.

As we continue on this project we hope to cover in detail, individual restaurants, activities, locations and shopping in the area so everyone can get a perspective of how wonderful Anna Maria Island is. And where you will find completely renovated vacation rentals with a private pool for your next getaway!

Check out some other great articles with local information about Anna Maria Island:
Bradenton Riverwalk
Bird’s Eye View!
Early Morning Shelling
The Sand Castle!