Siesta Key Sunsets!

Small restaraunt located on Siesta Key. Serves Breakfast and lunch. Reasonable prices, great food. Also features local artists work for sale and small gift shop. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Highly recommend Pat's breakfast. Also check out the pancakes....they are as big as the plate!

We read about the "World Famous" Salty Dog and couldn't pass up a chance to try it. It's a foot long hotdog dipped in a beer batter and fried served on a bun and topped with your choice of toppings. It was pretty good if a little expensive for a hotdog. It's also a great place to experience local flavor rather than a chain restaraunt.

A great local seafood restaurant on Siesta Key. They have a variety of seafood dishes and non seafood dishes as well. It's a quaint little place with a friendly casual atmosphere. They make an awesome strawberry daiquiri. I enjoyed the Crab Trap (a crabcake on a bun) and my husband loved the Cozumel Burger. Kids meals are served on a Captain Curt's frisbee.

Great Sea Life Encounter tour at Mote Aquarium. Prices not too bad. We combined the tour with aquarium admission. The boat tour is very informative. Our guide, Christy, did an excellent job of pointing out dolphins in the bay, explaining the history of the area, pointing out a variety of mansions built along the bay, talking about sea life in the bay along with plant life. Very educational and relaxing. The aquarium is small....certainly no Sea World, but there are many saltwater exhibits, a shark tank, sting ray tank and many exhibits that were to be added soon. They also provide a hospital for injured or sick turtles, dolphins and manatees.

Small shop close to Crescent Beach that rents various equipment for all kinds of activities. Available are bikes, strollers, beach strollers, kayaks, schooters, beach chairs, snorkeling gear. We rented snorkeling gear for $10. They also shared info on best places to snorkel on the beach. Very friendly owners. Originally from the UK, they moved to Siesta Key after vacationing there for several years. You can't help but want to live there after visiting!

This is an excellent place to snorkel in the Siesta Key area. Every day we saw snorkelers exploring the rocks. Legend says that long ago pirates buried gold in the rocks. We never found any, which means it's still there! There were reports of manatees swimming near the rocks as well. Near the point of rocks, there are several sandbars that have a variety of sea life to view. The 2nd sandbar from the beach is a great place to find sand dollars. We also spotted baby stingrays and several crabs amongst the sandbars. In addition to snorkeling, kayaking on the gulf is a lot of fun, too. We were told a man caught a shark while fishing from his kayak near point of rocks just a few weeks before our visit.

The sand at this beach is incredible! So soft it's almost like powder. It stays cool so your feet won't get burnt. Great for building sand castles of all kinds. We enjoyed seeing all the different sculptures built by visitors. Some were pretty elaborate. The gulf water was a beautiful blue. It was warm even in the early morning. Shells of all varieties wash up on the shore. The sunsets are amazing...a different scene every night.