Sarasota, FL Road Trips

The Asolo Theater, Florida West Coast Symphony, Sarasota Opera, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and frequent art shows add to the cultural theme of the city, rivaling the facilities of Florida's largest cities. Sarasota is also home to the Ringling Museum of Art, the Selby Botanical Gardens, New College (Florida's public honors college), a USF branch, and the Ringling School of Art and Design. Sarasota's downtown cityscape features office buildings and several upscale downtown condominiums. It is complemented by Saint Armands Circle, on Saint Armands Key, which is surrounded by Lido Key, across Sarasota Bay from downtown via the Ringling Causeway (with sweeping views of Sarasota Bay). Saint Armands Circle is an upscale outdoor shopping area, with several cafes, reminiscent of Europe. The idea for Saint Armands was from John Ringling who also intended to build a Ritz hotel on Longboat Key. Today, Sarasota has a Ritz hotel downtown, and the Longboat Key Club on Ringling's original site. The Longboat Key Club includes two golf courses, tennis, and all other resort facilities and is located just north of Saint Armands on Longboat Key. The fine white-sand beaches are a major draw to the area. Siesta Key Beach is consistently ranked among the most beautiful beaches on Earth. Crescent Beach, Turtle Beach, Lido Beach, and the beach running the 15-mile (25-km) span of Longboat Key are equally beautiful and accessible. Indeed, much of Sarasota's charm comes from the fact that the beaches are so plentiful and accessible.

1 Sarasota Jungle Gardens, 3701 Bay Shore Rd, ☏ +1 941-355-5305. 10AM-5PM. There are 4 shows at the gardens in addition to the grounds which are filled with many interesting plants. As with most early attractions, they offer some animal shows and a chance to see some rare plants, many of which are of extraordinary size. This attraction is a rare opportunity to see what Florida was like in the tourist boom of the early 1900s. $18/adult, $17/senior, $13/child. (updated Mar 2016) The Ringling Estate, 5401 Bay Shore Road, ☏ +1 941-359-5700. 10AM-5PM. The Ringling Estate finished a six-year restoration and expansion phase that restored all of the existing buildings and added four new buildings to the estate. Features of the 66-acre (27 hectares) estate include the lush grounds and landscaping including Mable’s Rose Garden, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Cà d’Zan Mansion, the Tibbals Learning Center, and the Historic Asolo Theater in the Visitor’s Pavilion. 3-day passes are available. $25 adult, $23 senior, $5 student, $5 child. (updated Mar 2016) 2 The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The Museum of Art, built by John Ringling to house his personal collection of masterpieces, today features the great Old Masters including Rubens, van Dyck, Velàzquez, Titian, Tintoretto, Vernonese, El Greco, and Gainsborough. The museum opened in October 1931, and added the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing in 2007, with an additional 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of exhibition space.

1 Siesta Key Beach. Siesta Key Beach is among the first and foremost reasons for many visitors to come to Sarasota. The sand, which is 99% pure crystal quartz, is often cited as being the cleanest, whitest sand in the world. With an athletic area equipped with volleyball courts, a cookout area complete with grills (bring your own charcoal), and life guards on duty all day, Siesta Key Beach is a great place for families and spring breakers alike. On Sundays at sundown, there is a tourist-heavy drum circle where local hippies play and everyone dances. 2 Historic Spanish Point, 337 N. Tamiami Trail, ☏ +1 941-366-5731. Open to the general public from M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su noon to 5PM. Visit Historic Spanish Point and experience the past 5,000 years of history in Southwest Florida. Exhibits range from learning about the Florida Environment, Southwest Florida’s Maritime Heritage, Pioneer Homesteaders, Archaeology and the Bertha Palmer time period of growth in Southwest Florida. The 30 acres of land used as Historic Spanish Point was once the winter estate of Mrs. Palmer. Adults $7, ages 6-12 $3, and under 6 free. 3 Sky Zone Sarasota, 6180 Edgelake Dr, ☏ +1 941-363-6359, [email protected]. - located in Sarasota 4 Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th St. The spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles. If you are in the Venice area between February and March, catch a preseason game for between $5 and $12. 5 The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th Street West, ☏ +1 941-746-4131. Bradenton. Open Jan-Apr and July M-Sa 10AM-5PM; Su noon-5PM.

1 The Breakfast House, 1817 Fruitville Road, ☏ +1 941-366-6860. Breakfast and lunch. 2 Cafe Amici, 1371 Main St, ☏ +1 941-951-6896. 3 Cafe Epicure, 1298 N Palm Ave, ☏ +1 941-366-5648. Italian upscale casual. 4 Columbia Restaurant, 411 St. Armands Circle, ☏ +1 941-388-3987. Cuban-American food. 5 DaRuMa Restaurant, 5459 Fruitville Road, ☏ +1 941 342-6600. Japanese steakhouse and seafood 6 Main Street Bar and Sandwich Shop, 1944 Main Street, ☏ +1 941-955-8733. 7 Mattison's City Grill, 1 North Lemon Avenue, ☏ +1 941-330-0440. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. An open-air but covered restaurant and bar with live music, on the corner of Main and Lemon downtown. 8 Miguel's Restaurant, 6631 Midnight Pass Rd (On Midnight Pass Rd. 1/4 mile (400 m) south of Stickney Point Rd.), ☏ +1 941-349-4024. open at 5PM. Quaint French Continental cuisine at the south end of Siesta Key. Wonderful food, full bar and early bird specials. 9 Miller's Ale House, 3800 Kenny Dr, ☏ +1 941-378-8888. 10 Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club, 8801 Stoneybrook Blvd, ☏ +1 941 918-9595. Lunch and dinner. 11 Tasty Home Cookin, 3854 S Tuttle Ave, ☏ +1 941-921-4969. 12 Yoder's Restaurant, 3434 Bahia Vista St, ☏ +1 941-955-7771. Nationally-known Amish restaurant. 13 Shakespeare's English Pub, 3550 S. Osprey Ave, ☏ +1 941-364-5938. Gourmet burgers and other typical pub food. 80 beers from around the world. 14 Spice Asian Market, 2234 Gulf Gate Dr, ☏ +1 941 924-8066. M-Sa 9:30AM-6:30PM; closed Sun.

1 8-ball lounge, 3527 Webber St, ☏ +1 941 922-8314. 2 Cha Cha Coconuts Tropical Bar, 417 St. Armands Circle, ☏ +1 941 388-3300. 3 Gator Club, 1490 Main St, ☏ +1 941-366-5969. Popular bar and nightclub with entertainment nightly. 4 Raffurty's Bar and Grill (formerly known as Urban Reef), 1888 Main St, ☏ +1 941-260-5285. Sports bar with upstairs area and occasional bands, jazz, flamenco, lounge, and performers. Late nite bar menu. 5 Smokin' Joes, 1448 Main Street, ☏ +1 941-366-9439, [email protected]. M-Sa 9AM-2AM, Su 10AM-2AM. Popular Downtown Sarasota bar. Full liquor with large selection of beer on tap. Over 15 televisions for any sport. Cigar humidor. 6 Sun King Sarasota, 1215 Mango Ave, ☏ +1 941-893-3940. Microrewery near downtown Sarasota with regular events and movie showings.

1 voco Sarasota by IHG, 1223 Blvd of the Arts (right downtown), ☏ +1 941 487-3800. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. 2 Lido Beach Resort, 700 Benjamin Franklin Drive, ☏ +1 866-306-5457. Beachfront accommodations. 3 The Resort Longboat Key Club, 220 Sands Point Rd, ☏ +1 855-314-2619. Spanning Longboat Key. 4 The Ritz Carlton Sarasota, 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive (on Tamiami Trail), ☏ +1 941 309-2100. Complete with beach club on Lido Key. 5 Sleep Inn Sarasota North, 900 University Pkwy (across the street from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport), ☏ +1 941 231-0593. 6 Lantern Inn & Suites, 7251 North Tamiami Trail, ☏ +1 941 355-7747. Well-equipped kitchens and free wireless internet in all rooms. 7 Lido Islander, 528 South Polk Drive, ☏ +1 941-388-1004. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11PM. Amid a tropical garden. The units are completely furnished and fully equipped. The 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units have full kitchens. $50. 8 EVEN Hotel Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch, 6231 Lake Osprey Drive, ☏ +1 941-782-4400. 9 Hilton Garden Inn, 8270 N. Tamiami Trail (in the Sarasota-Bradenton area), ☏ +1 941-552-1100. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. This hotel offers free shuttle transportation to Downtown Sarasota Historic District and anywhere else within five miles of the property. 10 Hyatt Place, 950 University Parkway, ☏ +1 941-554-5800. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Hotel offers free continental breakfast, 24 hour food service with full bar, free wi-fi internet, free parking and free shuttle service to SRQ airport and downtown. $89-199.

1 Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ IATA), 6000 Airport Circle (on the border between Sarasota and Manatee counties, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) north of downtown Sarasota), ☏ +1 941 359-2777. Sarasota has one primary expressway, Interstate 75, which runs north to south. The major roads in Sarasota include the Tamiami Trail (which is the name given to US 41 between Tampa and Miami), US Route 301, Beneva Rd., Tuttle Ave/Swift Rd., Honore Avenue and Cattlemen Rd., all running north-to-south, and Clark Rd., Proctor Rd., Bee Ridge Rd., Fruitville Rd. and University Pkwy., all running east-to-west. 2 Greyhound, (bus stop) Cattleman Transfer Center @ 5950 Porter Way, toll-free: +1 800 231-2222. Travels primarily on Interstate 75 (Naples, Ft Myers, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Tampa). Some variations of the route continue east towards Miami through Clewiston, Belle Glade & West Palm Beach from Ft Myers on US Hwy 27. Others continue north from Tampa to Orlando on I-4. Passengers transfer in Tampa, Miami or Orlando to reach other cities. Check Schedules. Tickets must be pre-paid & pre-printed from online or purchased from a full service station elsewhere. (updated Dec 2020) Flixbus (Operated by Escot or Umbrella Bus Lines), (bus stop) Cattleman Transfer Center @ 5950 Porter Way. Travels primarily on Interstate 75 (Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Naples, Ft Myers, Sarasota, Tampa). From $15. (updated Feb 2021)

The city includes the mainland downtown as well as three islands, called "keys." These are Longboat Key, Lido Key, and Siesta Key. Causeways to all these keys are free and very picturesque. Downtown Sarasota is very vibrant with a healthy mix of businesses, residences, restaurants, and city services.

Sarasota is a rather safe city, although regular precautions should be taken just to be safe. The only real place a tourist should avoid is Newtown. Located right near downtown, Newtown is rather small and is normally fine to drive through during the day. However vigilance is required if traveling through Newtown at night. There is a nice downtown park at the Five Points intersection of Main Street,Pineapple and Central Avenues. Some homeless people congregate there but there is a city ordinance against panhandling and sleeping outdoors. The northern end of Tamiami Trail near University Parkway is also known for run-down motels and some prostitution arrests. However there are also college campuses nearby and several coffee shops and a comedy club so people do safely walk around the area.