Longboat Key vacation rentals

Experience Longboat Key at vacation home rentals

Vacation treasures are just waiting to be unwrapped on this beach-lined ribbon of land in the Gulf of Mexico west of Bradenton and Sarasota. Known as a great location to pull out your fishing pole, Longboat Key also offers elegant resorts and upscale dining, plus opportunities to see nature up close and personal. It's only 30 minutes away from Bradenton-Sarasota airport, and just as easy to reach the cultural and family-friendly attractions in both communities. A Longboat Key vacation rental is a relaxing place to warm your heart on a midwinter getaway.

Tourist attractions near Longboat Key vacation homes

A Longboat Key vacation rental is a convenient launching place to visit attractions around the area. Mote Marine Aquarium, just over the bridge to the south, has an open-water Shark Zone and exhibits on alligators, sting rays, manatees, sea turtles, and other aquatic life. South Florida Museum in Bradenton features a manatee aquarium and planetarium, plus exhibits on natural and cultural history. In Sarasota, visit the vast collection of the Ringling Museum of Art, plus the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy. Sarasota also offers botanical gardens and encounters of the retail kind.

Activities near your Longboat Key summer rental

If you're looking for sport fishing, Longboat Key is the place. Tarpon and cobia can be caught from the beach, and some docks are lighted for nighttime fishing. Redfish and speckled trout lurk in the mangroves. You can book a charter for offshore fishing—or a cruise just to view the dolphins. Gulf-side beaches beg you to loll in the sun, swim, take up windsurfing or parasailing, and rent paddle boards and boogie boards. There's a public tennis center. Beer Can Island is a boat-in stretch of beach for picnicking at the key's northern tip.

Climate for your trip to Longboat Key vacation rentals

Sunshine rules for 256 days a year on Longboat Key, making outdoor activities enjoyable all year from a Longboat Key vacation rental. Summer is the hottest season, and often humid, with July highs around 90. It's also the wettest, with August rainfall around 9 inches. January high temperatures are generally in the 80s, with the average low around 50. May to late fall is actually the slower season, with lower prices. The cooler, busier winter season is when visitors seek escape from cold and snow elsewhere. Spring and fall are in-between, for both weather and crowds.

Good things in a small package on Longboat Key

Longboat Key occupies a narrow barrier island between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. Everything is packed into 4 square miles of dry land, and you could bike the 10 miles from northerly Beer Can Island to Quick Point in about 50 minutes. Sea turtles and shorebirds nest along the Gulf beaches from April to November, but habitats are protected by keeping observers at a distance and outdoor lights off at night. Crabs and conchs, egrets, herons, and osprey are seen from trails and boardwalks through 34 acres of wetland and mangrove lagoons at Quick Point Nature Preserve.

How to get to and around Longboat Key

The nearest airport is in Sarasota-Bradenton Intl. Airport (SRQ), located 6.7 mi (10.8 km) from the city center. If you can't find a flight that works for your travel itinerary, you could book a flight to St. Petersburg, FL (SPG-Albert Whitted), which is 24.4 mi (39.2 km) away.

Romantic vacation rentals in Longboat Key

If you're looking for a romantic retreat, Longboat Key has an array of tranquil locations to explore. Vacation rentals are available near places like St. Armands Key, a bay island with serene tropical surrounds and parklands, and Leffis Key, an island nature reserve and tidal habitat with nature trails and boardwalks through the marshland. You could also visit Palma Sola Botanical Park, a landscaped garden with exotic plants and lakes.