Kite Flying on Anna Maria Island

An earlier version of this site listed an Anna Maria Island kite festival. We could not find an organizer behind it, and the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce events calendar listed no kite festival when we checked it in September 2026, so the listing was removed and this guide replaced it. Flying a kite here is an everyday beach activity, not a ticketed event: you bring the kite, choose your patch of sand and follow the beach rules below.

For the festivals, parades and holiday events that do have organizers, the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce keeps an events calendar, listed in the sources at the end of this guide, and the events page on this site follows the island's yearly events.

A kite needs open sand and nobody downwind of you. That rules out the stretch in front of a lifeguard stand, the path people use to reach the water, and any spot where a falling kite or a loose line would cross swimmers or sunbathers. A quieter part of the beach with room to back up is the spot to look for.

Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach are beach parks run by Manatee County. Both are lifeguarded, and both are governed by Chapter 2-24 of the Manatee County Code, which covers the county's parks and beaches.

The Sandbox cottage sits one house off the beach in Holmes Beach, with direct beach access and no road to cross, so a kite can go from the front door to the sand in one trip. The City of Holmes Beach sets its own rules for its public beaches, so wherever you set up, follow any posted sign.

At the county's beach parks, Chapter 2-24 asks every visitor to follow the instructions of a designated public official about the playing of games, and it names the flying of kites in that list. If an official asks you to move down the beach or reel in, that instruction is the rule.

The same chapter limits games involving thrown or otherwise propelled objects, such as balls, model aircraft or drones, to areas set apart for them. The county's pages for Manatee Public Beach and Coquina Beach are blunter: drones and other remotely operated vehicles or toys are prohibited at both. Leave the camera drone and the remote-control glider at home and bring a plain kite on a string.

Kitesurfing is a different activity from flying a kite from the sand, and the county code treats it with the water sports. In county park waters, surfing, skiing and kite surfing are permitted outside designated swim-only areas and outside any area that a sign or a designated official marks as closed to them.

The same part of the code adds a flat No Hydrofoil Surfboards rule, and the landing or takeoff of paragliders, parasailers and similar aircraft on county beaches needs a permit from the county first. If you ride a foil board or fly anything that carries a person, check with Manatee County before you plan a day around it.

If you book a kitesurfing lesson, ask the instructor where it runs. Under Chapter 2-24, individual or group instruction on county park property counts as a special event, and every special event held on park property needs a county permit.

Manatee County's beach pages set sea turtle nesting season as May 1 to October 31 and list the rules for it at the county beaches: no lights on the beach after sunset, do not approach turtles or nests, remove beach furniture at dusk, and leave nests and signs undisturbed. It is against the law to touch or disturb nesting sea turtles, hatchlings or their nests.

For a kite day in those months, launch well clear of any marked nest, never let a line drag across one, and pack up the kite, the line and everything else before dark.

Two habits make a kite day go smoothly: give people room, and leave no line behind. Reel in before you walk the kite past people, and wind the line as you go rather than leaving it on the sand.

Back at the cottage, the private saltwater pool and the side deck, with its partial Gulf views, make an easy end to a breezy afternoon on the beach.