Spring break crowds are back on Anna Maria Island, but they’ve brought little trouble this year.
Local authorities told The Islander over the week of March 16 that spring break was going smoothly despite a surge of beachgoers and other visitors.
Schools throughout the country take their spring break in March and April and, for Manatee County, the public schools celebrated March 16-20.
While the island is not a national spring break destination like Miami, Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach, it can get busy — and a little problematic — when many students converge on the beach.
Luckily for local law enforcement officers and lifeguards, this year’s spring break went without a hitch heading into the weekend of March 21-22.
“From everything I can tell so far, it’s been a good spring break,” Manatee County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Randy Warren told The Islander March 20.
The MCSO polices the city of Anna Maria, which Warren said is often the quietest island municipality over spring break since the county’s public beaches are located to the south.
He said the city’s beaches had seen an increase in visitors over spring break, but the MCSO-Anna Maria Substation saw no need to increase staffing or add patrols.
Warren gave some credit to inclement weather and cold water early in the week for limiting the spring break crowd, but acknowledged that the MCSO and other local authorities were expecting bigger crowds over the weekend.
In the meantime, he said there have been few issues and zero drownings, including off of Bean Point, where multiple drownings occurred in 2025.
While the MCSO does not station an officer to oversee Bean Point, Warren said that signs have been posted by the city to inform people about the dangers of swimming in the area.
In Holmes Beach, Police Chief Bill Tokajer said March 19 that the week had been moderately busy following a busy March 14-15 weekend.
He said chilly, windy weather the beginning of the week drove away a local crowd, but the weather had no impact on out-of -state visitors, so the beaches remained busy.
Tokajer said his department had additional staffing to cover the week and patrol the beaches to ensure people adhere to the regulations prohibiting alcohol, grills and pets on the beach.
He said HBPD had issued multiple citations for alcohol consumption and arrested a 19-year-old male for underage drinking and providing false identification.
Nevertheless, Tokajer said there had been little trouble otherwise.
“No real issues. Just monitoring, keeping check, making sure everybody remembers that they are vacationing in a residential neighborhood,” he said.
Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said March 19 that spring break for the city had also been busy but easygoing.
He said the municipality’s shores — especially Coquina Beach — were as crowded for spring break as they were before hurricanes Helene and Milton in fall 2024.
“It’s good for the businesses on the island that the numbers are up because the hurricane took a huge toll on everybody, and I think we’re officially out of that,” Cosby said.
Despite the crowds, Cosby said the BBPD had not had any “real issues” and did not increase staffing or adjust patrols.
He said there would be additional staffing to cover the weekend, which was expected to be warmer and busier.
Chet Brown, division chief for Manatee County Beach Patrol and Aquatic Safety, said March 20 that spring break was going swimmingly.
The MCBP provides lifeguard services at Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.
“Things are going really well,” he said. “For the most part, everyone has understood what the rules of the park and the beach are, so we haven’t had a lot of issues with some of the typical spring break issues that we’re kind of used to.”
Brown credited some of that success to the MCBP’s efforts to educate the public on safety issues and beach rules.
He added that the MCBP increases staff to tighten up lifeguard coverage over break.