This past week, we took a road trip from Atlanta to Marco Island. I’ve always wanted to go to Marco Island, as I’ve always heard good things about it. Since we recently went to St Simon’s Island and Folly Beach, I can safely say that Marco Island is definitely the best out of the three.
Restaurant Option Along The Route
Wahoo Seafood and Grill, Gainesville, FL
I highly recommend Wahoo if you are taking a road trip down I-75. The location can’t be more perfect – you can see it as soon as you take the exit ramp. The food was fresh and everything we ate tasted great!! They have lunch specials and prices were very reasonable. We enjoyed the drunken mussels appetizer, the cobia with a side of brussels, the seafood jambalaya and the homemade key lime pie. They also have a full bar and a huge variety of margaritas.
Vintage on 5th, Crystal River, FL
This is a more upscale place in the area. The tables have white tabletop and the service is great. Lots of people come here to celebrate special occasions. This restaurant is perhaps the best at handling coronavirus that I have seen. All tables are FAR apart. All employees wore face shields. Teddy had the pork porterhouse in maple bourbon glaze with smoked Gouda grits, I had the Chilean sea bass with risotto. Everything was so amazing!!
Amy’s on the Avenue, Crystal River, FL
We came here for breakfast after staying at The Retreat. It’s an awesome bakery, restaurant, and little shop. The prices were excellent. Teddy had the croissant sandwich which was delicious. I had my coffee with some homemade key lime cake and hummingbird cake. The back patio where we sat was absolutely eclectic with murals and flowers. They also serve mimosas, beer, and wine!
First Night Accommodation
We stayed at The Retreat at Crystal Manatee in Crystal River, FL. It’s a crossover between a motel and a bed and breakfast. The owner lives on site and is going through remodeling all of the rooms. We stayed in the “family suite”, which is super spacious and has a huge walk-in shower. The room seems to have been remodeled from the ground up – all furniture and furnishings looked brand new. This was one of few rooms that was not an “outside” room which is a huge plus for us. We don’t like outside rooms because we don’t like people to be able to see us from the street when we enter or exit. The other great thing about this property is the location. We could walk to everything we wanted to do around here. It’s a 5 minute walk to two local parks – Hunter Springs park and King Bay park. Easy 20 minute walk to Three Sisters Springs Park, which is great since it has no parking (other than handicap parking). 5 minute walk to Vintage on 5th and many other restaurants as well.
Attractions in Crystal River
Unlike the springs that are closer to Orlando, Three Sister Springs isn’t nearly as crowded. However, it does cost $12.50 a person to get in, and $20 a person in the winter. The cost helps causes that protect the manatees. When we went, there wasn’t any manatees yet, but between December and March, you will see lots of manatees in the water. The water is crystal clear and the boardwalk trail is super nice. Remember that there is no parking available at the park, except for handicap. We parked our car across the street in a shopping center, which I shouldn’t recommend (but nothing went wrong).
This is a small park in Crystal River and it’s where the locals like to go. There’s a playground, lots of water, and the area is gorgeous. In the summer you can swim and grill here too. When we went it was a little too cold to swim but there were kids that were swimming.
This is a beautiful park with kayak launch and fishing areas. Just like Hunter Springs, you can see manatees here during season too, but it’s not going to be in abundance like Three Sister Springs. This is a great park for some strolling and picnic. It’s very small but very clean.
Marco Island Accommodation
We stayed at Marco Ocean Beach Resort. This is a legit 4 star resort with nice restaurants, service, spa, and easy boardwalk to the beach. We were greeted as soon as we pulled up, there were bellmen helping us with luggage, valet attendant was there to take our car, and everything was taken care of. We booked a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom suite with full gulf view (instead of partial gulf view), but due to the way the resort is designed, you are looking at the ocean from behind some of their restaurants and pool, and many greenery in between. I do wish the ocean view was more direct. The pool was very small, not a whole lot bigger than the pool in my backyard, so we did not partake. We took advantage of the umbrella/chair service that the resort provided free of charge and they do serve you alcohol while sitting on the beach or by the pool as well. If we come back to Marco Island again, we would choose JW Marriott next time (which is next door) because their pool looked amazing and they had more restaurant options.
Where to Eat on Marco Island
Marco Island had SO MANY GREAT RESTAURANTS!! This is the number one reason I want to come back! There are fancy upscale restaurants, restaurants over the water, restaurants on the sand, etc etc. Best of all, almost all of the restaurants we went to were within walking distance, so we didn’t have to pick up our car during most of our stay. There are lots of Happy Hours options on the island as well!!
This restaurant is literally right on the sand. It’s entirely outdoors, the food is kind of Asian fusion with some sushi options, ahi tuna, crispy wontons, but also pork/chicken sliders, nachos etc. The menu is small, but I think it’s a good menu for different types of foodies. Since everything is outside, it certainly does feel very casual, and I would dress accordingly. The drinks are awesome here as well – and it would be easy to watch the sunset while consuming it.
Fin Bistro is a very nice, fancy restaurant from the food, the service to the décor. If you like seafood, you’ve come to the right place – they have a list of fresh catches with a variety of seafood. I had the Shelfish Meyer Lemon Brodetto. Teddy had the snapper. Both were yummy. But the best of all was the homemade bread pudding for dessert.
Pinchers is a casual seafood restaurant. Initially when I read about it online I didn’t think I would like it, but when I saw it as I was walking to Fin Bistro and it looked very inviting so we ended up eating here a couple of times. Pinchers has a very big menu and they have the best Happy Hours I’ve seen anywhere. $1 Oysters, clams, and wings during Happy Hour, AND they have Buy One Get One Free margarita or beer all day long. Their options of seafood is long. If you are looking for fresh and cheap seafood on this island, Pinchers is definitely the place.
This place is high dollar. But if you like oysters and enjoy trying different types of oysters, then this is the place to be. As soon as you sit down, they give you a list of oysters that are fresh for that day. Each oyster is $3.50, but if you buy a dozen, you can get it for a little cheaper if you don’t care which ones you get. We bought some small ones as we had never heard of them before (the list gives you names and sizes). They tasted amazingly fresh and were easily the best oysters I’ve ever had. For entrée, I had the Faroe Island Salmon and Teddy had the Florida Grouper. For dessert, we had the chocolate mousse. Everything was very good here but the tab definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Salty Dog is an awesome sports bar with indoor and outdoor seating, lots of TV screens, and wonderful bar food. We watched our football game here while enjoying some Ahi-Amazing Tuna Tostada (AH-MAZING), Wings, and lots of $2 domestic draft. The service was wonderful and the bartender was a total doppelgänger of Hannah G!
If you like Prime steak, then you should visit Marco Prime. As most steakhouses go, this place is expensive and upscale. But the food and the quantity makes it reasonable in my opinion. And if you like raw beef like me, you are in the right place! They have the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio as appetizer. I ordered the Maine Lobster Bisque as my soup (unlike most places, this lobster bisque actually has chunks of lobster!), and Wagyu Beef Tips as my entrée. I think the Wagyu Beef Tips is a great value! Teddy enjoyed the French Onion Soup and Surf and Turf. We were able to bring about half the food home as the serving sizes were great and the food reheated amazingly well!
Things to Do on Marco Island
Escape Room @ Xtreme Escape
We enjoy escape rooms although we are terrible at it. Unlike most escape rooms, Xtreme Escape communicates through your own cellphone which is a little unusual and does take away from the game experience a bit. We did the City Morgue, which was probably one of the easier rooms (a good thing for us), but the room was very small and it’s just all in that one small room. We did not get out – although I was on the right track. (20 more minutes would probably do it, but that’s a lot of time since you only get 60 minutes…) I guess it’s not the best escape room we’ve done but we did enjoy the experience.
I’ve never done an airboat before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but this was FUN! We were taken on an airboat and onto the blackwaters of Everglades. Our driver would make these spins and turns – it was quite thrilling! We saw an alligator too! Actually we ran over it… The driver also talked about history and was very funny. Next time I’m in the area, I’ll do this with my kids as I think they would love it!