BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry service now offers a new ferry stop near Coquina Beach.
The expanded ferry service now provides a connecting route between the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and the Bayside South Boat Ramp located across the street from Coquina Beach, at the south end of the city.
The expanded ferry service made its first official trip to the new Coquina Beach stop on Wednesday, Sept. 2, with the Downtown Duchess pontoon ferry boat carrying six local media members and no paid passengers on that maiden voyage.
Joined by several paid passengers, the media members made the first leg of the journey from the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier in downtown Bradenton to the Bridge Street Pier aboard the larger Manatee Belle ferry boat that joined the Gulf Islands Ferry fleet earlier this year.
The Manatee Belle, the largest of the three ferry boats, has a 91-passenger capacity and features an air-conditioned indoor seating area and a public restroom, with an open-air seating area at the rear of the boat. The two smaller open-air pontoon catamaran ferries placed into service in 2024 carry up to 48 passengers.
The trip between downtown Bradenton and the Bridge Street Pier aboard the Manatee Belle took about 50 minutes. The trip between the Bridge Street Pier and the Bayside South Boat Ramp aboard the Downtown Duchess took less than 15 minutes.
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Communications Manager Keenan Singleton accompanied the media members. He said the new ferry stop near Coquina Beach builds on past ridership gains from the ferry service’s previous two-stop route between downtown Bradenton and the Bridge Street Pier. Singleton said more than 55,000 passengers rode the ferries in 2025 and that resulted in an estimated 23,000 fewer cars traveling to and from Anna Maria Island.
In a press release issued by the county, District 3 County Commissioner Tal Siddique said, “As we’ve seen a vehicle reduction with the two-stop service between the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier and Historic Bridge Street Pier, this additional stop will positively impact the roadways running the seven miles of paradise on Anna Maria Island. It’s another large step forward in preserving mobility on Anna Maria Island for those visiting for the first time, long-time repeat visitors, and our residents.”
The county’s contracted ferry service is partially funded by the fares paid by ferry passengers. The ferry service is subsidized by the county using tourist development tax revenues. Property tax revenues are not used to fund the ferry service.
For Alisa Begley and Stephanie Banfill, the ferry trip to the Island has become a weekly excursion.
“We have lunch, and then we spend the rest of the time, which is an hour or two, walking the beach,” Begley said during the Sept. 2 trip.
“The first week we decided to do this, we got in the car and drove,” she said. “And after about an hour and 10 minutes we were driving over the bridge slowly. Now, the ability to spend an hour on a boat with the possibility of seeing dolphins instead of an hour driving was great.”
Fares and schedule
Round-trip fares between the Bridge Street Pier and the Bayside South Boat Ramp near Coquina Beach are $9 for adults 18-59 years old and $5 for seniors, military members and children. Passengers 80 and older and 4 and under ride free.
The round-trip fare between downtown Bradenton and the Bridge Street Pier is $11, plus tax, for an adult 18-59 years old.
The round-trip fare for an adult 18-59 years old to travel from downtown Bradenton to Coquina Beach and back is $21.20, including tax. The total fare for that same round trip for someone 60-79 years old would be $12.72.
Passengers traveling to Coquina Beach are allowed to bring beach chairs, coolers and other beach gear aboard the ferry boats. Bicycles and pets are not allowed. A wheelchair lift is available at the Bayside South Boat Ramp stop.
Ferry service to the Anna Maria City Pier was suspended in October 2024 after Hurricane Milton destroyed the pier walkway. Ferry service in Anna Maria is not expected to resume until 2028.
Weather permitting, the ferry service generally operates Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
To view the complete ferry schedule or purchase tickets, visit Gulf Islands Ferry website.
