HOLMES BEACH – The new, larger and partially enclosed Gulf Islands Ferry boat, the Manatee Belle, has arrived and is expected begin service in January.
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione announced the arrival of the new boat during the ferry update presentation he made to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council members on Dec. 15 and the similar update he provided the Holmes Beach mayor and commissioners on Dec. 16.
According to multiple sources, the county is pursuing the potential purchase of a boat slip or boat slips in the Waterline Marina in Holmes Beach. Before Falcione addressed the Holmes Beach Commission, City Attorney Erica Augello advised the mayor and commissioners not to specifically address those ongoing county efforts.
“There is not an active application with the city, but there have been pre-application meetings with the city with regard to a water taxi or ferry location in Holmes Beach. If there’s any questions, I would ask that they not be with relation specifically to the city of Holmes Beach because that is likely to come before you,” Augello said. Falcione, the mayor and the commissioners heeded her legal advice.
Falcione’s presentation
Operated by a contracted third party, the Gulf Islands Ferry service is part of the county’s public transit system that also includes the free countywide MCAT bus service and the Free Island Trolley bus service on Anna Maria Island.
Falcione’s presentation included a photo of the Manatee Belle. He told the Holmes Beach Commission the new boat will likely be put in service at some point in January.
He said the $3 million the county spent to purchase the new boat was 100% funded by the 6% tourist development tax levied on motel, resort and vacation rental stays on the Island and throughout Manatee County.
Falcione said the Manatee Belle can accommodate approximately 96 passengers and the enclosed interior seating area includes air conditioning and heat. The Manatee Belle also has an open-air seating area at the stern of the boat.
Falcione said the ferry captains and crew members are currently conducting sea trials and the U.S. Coast Guard still has to sign off on its commercial use before it can be put in service.
The Manatee Belle is now docked at the Twin Dolphins marina in Bradenton, not far from the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier in downtown Bradenton that serves as the mainland ferry stop. The Gulf Islands Ferry service currently consists of two smaller, open-air catamaran pontoon boats that travel between downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier on the Manatee River and the Intracoastal Waterway. The Manatee Belle will initially travel that same route between downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier.
The ferry service that began at the Anna Maria City Pier in January 2024 was suspended later that year when back-to-back hurricanes destroyed most of the pier walkway. The walkway is now being rebuilt and county officials hope to install a new ferry landing alongside the Anna Maria City Pier that’s expected to fully reopen in the fall of 2026.
When the City Pier reopens, the 100,000-pound Manatee Belle is expected to make the primary trips between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria and the two 30,000-pound, 49-passenger pontoon boats will be used as “Island hoppers” that travel between the various Anna Maria Island ferry stops.
Falcione told Holmes Beach commissioners the county plans to soon add a ferry stop at the Coquina Boat Ramp, across the street from Coquina Beach at the south end of Bradenton Beach. He said the county also plans to eventually establish a ferry stop at the Palmetto Estuary in Palmetto, across the street from the Palmetto Marriott Resort and the county’s recently renovated convention center.
Falcione said the ferry service’s primary goal is to reduce traffic congestion near and on Anna Maria Island. He said in the second year of service, just under 50,000 passengers rode the ferries in 2025. He estimated that resulted in approximately 22,000 fewer vehicles traveling to and from the Island using Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road.
He said the weather-related suspension of service days decreased in 2025 and is expected to further decrease when the Manatee Belle becomes operational.
Falcione said the Manatee Belle will also help further the ongoing efforts to implement free ferry service for employees who work on the Island and commute from the mainland.
The ferry schedule can be viewed and tickets can be purchased at www.bradentongulfislands.com/gulf-islands-ferry.
