Florida west coast with 15-month old baby.
 

It will be my daughter's first vacation. Please help me to make a decision: October or November? Sanibel, Captiva or Sarasota? I'm looking for a 2BR condo, any suggestions? I'm planning on renting a car so I can buy groceries for her and also go to the city in the evening. You guys always have great recommendations. Thanks.

Sanibel. November. Do it.

We took our 16 mo to Sanibel last April and it was great. We stayed at Blind Pass condos in a 2 bdrm. I really liked the condo, very clean, short walk to the beach, had sand toys and other beach stuff. We rented bikes with a baby seat and she loved that. Only complaint was the surf was a bit rougher than I expected, she couldn't stand up in it. Would recommend grocery shopping on the mainland, the island grocery stores were a bit pricey. Good luck!

Sanibel will be quiet, etc, but you have to get there from Ft Myers airport and you'll have to drive/taxi around. I think you'd enjoy St Pete beach a loy more. There is a trolley that runs from Clearwater to St Pete, so you don't have to drive at all. You can get a unit w/a kitchen for breakfast/lunch, etc.There are no "cities" to speak of in Sanibel or Captiva. You'll have plenty of activities in the area and you're still on the Gulf which should be calm at that time, barring any storms.You can walk up the beach to bars, restaurants, etc. I really think you'd be happier there!

When our son was 10 mos we spent a week on Sanibel. Sanibel & Captiva are quiet areas, not much "city" life. We usually visit during the summer months so I can't tell you what to expect in Oct or Nov. The condo we rent usually has beach toys for children. We always rent a car and DO buy groceries before crossing the causeway - prices are steep on the islands! Bring plenty of sunscreen for the little one!

Thank you all for your suggestions.
Have another question. I'm hearing a lot about no-seeums. Are they really bad? Do they prevail at certain time of the year?

Thanks again.

No-seeums are known to be a nuisance in the Ft. Myers, Sanibel Captiva areas and I don't know that they totally disappear at any time. The numbers may go down. With a little one, you might want to see if Citro-Gard by Repel will work for her. The bottle says not to use on under 6 mos. old. It contains only natural plant extracts and I heard about it when a study on effective mosquito repellents was released last year and it faired well. I live in SW FL and it has worked with the mosquitos. Have fun.

We usually go to Sanibel in the summer months and the no-seeums are horrible at dawn & dusk. It seems that as soon as the sun goes down those little blood-thirsty pests attack. I've used several different types of repellents but the only thing that I've found that will keep them off is a repellent that includes a percentage of Deet.