cindie

I am in the planning stages of organizing a trip to Florida during my children's (ages 15, 11) February, 2005 vacation. We will be flying into the Ft. Myers area from the Northeast.

The main purpose of this trip is to visit a close relative that has recently moved to Ft. Myers. We will need to spend a few days in this immediate area. My preliminary research has led me to the conclusion that there is really not much "to do" for my children's age group.

Any suggestions on where to stay, what to do, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

Patrick

Wow. I'm not sure what you're looking for the kids to do. There is no big theme park if that's what you mean, but here are a few ideas:

Visit the Edison and Ford homes.

Spend time at Ft. Myers Beach.
Activities for kids as well as just the beach.

Play miniature golf at one of the many elaborate courses.

Go shelling on Sanibel.

Take a boat ride -- a number of them around, or even rent a boat for the day.

Head towards Naples and do the long boardwalk off Immokalee Road at the Audobon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Or visit the 6 Mile Cypress Preserve closer to Ft. Myers.

Have dinner on the Mystery Train.

Go to the Imaginariam and Acquarium in Ft. Myers.

Visit the Shell Factory in North Ft. Myers for a fascinating variety of junk.

Rent bicycles and do any of a number of trails.

February? Check out the schedule for the Pageant of Light stuff, particularly the parade of lights.

Need more?

cindie

Thanks Patrick. That is the kind of info that I am looking for. My son, (the 15 year-old) is not much of a beach person. I am also not sure how warm the beaches are in February (can't be too much colder than Maine/New Hampshire in the summer!).

I will take whatever suggestions any one has to offer. I can then check into some of these to see if it is a "fit" for us.

Any suggestions on places to stay? We would prefer two separate sleeping areas.

1scs1

We have visited many of the places Patrick has mentioned. We visit my parents in Naples every April. We have gone with our two boys to the Edison-Ford homes and we all really enjoyed it. They were 13 and 11 when we went there. They also liked going down to Everglade City and taking an airboat ride. This past April we took a boat ride from Captiva to Cabbage Key and that was a fun day too. Your kids are too old for the Imaginarium in Fort Myers. I'd skip that if I were you. Enjoy planning your trip!

Italiano

If they like baseball spring training just starts you can see the Boston Red Sox or the Twins Ft Myers is there spring training home. early feb its the pitchers and catchers then mid Feb the rest of the team reports

birder

A visit to the Audubon Corkscrew Nature Preserve would probably be appreciated. It's very well done, tons of "nature" but very compressed so that there's always something to look at. How about the Everglades? I found that even a drive across Alligator Alley turned up an enormous amount of wildlife. The wildlife refuge on Sanibel -- Ding Darling - is wonderful and your kids might appreciate a drive through that and then a stop at the Bubble Room (a fun place to dine on Captiva). Another idea is kayaking or canoeing through the mangroves on Sanibel - it's very easy and a lot of fun. I second the recommendation for a boat ride - you can see dolphins, maybe go on a shelling cruise so that you can stop at Cayo Costa state park and find some wonderful shells, just enjoy being out and about. Young teens might enjoy the noise of an airboat ride as well!