Sanibel
 

I am planning a trip to sanibel the first week in June. We are taking our kids, 8 and 10 years. When looking at some of the web sites the verbage is geared to "romantic, etc." I want to be sure and stay at a place where the kids will be welcome. We would like to stay on the beach and a good pool will be a must. Any input would be appreciated as well as recommendations for other areas. Thanks

Do you want hotels, condos, or rental homes?

Tandori Girl, thank you for the quick response. I am not sure, we usually make our beach vacations without the kids. This our first time taking them to the ocean. My wife and I normally stay in small hotel type B&B's like the Marquesa in Key West, etc. These are nice when we are alone, but I want to make sure the kids have a good time.

We stayed at Song of the Sea a few years ago & loved it. Didn't take the kids but it didn't seem like they would be out of place there. The site mentions "romantic" but only says that the staff will assist in making your stay romantic.
Our room was on the beach & had a screened porch. There was also a pool but we never used it.

We also stayed at the Sundial resort before Song of the Sea. You might check that out. It just depends on your budget & what you need/want.

I used to go to Sanibel before I discovered Captiva. It's more my style, smaller. Go to Tween-waters.com to check out one of my favorite spots. There are some water sport activities for kids and a great pool. But (downside) the shopping and restaurant area is a car-ride away, no walking there.

I try to steer people with kids to St. Pete or Treasure Island. There is soooo much there for kids. The beach is beautiful. The Don CeSar would make you and the kids happy. A day trip to Busch Gardens is 40 minutes away, as is the Tampa Aquarium and the Lowry Park Zoo. Lots of video arcades, things to walk too. Great shopping. The Dali Museum for you in downtown SP.

But I know you have your heart set on Sanibel. And it is a beautiful place. Sorry I don't have any other recs but there are lots of Sanibel fans on fodors.

Song of the Sea gets mentioned a lot. I will look at their website. Are there resturants and other attractions within walking distance or is a car necessary? Im assuming we would need to fly into Ft Myers. - Thanks

You will definitely need a car. Florida is not pedestrian or mass-transit friendly. Ft. Myers is your closest airport. But if you're interested in saving on airfare and can get cheaper flights or car rental from Tampa, it is about 1.5 hrs. from Tampa to the Ft. Myers exit on I-75, another 20 to Sanibel.

Rent some bikes when you're on Sanibel. They have some terrific wide bike paths along many of their streets.

You will definitely need a car.

I've always stayed in a condo in Sanibel Harbour Resort, which is on the bay near the causeway, so I can't really recommend something right on Sanibel.

Your kids will love the miniature golf place where you can feed live gators (through a fence using fishing poles). The name excapes me, but it's on the road to Ft. Myers Beach - going towards FMB from Sanibel - and before the bridge on the right hand side. My son loves it. There's a big beach type souvenier shop across the street.

On Sanibel, San-Cap beach is beautiful and great for swimming in crystal clear water (on the Sanibel side where the small bridge connects Sanibel and Captiva). On the Captiva side (the beaches are connected, but divided by a stone wall that you walk over) the sea shells wash up and pile up on to huge mounds. Wear beach shoes and let the kids go digging.

You can always visit Ding Darling preserve and take a tram ride to see gators and birds.

I believe there's also a bird or small animal sanctuary where they help injured or sick birds and animals to be introduced back to the wild - but I haven't been there. There's also a place that has real pirate treasure - I can't think of the name of it. A little research on the web should bring it up!

You can rent bikes and ride all over the island. There are also dolphin boat rides available in the area.

Sanibel is beautiful, and a wonderful family destination. Have a great time!

Do some serious research on the condition of the hotel/ condo before you book it. Captiva seems to have blown away as Hurricane Charley went right over it and Sanibel very badly damaged. I looked into taking our family to Sundial in June also, but their website says the complex won't be completely open til June 1. As there are still a lot of blue roofs around Orlando, I didn't think that was a chance i wanted to take so we are going one more island south to Estero Island.

We just returned from a stay on Sanibel Island. We stayed at the SunDial Resort (not our first choice but after being bumped 2x we were just happy to have a place to stay on Sanibel) The resort was barely functional yet my 12 year old son had a great time. By June everything should be pretty much up and running, the main pool, restaurants and game room. I think your kids would have a great time. They have a daily activity program geared towards kids, bike rentals and the beach right there. We went to Jerry's the local grocery store and stocked up on some essentials so we could have breakfast in our condo and snacks. I still drove to the Island Bean for great coffee and muffins each morning. The island is easy to navigate and good eating is just a short drive away. We went on a Dolphin and Wildlike Adventure cruise from Captiva Cruises that was sold out...and didn't break the bank. Captiva is quaint and charming, we plan to stay at South Seas next year..this is where we were originally booked but they refunded our $ since they dramatically over estimated their ability to open in time for spring break.

We also drove past Song of the Sea which was closed but it looked very nice.

Some good restaurants..the Island Cow, very kid friendly, Grandma Dots..average food, very casual.

For a more expensive but nice dinner try The Timbers. Food was excellent as was my margarita.

We also liked Matzaluna, for italian. Be aware that many of the restaurants on the island have call ahead seating which helps cut down on the wait.

We went to a place called Schnapper Hots for lunch twice. Good burgers, hotdogs, fries, etc.

Sanibel is low key casual and very relaxing...enjoy!

Sanibel is fabulous with or without kids. Do not stay at the Sanibel Harbour Resort near the causeway. It is a great place for a business conference, but it has no beach and is not on Sanibel. Be sure to rent kayaks to go out to the mangroves. The birds are wonderful. The kayaks are really easy and fun. Try not to rent the two-person ones. They are annoying. Get everyone their own.

Make sure you visit the RV Park--Periwinkle Park which is just after you turn onto Periwinkle Way from the causeway. Visit to see the amazing array of parrots, as well as the other birds in the pond and the family of lemurs (new babies just born early april). Your kids will love them.

Cheeseburger-Cheeseburger is just a chain, but my kids love to eat there.

Jim,
I'd recommend a condo. In June, you should be able to get a great deal, and there is a wide array of choices directly on the beach.
With an 8 and 10 yr old it's nice not to have to get going for breakfast at a restaurant every morning. Better to head to the beach early, and out for lunch when the sun is at it's hottest.

When we were in Sanibel this past Feb. we took a drive up to Captiva.
I hate to say this, but it looked pretty rough. It may be better by June, but for a first time visit I think you may be disappointed.
Besides, biking is not easy on Captiva,
and our 10 yr. old finds this one of his favorite parts of going to Sanibel.

Check out the websites below, it should give you all the info you need.

http://www.bestofsanibelcaptiva.com/index.shtml

http://www.sanibel-online.com/

Also, you can try www.vrbo.com
for condo rentals through the owners