We are planning a trip with our 3 year old in May and have been reseaching Sanibel Island. We are looking for a low key beach vacation and thought the island offered a lot of what we were looking for. Then I started reading about red tide, and from what I understand they are completely unpredictable in that there is not a season where they occur more often. But if there happens to be an outbreak your beach vacation will certainly be effected. I am especially concerned since I will be 6 months pregnant as well. I wondering if this is a common enough occurance that I should consider other destinations in Fl not on the west coast. Any advise would be helpful.

Say you've got a 2-5% chance of encountering red tide ... you'll have to decide what level of risk you're willing to take.

No one can decide for you.

Anyone know what the actual risk is?

Is there really no variation in the likelihood between seasons?

I was on Sanibel a year and a half ago. No one alerted me to the red tide, but it was awful. A trip that was planned for 2 weeks turned into 5 miserable days, I literally thought I was going to die.
I went again this past October with grandkids but this time made sure all was safe. Check out the link below for updated status.
http://floridamarine.org/features/vi...sp?id=9670#Rpt

It is my understanding that Red Tide on the Florida Gulf Coast is more likely, and has been worse in Summer/warm weather. While it won't kill you, the respiratory problems ... hacking cough from tickling throat, smothering sensation, running eyes ... can make you miserable, and ruin your trip. No one can tell you for sure that it will not be there in Sanibel in May. If I were going to an area where it *might* be, I would only plan to stay in a resort hotel, where I could cancel within a couple days of the trip if I had to. Many people are turning to the Panhandle beaches due to the problems on the Gulf Coast the last couple of years, in particular.

Hi, Melissap: As stated above, only you can decide if you are prepeared to bear the risk of an unpredicable event. You can always head to the South East coast of Florida. No red tide there! Singer Island is very nice. Check TUG2.net for a condo rental @ Marriott Ocean Pointe....kids' playground, 3 main pools plus a kids' pool, gorgeous beach. Ft. Lauderdale is great too... Lago Mar(lagomar.com)....2 pools, nice kids' playground for your 3 yo. Or, for a really basic but nice beach front location Delray Beach's Wright-by-the Sea(wbtsea.com) I have stayed at all 3 & like them. The are very different from each other. What they all have in common is a wonderufl beachfront location. And, close, easy air access...West Palm for Singer Island & Ft. Luaderdale for the other 2.

Sanibel is one of our favorite places in the world. We've visited many times and plan to go back. During our last visit however (July 2006) we encountered a mild red tide. We were miserable (coughing, sore throat, itchy eyes, sneezing) about half the week. Every other person on the beach seemed to be doing the same. If you stay away from the beach you're fine but what's the point of that? It is usually pretty easy to get a condo or hotel room there in May. Why don't you consider waiting until a couple weeks before and check the current situation before you lock in anything? Best wishes!

You can't predict it just like you can't predict a hurricane. You just know when they are more prevalent (sp?). Stay at a hotel where there is a pool, just in case you have a couple days where you can't go to the beach. I wouldn't rule out a whole vacation though because "the Possibility" of red tide.

Your 3yr old will love Sanibel and the beautiful beach.

I suggest you go to the tripadvisor.com "Sanibel FL forum" and read what the current reports are on Sanibel, and what it's been like recently. I think you'll make plans to go elsewhere ...

We were just there in late September- the beaches were just flat out gross. Tons of dead fish (one was probably 3 feet long and a foot thick- the biggest dead fish I've ever seen on a beach), tons and tons of rotting sea grass, and so many shells you could not walk on the beach without surf shoes/water socks. I don't think it was red tide, but most of the beaches were closed because of bacterial contamination.

All of that said, the part that will be constant is that the beach always has a pretty long line of broken shells, and walking with your feet just in the water means walking in about half sand and half broken shells- and there's not a lot to do there besides the beach for a 3 year old.

We enjoyed the food, but there's no way we would stay there again. The beach on Captiva looked nice, but a little bit rough.

<<Many people are turning to the Panhandle beaches due to the problems on the Gulf Coast the last couple of years, in particular.>>

Isn't the Panhandle also on the Gulf of Mexico, hence also 'The Gulf Coast'?!

We have been to Sanibel, mostly in late spring, about 10 times, and the red tide was only there once. We did not swim in it, and did not suffer any ill effects by shelling on the edge of the water and walking on the beach. Make sure the place you are going has a decent pool. The island is very low-key as you say, but with any natural habitat there is a chance of "a problem".

For us, the main draw is that we like the Gulf much more than the ocean. I grew up swimming in the ocean (much further north) and do not like rough waves. Personally the kids did not like the Gulf as much as the pools at the resort we stayed at.

I live in Naples -- 10 blocks from the beach. When red tide is in full bloom, I know it when I step out the door in the morning. When there is a minor outbreak, I have to get within a half block of the beach to start my coughing.
The idea of making sure your beach front hotel has a pool in case of an outbreak of red tide is kind of funny. Frankly, I wouldn't be spending any time at the pool along the beach during red tide. I'd be coughing my head off -- that's how it affects me.

Again, the outbreaks do NOT occur often, and it's up to you how much risk to take that you'll happen to be here during one, but yes -- it is a problem.

To take the guesswork out of it, here is a govt page with red tide update by county. Sanibel is in Lee County.

Now there is even a Red Tide Hotline you can call for updates.

http://www.floridamarine.org/feature...e.asp?id=12373

Oops! Didn't realize rdeeba gave virtually the same link earlier. Sorry rdeeba!

"I'd be coughing my head off -- that's how it affects me."

Are different people more or less sensitive to it, or is it that the blooms are more or less severe (and wax and wane)? It was yucky to look at (especially with dead fish around), but as long as we didn't go in the water it was okay. Also maybe depends on how the wind is blowing?

This site is interesting as well:
http://www.start1.com/news/default.aspx

They are "waiting" for red tide to try different mitigation techniques.

Swaying_Palms, technically, you are correct about it all being the Gulf, Panhandle included.

rhrd, Red Tide does affect people differently ... some people will react violently, some with just a little tickle.

Telling someone to stay where's there a pool (in case of Red Tide or red algae) .... well, I won't pay Sanibel prices to swim in a pool (I can do that at home). Why be on a beautiful beach if it's littered with dead fish, etc., and you can't breathe when you walk on it? If you read the Sanibel forum on tripadvisor.com, as I mentioned above, you'll see many who were Sanibel devotees changing their vacation destination after years of going there.

From what I understand, Sanibel has been experiencing horrible Red Algae which is a little bit different from Red Tide. Our family has been visiting Sanibel for the past 6 or 7 years now and we love Sanibel. BUT...I too have been reading of all of the Red Algae that is covering the beaches. This has been occuring quiet regularly for the past year. Some say it is a result of flushing/dumping from Lake Okeechobee. I do not know if that is true but it is what I am reading. We have had several friends that have visited Sanibel over the past year and everyone of them said at one point during the trip there were mounds and mounds of stinky algae all over the beach. This unfortunetly has finalized our decision to vacation elsewhere this year. I do hope that some type of action is taken to clean up the gulf. Sanibel is a beautiful wonderful vacation spot.

I had no idea that Red Algae is any different from Red Tide. Red Tide is the name given to outbreaks of reddish algae growing in the water which give off certain toxins.

I am not exactly sure what the difference is but from what I understand, Red Tide is more of a health concern and the Red Algae, actually it is called Red Drift Algae, is more of a nuisance. If you Google "red drift algae Sanibel" several articles come up. The most recent was at www.news-press.com. There is actually a picture of the mounds of algae washed up on one of the beaches on Sanibel. Hope this helps a little.