Graham

We are a family of four(7&12) from England. Is Fort Myers or Fort Myers Beach a good base for visiting Sanibel and Captiva? Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received. We are visiting in August, it is our second visit, but before we 'did Orlando and Clearwater' and this time want to see more.

Jan

I would rather stay on Sanibel itself, being from England you will know what I mean when I say Fort Meyers Beach is a little like Blackpool, nothing wrong with that but staying on the islands themselves is much nicer. Have had two wonderful holidays there and would love to go back for a third!

mustang81

Having lived in Ft Myers, I would suggest driving right through and get on with it in Sanibel/Captiva. Just go into town for shopping (staples and the like). Hope you have a wonderful time.

Wendy

Hi, Graham. Our family of four (6 and 11) were on Sanibel last November and we can't wait to go back this year. I have not stayed in Ft. Myers ,but if your intent is to spend time on Sanibel/Captiva, my recommendation would be to stay on Sanibel Island itself. We stayed in a two bedroom condo at Sanibel Inn and loved it. There are biking (or walking or rollerblading) paths all over Sanibel (none on Captiva)and there are plenty of places to rent bikes. My six year old wasn't riding a two-wheeler yet and we were able to rent a tandem bike that he rode with my husband. Sanibel Inn is right on a lovely strip of beach. There are dozens of good restaurants. Even the fanciest restaurants require only casual attire and every place has children's menus. If
you like sea food, my husband says that the shrimp on Sanibel was some of the best he has ever eaten. There are short cruises given by Captiva Cruises that I highly recommend. The shelling cruise was our favorite. They take you out to North Captiva or Cayo Costa and give you 2 hours to shell on semi-deserted beach. We found lots of sand dollars and some very pretty shells. We also went on a dolphin cruise. We didn't have time for the wildlife encounter cruise but it sounded great. Next time! You really need to be on the island,I think, to let the relaxing atmosphere soak in. I'd be happy to answer any other questions or provide further info. on restaurants we enjoyed. E-mail me directly or post here. Have a wonderful trip. Sanible/Captiva is a special place.

kam

Excellent advice from Wendy and others. You will love Sanibel. We used to take our kids and the grandparents every Easter break when we lived in the Midwest snow belt. It's a totally different Florida experience from Orlando.