Surprise romantic trip: Sanibel, Captiva, others
 

I want to take my girlfriend on a surprise, romantic trip in Winter to Southwest Florida (neither of us have been). Have heard of Sanibel, Captiva - are those the best places to go - others? Looking for a quiet (non-family) getaway with great beaches and watersports (sunfish, whalers, etc).<BR><BR>Thanks!

That gets my vote. You want to be somewhere that far south because Fla does get some cooler winter weather. Usually you are safe down there in Sanibel.If you want a non-tourist type place to stay check out Song of the Sea. We got a room on the beach with a screened porch that faced the beach. It was great to watch the sunset there. It is a laid back place with good food & the beach is full of shells. Check with the Chamber of Commerce to see what is open in winter there.

Ben, I will be staying at song of the sea in a few weeks so I was glad to hear you liked it.Your comment on all the shells has me wondering if the beach area at the resort is nice. Is there any nice white sand at all ? thanks

You'll find that the beach is entirely made up of shells. Large, medium, small, miniscule, and finally some microscopic or finely ground shells. There's no sand in sight!

Snibel faces south and shells wash up on the beach. For sugar sand you need to go to Siesta Key or Lovers Key (between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach.) The sand at Siesta Key is lovely.

Try Chamber of Commerce for miscell. info : www.sanibel-captiva.org or vacation rentals by owners: www.vrbo.com or another: www.gulfcoastrentals.com and find Sanibel link.<BR>Sanibel is a quiet, private and romantic place ! Glorious sunsets, fine restaurants, interesting lowkey shopping.A place for strolling ,biking, walking the (empty) beaches and watching birds and dolphins play.You can rent bikes(or they are free at some places), boat(s) etc.<BR>Enjoy !

"...no sand in sight?" That certainly wasn't my experience staying at Sanibel's Song of the Sea in March of 2000. There were plenty of shells to step around, but also more white sand than you could ever dream of. My daughter made sand angels in it.<BR><BR>We loved and would highly recommend Song of the Sea - a great recommendation for a romantic trip. Someone described it to me before we went as "cute as a button" and that's so right on. The rooms are very nice, and we had the one on the end of the pool view rooms (2nd floor) which actually also had an ocean view from the screened in porch. If you can't afford oceanfront, this is the next best room no question.

Sanibel and Captiva are pretty much family free Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, and the first half of Feb. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the week between Christmas and New Years, and going forward after the first half of February are busy times for families.

Glad to see that Song of the Sea is as good as I remembered. I thought the beach was fine. In some spots it is heavy with shells but there is enough sand to make you happy. And it is clean sand. The sand at some beaches always looks dirty. There is a relaxed feeling there that is missing in other places in Florida. Definitely not a Disney place.

Another vote for Sanibel/Captiva! We've relaxed there several times in recent years. Activities include golfing,bike rentals,kayaking (really relaxing!)dolphin-watch or sunset cruises, local theatre production,laid-back shopping,lots of restaurants to try,DingDarling Natl Wildlife Refuge to drive thru - easy 2-lane road to drive on adds to the enjoyment, as long as you're not in an absolute rush to get somewhere. Nearby Ft Myers offers spring training baseball games, Edison/Henry Ford museum homes, etc. We've found that sometimes room rates are lower in January (after holiday rush!), but BOOK NOW to get best room choices. Have a great time!

Hi Robert, <BR>We went to Captiva 2 years ago and loved it, it is beautiful there. We are going back in August to stay on Sanibel Island, this time we are staying at Casa Ybel, I've heard great things about this place. The last time we stayed at South Seas Resort on Captiva which was also great, both places offer gulf front condos that have screened in porches, we enjoyed cooking dinner out on the grill and watching the beautiful sunset during dinner, a few times we went out to eat but we enjoyed the view from our room so much better. Enjoy, by the way you can find much better deals if you rent directly from the owners at either of these places, let me know if you need more info and I can let you know the names of the people we rented from, the place was very nice!