Captiva Island exceeded my expectations. Prior to leaving, there were different ads for high rise, 4 star hotels in Ft. Meyers, and it is tempting to start counting "stars". Sticking with our decision to stay in our 3 star accommodations however was a great decision. Tween Waters Inn is not pretentious. The outside of the guest room units looks very much like any motel/hotel. Inside however, we found the rooms nicely appointed. One could picture Ernest Hemmingway there. Tween Waters has had a lot of well known guests. Charles Lindberg, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ding Darling have all stayed there. There are beautiful little cottages on the property if larger accommodations were needed. FORTUNATELY, just DH and I were on this vacation. We had a great time. Everyone is friendly on the property, at the pool, on the bike path, in town, etc, etc. For those lucky enough to have boats, docking is available for $2 a foot. We met some very nice people who were guests; members of a yacht club who come frequently, have dock cocktail parties and in fact, invited us to join them. This seems to be the nature of the guests at Tween Waters Inn. We met young families, couples, and guests who were back for their 25th year.
We rented bikes and did a 25 mile ride to the Ding Darling Nature Refuge. We happened to arrive, totally unplanned, just as the bike tour was leaving the visitors center. I have never been one to get excited about "bird watching" but the enthusiasm of our guides was contagious and before I knew it I was shouting out, "Look, there is a roseate spoonbill!"
The restaurants that we chose were all fine and reasonably priced considering you are on an island, even if it is in Florida. We took a day and drove to the Everglades for an airboat ride. We saw lots of gators and it was well worth the trip. On the way back from the Naples area we took a short cut back to Captiva through Ft. Meyers Beach. What a relief to have NOT stayed there. The area was incredibly congested and we could have walked faster than we could drive. It was a relief to get back to the quiet friendliness of Captiva (and Sanibel).
We visited the Historic village and museum of Sanibel. Kudos to those volunteers that are willing to share their time and acquaint guests with the history of their island. The Sears and Roebuck House, ordered from the catalog and shipped in 30,000 pieces for $2211 in 1924, was worth the price of admission alone. I could have moved right in. For $450 you could get it assembled, and for another $215, someone would paint it. DH and I stopped to look at a smaller house across from the beach in Captiva. It was adorable. About 1500 square feet, built in 1940, refurbished and in move in condition. $2.1 million dollars. The entry level for real estate on Captiva is $800K and goes up to $38 million.
We rented bikes and did a 25 mile ride to the Ding Darling Nature Refuge. We happened to arrive, totally unplanned, just as the bike tour was leaving the visitors center. I have never been one to get excited about "bird watching" but the enthusiasm of our guides was contagious and before I knew it I was shouting out, "Look, there is a roseate spoonbill!"
The restaurants that we chose were all fine and reasonably priced considering you are on an island, even if it is in Florida. We took a day and drove to the Everglades for an airboat ride. We saw lots of gators and it was well worth the trip. On the way back from the Naples area we took a short cut back to Captiva through Ft. Meyers Beach. What a relief to have NOT stayed there. The area was incredibly congested and we could have walked faster than we could drive. It was a relief to get back to the quiet friendliness of Captiva (and Sanibel).We visited the Historic village and museum of Sanibel. Kudos to those volunteers that are willing to share their time and acquaint guests with the history of their island. The Sears and Roebuck House, ordered from the catalog and shipped in 30,000 pieces for $2211 in 1924, was worth the price of admission alone. I could have moved right in. For $450 you could get it assembled, and for another $215, someone would paint it. DH and I stopped to look at a smaller house across from the beach in Captiva. It was adorable. About 1500 square feet, built in 1940, refurbished and in move in condition. $2.1 million dollars. The entry level for real estate on Captiva is $800K and goes up to $38 million.
My parents live on Sanibel Island, but I can't help but spend alot of my visiting hours on Captiva - we love going to The Mucky Duck. Great live music and you can't beat the location 
