Marco Island?

[KimR]

My family has decided that this year they'd rather do a beach vacation than go to Disney. I'm not a fan of the beach at all, so I'm a little out of my element in planning this. I looked around a bit on the internet and came across Marco Island as a possibility. The pictures of the resort I chose (Marriott) look very nice and I wonder if anyone could give me some first-hand opinions of the area.

A little bit of what I'm looking for: I'm leaning towards the Gulf Coast because the beaches seem so much nicer and the surf isn't as rough. I prefer a lively, touristy destination where there are plenty of nice resorts, restaurants and things to do to rather than an 'off the beaten path' type of place. Price isn't too much of a consideration especially since this is going to be much less expensive than our Disney trips.

 

[golfgal]

We stayed at the Marco Marriott several years ago. It is a nice resort and the beach is HUGE. Keep in mind that the beaches in that area are crushed shells so you need shoes to walk in the sand. It isn't like the Caribbean beaches where the sand it powder soft. We mostly golfed when we were there but you can do some air boat tours in the Everglades, Deep Sea Fishing, rent Jet Ski's, parasail, etc.

 

[HsvTeacher]

My DH went to Marco Island with his entire family the year before we met, which was about 14 years ago. They stayed at the Marriott and played golf and enjoyed the beach. He still talks about it to this day, so it must have been pretty awesome. We plan to make it back there soon.

 

[KimR]

Thanks! I'm a little concerned to hear that the beach is crushed shells rather than sand, though, because I think my kids are going to want a nice sandy beach. Maybe I should consider Destin and hope and pray we don't get the seaweed.

 

[LisaRay]

Don't reconsider based on crushed shells! We were at the Marco Marriott about 5-6 years ago and have wanted to go back every day since! We loved it and so did the kids. They were 3 and 12 and they played in the sand with no problems. Yes there are crushed up shells and since the beach is so large water shoes do help for walking the distance on it BUT there is also plenty of wonderful sand for playing and we found so many awesome shells. My kids loved that and they found many more shells then when we went to Destin or Pensacola beaches.
As a matter of fact on our last night there we just didn't want to leave and my DH went to the front desk to see if we could extend for one more night!

 

[HeatherC]

What about Siesta Key? Beaches are great and it is near Sarasota which has lots to do. Or Clearwater Beach!

Or Myrtle Beach, SC if you don't need to be in Florida.

 

[Anne34]

I love Marco. My parents spend three months there every winter. It is a nice place, but besides all the beach activities, not a lot to do. There is a small animal park in Naples,boat tours of the fancy homes in Naples, the Everglade airboat tours are over an hour away. Remember you are on an island and will need to drive to see things. There are cute shops & good restaurants. Amazing shells on the beach in the early morning. I like going here, but with my active family a few days (4-5) is usually enough.

 

[golfgal]

Thanks! I'm a little concerned to hear that the beach is crushed shells rather than sand, though, because I think my kids are going to want a nice sandy beach. Maybe I should consider Destin and hope and pray we don't get the seaweed.

The crushed shells turn to power so there is "sand" but it is still full of shell parts and whole shells. You could spend hours collecting shells on the beach. The kids will love it, just have some water shoes on them so they don't cut their feet. There is plenty of sand for digging, sand castles, etc. too.

 

[*JoGo*]

my husband's family has a condo just down the beach a ways from the marriott. i LOVE marco! it's so relaxing. we can watch porpoises from the lanai of the condo.

it does get busier the further into summer you go and also it's hurricane season. we went last year the second week of June and it was very nice, but towards the end of the trip it was getting busier. next time, i want to go the end of may. also, the water is warmer than the atlantic side. much warmer.

tigertail beach is also nice. it has a lagoon, and my kids don't like all the sea grass and whatnot they feel under their feet. but you cross the lagoon to the island and it's very shallow and the water is clearer and calmer - it was beautiful! and we saw about 2 dozen stingrays while over there!

there really isn't a night life, everything closes by 10pm, which is fine with us, but something to consider.

we go to the zoo in naples, caribbean garden. it's small but very nice and mostly shaded. less than an hour away i believe. after 2pm, admission is half off, it closes at 5pm but that was plenty of time to see the zoo.

i highly recommend marco island!

also, you can fly into ft. meyer's. it's about 45minutes from the island. you pass a large outlet mall on the highway, i've never been to it but would like to go eventually. there is a smaller outlet mall on the way to marco, after you get off the big highway. never been to that one either. there's a good bit of stuff we haven't done yet because of the ages of my kids, or b/c last trip i was in a cast and on crutches so we mostly lounged around.

 

[KimR]

Thanks! What about restaurants in the area? Any recommendations? We like seafood and steak primarily but also italian and mexican.