Sanibel Or Marco Island?

[kirbydog48]

I just stayed at the Sanibel Inn last month and it was wonderful. We had a beachfront suite with a screened lanai overlooking the gulf. Sanibel is very laid-back. The focus is beach, shelling, biking and wildlife. The Ding Darling reserve is fantastic. There are some very good restaurants. I have never been more sad to leave a place in my life. If you're looking for tons of activity, this isn't the place (walking about 5 miles a day on the beach was my activity!!). There are some great boat excursions. We loved it.

 

[jimmalru80]

Southseas on Captiva. Love the Bubble Room.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Having lived in that area for some time, I would not recommend Sanibel, Captiva or Marco Island for people who want to do more than visit the beach.

Ft. Myers Beach is much more active, and those other places are easy drives for short visits.

Sanibel is known for shelling, so if you like to do that you can spend some time on Periwinkle Beach.

Ding Darling is a nice place to spend some time walking, driving or riding a bike through, if you are into preserves and wild life...

Fort Myers Beach has quiet areas, and much more active areas. Sometimes people like to dismiss FMB as a lesser place because it's not as expensive and doesn't come across as exclusive. If you want exclusive, stay at Pointe Estero on FMB. You'll not be disappointed.

There is a Mucky Duck at FMB, too if that is a place you want to try.

 

[jbthi]

We have been going to Sanibel and Captiva for 36 years and absolutely love it. We own timeshare at South Seas and at Hurricane House on Sanibel. It is more laid back than Fort Myers Beach or Marco but I have always found plenty to do.

There are interesting shops to go thru, good restaurants. Ding Darling Wildlife Reguge, the shell museum, historical village, local playhouse (live plays), miles of bicyle trails, canoe rentals, dolphin cruises, cruises to out islands. My favorite thing is just being a beach bum. Shelling is wonderful, especially in the winter months. Staying at South Seas, there are a lot of activities such as jet skis, parasailing.

I don't remember when you said you were going, but in the spring, summer and fall most places have rates at about half the price of prime winter months.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Sanibel was just on Travel Channel as one of the best beaches of Florida, so I say go for that one

 

[leahjade]

There are interesting shops to go thru, good restaurants. Ding Darling Wildlife Reguge, the shell museum, historical village, local playhouse (live plays), miles of bicyle trails, canoe rentals, dolphin cruises, cruises to out islands.

are these all on Sanibel Island or do we have to drive back to the mainland? Anyone know of a good condo to stay that is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, etc?

 

[MonicaInFlorida]

Sanibel has a younger vibe than Marco. Marco is really just beach activities, and then things close up at sundown. There's a lot more to do in Sanibel.

 

[okeydokey]

I was asking co-workers and they said there's not much to do at all on Marco or Sanibel and that I should try Ft. Meyers - now I'm really confused!

Ft. Myers is not as nice as the others, IMO. Sanibel is very natural and lush, just beautiful. Ft.Myers is much more touristy.

 

[jbthi]

are these all on Sanibel Island or do we have to drive back to the mainland? Anyone know of a good condo to stay that is within walking distance to shops, restaurants, etc?

All of these things are on Sanibel.

I don't know of any condos that are walking distance to both restaurants and shops. There are a few condo complexes that have restaurants (Casa Ybel on Sanibel and South Seas on Captiva come to mind). Shell Island Beach Club would be within walking to a very few shops. South Seas has a trolley that takes you to a shopping complex across from the resort.

Several condos furnish bicyles or you can rent them. There are bike paths that will take you to all the shopping centers.

 

[leahjade]

I found a lot of openings rent by owner for Loggerhead Cay - does anyone have any reviews? Or any buildings that would be the best to book - the place looks huge! Also, any recommendations for restaurants nearby would be greatly appreicated!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Restaurant wise:

Lighthouse Cafe serves a wonderful breakfast (lighthousecafe.com) and you can walk there from Loggerhead.

Jacaranda has great food for dinner (jacarandaonsanibel.com) it's about a 5 minute drive at most from Loggerhead. You could also walk there on the walking path, but it's a restaurant where you will want to dress up a bit (think resort wear) and personally, I don't walk distances unless I'm in really comfortable shoes.

Cheeburger Cheeburger has terrific onion rings and just about any kind of burger you'd want...just don't forget that you want a cheeseburger not a hamburger! (cheeburger.com) It's a great bike ride during the day....about 15 to 20 minutes from Loggerhead!

Matzaluna has pretty good italian food (sorry, but I'm an italian food snob...St. Louis has a great neighborhood called The Hill with some of the finest Italian restaurants in the US) (www.pawnbroker.com) This one is also pretty close to Loggerhead and you could walk it. Not a fancy place!

The Mucky Duck is up on Captiva (about a 20 to 25 minute drive from Loggerhead). Order the shrimp avalon...YUM! Go around sunset for a lovely sunset view on Captiva!

Also, here's a link to a website of Sanibel Captiva Restaurants: http://www.cuisine-scene.com/pages/restaurantsancap.html

Enjoy!

 

[charlie,nj]

A guy I worked with many years ago started a house rental business.

www.marcomagic.com/




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[lucas]

Sanibel is one of our favorite places.

Here are a couple of links that might help:

Message forum like DIS:
http://www.voy.com/2078/

Chamber:
http://www.sanibel-captiva.org/

Old Town:
http://www.oldtownsanibel.com/

We love Sanibel and have stayed there many times. We like the Waterside Inn on the Beach. We stayed in a cottage steps from the beach:
http://www.watersideinnonthebeach.com/

Some restaurant help:
http://www.cuisine-scene.com/

 

[Deb & Bill]

We're Marco Island fans. Been twice, going back again this summer. We enjoy just lying on the beach reading, swimming. They offer snorkle trips, parasailing, catamaran trips. We also took an airboat ride, but it wasn't in the Everglades. We might head down to the Everglades just to see it this time, but we may just rest up for the entire trip.

We've stayed at Club Regency and Marco Beach Ocean Resort. We've also looked at Charter Club and would like to buy in there.

 

[leahjade]

We're Marco Island fans

Is there a big difference between Marco and Sanibel? I've never been to the gulf coast so this is all new to me! Is one larger and more developed?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Lots of high rises along the beach in Marco, some hotels, some time shares and some high dollar condos - very high dollar condos. I think Sanibel has smaller, more folksy hotels/timeshares. We've never been to Sanibel.

The beach at Marco is wide, white sand with lots of shells, but easy to walk on.

 

[justhat]

We went to Marco Island last March for a convention and loved it. Thing is though, there really isn't much to do other than the beach. We went to Naples when I was pregnant with my daughter, so we knew that area a bit and did spend some time there, but other than the zoo (which is really tiny) and the alligator stuff, there isn't much. We went to the mall and looked around the pet shop if that says anything. Naples has a cute little strip with shops and restaurants, but nothing to spend a day on or anyting. The zoo is about 2 hours, same with the gators (and my daughter LOVES alligators, sleeps with a stuffed one since she was a year old, and still didn't take up a full day for us).

In Marco Island we stayed at the Marriott, which was great cause it has a waterslide, fountains and buckets and stuff that dump on you at the pool, a kids club that had some fun activities, big arcade, and a great beach. But my kids are water bugs and can stay in the pool/beach all day and be satisfied. The only thing we really did on Marco Island was get my daughter's hair braided and eat at a couple of restaurants.

In Naples we stayed at the Ritz on the beach, which was great. Beach wasn't as nice as Marco, and the pool wasn't either, but way more restaurants in the area to choose from (the Marco Marriott had a bunch, but none were really great and breakfast kinda had to be buffet, which was annoying, or the coffee shop), and chain restaurants which can be good when you have small kids cause you know what they'll eat and stuff.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Is there a big difference between Marco and Sanibel? I've never been to the gulf coast so this is all new to me! Is one larger and more developed?

Sanibel has no high rise condos. Marco does. Sanibel has a "smallish town" feel to it. Marco (and I was only there once...about 12 years ago) felt like a beach with a lot of condos on it (sorry, don't mean to insult anyone...different things for different tastes). Sanibel has natural areas (think lots of vegetation) and Marco (from what I remember) isn't as "natural."

Here's a link to photos of Marco: http://www.marcoisland.com/discover/seeIt/default.asp

Here's a link to photos of Sanibel: http://www.sanibelisland.com/photos.html

 

[leahjade]

Are grocery stores plentiful on Sanibel? I think we're staying at Loggerhead Cay and will be getting in late and will need milk, cereal, etc. for the morning.

 

[kirbydog48]

There are two; Jerry's and Baileys. Jerry's I know is open fairly late. It's on Periwinkle, across from Casa Ybel Rd.