Which Gulf Coast Island........

[onlyholly]

We (Me, DH and DS-11) are planning a week on the Gulf Coast in August before a fortnight at Disney/IOA etc. We are HGVC owners and can exchange a condo/apartment either on Marco Island, Sanibel, Captiva or Fort Myers.

Any HGVC members used any of these options ?

What Island do you think, from your experience, should we stay at (beach, beauty, restaurants, other things to do) ?

Has anyone stayed at any of the HGVC Sites ?

How long (by car) is the drive ?

Apart from beach life what else is there to do/must do's ?

Plenty of restaurant choices would be an advantage.

Your help would be greatly appreciated !!!!!!

Thanks in advance
Holly

 

[LurkerLisa]

I've only day tripped to Sanibel and Captiva - I pretty sure you can only get to Captiva from Sanibel. Anyway, Captiva is very quiet and pretty, but there are not a lot of places to eat. Sanibel is also very pretty and it does have many more places to eat, but I'd say that both of these islands are more about nature than "things to do." There is a really nice bike path that goes all over the island and there is also a large bird sanctuary. Traffic can really be an issue (took 45 min. to get off the island), so you need to plan your off-island trips carefully.

 

[ttfn3]

My vote goes for Sanibel. We LOVE Sanibel. We have vacationed there about 6 times in the past 7 years. It's a great family friendly island. Great beaches and no traffic lights. Lots of designated biking paths. You can pratically bike the whole island and no hills. Excellent restaurants. Good shopping. Nice bird aviary at the campground. The island is very laid back. There's not much night life.

You can easily drive to Captiva. Captiva is beautiful. However, they don't have any bike paths (well, not much) and it doesn't have as much to do right there as Sanibel. We like to stay in Sanibel for a week and we drive up to Captiva for a day and maybe a dolphin watching cruise/dinner.

I can give you lots of recommendations on things to do and places to eat. We went last August and it was a great time to go. Just be warned that Florida gets storms in August about 4:30 p.m. each day. Before then, it was bright and sunny. We liked watching the storms on the water.

I have never stayed at the HGVC on Sanibel. We have biked around it. It looks like a nice place and the beach is very nice there. I believe this resort is near the lighthouse end of the island. (We usually stay at the Sundial Resort and rent from private owners).

I would say Sanibel is a good 3.5 hour drive to Orlando. Once you get to Ft Myers it take a bit to get to the island. Ah - I want to go back. I LOVE the drive over the causeway to the island.

If you would like more info, PM me.

 

[ttfn3]

Oh - I noticed the traffic issue. Since you are traveling in August, you shouldn't have any problems with traffic. It's off season on Sanibel.

My DS (age 7 - almost 8) would pick Sanibel over Disney if he had his choice for vacation. It sounds like you have the best of both worlds planned!

 

[onlyholly]

ever so much for your replies. Such good positive reviews make it even harder to decide. At the moment we are torn between Sanibel and Marco Island.

Decisions, decisions, decisions !!!!!!!!!!!

Take care
Holly

 

[soleil]

hi onlyholly, We are from Yorkshire and have been to Sanibel island three times,it is a beautiful place,it is very peaceful and serene,lush and tropical,but it has some great restaurants,gorgeous beaches,warm seas,great bike paths all over the island which is about 10 miles long.my dd who is 14 thought it was brilliant biking,and shelling,if you want a bit more action you could always go off island. i personally would not bother as it is a great way to prepare yourself for the parks,also there are some great little shopping areas on the island soleil

 

[soleil]

hi onlyholly forgot to say if you are flying into Orlando it is roughly three to four hour drive to Sanibel, depending on your route,we normally drive straight down route 27 to see a bit more of Florida.this takes us four hrs with stop for breakfast,or you can go down I4 to I75,this road is faster but more traffic,we find 27 more relaxing. soleil

 

[onlyholly]

Thanks so much for your post. Sounds lovely and relaxing - my DS (11) will love the bike rides - as will we. Still torn between Marco and Sanibel though, so thinking of doing a mini poll to see which gets the most votes.

Take care
Holly

 

[soleil]

hi onlyholly, another thing i forgot to mention on Sanbel there are no high rise condos,which seems to give it that island feeling,whatever you decide on i am sure you will enjoy yourself,do let us know what you pick soleil

 

[soleil]

hi onlyholly, me again if you want a detailed report on Sanibel, go to the british trip report board and find Kevin Stringers trip to Sanibel,great report from a very funny writer. soleil

 

[onlyholly]

I'm off right this minute to check out Kevin's trip report.

Cheers
Holly

 

[ttfn3]

Holly,
Last year we also thought we would try Marco Island instead of Sanibel. When we started listing the things we wanted to do on vacation, I told my husband - that's Sanibel. Marco Island pretty much has the beach. The hotels, condos are all high rise. There's nothing on Sanibel over 4 stories high. It got a much more tropical feel to it. The drive down Periwinkle and the drive to Captiva will take your breath away. It depends on what you want. Sanibel is getting away from it all. No traffic lights. Bikes are the preferred mode of transportation. The ocean and ecology are the big focus. Everything is right there. No fighting traffic. As I said, we have been there twice in August and it's not crowded. You won't have a problem going to a restaurant (and there are some GREAT ones). There are some wonderful hidden gems such as the bird aviary at the campground. We love to ride our bikes there and see all the parrots. They also have a small pond with lots of different ducks. And lemurs, etc. All for free!

Boy, I'm getting the urge to go back. I love staying right on the beach. My favorite thing to do is to get up early and walk the beach, look for shells, and see the sun rise. You can literally see the sunrise on Sanibel and then drive to Capitva to see the sunset that night. There are lots of fishing charters and several dolphin watch cruises. We rented a boat one trip and went up to Cabbage Key - a little island that has a goofy restaurant that's known for people hanging dollard on the wall.

One word of caution - since you are going to a beach in Florida in August - make sure you get some bug lotion and put it on before you go to the beach - especially early in the morning and about 4 in the afternoon. The no-se-ums are BAD!! You will get lots of bites and they itch. However, if you use a good bug lotion, you will be okay. We found this stuff called Cactus Juice (you can get if over the Internet and Sanibel stores carry it). It's great. Smells good, isn't sticky and it WORKS!

As you can see, I LOVE Sanibel - so if you want to know more - just ask!

 

[onlyholly]

for your post.

The decision is getting really hard to make and I am still not sure where it will be. All these replies have been fantastic and credit to you all for giving up your time to help out.

Does anyone know if there is bike rental on Marco Island - and is it suitably flat ?

Although there are plenty of restaurants for lunch and dinner on both islands, no-one has mentioned breakfast places.

Are there any chain type restaurants (perkins, Ihop etc) rather than one off expensive places to eat. We eat out for all our meals (it is my vacation too and I refuse to cook !!!) and was wandering what's available on the breakfast side of things ?

Thanks a million for all your help.

Holly

 

[soleil]

hi onlyholly, great place to eat breakfast called lighthouse cafe,none of the normal chains are on the island,but i seem to remember eating cheap breakfasts at some of the restaurants,if you want more info on the lighthouse cafe check out this site www.oldtownsanibel.com soleil

 

[ttfn3]

We normally have breakfast in our condo - mainly quick stuff like oatmeal, cereals, etc. Since it's quick and easy - and cheap!

We like to go to the Lighthouse Cafe for at least one late morning breakfast. So yummy - and it's near the end with the HGVC. However, it can get quite crowded.

There are lots of other places that serve breakfast. You can pick up a magazine on the island that lists a lot of the restaurants and menus.

For more Sanibel info, check out
www.sanibel-captiva.org

 

[onlyholly]

Looks like there are loads of places to eat out.

Phew !!!! don't have to cook.

BTW just joking about the cooking, but I do like to keep it to a minimum.

Holly

 

[ttfn3]

Holliy - couple of more tips
If you go to Sanibel and rent bikes - rent them from Finnimore's Cycle Shop - they have the best rates on the island.

Here's some of the restaurants we like:

The Island Cow
Keylime Bistro (GREAT food) - on Captiva
Lazy Flamingo
RC Otter's - on Captiva
Green Flash Restaurant - on Captiva
McT's Shrimp House & Tavern (lwe like the tavern with it's arcade games - great on a rainy evening)

All family friendly restaurants with good food. Believe me, you won't go hungry on Sanibel.

The island has some great jewelry stores!!!

We have also used the library on the island. You can get a visitor card and check out books and movies. I believe the card cost $10 - I consider it a donation to the library. We used it more when my DS was younger and got a bunch of books out that he could read for the week.

We have also driven the Ding Darling Sanctuary and you can rent kayaks if you more adventurous.

We have taken a few of the cruises on the Captiva Cruises - we like the dolphin watch cruise. However, be warned that in August it may not be a good time due to the frequent late afternoon thunderstorms.

Plus - there's always fishing the lighthouse pier.

(Okay - I'll get off my Sanibel soapbox...)

 

[ttfn3]

I thought of one last thing - I would recommend that you stop at a grocery store (if you plan on buying any food/adult beverages for your condo/timeshare) before you go over to Sanibel. There are a couple near the causeway in Ft. Myers. It's much cheaper than the stores on the island.

 

[onlyholly]

as your tips and comments are what I need to make my decision between Marco and Sanibel - the more the better please !!

Great tip about the library. I've noted the restaurants and Finnimore's bike shop.

The wealth of information given on these boards are second to none.

Thanks all.

Holly

 

[lUVTOGO]

We also stayed in Marco Island and Sanibel Island. We LOVE Sanibel Island. We rented a 2 bdrm condo right on the beach at Sundial Resort! You walked out in the morning, got your umbrella, and relaxed, relaxed, relaxed. The kids loved the kids club for a few hours a couple times in the week..We rented bikes a few times, went to the wildlife refuge a few times, Captiva is great!(when I hit the lottery, this is where I want to live). We really enjoyed our vacations there, but haven't been back for 3 years now as we have been doing Disney! But the kids would actually enjoy going to Sanibel more than Disney! We started going when DD was 18 months old and went 4 years in a row! I can't say enough about it!