Discover the Beaches of FORT MYERS & SANIBEL Produced by Lonely Planet for :::::: :::::: :::::: :::::: ::::::::: Fort Myers & Sanibel Beaches:::::: & Islands :: ::::::::: ::::::::: :: MILEAGE FROM FLORIDA CITIES :::: ::::::: : : ::: Estimated :::: :::::: City Distance Driving Time Boca Grande :::: ::::::: 250mi / 400km 4 hours Daytona Beach & Outer Islands ::::::::::Cape Coral: & Alva, Jacksonville 320mi / 515km 5¼ hours :::: North Fort Myers Buckingham & Miami 155mi / 250km 2½ hours (p56) :::: (p68) Lehigh Acres Naples 45mi / 70km 1 hour :::: Orlando 200mi / 320km 3 hours (p74) :::: Sarasota 80mi / 130km 1⅓ hours ::: :::: Tampa 130mi / 210km 2 hours Pine Island:::: & : Matlacha::: ::: (p62)::::: Fort Myers :::: : : (p24) :::: ALABAMA GEORGIA 4 Sanibel & :::::: Jacksonville Tal la hasse e #] #] Captiva Islands :::::: ATLANTIC Fort ::::::: OCEAN (p44) Daytona Beach #\ Myers ::::::: : Beach #] Orlando :::::::: (p36) Estero &::::::: : Gulf of Tampa #] FLORIDA Bonita Springs:::::::: Mexico Sarasota #\ Fort (p78) ::::::: FORT MYERS #\ Lauderdale :::::: #\ #] Naples #] ::::::: Miami ::::::: :::::: Key West #\ Discover the Beaches of FORT MYERS & SANIBEL Produced by Lonely Planet for Produced by Lonely Planet for The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. All editorial views are those of Lonely Planet alone and reflect our policy of editorial independence and impartiality. QuickStart Explore Guide 7 Fort Myers Fort Myers & Sanibel & Sanibel 23 To p Ex p e r i e n ces .................... 8 Fort Myers & Sanibel 24 Fort Myers Day Planner ......................... 14 Need to Know ...................... 18 36 Fort Myers Beach Fort Myers & Sanibel Beaches & Islands ............. 20 44 Sanibel & Captiva Islands 56 Boca Grande & Outer Islands 62 Pine Island & Matlacha 68 Cape Coral & North Fort Myers Alva, Buckingham 74 & Lehigh Acres 78 Estero & Bonita Springs Worth a Trip 84 Florida Keys ........................................... 86 The Everglades ...................................... 88 Cayo Costa THE BEACHES OF FORT MYERS & SANIBEL © The Best of Fort Survival Myers & Sanibel 91 Guide 108 Fort Myers & Sanibel’s Best... Before You Go ....................108 Beaches ............................................... 92 Essential Information .......108 Nature .................................................94 To u r i st I n fo r m a t i o n ............ 111 Eco Travel for Kids ............................... 96 Cultural Sites ........................................ 97 Historic Sites ....................................... 98 Drinking & Entertainment . 100 Dining ................................................. 102 Shopping ............................................ 104 Spectator Sports .............................. 105 Accommodations Sports & Activities ............................ 106 & Attractions Listings 113 Attractions & Activities .... 114 B e a c h e s .............................124 RV Parks & Campgrounds ...................126 Accommodations .............130 Content in this section supplied by The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. 7 QuickStart Guide Fort Myers & Sanibel Top Experiences ................8 Fort Myers & Sanibel Day Planner ...................... 14 Need to Know ........................................................ 18 Fort Myers & Sanibel Beaches & Islands . 20 Welcome to Fort Myers & Sanibel Think ‘Florida’ and your mental Rolodex flips through certain images. White beaches. Blue skies. Spanish architecture. Lush greenery. World-class shelling. Leave behind the cartoon mice and shows named for vice. In Southwest Florida, that sort of flash is traded in for the pure joy of watching egrets pick across tidal lagoons and digging angel wings out of the sand (that’s a shell, if you’re wondering). StrollingGreat Egret, on theSanibel beach Island at Fort Myers /LONELYTHE BEACHES PLANET OF IMAGESFORT MYERS © & SANIBEL © 8 Fort Myers & Sanibel Top Experiences Become One with Nature No populated area in South Florida offers access to nature quite like The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. You can lose yourself in miles of primordial wetlands, watch flocks of birds migrate across land and sea, and see alligators and manatees dance along the drivable ‘safari’ trail through J.N. ‘Ding’ Dar- ling National Wildlife Refuge (p48). PREMIUM UIG/GETTY IMAGES © IMAGES PREMIUM UIG/GETTY Top Experiences 9 Step Back in Time Two of the most prolific innovators of American industry, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, spent their winters in Fort Myers – itself wonderfully preserved – and left behind the magnificent Edison & Ford Winter Estates (p29). You can also go back further and learn about the Koreshan settlers, Florida pioneers and the area’s original inhabitants. CAMERON MICHAEL / LONELY PLANET © WALTER BIBIKOW/GETTY IMAGES © Big Time Artwork There’s a vibrant creative energy in the air here, evidenced by art walks in downtown Fort Myers, an extremely active local theater community, gal- lery openings and events from Cape Coral to Bonita Springs, plus small artists’ colonies on the islands. Drive to Matlacha (p66) and stroll through some truly funky, fresh galleries on ‘Main Street.’ 10 Top Experiences Sandsculpting THE BEACHES OF FORT MYERS & SANIBEL © & SANIBEL MYERS FORT OF THE BEACHES Championship Professional sand- sculpters come to Fort Myers Beach each Novem- ber for the American Sand Sculpting Championship & Beach Festival (p110), utilizing what’s considered to be the best sculpting sand in the world. Although excellent throughout the region, the sugar-powder sand on Fort Myers Beach is said to be perfect. Ama- teur sculptors can join in, with daily lessons given by a master sculptor, and amateur division awards. TORY KALLMAN/GETTY IMAGES © Watchable Wildlife Anhingas dive, pelicans flap, alligators cut through the water like a knife and manatees roll like giant gray jelly beans…animal lovers will find a lot to like here. Watch dolphins with outfitters such as Captiva Cruises (p119). Or come to Sanibel and visit Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW; p51). Top Experiences 11 Island Life Take a walk. Or get in a golf cart. That’s as fast as folks like to take things on islands such as Gasparilla, North Captiva and the superbly named Cabbage Key. The most important thing in life is taking time to enjoy it, and nowhere does this philosophy find fruition like on boat-accessible Cayo Costa (p59). CAMERON MICHAEL / LONELY PLANET © THE BEACHES OF FORT MYERS & SANIBEL © & SANIBEL MYERS FORT OF THE BEACHES Beaches & Baseball What two words better capture spring? Fort Myers is spring training central. The Minne- sota Twins call this their spring home- away-from- home, while The Boston Red Sox play just a few miles away. Visit Terry Park (p105), one of the nation’s great ball fields where legends have played…and pass the Cracker Jacks. 12 Top Experiences Get Your Fish On © & SANIBEL MYERS FORT OF THE BEACHES From March through June, an- glers from all over the world come here for Megalops – the tarpon, one of the world’s great game fishes. You can catch some yourself at Boca Grande Pass, on the south edge of Boca Grande (p56), known as the ‘Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World.’ THE BEACHES OF FORT MYERS & SANIBEL © & SANIBEL MYERS FORT OF THE BEACHES Paddle the Same Trails… …as the Calusa Indians. Head out on one of the largest, best executed networks of water trails in the country. Get geared up with one of the local outfitters at Estero River Outfitters (p82) and hit the teal spiderweb that is the Great Calusa Blue- way (p122), which provides access to 190 miles of pristine, water-bound goodness. Top Experiences 13 Shelling © & SANIBEL MYERS FORT OF THE BEACHES Stroll along some of the 50 miles of beautiful beachfront here and you’ll probably feel a crunch along the way. However, please be advised that the tak- ing of live shells is strictly pro- hibited. Move your feet – that conch may still be alive (and it’ll probably hurt your feet to stand on). Local beaches, especially on Sanibel and Captiva, offer the best shelling in the USA, if not the world. You’ll soon develop the ‘Sanibel Stoop’ as you find yourself constantly looking footwards for beautiful sprinkles of white, pink and peach-colored mollusk magnificence. Make sure to stop by the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum (p52) to learn more about how shells end up here and what types you’ve spotted on the sand. MANUMAZZANTI/GETTY IMAGES © IMAGES MANUMAZZANTI/GETTY 14 Fort Myers & Sanibel Day Planner Day One Day Two Assuming you’re waking up on Have co ee and superb doughnuts M Sanibel, grab some co ee and M at Bennett’s Fresh Roast (p33) in breakfast at Sanibel Café (p53). Give the Fort Myers, but make sure you get there coconut-encrusted French toast a whirl. early; those doughnuts have an annoy- After breakfast, take a drive, or better yet, ing habit of disappearing quickly! After get on a bicycle and roll through the J.N. breakfast, pay a visit to the Edison & Ford ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge Winter Estates (p29), located on palm- (p48), keeping an eye out for gators, lined McGregor Boulevard. manatees and huge ocks of migra- tory birds. Walking tours are o ered on a Take a walking tour of the River limited basis. R District, also known as historic Fort Myers, with True Tours (p120). When Have lunch at Island Cow (p54), you’re done with the tour have lunch at the R then take a long stroll around the Veranda (p32), also located downtown. Sanibel Historical Museum & Village If you’re in the mood, you could take a (p51). If you’re not too tired, visit the two- to