Travel

[RAVGIRL]

Hi all!  Has anyone been to Sanibel? If so, any and all info you can share would be great!! Have never been and toying with the idea of going in Sept or Oct.  Know anything about the Island Inn?  Thanks so much for any and all ideas, suggestions and help! 😃

[Mz iMac]

Looks interesting.  Never been.  The months you are thinking of going, I believe are within Florida's hurricane season?

[gmkb]

We go every year and love every minute.  It is easy to get around, has a wonderful nature preserve, great shops, good restaurants, community theater, art and craft shows, beautiful shells on the beaches, lots of rental opportunities, and a very helpful visitor center.  There is also a fun hot dog stand which serves yummy hot dogs and fries.

I should mention that that the season you picked is hurricane season, which could be a problem.  Also some of the arts will not be available at that time.  November thru May is a good choice.

[RAVGIRL]

Thanks for reminding me about that darn hurricane season....might have to rethink my timing.

[ValuSkr]

Hope you have a nice time.  The beaches are beautiful.

[cotton4me]

Sanibel Island is one of my favorite vacation spots.  The island has bike trails everywhere and the hotels usually rent bikes.  There’s also a nature refuge that you can drive through.  

Sanibel is known as the shelling capital of the world.  I was amazed at all the beautiful shells that wash up there.  I have jars of them all over our home.  I also made some small ones for Christmas gifts one year. 

Buildings can't be built higher than a royal palm, which I believe is 4 stories.  They try to keep the island as a nice refuge.   The water is very calm and you can walk pretty far out as I recall.  However, the one thing I would advise is some type of plastic water shoe because there are shells everywhere.  There are piles of them all over the beach.  I hope you have a great time.  

[itsmagic]

Yes. We stayed at the Seaside Inn and I loved it. The Inn is right on the beach so every morning I would get up early and see what the sea brought in. So many interesting sea creatures!  I really enjoyed walking the beach.  They also had bikes that we could use at the Inn so it was fun to take a bike and ride around the island.  Also went to a nature area there. We stayed on the island most of the time but did venture off to go to a flea market. If you decide to go, have fun!

[StylishLady]

We live about 20 minutes from the beaches of Sanibel. My favorite. Less developed, laid back atmosphere. A walk along the beach is my peaceful time. We avoid it during tourist season because of the traffic. Late summer would be a good time for a visitor.