Sanibel Island, FL
Our family spent a few days at Sanibel Island in the middle of May 2022. We really enjoyed the “old Florida” feel of the island. It is so peaceful and uncrowded in most places.
What We Did
We spent most of our time on Sanibel Island relaxing on the beach and in the pool at our hotel. The beach is very pretty and we had great luck finding seashells here. It was great to see quite a few live sand dollars. We know they should be left in their homes and did not take any with us, but it was amazing to see them. The beach was not crowded and the hotel provided umbrellas and chairs. As a family we enjoyed walking on the beach, sitting on the beach, and swimming. It would be a good beach for sand castle building as well, but we don’t have any interested sand castle builders these days. We always enjoy a refreshing swim in a nice clean pool, especially after time on the beach.
Exploring the Island
Biking is big on Sanibel and our hotel provided loaner bikes. We rode the bikes to breakfast and back one morning. The bike paths are beautiful and plentiful. Much of the bike paths are shaded. There were several opportunities to ride into and around natural areas. Be sure to bring hats and sunscreen because not all of it is shaded. Bringing water is also important as it gets very hot very fast.
We drove to Turner Beach one evening hoping to find some great shells and see the sunset. Parking was $5. Based on the time we were there relative to the tides, there were very few shells along the beach. It looked to be a beautiful place to watch the sunset. We had arrived about an hour before sunset and quickly decided that the shelling there was not going to keep our family entertained for that hour, so we decided to move on. There was a separate area of beach that we didn’t see the access path for. I’m not sure if it was part of Turner Beach or not. We saw there was a fence and a do not enter sign. If we had seen the way to that area, our shelling experience may have been different.
We moved on to Bowman’s Beach. We found this area much more interesting. Parking here was also $5. That may have been for a set amount of time and if you were there earlier in the day for a longer time parking may have cost more. We had about an hour until sunset. There was a playground here. There were also walking trails and a bridge across a body of water out to the beach and ocean. It was very scenic. The beach was much wider here than at our hotel. The shells were much better than we had seen at Turner Beach. We enjoyed walking along the beach, collecting shells, and watching the sunset for the hour we had until the sun had set. We really enjoyed our evening here. I did not see any place to buy food or drinks, so if you plan to stay longer you’d probably want to bring a cooler. There were restrooms, showers, and changing rooms.
We took an afternoon drive one day for a break from the sun. First we drove out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is unique. There is a park and beach access near the lighthouse. Parking looked pretty full and we did not have sun protection with us, so we looked from the van. We stopped for ice cream and also at a souvenir store to pick up a magnet. The island is nice to drive around. There are no stop lights, although there are a couple of intersections with a person directing traffic. The whole island has a peaceful, relaxing feel. There are no tall buildings and very few chain businesses. Native plants line the roads and bike paths.
Our family has several things on our list for future visits to Sanibel Island. We want to do more shelling, beach relaxing, and pool time. Also we would like to visit the Shell Museum. We would like to bike more when we are better prepared for the heat by bringing along hats, sunscreen, and water. The Ding Darling Reserve is another area we’d like to check out. We’d be interested in getting closer to the lighthouse also on a future visit.
A Word of Caution!
Watch out for no-see-ums! They are also called sand fleas. There was information about these little bugs in the reservation confirmation from our hotel. They even sell a local repellant in the lobby. Having bought a bottle at check in, we used it from the start of our trip. As our trip went on we became more and more careful about using larger amounts. We all felt the bites happening sometimes. Two of us were much more bothered by the bites after the fact than the other 2. For me, the bites became almost unbearably itchy after a couple days. I tried using essential oils and aloe to calm the reaction. Both would help for a short time, but when the itching came back it was bad. I read to take Benadryl to help. I don’t do well with Benadryl, so I avoided it. The day after we left my itching was so bad I was considering visiting an immediate care clinic for some help. Then I realized that I had a natural anti-histamine in my bag that I sometimes use for seasonal allergies. I took some of that hoping it would help and it did! It helped immensely! I needed to take it consistently for several more days while the bites healed, but it handled the itching. Be prepared. Be sure to get and use some repellant, maybe more than one type. And have some remedies on hand just in case you prove to be sensitive to their bites.
Where We Ate
We had a late breakfast our first morning at the Over Easy Café. It is a very popular place and the food was good. They offered gluten free English muffins and of course eggs, potatoes, and breakfast meats for our daughter needing gluten free foods. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast. The atmosphere is a bit hectic and our server seemed very rushed. We liked the food, but probably wouldn’t be in a hurry to return based on the overall feel of our experience.
Cheeburger Cheeburger was another lunch spot we really enjoyed. The décor of the restaurant is sort like a fun, 1950s diner. We all had burgers, fries, and shakes. Our daughter was able to get a gluten free bun for her burger. Everything was delicious and we enjoyed the restaurant. We would repeat this one.
We had dinner one night at the Tipsy Turtle. They do have some gluten free options on their menu. Our daughter ordered a gluten free mac n cheese and chicken dish. She did not like it. We all tried it and none of us were impressed. The rest of us thought our food was ok, but none of us especially loved our choices. The restaurant is cute and has a beachy vibe. They have a cute gift shop in the front as well as a fairly large bar in a separate building in the back.
Another evening we had dinner at Doc Ford’s. We really liked this restaurant and would return. Everyone found food that we thought was really good. The restaurant is nice and comfortable. It feels a little upscale, but still casual.
We also had dinner at 400 Rabbits, a Mexican restaurant on the island. There was live music inside. We sat outside in a nicely landscaped patio area. The food was fancier than we find in most Mexican restaurants, but the flavors were familiar and we all enjoyed our dinner. The guacamole was definitely a favorite.
The afternoon we drove to the lighthouse we stopped for ice cream at Sanibel’s Best Homemade Ice Cream. The ice cream was great and they had a nice covered porch for enjoying your ice cream. There were also a few baked goods available.
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Waterside Inn on the Beach. We loved it and I highly recommend it! It was a great place to stay. The property is right on the beach. Our room was clean and comfortable. We had a fairly standard room with 2 beds. The room had a small kitchen as well. It also had a small balcony also with a beautiful view out toward the beach. The door to our room was unusual in that it had louvers in it that could be pivoted open to let air flow through. It wasn’t quite as sound proof as a typical hotel room door would normally be. It is also worth noting that the room was cooled with a window style air conditioner, but it kept the room cool enough. There were different buildings with hotel style rooms in them as well as cabins. The whole property is fairly small, but has a great tropical feel. There is a small pool which was very clean and surrounded by beautiful palm trees! There were hammocks and a shuffleboard court available. Coin operated laundry was available as well. The hotel provided beach chairs, beach towels, and umbrellas. Umbrellas do have to be checked out daily and returned by 5:00pm. The hotel also offered bikes that could be checked out for exploring the island. They had adult bikes and kid bikes and even helmets upon request.
