FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2002

CONTACTS: Nancy Hamilton, Lee Rose (239)338-3500

Southwest Florida’s Lee Island Coast honored
as among world’s “50 perfect island getaw ays”

            LEE ISLAND COAST, FL – Captiva Island, located on the Lee Island Coast in southwest Florida, has been chosen among an esteemed list of “50 perfect island getaways” by Islands magazine.  The magazine, with a circulation of over 235,000, describes the list as “dream destinations” in its December 2002 issue.

            Fifty island destinations worldwide earned placements in categories such as “Beach Bums”, “Sophisticates”, “Thrill Seekers”, and “Romantics”.  Under the “Nature Lovers” category, Captiva Island was praised with other well-known island destinations, including the Big Island of Hawaii, St. Croix, Prince Edward Island, Marquesas, Grenada, the Canaries, St. Vincent, and Bocas del Toro, off the Panama Coast.  The publication states: “Grab your binos and your bird book for a trip to places where the words ‘creature comforts’ take on a whole new meaning.”

The magazine reports: “Captiva’s gulf shore – the island is separated from its neighbors, Sanibel to the south and North Captiva to the north, by inlets into Pine Island Sound – provides an idyllic white-sand realm for shelling, fishing, bird-watching, and sunset-gazing.  Its inner shore on the sound, dominated by Buck Key, offers superb kayaking and canoeing among lagoons fringed with red and black mangroves.” 

            Islands magazine Editor-in-Chief James Badham compliments Captiva Island’s qualities: “It’s the nature of the place that grabs people.  The beach walking, the shell collecting, the easy pace of island life.  I think it has the feel of an old-time summer place, a real escape not just to the beach, but to an easier, quieter, more soothing era.”

            According to Lee Island Coast Visitor and Convention Bureau Executive Director D.T. Minich, CDME, “Our destination offers visitors such a diversity of truly unique island experiences.  We are certainly gratified by Islands magazine including Captiva Island on its prestigious list.”

For comprehensive visitor information on the Lee Island Coast, log on to www.LeeIslandCoast.com .          

Editor’s note: The Lee Island Coast is located on the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida, and includes Sanibel/Captiva/Pine islands, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs and beaches, historic Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, and Boca Grande.