Contacts: Nancy Hamilton,
or Lee Rose, Lee County Visitor’s Convention Bureau
(239) 338-3500
FALL IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR COUPLES’ GETAWAYS TO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA’S LEE ISLAND COAST
RECONNECT
Leave all your cares behind.
Start a shell collection. Relax away the hours. Watch exotic wildlife. Learn why Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inspired to write her best-selling book, A Gift from the Sea, while visiting Captiva Island.
Sleep on an uninhabited island
Book a really rustic cabin or pitch a tent at Cayo Costa State Park. Sleep under the stars and walk on unspoiled shell beaches along this deserted island.
Fantasy island
Have a romantic sunset sail on the New Moon, a romantic 39-foot sloop, and have dinner and a night in the charming Collier Inn on Useppa Island…very exclusive and beautiful.
The most romantic beach
Many are enthralled by the charms of this area each year and it is no wonder. Captiva Island has been ranked as one of the most romantic beaches in the country. Relax in the sun. Watch dolphins frolic, enjoy award-winning sunsets!
Dine in a Victorian mansion
Watch the sun set surrounded by the historic elegance of the award-winning Thistle Lodge on Sanibel Island.
Escape all ties to the mainland!
Let Captiva Cruises whisk you away to an area island for lunch on Cabbage Key or Useppa Island or to Cayo Costa for a picnic and shelling.
For a really romantic evening…
Take a starlight dinner cruise on the 100-foot luxury liner Princess at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa.
Grab a picnic lunch and head for Lovers Key, named one of Florida’s top ten beaches by The Travel Channel. It is as far from the crowds as you can get. Rent a kayak and paddle into Estero Bay’s dolphin territory. Watch the sunset from the shaded gazebo.
Watch the best sunset view
The Mucky Duck at the north end of Captiva is a favorite with visitors and locals who claim it has the best sunset views on the Lee Island Coast. Dartboards, cold beer in heavy mugs and a lively singer/piano player who regales the crowd nightly. Aside from British dishes like steak and sausage pie and fish 'n' chips, the menu also boasts Florida favorites including grouper sandwiches and Key lime pie.
Canoe on the wild side
Meander through a lush mangrove forest at the Commodore Creek canoe trail. See white pelicans, roseate spoonbills, manatees, wood storks, bald eagles, ospreys, herons…all in their natural habitat. Many endangered species call this area home.
See the sunrise
Follow in the wake of early explorers. Take a sunrise excursion with Captiva Kayaking. Tunnel through mangroves. Travel through the heart of Buck Island, site of an early Calusa Indian fishing village. Watch dolphins play. Experience the beauty of natural Florida as your day begins.
DIVERSIONS
It’s just silly!
But great fun! Don’t miss a dinner at the Bubble Room on Captiva Island. Electric trains run amok, there are miles of Christmas lights and a tree, 2,000 movie star photos, Superman in a phone booth. Waiters and waitresses are dressed as bubble scouts. There is more, but it has to be seen to be believed. Super sized portions and huge desserts are legendary.
Unique Theater
Go to a play in the quaint Old Schoolhouse Theater on Sanibel Island.
Indulge
Give yourselves a treat and book a spa package at Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. Massages and other treatments for two?
Mingle with the Vanderbilts
From Jensens’s Marina on Captiva Island, take a shuttle to picture perfect Boca Grande. Pedal down Banyan Street and visit the old Gasparilla Inn, a favorite from the Vanderbilts to the Bush family! Have a waterside lunch at Harpers. Be sure to visit the historic lighthouse.
Visit a Utopian Community
The Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero was a utopian community at the turn of the century until it became extinct in the 1960s. For a peek at a unique aspect of the area’s history take a stroll along the Estero River and view the old bakery, cottages, planetary court and art hall. Self sufficient and devoted to the arts, the Koreshans believed that the earth is concave and everything including the sun and stars exists inside. Fishing, camping, nature study, boat launch and canoe rentals are available.
Paddle the trails of the Great Calusa Blueway
The Lee Island Coast offers hundreds of paddling opportunities for beginners and experts alike. The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail is comprised of 40 miles of marked paddling trails between Bonita Springs at the southern end of Lee Island Coast north to Punta Rassa in Fort Myers. Explore calm waters. See spectacular birding. Experience dolphin in the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve. Take in Mound Key State Archaeological Site, believed to have been the capital of the Calusa Indian nation.
Peek inside two of the area’s famous estate homes
Visit the beautiful homes (Edison & Ford Winter Estates) of famous next-door neighbors, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Located on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers, tour botanical gardens, Edison’s laboratory and a museum with the world’s largest collection of his inventions and memorabilia.
Have Some Fun
Mail a coconut (yes…mail!) with a message back home from the Matlacha Art Gallery on Pine Island. Pick out your favorite message: “We are never coming home!”
Dive in
Join a dive charter to some of the best artificial reef and wreck diving on the Lee Island Coast. (Equipment rental is available). Check out a 400-foot British steamer and its current crew of tarpon, barracuda, reef fish and soft corals; a Honduran freighter and other locations. Captain Eric Osking with Essex Marine heads the offshore expedition. Not a diver? No problem. Enjoy exploring with a mask and snorkel off the beaches at Lovers Key State Park, Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel and around Cayo Costa and Boca Grande.
Push some pedals!
Rent bikes and explore 23 miles of paved bike paths on Sanibel Island. There are even bikes for two! Meander through shopping areas, past beautiful gulf homes, tour through diverse parts of the island. Quaint shops and restaurants provide fun rest stops. Wheelchair bikes are available to be reserved.
What is a getaway without some shopping?
Stoll along Captiva’s picture-perfect Andy Rosse Lane and its eclectic galleries. Stop in the pastel-colored Seaweed Gallery, a whimsical place filled with work from both up-and-coming and established artists. Mediums include paintings, furniture, jewelry, glass and pottery. Nearby is Jungle Drums “The Ultimate Wildlife Gallery,” which showcases works in bronze, glass, clay, mixed media, resin, wood and others. Be sure to check out the hand-painted Adirondack chairs - they'd make a great reminder of Captiva's laid-back lifestyle. And if you seek something unusual, visit the colorful galleries of Matlacha and Pine Island.
Share a Cheeseburger in Paradise
Head for this beautiful tropical island and leave a dollar at Cabbage Key’s historic restaurant and inn, where the walls are covered with thousands of signed dollar bills (a tradition that began when a thirsty fisherman left a bill taped to the wall to make sure he would have a cold drink during his next visit). Built atop a Calusa Indian shell mound, the island has cottages for rent but don’t look for telephones or TVs!
ROMANCE PACKAGES
From quaint cottages to colorful inns to upscale seaside resorts, it is
available for all budgets on the Lee Island Coast. Special packages are
featured for couple’s getaways during this time of year. Access
LeeIslandCoast.com and check out
“Hot Deals” as well as “Romance” to find the perfect fairy tale
getaway. Be sure to check available dates. Samplings include:
The fourth sunset is free!
At Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, stay three nights in a water view guest room and the fourth is free!
Romance at the Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa
Includes dinner for two sunset cruise, welcome basket, bike rental and unlimited tennis.
Unlimited use of hammocks!
At the Holiday Inn Beach Resort. Package includes breakfast and frozen drinks…good for sipping in the hammocks!
Champagne
Dreams at ‘Tween Waters Inn Beach Resort
Champagne Dreams
Package for two includes a two-night stay in a bayside King Suite or historic
cottage, champagne and dinner, half-day beach cabana or canoe rental, resort
coupon book and continental breakfast buffet.
Editor’s Note: For details on activities mentioned, visit “Media Central” on our Web site, www.LeeIslandCoast.com. This release is available by e-mail. High-resolution online images are also available. When your travels bring you to our area, be sure to contact the Communications Department if we may be of assistance.
The Lee Island Coast in southwest Florida includes Sanibel/Captiva/Pine Island, historic Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Boca Grande, and Lehigh Acres.