Southwest Florida Vacation
This post is about summer vacation to southwest Florida.
After the hubby and I had our small trip getaway to St. Augustine, Florida, we knew right away that we had to take the kids to this wonderful state. The water is so beautiful. Plus, we wanted our kids to experience an actual beach (with white sands and clear water). So, when we returned home, we booked flights for middle of July to visit the Cape Coral and Fort Meyers area.
This would be the kids’ first time on a plane and us adults it would be our second.
The first thing we did when planning our trip was finding a place to stay. We are huge fans of Airbnb rather than hotels. We try to find a house about the same price as a stay at a decent hotel to stay within a budget. Renting a house for our vacation stay actually saves us more money because we buy groceries and eat a lot of meals at home. Eating out as a family of five during vacation adds up really quickly so we save the restaurant eating to special times.
The house we were able to rent was in Cape Coral, Florida. It was a 3 bedroom house with a pool that backed up to a waterway. The perfect place to stay for us because after a long day out and about or during nap time we could dip into the pool as just a family. It was also great driving distance to beaches around the area. You can find more information about the house here.
Places to go:
During our stay, we tried to travel to a new place or have a new adventure each day. We wanted to make the best of this trip and experience various beaches.
Sanibel Island
This is the best beach for the most unique and various types of seashells. If you’re wanting to go to a beach that offers great seashell souvenirs this is the place to go. We collected most of our shells to take home off this beach.
One piece of advice I would give is to be sure to wear protective shoes because the shells cut your feet and the salt water burns so bad in these cuts.
Parking on this island is tricky too. If you go to late, the public parking places will be taken up and the rest of the parking goes to the residents of the homes.
Fort Meyers Beach
We spent most of our time in Fort Meyers and at the beach.
It was quick to get to from the house we rented, had great food options and lots of activity. Parking in this area will cost you about $10-$20. The beach is beautiful. I advise you go at sunset to get some fantastic pictures.
The pier on the beach is fun to walk across too. You have to walk all the way out to the end to see the gorgeous view of the ocean.
The food options in this area is great and versatile. We ate at The Pierside Grill & Famous Blowfish Bar a few times. If you go here, you HAVE to try the adult beverage pictured below called the Blowfish Tropical Storm. It is delicious!
The ice cream shops in this area are a must to try out as well. We bought some large cones after walking the beach to cool off and the kids enjoyed them a whole lot to say the least.
Lovers Key
Lovers Key State Park has a beautiful beach. The waters were crystal clear and the sand was fine and white. It was the beach I was looking to experience when going to Florida. We went here mid morning and packed some lunch to stay here for day. However the waters were a little choppy on the day we went so we didn’t stay as long as we intended. We did play a lot in the sand, but once nap time came close we did head back to the house to relax in the pool.
The next day, in this same area, we went on a dolphin boat ride tour and got to see a few dolphins swimming in the same water we were in the previous day. We also spotted a shark! Quite scary to think about. It was only about 4 foot long- it wasn’t a great white shark or anything but still creepy to think about.
Siesta Keys
We visited Siesta Keys on the day before we left Florida. At this point, we were all pretty exhausted, sunburn, and a little tired of sand in our bums. We wanted to see the Siesta Key beach because of so many good reviews on this beach. I wish we had more time to spend at this beach and it was closer to our stay. It was an hour from our house, so we ventured out early in the morning.
When we arrived it was pretty busy but the sand was so soft and the water was breath taking!! The beach area has fairly clean bathrooms (not porta pottys), picnic tables for meal eating and a play ground for your kids to play on. I would highly recommend going to this beach and spending your day here. Not to say the other beaches were not worth it, its just that the other amenities that this beach has to offer with kids is very convenient.
Read all about our previous family vacations by clicking on the link here.
