Is Sanibel right for us?

We are looking for a nice, quiet place for our family of 4 to vacation later this year. I have 2 sons ages 15 and 12. We%26#39;re not really looking to rent a private home, but it would be nice to find a small cottage right on the beach. But it would be nice if it was part of a hotel/resort that had some type of pool and a resturant (in case I don%26#39;t want to cook).

We%26#39;re not looking for fancy, upscale resort or anything like that. Just a nice quiet family place. Ideal place would have hammocks for relaxing and grills in case we wanted to cook out.

Not at all interested in nightlife or clubs, etc. Just a quiet place to relax and enjoy.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Not knowing the area I am open to suggestions. Where is the best place to stay? Where is the best place to eat? What activities are near by?

Also if I would be better off looking in another area for this type of vacation, please let me know. Each to his own. Some people love the excitement of nightclubs, etc. But that%26#39;s just not what we%26#39;re looking for.

Thanks for the help!

K

Is Sanibel right for us?

Sanibel, especially off-season may well be exactly what you%26#39;re looking for.

Most of the beachfront places are condos, but there are also some nice cottages. Try Forty Fifteen, Beach View, Gulf Breeze or Castaways at Blind Pass - though the beachfront units are VERY close to the road and do get a fair amount of noise and such. They also sit right 3 places to eat, two upscale and one very casual, as well as a small convenience store so they have a very good location. Only a few of the units at Castaways have been renovated and they could use it.

The thing is, most places have nothing but a pool, if they even have that. Only the more %26#39;resort-ish%26#39; places restaurants and they are considerably more expensive.

See http://www.ssl-leeislandcoast.com/sanibel.htm and ww.sanibel-captiva.org for cottage info. Some offer free bikes which can be a nice addition.

On Captiva there are a number of townhome style condos that are very near the village area and walking distance to a number of restaurants. They have both bayfront and Gulf front available. I love bayfront myslef and the beach is a 3 minute walk away.

Is Sanibel right for us?

Another option that might suit you well would be a unit at Sayana. The complex has only 9 units, decent sized pool, tennis court, grills, and plenty of loungers out on the beach. Generally a quiet and relaxing spot. Just ';google'; for ';Sayana condominium Sanibel'; to pull up several private owner sites.

No restaurant here either (nor at many places on Sanibel), but for those days you don%26#39;t feel like cooking, you might stock up from the delis at Jerry%26#39;s or Baileys and have light meal at home that way...maybe even order pizza delivered to your condo / cottage.

You will want to rent bikes and your sons would probably enjoy exploring the island via the 26 miles of paths. If they enjoy fishing, you can take them to / bicycle to the fishing pier. A more vigorous and enjoyable day out for them (and you) could be kayaking at Tarpon Bay Explorers.

Overall, it sounds as though Sanibel Island could meet your requirements very nicely.

Hi New Hampshire!

We just got back from our favorite stateside island and I can agree that as far as the island goes, Sanibel sounds like it will suit you well.

The only drawback is that the combination of quiet-seaside-pool-and- restaurant does not exist on Sanibel. A few other options might be to try Ocean%26#39;s Reach which is a smaller condo complex directly on the beach. It has a gulf front pool and is a short beach walk to Casa Ybel which has both a poolside bar/ lunch bar and a restaurant. Casa Ybel itself is large and not as quiet but if you stay in the K-L-M buildings you are removed from the main area and if you get a second story unit you can get a nice gulf view.

In general I would say if you seek quiet then look mostly on West Gulf Drive or Captiva. The east end is nice but is more crowded.

Our place is at Pointe Santo which although large still has a relaxing atmosphere and my favorite times there are doing the bbq under the tiki huts! No restaurant but what we do is buy LOTS of convenience foods- pre-made salads, deli items, frozen dinners, etc- things we rarely buy at home but when on vacation...

Hi there - where do you do all your food shopping? Do you buy on the island or do you stock up before coming onto Sanibel?

There is a large Publix grocery store on the left side of Summerlin Road just a short way before you reach the causeway to Sanibel Island. When traveling with a larger, family group, we always stop there to get basic supplies and food staples for the week as prices are a bit less than on island and they have just about anything the ';kids'; might want in the way of favorite foods..

However, even when we do that basic shopping ahead of time, we always factor in trips to the deli at Jerry%26#39;s and to the bakery at Baileys. If traveling with just a couple of adults...might do all the grocery shopping at one or both of those places.

I confess I do all my shopping on island. Yes it costs more but that%26#39;s OK. It%26#39;s not like it%26#39;s a huge sum. If you have a large family, that may well be a different story. The Publix is the most convenient.