Sandlefoot Condos

My husband and I have booked a condo in Sandlefoot. We have never been to Sanibel. We have always heard wonderful things about the area.

We are planning to be there the middle of May.

What do we need to know to make our trip most enjoyable.

Thank you,

Sandlefoot Condos

Bring sunscreen, Deep Woods Off and a good book. LOL May can be hot but the Gulf water will still be cool. Sandalfoot was the favorite of family friends for years. Everything you need is readily available on the island but some folks still like to stop on the way in for supplies. Or if you like, you can get the condo provisioned to save yourselves time.

I can%26#39;t say this often enough - stop at the visitor center on the way in. The folks are great and you can pick up all kinds of literature and coupons and such. It%26#39;s fun just reading it over.

Make getting out on the bay a priority. Captiva Cruises is a great choice, or for learning about the wildlife, try a sealife encounter cruise with Miss Paradise or Tarpon Bay Explorers. The other do not miss for me is a guided tour of Ding Darling. The tram tour has a naturalist on board and you%26#39;ll learn a lot and see more with them than on your own, unless you%26#39;re already knowledgeable about the area. The last %26#39;must do%26#39; is the Baily%26#39;s Matthews Shell Museum. You can do this the same day as Ding Darling but I like to give it a day of its own.

To see if there%26#39;s any live entertainment you%26#39;d be interested in, check the BIG Arts center calendar and The Old Schoolhouse Theater schedule. Then check in on the jazz performances at the Sanibel Inn. Various live entertainment is available somewhat randomly around the islands.

Best shelling is mornings, but I%26#39;ve had luck all different times. Best for me just as the tide is going out.

Sandlefoot Condos

Hey Tour,

You mentioned in another post about some of your shelling experiences. Could you elaborate on them? I am a shell hunting nut, and I enjoy reading about favorite finds, places, and anything else you can give some pointers on.

Thanks

IM

I usually shell in the surf - providing its a quiet day - and use a net and my hands. The most important extra is not the net but polarized sunglasses. That%26#39;s how you see into the water for the shells. It takes me a bit of time each trip to spot the shell shapes and grab then as the roll at the edge of the surf at the little shelf in the sand. I also have good luck just sorting thru shell piles. Folks are often lazy and don%26#39;t spot the augers and such.

My best day at Lighthouse Beach was in a December after a big storm moved thru with lots of wind. I went down, not real early, and the beach had a lot of detritus on it and a ton of shells all over. Paper figs, tulips, fighting conchs, murex, everything. As I walked around the curve to the Gulf side I did my %26#39;into the water%26#39; thing. There were a lot of folks on the beach by then. As I worked in the water gathering more shells I saw my all time favorite find - a perfect bright red orange tulip about 5-6'; long. It was stunning - and had the animal still in it. Now this was before it was illegal to collect live shells. Everyone gathered around to see the shell and the man in the water next to me was all but drooling. After they had a good look I threw the shell back out. I honestly thought the guy next to was going to swim after it. LOL It was one great shell.

My other best day was up at Blind Pass before it closed this most recent time, so it was some years ago. I had to climb down all the blocks on the Captiva side to get to the cut that had been narrowed by the shifting sand. The water was strong and the surf rough that day. My friend stayed on the tiny beach area and got a lot of whelks and such. We were the only ones there and it was October, so just the begining of the %26#39;season%26#39;. I fectched up angle wings, olives, cones, and big whelks, ferreted stuff out that was trapped by the blocks and just generally had a blast. The the one I remember best to this day - the one that got away - a HUGE sharks eye type shell that was white. The tide was just too fast and strong and it literally slipped thru my fingers! LOL

The beach in front of the Sundial was always lucky for me as well. I found lots of stuff there where a small cross current hit the beach. That has probably gone away with the shifting sand bars rearranging themselves off the beach - especially since Charley.

Blind Pass and Lighthouse beach have both been very good to me over the years, but never again have I had days like those two, not even on Cayo Costa or North Captiva.

Thank you tour, that is exactly what I was wondering. Great stories!

I wish one day I could get down there during the winter months for optimum shelling.

Thanks again.

Thank you for the info. I am so looking forward to coming down in May. If you think of anything else to add please do.

I will keep checking the forum.

We have had great success in front of the Sundial. Use a net to trap the pesky shells before they wash back in the surf. Leave all live shells, of course. We had our best shelling on a 1/2 day trip to Cayo Costa where we snorkled. This can be arranged through a number of places; we used Captain Mike.

Last August, my 12 year old daughter and I snorkled in from South of the Mucky Duck to about the %26#39;Tween the Beaches area each morning. We collected a large number of big, perfect fighting conchs, olives and others. Since I have poor vision and didn%26#39;t have corrective goggles, she got more than me everyime, to her great pleasure. We also found a number of 6%26#39;%26#39; to 10%26#39;%26#39; shells that were still living... Saw some big fishes too.

We bought goggles and nets- on - a stick at a local store. You also need a mesh bag to hold the shells you find.

Hey dad,

I feel strange calling you dad, but how far out from shore did you have to go out when you snorkled to find shells?

Can you give me an idea as to what you found on Cayo Costa?

I am planning on going there when we arrive this summer.

Thanks

Yeah, the board name is kind of lame. I had only intended to post one question a couple of years ago and couldn%26#39;t think of anything clever. Now I%26#39;m stuck with it here since I don%26#39;t know how to change it. Oh well.

On Captiva, we snorkeled anywhere from 5 to 30 feet off shore. Much further and I couldn%26#39;t see bottom very well. Very near sighted. Same for Cayo Costa where shells were much more plentiful. My kids buzzed along near the shore line and found tons of perfect shells of all varieties and sizes.

:-) Hello dad

I too started with a name that was just not a good fit as it was more about what someone in my family did than me. I had to open a whole new account and start from zero when I changed my name. It is the only way it can be done as Trip Advisor does not allow name screen changes. The old name is still a viable account but TA has rules against having 2 names so it is inactive.

Well, dad is worse than some names I%26#39;ve been called. And, frankly, I am too lazy to try to re-sign up with a cooler name. I%26#39;ll be ok so long as the other members don%26#39;t start asking for an allowance....