Captiva, Florida
Captiva is, as far as I'm concerned, a hidden island almost at the bottom of Florida. Located a little ways past the big city of Tampa in the Fort Myers area, this secluded and quiet little beach town is perfect for families, couples, retirement, and really everyone. You hardly hear about the Captiva/Sanibel area, but luckily we did, from some friends who have been retreating there for vacation for a few years now. One thing these beaches are known for are their shells, and lots of em! The best time for shelling is at sunrise or sunset. Of course, you can find them all along the beaches all day every day though. It was so fun to find different types!
South Seas Island Resort
This resort was PERFECT for our family. It had something for everyone, and everything you could possibly need for a relaxing and fun vacation! There are a lot of different villas you can stay in, from the beach villas to the tennis villas (where we stayed) and all of them include a kitchen and spacious living area so you can fully unwind in your home away from home for as long as you choose to stay.
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Also at the resort was a variety of different restaurants. We ate dinner at a delicious restaurant called Doc Ford's the first night and I loved it because there was such a wonderful variety of things on the menu. I got a shrimp salad with lots of veggies in it. The next morning for breakfast we ate at the restaurant that looks over the lovely marina. The service at both places was great! Everyone at the resort was so friendly. Near the pool was a fun spot called "Scoops and Slices" that offered ice cream, pizza, and fun junk food like that close to the pool. I loved the food service at the pool the best. It was so relaxing to just kick back in a chair and order food and drinks from the pool servers while continuing to tan, swim, read, or whatever! One day I got the yummiest hummus plate with pita and veggies!
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My favorite thing to do was sit by the pool and read a book and listen to music while sipping a Pina colada! It was paradise. There were trolleys that ran all over the resort to bring you wherever you needed to go so it was easy to get to and from! We would catch the trolley by our villa in the morning to go to one of the beaches and then use it to get to the pool or restaurants. It was so convenient and adorable! The beaches were very nice, except when we were there, red tide was in the air, so it was difficult to stay out for too long without coughing and sneezing up a storm, but they were still enjoyable nonetheless! There were beach chairs and towels there as well as a beach bar so you could get a nice drink on the beach! Shelling was a fun activity to do on the beach as well. I don't know what it is about this area, but there are SO many shells there, and they were all so gorgeous! Walking along the beach there would be piles and piles of shells big and small.
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Everyone in my family really enjoyed this resort, and all that it included to make our stay relaxing and fun!
Captiva/Sanibel
One evening, we ventured off of the resort to explore and to go out to eat. We drove to the neighboring town, Sanibel, part of the Fort Myers family, and drove/walked through some wonderful nature trails called the J.N, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. You started out by driving, and along the way there were different paths that you could get out and explore! We enjoyed getting a little nature in.
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We went to a cute shopping center after the nature trail in Sanibel and looked around for a bit before dinner at R.C. Otter's Island Eats just outside the resort. This place has the most precious beachy, fun vibe. Some friends recommended it to us, so of course we had to try it! It was nice to get out and explore the island a little bit more. Captiva is a very quiet place with a lot of beautiful homes and lush landscaping you feel like you are in the Caribbean. This vacation was a special one. I would recommend Captiva to anyone looking for a relaxing and secluded little getaway! Thanks for reading!!
