Our vacation at Fort Myers Beach (Holiday: condo, how much, motel)

[hiker45]

We just got back from our two-week vacation. Except for a couple drive-thrus, I had not spent time there for over 40 years, so I was wondering how much we would like it.

Well, we loved it! We rented a condo just south of Santini Plaza. In the morning, we often walked up the beach about a mile to the Outrigger Motel where they served a great breakfast. We talked with a lot of people and everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves.

In front of our condo was a small beach with palm trees, an inlet, and an outer beach. The inlet had lots of cormorants and pelicans, plus many other birds like egrets, herons, ibises, willets, sandpipers, and several types of gulls. The whole place was absolutely beautiful.

Of course, the place had changed a lot since I was raised on San Carlos Island in the 50's. The Beach Elementary School was the same building, but it had been expanded and the entrance had been moved to the side. However, the words "Beach School" were still painted over the old entrance.

We really liked the Times Square area. We parked there for $6 and took the trolley up to Bowditch Beach. The park there is very nice, much better than it was 60 years ago. We saw a young couple getting married, and two older people told me they had seen about 20 weddings there since October. It shows that we were not the only people who appreciated the beauty of the area.

The walk down to the pier was very nice and we saw lots of people who came down to the beach just to watch the sunset. Some things never change.

We had dinner outside at the little Italian place near the clock and listened to a band that was playing. They even played "Runaround Sue" (popular in 1961) and a couple teen-agers were dancing to it. They were OK, but not as good as the band that played Beatles songs there in 1965.

[Donna-501]

So glad that you enjoyed your vacation. Seems like you had a nice relaxing time which are vacations that I love.

[chadman154]

Next time try the fish house, just north of fish tale marina behind the plaza . Great food, laid back atmosphere. We love fmb!

[hiker45]

Originally Posted by chadman154

Next time try the fish house, just north of fish tale marina behind the plaza . Great food, laid back atmosphere. We love fmb!

Yeah, we were going to go there one time, but we felt like Italian instead so we went to Junkanoos for a great calzone.

It is nice to see that you love FMB too. We talked to many people, both Americans and foreigners, and they were all repeat visitors, so a lot of people agree with us.

[chadman154]

Originally Posted by hiker45

Yeah, we were going to go there one time, but we felt like Italian instead so we went to Junkanoos for a great calzone.

It is nice to see that you love FMB too. We talked to many people, both Americans and foreigners, and they were all repeat visitors, so a lot of people agree with us.

We tried north florida last winter, we stayed in seacrest (north of PCB). It just wasn't the same. We miss the dog friendly beach and dog park on the south end. We also missed the fish house.

We did travel to tybee island for thanksgiving and found a restraunt that was almost as good as the fish house (stingrays), but i wasnt the same. We will be back down to FMB in january, we cant wait.

We have been trying different areas for our trips and we always seem to end up back at FMB

[hiker45]

Originally Posted by chadman154

We miss the dog friendly beach and dog park on the south end.

What dog friendly beach and dog park are you referring to?

We drove by Dog Beach and saw lots of cars, but it appeared that dogs were definitely not welcome on other beaches. All of the city parks banned dogs and some motels had signs stating that no dogs were allowed on their property.

We saw a lady with a dog at Bunche Beach where they had a clear "No Pets" sign, but someone asked her to leave and she left.

[chadman154]

dogs are allowed on FMB from holiday INN (south end) till just south of the pier on the north end of island. leash required

If you travel south of fmb heading towards bonita beach rd, just south of lovers key park is a dog beach. The entrance is right before you hit the bridge( when heading south). Sorry im not a local and dont know the names of the bridges.... Its kinda tucked away a little bit. no leash required

[Izmack]

Dog Beach - where Chadman indicates - is awesome. The group of volunteers that keeps it up is nice, too. This year they installed a dog wash area to rinse off the pups after their day at the beach.....

[hiker45]

Originally Posted by chadman154

dogs are allowed on FMB from holiday INN (south end) till just south of the pier on the north end of island. leash required

That policy makes a lot of sense to me. Some people like dogs and some don't. For the ones who do not like dogs, they can stay north of the pier or south of the Holiday Inn and be sure their vacation will be totally dog free.

When we were walking along the beach from the Outrigger to our condo, we saw three very noticeable signs that said no dogs were allowed and stating the number of the FMB ordinance banning them. I noticed there was a lot vegetation south of the Holiday Inn that probably provides nesting sites for the birds, so it makes sense to keep dogs out of that area.

[chadman154]

Originally Posted by hiker45

That policy makes a lot of sense to me. Some people like dogs and some don't. For the ones who do not like dogs, they can stay north of the pier or south of the Holiday Inn and be sure their vacation will be totally dog free.

When we were walking along the beach from the Outrigger to our condo, we saw three very noticeable signs that said no dogs were allowed and stating the number of the FMB ordinance banning them. I noticed there was a lot vegetation south of the Holiday Inn that probably provides nesting sites for the birds, so it makes sense to keep dogs out of that area.

You are 100% correct. Lots of people like to walk their dogs on the beach, it appears to be lots of responsible owners, I never see any dog feces on the beach. As long as FMB allows dogs, we will be coming back year after year!