Advice for visit to Sanibel/Captiva (Miami, Tampa: house, to buy, living)

[theurbanfiles]

Was planning on going down for a day and coming back up? What places are must sees on the islands, and in Fort Myers itself? Was definitely planning on hitting up Edison Ford for a couple hours and grabbing a quick but in DT Fort Myers on way out. Anything else that is a must see in that area?

[Mr Cape Coral]

There is so much to see and do in the Fort Myers area. One day in and out will not give you much time so you will have to pick the things that are most interesting to you.
The River District in downtown Ft Myers is a very great place. Lots of good restaurants, art, and waterfront.
The Edison Ford Estate is a very interesting visit.
Matlacha on the way to Pine Island is a good visit. Several art shops and waterfront dining.
Sanibel-Captiva provide a good days visit, lighthouse, Ding Darlling Nature preserve, beaches and shops. Good restaurants there also.
Ft Myers Beach is a great attraction.
There is much more than these, but you did not state your interests so I just gave a sample.

[rikoshaprl]

One day? Sounds like you may be doing a lot of driving. Come down for longer than that.

[theurbanfiles]

So I heard what you guys were saying, but unfortunately due to budget/time constraints day trips are most practical at this point.. I ended up leaving from Bradenton a little after 6 am (I am very much a morning person), and encountered hardly any traffic on way.

My first stop, after getting off freeway and driving past the Minnesota Twins spring training complex (which I will be visiting at some point also), was Lakes Regional Park. I like seeing what a city does with its park system, and I was impressed with this spot. The boardwalk over the water was a nice feature, and I could see this being my regular running spot if I lived in the area. I just did the main loop around the lake which even at a brisk walk only took 15 minutes.

After that, I crossed the bridge and went over to Sanibel. The Causeway of course has impressive views. I stopped at JN Ding Darling Nature Preserve, and was able to jog the whole thing in about 45 minutes. It was very pleasant and a decent amount of the trail was shaded, plus the weather was great. I didn't see too many birds but thought I saw an alligator poking his head out over the water.

From there, I drove the remainder of the island over to Captiva. Many places claim to have charm, but like for example, Siesta Key, I see nothing remarkable about. If nothing else, the Carribean blue hue of the water and the isolated feel of this place makes it special. Also, the trees are more tropical feeling even than those found in TB. I went to Key Lime Bistro, and ordered a slice of their delicious pie, before making my way over to Bowman's Beach and lounging/swimming there for a couple hours. Before leaving the island, I wanted to check out some of "Downtown Sanibel", so I went to Periwinkle Place and Bailey's General Store. Apart from the fact that it allows those visiting and living on the island to buy clothes/food without leaving, I found these to be nothing special. Overall, I feel like I saw the islands and got the idea of them somewhat well. The major charm is not in that there is "so much to see", but that there really isn't, and it provides a Keys/secluded experience with a much shorter drive. I haven't found many places on the Gulf Coast with that much seclusion, and so I will be back to soak it in longer at some point.

From there, I drove up McGregor Boulevard to the Edison-Ford Winter Estates. I spent 2 hours touring here and really soaked in the property on the water, and learned a lot about how the men lived. One of the things that stood out to me was that both properties were modest compared to some during the time, and I appreciated that both men seemed to be more concerned with work and simple things and less with grandeur. Going through the Botanic Lab, which is kind of off in the back though, may have been the coolest part of the tour. Before heading home, I grabbed a late lunch at Ford's Garage (BBQ Mac and Cheese). Downtown Fort Myers, while small may have been the most pleasant surprise of the trip. I was assuming it would be similar in size to Bradenton's, which it was, but it has a lot of 19th century charm with the narrow streets/architectural styles/alleyways. It almost feels more like a smaller downtown in the NE United States than something that would normally be found in Florida. Definitely a good place for photographers.

So, overall, a short but very successful trip in orienting myself with the area. I'm thinking I may be down again in March, to hit a Spring Training game(s), get Skyline Chili (I'm from Ohio), maybe see Fort Myers Beach this time and explore a little more of Fort Myers proper, see if there's a historic site/museum to take in.

[theurbanfiles]

As for driving, it was a decent amount, but not outside the boundaries for a daytrip (I consider anything under 6 hrs. total reasonable for a daytrip, so long as it's the whole day, and there's not a ton of traffic. The drive is part of the fun to me even). My drive time ended up being about 5 hrs. total, even with a decent number of sidestops.

One question I actually did have: what larger city to Fort Myers residents tend to associate with more: Tampa or Miami? Obviously, culturally, it's already on the Gulf Coast and there isn't the Everglades serving as a pop divide from Tampa. St Petersburg is closer to Fort Myers than anywhere in Miami is, but, Tampa and Miami themselves are equidistant to FM. I would assume that Miami being a significantly larger CSA would also influence matters, as I'm
sure for airport trips Miami probably has more and cheaper options than Tampa, plus there are more jobs in Miami. Then again, it's a decent distance away from either, and this is to some degree an area heavily catering towards retirees who may already have connections for part of the year elsewhere, so the influence may not be that strong for either one. Just curious.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by cavsfan137

As for driving, it was a decent amount, but not outside the boundaries for a daytrip (I consider anything under 6 hrs. total reasonable for a daytrip, so long as it's the whole day, and there's not a ton of traffic. The drive is part of the fun to me even). My drive time ended up being about 5 hrs. total, even with a decent number of sidestops.

One question I actually did have: what larger city to Fort Myers residents tend to associate with more: Tampa or Miami? Obviously, culturally, it's already on the Gulf Coast and there isn't the Everglades serving as a pop divide from Tampa. St Petersburg is closer to Fort Myers than anywhere in Miami is, but, Tampa and Miami themselves are equidistant to FM. I would assume that Miami being a significantly larger CSA would also influence matters, as I'm
sure for airport trips Miami probably has more and cheaper options than Tampa, plus there are more jobs in Miami. Then again, it's a decent distance away from either, and this is to some degree an area heavily catering towards retirees who may already have connections for part of the year elsewhere, so the influence may not be that strong for either one. Just curious.

wow that is a lot to get done in one day, we especially appreciate when people come on here and ask questions that they return and give a follow up of their experiences so thank you. As far as influences from Tampa or Miami I would say Neither. they are far enough awaythat there are very few reasons why one would have to travel to the other and as you probably saw Lee county has a lot more open space and thousands of acres set aside for preservation. probably noticed a lot more lifted pickup trucks in SW florida than the other places.

[theurbanfiles]

Yeah, I was tired by the end of it, since I got back to Bradenton at like 5, and then moved some stuff into my car in prep for a new job and got all household chores done before my wife got home, lol.

Yeah it definitely does have that, which is certainly a nice feature. I do enjoy things like pro sports/some of the other amenities bigger cities have, but I can certainly see that Fort Myers has a lot of the best things about Florida without some of the headaches/crowding those other cities do.

I would say yes, but there's certainly nothing wrong with that either haha, it's just different lifestyles. Bradenton and Fort Myers I feel like are very similar, but with FM perhaps being nicer overall. A Fort Myers type area in Bradenton's location I think would be absolutely perfect, but unfortunately there are probably reasons why it isn't that way, since part of the reason Fort Myers has what it does is that it is independent in a way that a suburb that close never would be.

Even though Fort Myers wasn't founded until 1866, it seems like it must have had much more prominent early years than other FL cities. Was that primarily Edison, who is well honored, or what else drove that? Seems like Fort Myers very nearly became the Tampa of the Gulf Coast instead, or at least was for a while there.

[theurbanfiles]

Obviously, as we've mentioned for various reasons, it doesn't work out this way, but, if people always rooted for sports teams based upon the one located closest to house in driving, Fort Myers rooting interests would look like this:

MLB: Tampa Bay Rays (1:40)
NBA: Miami Heat (2:12)
NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1:57) (edging out Miami Dolphins by 2 minutes)
NHL: Florida Panthers (1:47) (edging out Tampa Bay Lightning by 5 minutes)
NCAA (Power 5): Miami Hurricanes (1:59)
MLS: Orlando City SC (2:46)

[FLHfan]

Originally Posted by cavsfan137

As for driving, it was a decent amount, but not outside the boundaries for a daytrip (I consider anything under 6 hrs. total reasonable for a daytrip, so long as it's the whole day, and there's not a ton of traffic. The drive is part of the fun to me even). My drive time ended up being about 5 hrs. total, even with a decent number of sidestops.

One question I actually did have: what larger city to Fort Myers residents tend to associate with more: Tampa or Miami? Obviously, culturally, it's already on the Gulf Coast and there isn't the Everglades serving as a pop divide from Tampa. St Petersburg is closer to Fort Myers than anywhere in Miami is, but, Tampa and Miami themselves are equidistant to FM. I would assume that Miami being a significantly larger CSA would also influence matters, as I'm
sure for airport trips Miami probably has more and cheaper options than Tampa, plus there are more jobs in Miami. Then again, it's a decent distance away from either, and this is to some degree an area heavily catering towards retirees who may already have connections for part of the year elsewhere, so the influence may not be that strong for either one. Just curious.

Fort Myers has one of the nicest airports around. Flights to CMH or CLE are as cheap as TPA without all the traffic. We're almost dead center between the two and more often fly out of RSW. And there's also Punta Gorda for cheap flights all over the east.