Southwest Florida Visits

[wdwjmp239]

I understand and know you're all Disney addicts (like me), but if you need to get a break from the long lines, the crowds, the high prices of food and beverage, take a three hour trip south towards Fort Myers Beach & Naples.

Both locations were spared by Hurricane Frances. And, even though some locations in Fort Myers are still cleaning up from Charley, the coast is clear down here.

Come on down!

:wave: :wave:

PS - My next Disney vacation - December 28th to January 2nd. Looking forward to it!

 

[Tramp]

I own timeshare in Sarasota. We also visit Marco Island occasionally, absolutely beautiful. :wave: Some of the best beaches in Florida and the world.

 

[StevenT]

Ft. Myers/Naples beautiful? Woah what have I never noticed all these years! No seriously, if you enjoy golf and gated communities then Ft. Myers is the place for you. Come, stay, enjoy the beach and if you see me on the road get out of my way .

Fyi, as for Ft. Myers/Naples beaches, Sanibel is nice but really expensive ($3 for the bridge toll, soon to be $6 and then somewhere in the range of $2 every HALF hour to park at lighthouse beach). Ft. Myers beach doesn't have very nice water because it is near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee so the water is brown. Go for beaches north in Charlotte, or south in Naples .

 

[civileng68]

Naples

Where in Naples are you from? I live in naples as well. PM me.

 

[Ringo8n24]

Wow, you have to pay to park at the beach? How do they enforce that...parking meters? It is free to park on our beach, but our Gulf of Mexico water is not even in the realm of being pretty water and worth paying to park at like yours probably is in Fort Myers area. It is ok here, though. We probably take it for granted more than anything. When I lived in North Mississippi, I really missed having the coastline nearby. We will try to check out your area sometime soon.

 

[Moonshadow1]

Wow, you have to pay to park at the beach? How do they enforce that...parking meters? It is free to park on our beach, but our Gulf of Mexico water is not even in the realm of being pretty water and worth paying to park at like yours probably is in Fort Myers area. It is ok here, though. We probably take it for granted more than anything. When I lived in North Mississippi, I really missed having the coastline nearby. We will try to check out your area sometime soon.

In Naples there are parking meters. I don't know how much $ per hour, though. But if you have a residence down here you can get a beach parking permit. And then you do not have to pay and get the closest spaces to the beach.

 

[StevenT]

Wow, you have to pay to park at the beach? How do they enforce that...parking meters? It is free to park on our beach, but our Gulf of Mexico water is not even in the realm of being pretty water and worth paying to park at like yours probably is in Fort Myers area. It is ok here, though. We probably take it for granted more than anything. When I lived in North Mississippi, I really missed having the coastline nearby. We will try to check out your area sometime soon.

Sanibel Lighthouse Beach uses a ticket machine and an attendant who checks for a valid ticket in your dashboard. Ft. Myers beach uses meters. As for our water, it really isn't that great right around Ft. Myers because we get the mucky, brown river water flowing out into the gulf so it is far from sparkling blue.

 

[*MichelleP*]

Steven-

I gotta disagree with you about the water on Fort Myers Beach being brown. :veryconfu Maybe if you are on the bay side, but you should not be swimming there anyway! It was not looking for nice last weekend, though, with matrresses and drebis piled as high as the houses on both sides of the street.

As for going to Sanibel right now, I am not so sure it is a good idea. The island was just opened to the public on Friday, and many parts are still without power.

 

[StevenT]

Steven-

I gotta disagree with you about the water on Fort Myers Beach being brown. :veryconfu Maybe if you are on the bay side, but you should not be swimming there anyway! It was not looking for nice last weekend, though, with matrresses and drebis piled as high as the houses on both sides of the street.

As for going to Sanibel right now, I am not so sure it is a good idea. The island was just opened to the public on Friday, and many parts are still without power.

Well it may be clearer down further on Estero Island around Lovers Key, but up by Lynn Hall park and Times Square it is rather brown, definately not the nice blue you see along other parts of gulf coastline.