Cape Coral and Fort Myers

We spent Christmas in Cape Coral, Florida with three grandparents, an auntie and two kids and we all really enjoyed it.

Probably the best part of this trip was the weather and sun. We choose this place because it was the furthest south we could find for 8 people and we had 25 degree weather every day! We’ve heard it is not always so warm, but there really is something to be said about spending Christmas Eve on a warm beach.​

The view from our condo!

Cape Coral Beach

Cape Coral is separated from larger Fort Myers by a causeway. It has lovely parks, its own yacht club with a public beach and lots of shops and restaurants. The whole area has nature reserves and great wildlife viewing - pelicans, crabs, parrots and ibis. Our rental property had 5 bedrooms and a pool overlooking an inlet off the bay. There are loads of vacation properties and waterways in this area which does mean you must drive everywhere you want to go.

Beaches everywhere

​Our condo was 45 mins from Fort Myers Beach, which we all really enjoyed. This is a very busy area with lots of shops and restaurants. The pier and beach crowd reminded us of Huntington Beach in California for its hippie beach vibe. It has lots of water sport options like parasailing and great sand. You absolutely must arrive early because the line of traffic after lunch was unbelievable on a weekday!
Sanibel Island is south of Fort Myers. It has quieter beach areas with amazing bird watching, lots of bike paths (bike rentals available) and sea shells everywhere. The nature reserve here has manatees, alligators and rare crocodiles. Arrive early because parking is scarce and the traffic is heavy! We enjoyed Doc Ford’s restaurant for lunch - lots of fresh fish and shrimp options. This would certainly be a great place to stay with lots of shops and restaurants within biking distance. It had a very calm feel to it as well.

Fort Myers Beach

Wildlife

We all absolutely adored our Sunset Dolphin Cruise with the Banana Bay Tour Company in Pine Island Sound off Sanibel! We saw Osprey, white Pelicans, a bald Eagle nest and a mom and baby dolphin! Even though we only saw a few dolphins everyone in the party agreed the cruise was the highlight of the trip.  We learned all about the special area around Pine Island near Fort Myers and all the wildlife. Plus the sunset was truly incredible, turning the water pink as the sun set.

Overall we would definitely recommend this area for a holiday!