Sanibel/Captiva Islands

We have a timeshare at South Seas Resort on Captiva. It is by far, my favorite place to vacation!!!
south seas is a big resort with lots of actinides. It is pricey though.
The Bubble Roomis a great place for dinner...esp for kids. My boys are 1 and 3...and we always have a great time. SSR has a trolley to take you throughout the resort.
As far as groceries goes, Jerrys on Sanibel is pricey. There is a new Publix just before you cross the bridge to Sanibel that we usually hit.
Have a great time!!!

I've been to Sanibel in Florida is that what you mean? I loved searching for Sand Dollars on the beach. But I believe you can't do that to much anymore. But I'm sure they will find a few nice and different shells. Very Important, I do not care what time of the year you come. Top priority is sun tan lotiion and reply it every few hours. Sand can be hot and the water can be rocky so either bring water shoes or let them buy them in Sanibel. The water while starts not deep can jump deep fast so require they wear a life preserver. At 2 and 4 all they really need is a bucket and some sand toys and they will have the time of their life.

Both are really pretty. I would probably choose Sanibel. Your boys should have a great time playing around in the pretty water and gathering shells! Bring some little surf shoes or something for them to wear when shelling.

Sanibel!! It's our vacation destination every year. We rent a condo.(Book Early). It is gorgeous. The lighthouse is nice. We take pictures of it at sunset and they look like a postcard. We found a hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant called The Hungry Heron on Palm Ridge Road. It is delicious. Also Cheesebureger Cheeseburger is good too. You will enjoy this island very much.It is so laid back. And the shells are so pretty, we've gotten some really unusual ones. Enjoy!!

Your post brightened my day! Just the thought of Sanibel made me warm up on this cold day:)

My husband's family has vacationed on Sanibel Island since the late 80s. They own 2 weeks of timeshare at Casa Ybel. I have vacationed with them there since the mid-90s. We still go every year--last 2 weeks in July. My husband started going when he was in middle school and now we bring our 3 boys (5, 2, and 6 months)

Casa Ybel Resort is great. It has time share units and rentals. Our place is a 2/2 with a full kitchen. It is RIGHT ON the beach. You do not want to stay anywhere not on the beach b/c parking is bad. Casa Ybel also has a great kiddie pool. It's definitely one of the nicest resorts on the island.

http://www.casaybelresort.com/

There are a couple grocery stores on the island (Jerry's is one), but they are kind of expensive. Once you're on the island, you'll probably stay on because it's a $6 toll to come on. There is a movie theater, Dairy Queen, and plenty of restaurants and cute shops. If you stayed at a place like Casa Ybel, you wouldn't have to leave!

PM me if you have more questions!

Best place in the world to gather shells!! My kids loved it when they were little. We also rented bikes and rode on the trails, visited a lighthouse and beach, went out to eat and visited Captiva. There really isn't much to do on Captiva if I remember correctly. It is a beautiful place to watch the sun set, but otherwise Sanibel is the place with more activities.

I think both islands are very close to each other, so whichever one you choose, you should eat dinner at a restaurant called The Bubble Room in Captiva Island. Look it up online - it looks really cute! Never been there, though.

We love, love, love Captiva- just beautiful and so relaxing, nice slow pace.We have stayed at the South Seas Island Resort and like it.
Funny, everybody has an opinion about the Bubble Room! I have a friend that just loves it, I think it's kinda gross. We like to eat at the Green Flash.
Ahhhh, I can hear the surf now and see the dolphins swim by........

We have stayed at South Seas Island Resort twice. You do not need to buy a time share, they have rentals. Gorgeous beach, good shelling, easy water for little ones (no big waves) plus they have MANATEES (and lots of other cool wildlife). We ate at the Bubble Room twice - I didn't like it either time. Unfortunately good restaurants seem to be in short supply on both parts of the island. (the major downside)