www.iFourWinns.com

We will be staying at Seaside Resort in Fort Myers for a week starting December 27. I have made reservations to rent a 20' Grady White Bow Rider from Port Sanibel Marina for an afternoon on one day and I have rented a 21' Pontoon boat from Snook Bight Marina for another day.

For you guys (and gals) that boat in this area, could you suggest a couple places that you would recommend we try and visit while we have these rental boats?

Also, since we have a rental car for the week, are there any other attractions that you would suggest we take in since we have not vacationed in the Fort Myers area before?

Thanks,
Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Ahh Yes... Ft. Myers Beach. Our favorite vacation spot in SW Florida. we have gone every May for the last 5 years. Love it.
We have only done limited boating there, but you will probably want to go over to Sannibel and Captiva Islands via boat.
Try some of the back waters under the bridge for some dolphin viewing.

Catch happy hour at The Salty Crab (formerly Nemo's) for sunset and appetizers (grouper cheeks are de-lish)
Also top floor of the Lana Kai for cheap peel and eat gulf shrimp @ happy hour and a tremendous view.
Must eat: Yucatan,Nervous Nellie's, S.O.B., Pierside Grill (Blowfish Bar there has the best Golden Margarita's on the beach)

I always make a point of stopping in at The House of Brew's for some craft beers, and you have to experience Friday
night at the Lighthouse Tiki Bar. They have Karaoke with Brenda there, I hate karaoke, but the people watching on Fridays'
there is worth the visit alone. Coldest beer on the beach too. Great live music at Cottage bar, Beached Whale and Lani Kai.

Have fun. (There is no way you won't)

_________________
One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Thanks for the reply Cap'n, we appreciate you taking the time to recommend those places for us to try out. I'll do a little google searching to see which establishments are how far from the Seaside Resort.

_________________

Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

The island north of Captiva is called North Captiva. It has some great white sandy beaches that you can only get to by boat.

By Car, the "Bubble Room" restaurant on Captiva is a very interesting restaurant for a romantic evening. Be prepared to share conversation with the tables around you because the tables are so close together...but that's part of it's charm. https://www.bubbleroomrestaurant.com/home

Here is the chart for the area:
http://www.charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/11427.pdf

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Also,
We've seen some good Dinner Theater shows at the Broadway Palm Theater (Ft Myers):
http://www.broadwaypalm.com/Content/default.asp

The Edison and Ford winter estates in Fort Myers:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g34230-d145417-Reviews-Edison_Ford_Winter_Estates-Fort_Myers_Florida.html

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

One of the best things we like about FMB, is almost everything is within walking distance of where you are staying.
If it's a little farther, you can take the Lee Tran to many destinations for $1.50. We have never found a need for a car
when we go there. But since you are renting boats, and likely would want to leave the island/beach to visit Sannibel, etc.
then a car would be good to have.

_________________
One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

rpengr - Thanks also for your restaurant, entertainment and chart information. I'll study those charts and try and figure how to get the best use out of our boat rental time. My wife and son really love the beach and they both are looking forward to do some shelling. You wouldn't happen to have the GPS coordinates for the "great white sandy beaches" at North Captiva would you? I'm thinking we'll bring our handheld GPS along for this trip and the coordinates to this spot you reference would help me find that place quicker.

Cap'n - That's cool to know that a lot of the places are within walking distances from Seaside and the Lee Train is also available for a cheap fee. We'll enjoy having a couple beverages with no need to be concerned with using the car afterwards. If we go back to Fort Myers next Christmas maybe we can save the cost of the weekly car rental. This year though, the flight savings for us to fly from Detroit to Fort Lauderdale then drive from Fort Lauderdale to Fort Myers helped tip the scale in favor of the weekly car rental as we would then also have the car to tour around for the week to do the boat rentals and sight see.

Thanks again gents for your feedback.
Mike.

_________________

Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Try this in Google Earth:
26deg34'07"N 82deg12'18"
(26.5686,-82.2050)

_________________

"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

I've boated around Gasparilla Island. Lots of cool places to stop and explore.
Cabbage Key is a cool luch stop if you venture that far north.

_________________
2004 248 Vista "Amante"
MC 5.0MPI/B3

Just north of Sanibel Marina, on the south point of Pine Island is a town called St. James City. My family and I have eaten at a restaurant called The Water Front twice. We visited Once by car and once by boat. It is a Berger Joint type place which had that small island feel, great food, and cold beer. If you are not fimilar, Pine Island is a great place with a similar feel to the Keys.

If you decide Visit by boat, pay attention to the current in the canal. Nothing major but will make docking a challenge if you and not on top of it.

Enjoy the trip, great area!

_________________
2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

Thanks JeffW and alex8q4 for your input. My wife printed out the chart from rpengr's link above. That will help us plan out our boat travels better than if I just winged it using my handheld GPS which won't have the more detailed chart information loaded into it for this trip to Fort Myers.

I will be checking out the restaurants suggested by all and I do enjoy and would accept the dockage challenge of the current in the canal to get to Pine Island, especially when using someone else's boat. Maybe I should try it on the day of the Grady White rental instead of the day with the pontoon boat rental? Currents and pontoons would be more of a challenge though put potentially more embarrassing if I muck up. Should be fun.

_________________

Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

We rented a 21' hurricane deck boat in Cape Coral and headed up to pine Island. On the way back beached the boat at Picnic island for a few hours. I have also be there in the area in a similar sized regal bow rider.

I would say the Hurricane was the wrong boat for the area (wet ride) and the regal was ok at best (low freeboard). I think the Grady will be a very nice choice for exploring the area. The Caloosahatchee is open enough that it can build up a decent chop. Further, it is a very busy waterway with a lot of big boat traffic. I believe this is the main route from Ft. Myers to the Gulf and also up to the Okeechobee water way.

With a better boat, like the one you are renting, and better weather on the days we were out I would have loved to have gone further. There are tones of Dolphins, open and untouched land, and countless beautiful boats.

On our next visit I will be making an effort to explore areas further north on Sanibel and Captiva by water. We have spent lots of time on Sanibel and really enjoyed it.



Plan your route, watch for the manatee zones, and enjoy.

_________________
2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

If you get north of Fort Myers, let me know. We will be in Sarasota around New Years. We normally head south on the ICW to Venice. Weather is looking good for after Christmas so you should be seeing plenty of dolphin.

Just watch the charts. Things get shallow very quickly.

Happy Holidays.

_________________
Jnizi

2007 Vista 338 "Better Yet"
Previously:
2007 Vista 258 " Just Right"
2005 Horizon 230

Thanks jnizi. Our thoughts are that since this is our first visit to the Fort Myers area that we will have enough sightseeing destinations to try and work in locally without venturing too far away for this year, otherwise if you were closer we would gladly meet up for a beverage.

Thanks,
Mike.

_________________

Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

Report please......

_________________
One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy