Shelling on Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is a barrier island located off the southwest coast of Florida by Fort Myers. It has a population of 5,600 that quadruples during the winter which is prime tourist season. Sanibel Island is twelve miles long and four miles wide. Thousands of visitors flock to this island yearly to enjoy its beaches and to hunt for seashells. People come from all over the world to collect these renowned shells. Sanibel Island is considered to have the best shelling in North America. In fact, when Ponce De Leon arrived, he named this area “Costa de Carocles” which translates to Coast of Seashells.

It is not unusual to see both the young and old with buckets, bags and nets, bending down in the “Sanibel Stoop” position to carefully search for the perfect shell. Sanibel Island lies east to west and is a large plateau that acts like a shelf for seashells from the Gulf of Mexico to gather. They are “scooped up” by this shelf.

The best time to go shelling is during the winter from December through April. Shells are also easier to locate in the low tide. At this time more of the beach is exposed and it is possible to search more of the ground because the tide recedes and leaves shells at different levels along the coastline. The shells may also be found in the sandbar which is accessible during a low tide. Other optimal shelling times are in a new or full moon phase and when the weather is windy and stormy. The winds disrupt the seashells in the Gulf of Mexico, giving them a tendency to wash along the beaches.

There is a scarcity of larger shells on the island such as the big Horse Conch. This and other rare, native shells such as the Sundial, Junonia, Nutmeg, Lion’s Paw and Scotch Bonnet can be purchased in local gift shops along the island. The smaller shells can be found towards the east end of the island near the lighthouse. The larger shells are near Captiva. A good method to use is to drag your feet to avoid stumbling upon the buried shells. Also, stingrays will swim away if they are gently nudged. You want to avoid stepping on these and being stung. When finding shells, all live shells must be thrown back into the ocean.

Sanibel Island is home to over 400 varieties of seashells. Visiting this island during prime shelling time is sure to please any avid shell collector.

Please Share your favorite shelling stories in the comments below!

Sanibel Lodging is Plentiful

Sanibel is a beautiful place that you need to visit often. There are various lodging options available here. You could go for the hotels, resorts, condos, or cottages, but first I would check out this awesome sanibel vacation rental. However, that’s an opinion and the choices are vast. Take a look below and let us know if you have anything to add to the list.

Just a few of the lodging options on Sanibel Island~

• Sandalfoot Condominium complex sits right in beachfront of the Gulf of Mexico. The complex is known for its value and amenities.

• Sanibel Siesta Condominiums is another complex surrounded by sparking sugar beaches and greenery all around with excellent condos, equipped with every thing one could possibly need.

• Pointe Santo De Sanibel Condominium Complex has beachfront amazing units with the luxury of the ocean view and a rooftop sundeck.

• Sanibel Arms West? complex has state of the art condos. They are decorated and well furnished. With the amazing view and location, they are airy as well.

• Sanibel Moorings Condominium? complex are great fun to stay with family or friends. The condos are great and so is the location.

• Casa Ybel Resort? is more of a condo complex. Newly renovated and really nice.

It is difficult to choose lodging, but one thing is definite each of the choices would offer a great Sanibel Island experience.

Chime in share your favorites with us…

Florida Turtle Season 

There are presently more than 330 nests on Sanibel and Captiva, 150 more than this time last year. With no explanation this years nesting season has been a tremendous success over previous years in Southwest Florida. 

Loggerheads are tough to see but their tracks are easy to spot on an early morning beach.  “Turtle Patrol”  identifies possible nests every morning during nesting season so that nests are protected and hatchlings may be given assistance during the night hours after incubation. Upon hatching the little turtles make a mad dash for the water, following the light of the horizon.  This short trip is filled with hazards including dehydration and raccoons, birds, crabs that may snack on them before they hit the water.  Once in the water they are just bite size morsels for larger fish, including sharks.  Only about 1 in 100 eggs will become an adult turtle, which takes at least 16 years. 

Female turtles will make the long trek back to their nesting area and in the night will crawl on to the beach, dig a deep hole with their hind flippers, lay her eggs, cover up the nest, and return to the water. The procedure, once they find their nesting beach may take as long as three hours.  Each nest may contain nearly 100 ping pong ball size eggs. 

For further info on logger head turtles contact the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation while on Sanibel or sccf.org  or  turtletime.org.   Read the rest

Sanibel Island! The beach! The shells! The fishing! The sun! We found paradise at Ocean’s Reach Condominiums! The resort greeted us with a lush landscaped area abounding with the untamed natural beauty of flowering hibiscus, palms, and sea grapes. Ocean’s Reach Condominiums is the place where it all happened for us. We were greeted by the friendly Guest Services Team in the office as we stopped to register and get our key. After making sure we had all we needed they directed us to our unit on the second floor. We cheated a little and used the elevator instead of lugging all of our bags up the stairs (I always over pack just a tad). What a wonderful surprise it was to step inside! We had been here a few years back, before Charley hit, and the condos were wonderful, but now they are exquisite! Everything, the bathrooms, the furniture, even all of the appliances were new! We were told later that all of the units had been stripped to the studs after the storm and nothing had been salvageable, so that explained our surprise. The view from our private lanai was just as we had remembered it, and you could smell the salt in the air and the sound of the surf was just pure heaven. We didn’t spend much time getting settled, just found our suits, grabbed a couple of beach chairs and headed out to the waters edge. They told me it was just 19 steps to the beach and they were right. Can you imagine a Sanibel Island Rental being that close?

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Sanibel Sea School

If you are going to be spending some time on Sanibel or Captiva, then one special treat you should not miss is the Sanibel Sea School. They have a program to suit almost anyone’s desires. They have morning, afternoon and all day sessions. You can even sign up your child or yourself for the whole week! Classroom space is limited to 25 to 30 students at a time, and classes range in price from $55.00 for one class to $90.00 for all day. If you are lucky enough to catch a space, you will walk away with a new view of island living.

The Sanibel Sea School, better known as Sx3 was founded by Bruce and Evelyn Neill. Mr. Neill is a marine biologist and together they wanted to educate kids and adults with fun, hands-on experiences, concerning the importance of our ecosystem.

The classes teach the students about many diverse subjects. There is a class on all types of island birds and takes them out in the field to observe. What a thrill it is to be as close as four or five feet from any of the exquisite species! There are also classes to teach students about the animals that live on the islands, the wondrous world of the shells and their inhabitants, and about the lunar pull that causes our tides to ebb and flow. Students go on a field trip to the Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) to learn why rehabilitation is to important. Students are taught about the mangrove islands, and how they in turn, supply food to the never ending food chain needed for all to survive. Did you know that the mangrove tree roots poke out of the water to allow it to breathe? Sx3 teaches about the Calusa Indians that were the first inhabitants of the island, and about the pirates that favored the waters around Sanibel and Captiva many years ago. Students also share a hands-on experience learning about the sea turtles and the manatees. Sanibel and Captiva Islands are so fortunate to have the beautiful bay area to the east of them. San Carlos Bay offers the young at sea, a safe harbor where they can grow.

Sx3 has another program they take part in to teach recycling. The program is called “Take Five”, and is set up so that each day the students are to collect all of the litter they can in five minutes. The litter is then collected, weighed, and then stored. At the end of the week it is on display, making an impressive display of the positive effect recycling has on our environment.

Sanibel Sea School is the perfect place to reawaken our minds and our senses. They teach that at any age we need to learn how to play outside and how to look closely at what we normally do not see. Listening and an occasional taste are necessary also. So, please, take time to stop in and look around. Talk to someone, sign up for a class or two, but beware, Sx3 could become an addiction!!

For more information, visit Sanibel Sea School.

Pet Friendly Homes in Sanibel Island

Recently planning a trip to Sanibel Island and looking for Pet Friendly Homes to rent, I became increasingly frustrated at the searching I had to do to find anything, so I thought I would put together a list of all the Pet Friendly Rental Homes I found. Hope it helps, leave a comment you know of any I missed.

• 3 Bedroom – close to beach
• 2 Bedroom 3 bath – walk to beach
• 19 Luxurious Elevated Beach Houses
• 3 Bedroom 2 Bath – Pool Home
• Manatee Cottage 3 Bedroom
• Captiva Luxury 4b 4b – inquire about your pet
• Sanibel 3b Luxury – Pet possible

more pet friendly homes to come

So I was looking for a Sanibel Vacation Rental and I ran across Oceans Reach. I have stayed there several times previously but not since the complete overhaul since Hurricane Charley. The entire rehab is awesome, looks like the nicest place on Sanibel. I’ll be looking forward to a return visit soon. Check it out!

The website is shaping up too and they even have a blog. It’s called Sanibel Talk.