Fort Myers Beach - vacation hotels, condo rentals, information

Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach Pier is a popular family destination with a full day of activities including fishing, volleyball, restaurants, and shopping. You have to pay to park, either metered or $6 and up per day. Relax in the quiet ocean waters of the Gulf of Mexico while listening to island music from a local restaurant and bar. Stroll along the many shops near and around the Pier taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of South Florida.

The wide sandy beach of Fort Myers Beach Pier.

Lovers Key State Park is listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the United States. Lovers Key is one of four barrier islands. It offers boating, fishing, swimming, and shelling. Seasonally caught fish are trout, redfish, snook, and tarpon. Lovers Key State Park has parking on the bay side and ocean side. We parked our RV at Lovers Key State Park ocean side which is a dirt parking lot. It is home to West Indian manatees, bottlenose dolphins, roseate spoonbills, marsh rabbits, and bald eagles. The beach is two miles long and is accessible by boardwalk or tram. It is popular for shelling, swimming, picnicking, and sunbathing. Black Island has over five miles of trails for hiking and bicycling. You can launch your boat from the park's boat ramp from the bay side. The park's concession offers boat and fishing tours, as well as bicycle, canoe, and kayak rentals.

Lovers Key State Park beach.

There is no RV parking in Fort Myers Beach. We parked our RV at Lovers Key and on some days four miles south at Dog Beach. There is an RV park in Fort Myers Beach called the Red Coconut. They fill up quickly and I believe there is a waiting list in the winter. The terrific thing is that they have a few spots directly on the beach...paradise baby.

So we just got back from Fort Myers Beach on Estero Island for the summer visiting the best beaches and stuff to do in Florida and writing the traveling the US on $50 a day book. We rented a condo for a month on Bay Beach Lane which is across Big Carlos Pass bridge just north of Lover's Key. All the condos on Bay Beach Lane are adjacent to Fort Myers Beach Golf Club and all have boat slips with views of the water and some having views of sunrises and sunsets. We walked to the beach from our condo a few times but because of the condos location along Estero Island we had to walk across the road to a grassy trail which ends on a wide sandy path. From there you walk through lagoon water and a beach forest of mangrove trees and sea grapes in the Estero Lagoon area to get to the ocean. This is great for nature lovers and especially bird watchers. But if you are carrying sunbathing and beach activity stuff and little ones trailing along then you might not be too thrilled. However, I would still recommend our location because it was quiet at night when you want it to be and the residents and renters around us were respectful, you know what I mean. If you want a party atmosphere day and night then stay closer to Times Square.

The beach trolley runs both ways on Estero Boulevard with many stops along the way. You can carry all of your beach stuff and fishing stuff on the trolley too. Jason and I used this county transit system a few times to go from Doc's Beach House Bonita Springs Beach to Times Square. It saved us from paying to park and from the frustration of finding parking in the peak of the day. Times Square is the mecca of Fort Myers Beach scene with shopping, souvenirs stores, restaurants, street entertainment, and just a totally fun hangout. We highly recommend watching the 4th of July fireworks from Times Square. They shoot them from the end of the pier which is only 600 feet from land. Our necks were cramping and stiff from looking up for so long. Seriously, they go off practically right over you. Absolutely, positively, without a doubt the best 4th of July fireworks fun we have ever had. But it took us two hours to get back to our condo because every Lee County resident knows of this awesomeness too.

Jason's thoughts - Kids will love the abundance of ice cream shops, live music, over the ocean pier fishing, jet ski rentals, boats beaching on the sand, volleyball, crowds of young people, magicians, dog walkers, and general higher activity level of the Pier portion of Fort Myers Beach. Worth seeing, always the most crowded portion and parking is a 100 yards from the water. Expensive rentals and limited availabilty during the high season. Good memories here with our children Sarah, Joshua and Benjamin. Lovers Key is DEFINETLY worth seeing, take a nice long walk up to two hours one way, much more secluded, and almost as pristine as Playalinda. The ocean beach is full of sting rays, live shells, starfish, living coral, crustaceans, small to medium size fish, and urchins. Walk carefully.
"I don't want to go to the mall with these takelongers" jokes Josh about Jason dropping him at the mall to meet his mom.

Kelly's thoughts - Well, my favorite beaches are on the east coast of Florida because I surf and there is absolutely no surfing on the west coast of Florida. I did enjoy the difference of the west coast though, mostly because of the abundance of shells. I also found a nice running path, that story follows:

From the RV, Jason dropped me off in Fort Myers Beach whenever I said "OK stop here". I was all decked out with sun glasses, visor, sun block, my (can't leave home without it) Garmin, water and Cliff Shot. I had a terrific long run from Fort Myers Beach to Dog Beach in Bonita Springs. I started running on the flat sandy beach about four miles to the Holiday Inn. From the beach I ran towards the Holiday Inn to a trail that runs along Estero Lagoon which is a famous bird watchers paradise. The grassy, sandy trail goes past condos and houses. When it ended I crossed Estero Blvd. to the sidewalk running over Big San Carlos Pass Bridge, past Lovers Key, and over Little San Carlos Pass Bridge. Then I ran through the stiff grass along the bay side of Fort Myers Beach into Bonita Springs to Dog Beach. This is where I met up with Jason and the kids at the RV. The total run is 8 miles and I did this run three times. The last time I thought, this is the best long run I have ever had and this is the last time I will be doing this...sad.
"Curry up" said Kelly after meeting friends from India.

Travel Info - Head west off I-75 x 131 Daniels Road. Follow signs to Fort Myers Beach. Estero Blvd. is the two lane road that runs along the beach. It is very congested from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Estero Blvd. going north leaving Fort Myers Beach. It can take up to two hours to travel five miles during this heavy traffic period. So, roll down the windows, put the top down on the convertable and enjoy the ocean breeze, island pace, and Florida sun. Map location of Fort Myers Beach.

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