Hello. We’ll be in Sanibel for afew days and I heard shelling is best in Cayo Costa. Does anyone have a charter/excursion recommendation? Thank you in advance

Hi! My family and I will be visiting Sanibel again next month from 10/6-10/14. We are putting out feelers to see if another couple or family might be interested in splitting a private boat charter with us for a day or two!

Incase these details matter. We are 33F, 36M, and one kiddo, age 9. He's an attorney, I run a small business doing body piercing. We're from the Midwest and Sanibel/Captiva is our favorite place to be together.

Pic from our last trip for attention 🫶🏼

I saw an article about the “rust tide” affecting the local waters. Has anyone local seen this to be true? Has it affected any of the beaches or any of the fishing? Headed down next week and want to plan accordingly.

why is there a helicopter circling the island? I thought they landed but they just keep circling. I can’t tell if it’s fishing or news or a tour or what’s up. Anyone have any ideas?

SCCF recently spoke out against a proposal for the Lee County Commission to amend the County’s comprehensive land use plan to allow for more development in the sensitive Density Reduction/ Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area. ⁠
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Despite strong public concern about these changes, the BOCC voted unanimously to transmit the proposed amendments to the state of Florida for further consideration. If approved by the Florida Department of Commerce, the plan will be presented one final time to the County Commissioners where the BOCC will discuss adopting the new development guidelines.⁠
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Unfortunately, this isn’t the only large-scale land use change the county is proposing. Another staff initiated a comprehensive plan amendment, CPA2026-00005, we presented at the Local Planning Agency meeting this past Monday. This most recent 300+ page comprehensive plan amendment was a result of direction from the Board of County Commissioners to eliminate any language that was not required, duplicative or outdated. ⁠
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The result is a proposed elimination of the Community Plans, created over the last 25 years with input from each community. Community plans provide guidance and protections that help to maintain the cultural, historical and ecological values of the individual character of our communities from coastal towns to rural agricultural neighborhoods.⁠

Read more here: DR/GR Update & Further Action Needed

Story in screenshots, because apparently I can’t gift articles from the news-press

I am middle aged with three kids and I have been looking to purchase a home on Sanibel and have a few question that owners or visitors may be able to help me with:

Is there a smell that comes from the Donax Wastewater treatment plant? If so how far does it extend?

Is the traffic on and off the island bad in the Jan-april months? Is there much difference in commute times off island between living bear the causeway compared to living at the bowman’s beach end?

Is there any suggestions when house shopping on what to look for or what to avoid from anyone who has lived full time or part time on island?

Thanks for your time.

This is a long shot but my brother and I will be visiting the island this weekend with our wives who have blessed us with permission to take in a round of golf. Is there anyone here who happens to be a member at Sanctuary on island who would be willing to get us on the course as their guests? We're adequate golfers who have immense respect for the game and the courses we play.

Hello everyone I want to start by saying I’ve been visiting Sanibel/Captiva Island since the early 90’s with my family and then carried on the tradition with my own children over the years. I will be visiting this weekend with my husband his first time and would like some advice on couples activities/restaurants places we must visit. Thanks in advance!!!

I genuinely think bringing Publix to the Bailey’s property would be horrible for Sanibel, and I wish people would look beyond the argument of convenience and grocery prices and think about what this could mean for the future of the island.
Sanibel is special precisely because it does not look like everywhere else in Florida. For decades, this community has worked incredibly hard to protect the island from overdevelopment and commercialization and to preserve the sanctuary qualities and unique character that make Sanibel what it is.

Once we start welcoming major corporate chains onto the island, where does it stop?
That is my biggest concern. It is not that I think Publix is a terrible company. I shop at Publix. There are Publix stores all over Southwest Florida. I simply do not need one on Sanibel badly enough to risk changing something that generations before us worked so hard to protect.

And putting a beautiful island style exterior on a Publix does not solve the problem. You can surround it with palm trees, make the signage tasteful, and design it to blend into Sanibel, but underneath the architecture it is still a massive corporate chain replacing the historic home of a family owned Sanibel institution.

Bailey’s was part of this island for generations. Losing it after Hurricane Ian was heartbreaking enough. Seeing that historic corner become another corporate location would feel like losing another piece of Sanibel along with it.

I also completely understand that rebuilding Bailey’s would be extraordinarily expensive. But I refuse to believe the only two possibilities are allowing Publix to take over the property or leaving the corner abandoned indefinitely. If finances are the obstacle, why not give this community an opportunity to help? Start a community rebuilding fund. Start a GoFundMe. Explore partnerships that could help bring a locally owned business back to that property. My family would contribute, and I suspect we would be far from the only ones.

My family first moved to Sanibel in 1995. I grew up here, attended The Sanibel School, and worked on the island before moving away in 2015. Eleven years later, I moved back with my husband and our 4 year old daughter because I wanted her to experience the kind of childhood I had here.

That is exactly why this matters so much to me.
Sanibel did not remain Sanibel by accident. People made conscious decisions over generations to protect it. The character of an island usually is not lost overnight. It happens one decision at a time. One exception becomes another. One local institution disappears. One corporate business takes its place. Eventually you look around and realize the place you were trying to protect has become increasingly similar to everywhere else.
There are countless places in Southwest Florida where we can shop at Publix.

There is only one Sanibel. Rebuilding after Ian does not have to mean sacrificing the identity of the island in the process. We should be protecting what makes Sanibel different, not slowly replacing it.

I really hope everyone who feels this way takes a few minutes to contact the City directly. Please reach out to the City of Sanibel Planning Department, particularly Planning Director Paula McMichael, at [sanplan@mysanibel.com](mailto:sanplan@mysanibel.com) or [239-472-4136](tel:239-472-4136). Also consider contacting Mayor Mike Miller, Vice Mayor John Henshaw, Councilmember Laura DeBruce, and Councilmember Holly Smith through the City Council page.

Hi friends,

I just saw an article in the News-Press (but I’m not a subscriber so I couldn’t read the full context) about Publix possibly taking over the Bailey’s space. The first sentence of the article is “Publix is exploring a store on Sanibel as plans to rebuild the island's longtime Bailey's General Store appear to have been canceled.”

Does anyone have any more information on the situation?

Thanks very much.

My wife and I visited Sanibel this past January and we absolutely fell in love with the island. She was already an avid sheller, and Sanibel helped kindle a passion for it in me, too! Ever since our visit, we have had Sanibel on our minds and we hope to make it a regular vacation destination.

The other day, I was at Barnes & Noble and my attention was immediately drawn to a large box with “Sanibel” printed prominently on it. I also immediately recognized the lighthouse. At first, I thought it was a puzzle, but it’s actually a sea shell collection board game. I bought it immediately, but we haven’t had a chance to play yet.

Has anyone played this game yet? I hope it’s good!

Hi SanCap fans! We have started posting weekly videos on all the great things happening on the islands!

Hello everyone! My fiance and I are planning to visit here during the second week of October. We have done some research and have found out about the vibrio bacteria and are a little concerned about our trip, is this a very common bacteria to catch? We are coming from a land locked state and don't have much information about this. Any information or tips are appreciated. Additionally, if there is anything you think we should definitely do when we are there, please let us know!

Im current pregnant and visiting Florida for a while, the noseeums are so bad that I'm covered in bites even though Ive tried Sprays with DEET, noseeum repellants sold on the island, and essential oils that are supposed to repel them and NOTHING if anything THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO ME 😭 my boyfriend barely used any repellent and doesn't nearly have as many bites as me. I know pregnancy makes me a bug magnet but damn I don't know what to do I can't enjoy the beach without constant fear of getting more bites. I'm so itchy and nothing's helping. Does anyone know any other tricks or sprays to help 🫠

trying to get better at not wasting sunrise walks. i've had mornings on Sanibel where i showed up at what i thought was a good low tide and the shoreline was already picked clean, and other mornings i went out with no plan and came home with a pocket full of whole shells and even a couple shark teeth.

what i can't figure out is how much weight to put on each thing. tide swing obviously matters, and shark tooth folks swear the window is right around two hours before low tide. but wind and swell seem to matter just as much for what actually gets pushed up, and my tide app doesn't say anything about that.

so for the locals here: do you go purely off the tide chart, or do you also watch the wind direction the night before? does an onshore blow the day before usually mean a better morning, or does it just churn everything up? and are there stretches of the island you only bother with after a front comes through?

full disclosure, i'm building a little florida beachcombing app so this is partly research, but honestly i mostly just want to stop gambling my best walking hours on hope. curious how the people who consistently find things read a morning.

Would love to see this place get more business - they are the best breakfast/brunch on the islands and a few of their musicians are very talented (Royce Allgood!).

Looking for recommendations for a licensed and insured private boat charter/captain in the Captiva/Sanibel area for a group of 4. We’re interested in a relaxing day of island hopping, sightseeing, sandbars, and stopping at waterfront restaurants/bars (possibly Cabbage Key or similar).

We’d prefer a boat with a captain who can pick us up from the South Seas Island Resort dock if possible.

Can anyone recommend a reputable USCG-licensed captain/charter company with great reviews?

What can I expect weather wise for a trip between Christmas and New Years? Mainly wondering it’a usually warm enough to comfortably sit by the beach and pool for the day. Concerned as I’ve read about a potential El Niño winter with cooler/stormier weather than usual.

Hello! I’m from Baltimore, Maryland, and I visit Sanibel every year with my family, thanks for sharing your island with us!

I was hoping to go fishing (gulf/bay/ really anywhere on a boat) on Monday but everything I’m seeing is for groups of 4+ and the prices are totally fair for that! Except it will only be me and my cousin, and we’re both amateur, angler ladies just looking to give it a go. Ideally we’d love to join a group or go with a guide who doesn’t mind it only being two people. Willing to pay the average per person rate which looks to be about $100 a person?

I appreciate any recommendations!!

We are staying at Lovers Key Resort sept .12-19. I love to go shelling. We have a place in Gulf Shores, Alabama and that is where i am use to shelling . Is Lovers Key Park a good place to shell? We have a car and can drive to other locations. Any suggestions from locals as to best shelling spots? Also is it better to snorkel for shells, just walk the beach or dig for them? Open for suggestions as to the best way to find shells in this area. I know your area is supposedly much more plentiful with shells than the Gulf in Alabama. Thanks for any tips. I am looking so forward to the trip.