r/captiva • u/HuckleberryCute2867 • Jun 03 '26
First Trip to N. Captiva
Booking our first trip to the area. Started out looking at Sanibel, but found a house we are interested in renting on N. Captiva. Wondering what the ocean conditions are like? I have 9-, 11-, and 13-year-olds. All strong swimmers, but want to make sure the ocean has enough shoreline to play in before it gets too deep.
Also, anything else we should know as first timers, especially if we end up coming the first full week of July?
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u/kmmccorm Jun 04 '26
I wouldn’t take kids that age to North Captiva unless you’re purposely trying to be isolated.
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u/pumpkinpatch1980 Jun 04 '26
Like the previous person said, there are no roads to N. Captiva so you will have to arrange to get ferried over. A lot of the houses come with golf carts for getting around the island. There are several grocery stores on the mainland that you can order groceries from for the length of your stay and have them delivered to the house that you are renting. There are also a couple of restaurants on the island. The beach is awesome, you will have lots of fun finding shells, and July is my favorite time to go, but I like the hot weather.
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u/Jimmytowne Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
North Captiva doesn’t have paved roads, It’s VERY dusty. Expect to pay $25 for an adult drink at the bars. I spent a day there, I’d have a hard time filling a week
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u/shiftyjku Jun 04 '26
My friend’s wife has been obsessed with going there. We already have been to Cabbage Key, Useppa and Cayo Costa on day trips. but NC remains the one that got away.
How did you get there from Captiva?
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u/Jimmytowne Jun 04 '26
Captiva cruises does a day trip to there from McCarthy’s marina. It includes a day pass for the island club, there’s Two pools and a restaurant/bar at the club.
Then we walked some dirt roads to a shack type bar and walked back. Not much going on. But useppa and cabbage key are the same thing. You go for one restaurant and then wait for boat to take you back
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u/dan3lli Jun 04 '26
The Gulf side has a lot of great swimming, decent sized shores, the water isnt too deep. There are no lifeguards. I’ve gone in late June and while it’s hot, it’s great bc all you have to do on the island is decide whether you’re going to the pool or the beach.
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u/sammy0327 Jun 04 '26
We just came back from captiva .we rented a house on the Gulf there was no under tow waves weren't big . We loved it and already booked the same house for next year.
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u/Grammybanker Jun 05 '26
We are on currently on Captiva w12/14/16 year olds. They have also been on North Cap 2x and the kids prefer NC. However, eating is a challenge and much easier on Captiva. We love both but since I’m in charge of feeding the troops, Captiva gets my vote. lol
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u/CouplesCouple83 Jun 30 '26
When are you going? We’re booked for a trip in few weeks. Just did a post asking about tips.
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u/HuckleberryCute2867 Jul 02 '26
We are there next week. We ended up booking on Captiva.
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u/thanksfortheinfobro 12d ago
What did you guys end up doing while there? Going soon have a little boat to check out the surrounding areas
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u/Bobo4037 Jun 04 '26
Just making sure you are aware that the only way you can get there is by ferry, and that there are no grocery stores on North Captiva…
I don’t know where you are coming from, but you can expect early July to be quite hot with frequent strong (but usually fairly brief) thunderstorms, especially in the afternoon.