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Things to do on Sanibel, Florida

Frequently featured in the Top 10 Most Beautiful Beaches in the USA, Sanibel Island is a tiny barrier island reached by a causeway from Fort Myers, Florida.

This laid-back island is 12 miles long and three miles wide, with an elevation of just three feet!

Although two-thirds of the island is a nature reserve, it packs in plenty of attractions and things to do for all ages.

The best way to get around Sanibel is by renting bicycles and exploring the island along shady bike paths.

Photo credit Mary Carol Fitzgerald

Shelling, Fishing, and Watersports in Sanibel

Sanibel is famous for its narrow sugar-white sandy beaches lapped by clear blue Gulf waters. They are ideal for sunbathing, paddling, kayaking, swimming, and watersports. The Sanibel Lighthouse is an iconic landmark at the east end of Sanibel Island. You can’t climb the 130-year-old lighthouse, but the grounds are always open for walks along the boardwalk and nature trails.

Photo credit Jennifer Brinkman

Fishing is a passion for many visitors and residents of Sanibel Island. You can join a fishing charter and track down shark, tuna, snook, tarpon, snapper, grouper, and other offshore sport fish or join the locals who wade into the surf from the Causeway Beaches or hangout on the Fishing Pier.

Sanibel beaches offer some of the best shelling opportunities in the world, thanks to the convergence of currents just offshore. Tides wash up an irresistible array of whelks, angel wings, scallops, tulips, rose petal tellins, cockles, and clams. You may even find sand dollars, sea stars and even sharks’ teeth. In fact, shelling on Sanibel is so popular that it is known as “the Sanibel Stoop”!

Photo credit Jennifer Brinkman

There’s another treat in store for shell collectors at the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. This top Sanibel attraction is considered the most comprehensive shell museum in the western hemisphere. As well as magnificent shell displays, the museum has videos in the theater, a children’s learning lab, and a shell-themed gift shop.

Nature and Wildlife Attractions in Sanibel

Photo credit Mary Carol Fitzgerald

Occupying much of the north side of Sanibel is the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Covering 6,400 acres of mangroves, seagrass beds, wetlands and hardwood hammocks, the refuge is home to alligators, turtles, raccoons, fish and over 220 species of birds, particularly in the migratory season.

Photo credit Debi Pittman Wilkey