Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers is situated in South West Florida and is a more relaxing laid back part of the state.

Getting there. You can fly into Fort Myers (Southwest Florida International Airport- RSW) airport, this is ideal for Fort Myers Beach and for the Naples area too. Ft Myers Beach is around 20 minutes drive from the airport and Naples is around 60 minutes. You could also fly into Tampa International Airport (TPA) and driving time to Ft Myers is around 2½ hours. If you are already in Florida it is just over 3 hours drive from Orlando and 2½ from Miami.

The Beaches
The beaches are much less crowded than their northern counterparts, such as Clearwater Beach and St Pete's. There are miles and miles of un spoilt beautiful beach, great for trying to spot unusual sea shells. Ft Myers beach is actually on Estero Island, a peninsular running parallel to the coast.

Accommodation
Most of the accommodation on Estero Island are condominiums. Most of these can be rented from various agencies or directly. II have stayed in a couple of them and they are truly exquisite and situated right on the beach. They are furnished to a very high standard and have 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms with balconies overlooking the Gulf or the inland waterway. These are privately owned and if you was to try and buy one it would cost you somewhere in the region of $750 - $1M. Rental rates are anything from $130 - $300 per night.

Places of Interest.
There is or course the pier which makes up the more central and busier part of the beach area with its shops and a variety of restaurants. In the other direction the road winds its way along to Lover’s Key, where there is a state park and Bonita Springs. The speed limit along this road is only around 20mph. From Bonita Springs the road joins the coastal hwy 41 which will take you to Naples. There is a fantastic dinner theatre on the island, where you can order food and sit at a table and watch a movie. A great experience!

There is a Publix supermarket along the road, which is ideal if you want to have a barbecue using one of the gas grills at the condo. Apart from McDonalds and Hooters there not many restaurant chains, they are mostly privately owned.

Every summer from May through August, something marvelous happens along the Ft Myers beaches. The loggerhead sea turtle, leaves the water during the night and slowly makes her way ashore to lay her eggs in a sandy nest. Digging the nest may take her more than an hour to achieve. The turtle - weighing several hundred pounds – digs the hole for the nest with her rear flippers. She then lays approximately 100 eggs into the chamber, covers them with sand and returns to the sea.

After approximately a two-month incubation period, a mass of tiny hatchlings emerge from the sand and try to make their way to the Gulf, unfortunately, their sea-finding ability can be disturbed by lights from buildings and streets. Confused, the hatchlings can wander inland and are crushed by vehicles or die from heat exhaustion in the sunlight. Some of the properties on the beach will ask guests not to have balcony lights on at night to try and prevent this from happening.

Climate
The climate in Ft Myers is a little warmer than the north and central Florida areas.

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