Sanibel & Captiva Islands are two of the most beautiful, pristine beaches Florida’s coastline has to offer!  We fell in love with these islands when we spent the day exploring their beaches, shops, and restaurants!  They are quiet, natural, and breathtakingly beautiful and make you feel as if you were truly “away-from-it-all”!

From Fort Myers, Florida, we headed out on the Sanibel Causeway and entered the beautiful Sanibel Island.  Our first stop was Periwinkle Place so that Anna could shop to her heart’s content!  From there, we headed to the luxurious Casa Ybel Beach Resort and enjoyed an amazing lunch at Coconuts Poolside Bar & Grill.  The views from the resort’s dining options are incredible and next time we visit, we plan to try out their Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant.

After lunch, it was time to hit the beach!  Bowman’s Beach (possibly our favorite Florida beach) is a sheller’s paradise, and for good reason – the beach has been awarded as one of the best “shelling beaches” in the world!  The beach is literally COVERED in seashells and among our treasures we found a live crab (we left him at the beach to see another day.)  We settled in for an afternoon of sun and sand along with a few photo ops of course!

Our next stop was Captiva Island‘s Turner Beach.  As we drove along, we were blown away at the beautiful homes, businesses, and restaurants, dreaming of what it would be like to call these islands “home.”  We explored and relaxed and then headed down to Captiva Beach at the end of Captiva Drive to take in an unbelievable sunset.  We enjoyed some food from the fun and quirky Bubble Room Restaurant and then grabbed dessert at the Mucky Duck, soaking in the live steel drum music and the beach under the moonlight.  These islands are truly a little slice of paradise and we can’t wait to revisit time and time again!