Pre-Christmas Celebration on Sanibel Filled with Cheer

Christmas week is generally a popular time on Sanibel. Families enjoy the holiday----or avoid it---in balmy weather surrounded by birds and palms.


But Christmas week, because of its popularity, is priced as a high season week while the weeks preceding are still low season. High season, in general, is twice the price of low season.


In addition to favorable pricing on accommodations in earlier December, there is a special Sanibel celebration that truly provides the vacationer another view of the Island.


The Sanibel Luminary Festival is exactly what its name indicates...a time of light.

Luminary is always the first full weekend in December. This year, Sanibel's is December 2 and Captiva's is the 3rd. The fun starts at dusk and ends approximately 9:30pm.


Luminary is the traditional island thank you to their communities and kick-off to the Holidays. Periwinkle is lined with luminaria from Tarpon Bay to Causeway Boulevard (with more in Olde Sanibel), stores and shopping plazas along the way are decorated for the event and Santa (aboard a firetruck) can be found almost everywhere, along with lot of music and fun. Pretty much anything that can be decorated, is. The Community Church is a not-to-be-missed stop. Don't eat beforehand....most of the shops have food and drink set out and the selections are excellent.


The Trolley is running throughout the evening from scheduled stops. Driving that night is fun if you're of the mind set to just relax and enjoy. Yes, traffic is bumper-to-bumper at pretty much idle speed but there is so much to see, music to listen to and lots of good natured hollering between cars, folks on the path, etc.


If you're taking the Trolley, the easiest thing is just to park at Bailey's and hop on. The trolley is free.


A good attack plan for driving is to start at Bailey's and head down Periwinkle working your way towards the Lighthouse. Make the loop at Lighthouse Cafe and then head back doing the opposite side of the road. Stick to one side of the road at a time and this lets you make right turns all the way without missing anything. Give up any thoughts of a left turn now.


Captiva's Luminary is the next night, December 3rd this year. Its basically the same thing, except its all walking because everything is within the Village. It's easiest to park in McCarthy's Marina ($5 for all day).



The weather is quite beautiful in early December so plan your trip now and experience one of the best events of the year on Sanibel Island!