Sanibel Holiday Guest Blogger Raves of First Visit

My name is Nikki and my husband, little boy and I just got home from a first trip to Sanibel Island. When Sanibel Holiday listened to how excited we were about the trip, they asked if I was willing to author a post on their blog. I am thrilled to be doing this as I would like to tell the world about this hidden gem (well, maybe not hidden, but certainly not over populated!)


I am a naturalist by profession, and the thing most endearing to me about the Island is the reverence for nature. Animals are protected and treasured on the Island. Signs in several languages tell motorists to slow down. Lights are not allowed at night to protect nesting turtles. The whole Island economy and culture revolves around its being, largely, a nature preserve. There are so many ways to be “in touch” with nature on this beautiful barrier island from gathering shells along the shore to visiting C.R.O.W. to witness the wonderful rehabilitation work going on there.


One particularly wonderful experience was with Tarpon Bay Explorers. As nature lovers, we LOVED the experience and are very interested in hands on learning. We were so curious to learn as much as we could about the fauna, ecosystems and animals. It was so refreshing to see how much respect there is for the land, sea and all its critters. Even the people were respectful and full of joy!


The 1st 1/2hr of the tour was a touch tank and introduction to sea life in the area- very informative. Then outside to the tour boat to hopefully see a manatee or dolphin or birds, etc. This was an educational and very responsible tour. They are "dolphin safe" and don't interfere with the animals like some tour boats do (scout for manatee/dolphin and then bring a boat full of people to see them). Our guide, Wendy, was incredibly knowledgeable.


Of course, aside from nature, there were several aspects to our holiday that enhanced the stay enormously. The house we stayed in through Sanibel Holiday was just perfect for our little, nature loving family. It was spacious, nicely supplied, very comfortable and, best of all, equidistant between the Gulf and the Ding Darling Nature Preserve. We also loved the places to eat, from the simple and quick to the more complex. We especially liked The Blue Giraffe where we celebrated our son’s fifth birthday. We returned there several times. And, of course, the beach was a big draw for all of us. The water was calm and reasonably warm, perfect for even a just –turned five year old.


Sanibel Island was, for all of us, life changing…or at least vacation changing. We got such pleasure and satisfaction out of this trip; I can’t imagine us going anywhere else!

Sanibel School House Theatre Now Part of Big Arts

If you missed the news, the Herb Strauss School House Theater is now a member of the Big Arts family. The move which took place in late Spring provides the Theater with a management, marketing and volunteer base and provides Big Arts with a theater capacity. It's certainly a win-win for the two organizations, and the theater going public will be the biggest winner of all as this helps to assure the continuation of quality theatrical productions.

Just as exciting, a $1 million challenge grant to the BIG ARTS Endowment Fund has been pledged by island residents John and Mary Jo Boler, who are benefactors of both The Schoolhouse Theater Foundation and BIG ARTS. Steve and Debbie Klug along with the Klug Family Foundation pledged to match the first $500,000 of the Boler’s gift to secure the $1 million endowment to specifically support the theater operations in perpetuity.




The second half of the matching grant ($500,000) will be raised by BIG ARTS and used to support the full range of BIG ARTS programs. The conditions of the gifts include that the annual earnings of the $1 million endowment will support theater operations and the direction of the theater will be under volunteer Program Chair Art Cassell, former president of The Schoolhouse Theater Foundation.



And clearly demonstrating the spectacular programing the Theater has produced, the roster of entertainment for this coming season is sure to please a wide variety of guests and residents.



Playing now until November 6, Songs for a New World, is a musical that has been captivating audiences since its opening Off-Broadway in 1995. The Tony Award®-winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown says of his Songs for a New World, “It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice.” The show is a collection of songs connected by the theme of embracing the moment. Brown transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship, to 1775 colonial America with a flag maker at work, to present day in the Bronx, where a young man dreams of life as a basketball star. Soaring melodies and irresistible rhythms mark a wide range of songs influenced by jazz, pop, and gospel.



And there's much, much more to come.


Comedies and musicals, inventive and inviting, will be running all the way to the end of April.


Curious? Then click here: http://www.bigarts.org/theatre.php


The staff and management of Sanibel Holiday wishes the best to Big Arts and the Theater on their new relationship and the truly exhilarating roster they have put together.

A Sanibel Holiday? What to bring (or not to bring)

As the heat and humidity of summer turns into the warm, drier air of fall, vacationers are once again turning their thoughts to Sanibel.

And we are here to tell you that this fall is nothing short of spectacular on these gorgeous barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva.

The days are sunny, breezy and bright. High temps are hitting the mid 80's with humidity in the 50's and evening temps hovering around 60. Folks, these are days and nights to dream of. Happily, the weather can (we are not saying it will or it does but it can) stay like this straight through December.

Watching some broad cast tv stations, we know in many parts of the country, that temperatures are far cooler, days less sunny and night time is coat wearing weather. So we at Sanibel Holiday are literally keeping a look out for all those New York/New Jersey, Michigan, and Ohio plates to start crossing over the causeway and arriving on our beautiful, tropical, always green and usually warm isle of Sanibel.

The question du jour is what shall we pack to take to our vacation rental?

We are happy to tell you that you don't need much.

As far as accommodations, they are so well supplied that you certainly don't need to worry about towels, sheets and anything for the kitchen other than food. We will provide each condo/house/cottage with a starter kit of laundry and dish detergent as well as some bar soaps for the bathrooms.

For personal bath items, you will probably want to bring a hair dryer and your toiletries.

For activities, if you play tennis, you may want to bring your own equipment and the same for golfing. But just about anything you can think of is available for rent on the Island...bikes, boats, fishing rods....so if it is not for a personal need to have your own "tools" , you will have the option to rent in almost all instances.

For clothing, Sanibel is a casual place so "work" clothes and shoes are most likely going to remain in your suit case or closet. Daytime wear, other than bathing suits for the beach or pool, is shorts or capris for women and shorts or long pants for men. Bring light weight jackets or cotton sweaters for evening wear as the drop from day time high to night low can be as much as 25 degrees...and you will feel the difference.

A hat for the sun is always an option to be considered, as is plenty of sun tan lotion, maybe a bit of insect repellent if you think you will be out at sunset or sun rise and probably a flashlight or two will come in handy. The island protects its nesting turtles and lighting at night is minimal.

Though there is plenty to do on Island, but if you are hoping to do more resting than recreating, bring a book.

You will have a hard time, however, reading during the day as the wonderful and natural sights and sounds will be so distracting. And at night, the blissful silence will surely lull you to sleep before you can finish a page!

Ding Darling Days on Sanibel: October 17 to 23

There are plenty of reasons to come to Sanibel in October.

This past week has had nothing but spectacular weather and we can only hope it will remain this way for the rest of the month. Each day has been sunny and breezy, warm but with low humidity.

And, of course, October is a relatively light month for tourists on the Island, so things are still very low key despite the incredible weather and a Gulf of Mexico that has been calm and green.

But the weather and calm environment are only 2 reasons to book your flight or make your plans right now to get here by October 17. Because on October 17 one of the best Island celebrations begins...Ding Darling Days!

This is an annual event where the Ding Darling Wild Life Preserve gets to strut its stuff in the very best way by showing off its best features...the wild life that resides there.

On opening day, there will be a reptile show, a bald eagle presentation, refuge tram tours, face painting, hot dogs and many other activities, all of them free of charge.

On the events go on, one great activity after another.

On October 18, there will be birding caravan tours, a shell mound tour, a kayak tour, cruises, bike tours and many other fun things to do. There will be a charge in most of these instances, but not in all and some charges will be purely nominal.

The cruises and tours continue on the 19th, just in case you missed them on the 18th, and they will continue on the 20th , 21st and 22nd. There will be additional activities such as a photography talk and other educational and interesting presentation on those days as well.

The event concludes on the 23rd with a number of lessons and some contests.

If there were one week on Sanibel where the whole family can enjoy the refuge and get to see and do so many interesting things, it's certainly Ding Darling Days.

Sam Bailey Passes: Sanibel Remembers

Most people will come and go in life without making a huge impact other than on their own family. That's a fact. Those who are outstanding obtain that rank because most of us are not.


Sam Bailey, who passed away at age 86 a few days ago, made an enormous impact on the island of Sanibel.


And when they hold his memorial on October 2 at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village, there will be many stories to be told.


According to Bailey himself, he was most possibly the last person living on Sanibel who was born on the Island. In fact, Sam grew up long before a causeway linked Sanibel to the mainland.


As a boy in the 1930s, he played football with coconuts on the island. When it was time to attend Fort Myers High, he took a ferry to Punta Rassa and spent school weeks staying in Ma Alderman's boarding house, where breakfast cost 25 cents and dinner was 75 cents.


Bailey was best known in Southwest Florida as one of the owners of Bailey's General Store on Sanibel. The family run store has been open for more than a century.


Former Sanibel mayor Marty Harrity said every year, Bailey gave every island teenager graduating from high school a check for $100. He would tell them this is your home," Harrity said. "This is always going to be your home. Be proud of your home. Always be proud of it."



For the past 16 years, Sam Bailey arranged with the Fort Myers Miracle to buy tickets and distributed them free to Sanibel residents on what is billed as Island Night, a celebration that Sam and brother Francis started.

“Sanibel Sam”, as he was known, has a very rich and meaningful story, from his days of playing pro-football for the Boston Yanks in the now-defunct AFL, to his head football coaching and athletic director duties at University of Tampa for 60 years!

His interests in the historical preservation of Sanibel Island’s treasures has transformed the island to what it is today according to the many people who had the pleasure to know him.

The Bailey Family invites the Island community to join them in remembering Sam.


In true Sam Bailey form, according to the family,remembering him will not only be informative, but entertaining as well.

Sanibel Expands Joy of Biking To and On Island

As we published in a previous blog post, Sanibel Island, Florida is crisscrossed by over 25 miles of bike paths, making it easy for you to thoroughly explore this jewel of an island, and its neighbor Captiva.

These paths mostly run alongside Sanibel's main streets, although there are a few that cut through the island's more undeveloped areas. Sanibel's bike trails will take you to the island's many major points of interest. We have encouraged our rental guests and blog readers to explore on foot or by bike, to get in touch with the island in a way you could never experience in a car.

Now, the unique biking experience offers residents and guests off island and residents and guests on island to discover and explore "the other side" of the cause way.

In mid August, after months of construction and $320,000 of stimulus money, Lee County elected leaders cut the ribbon on the widened bike lane, added to the Sanibel Causeway through the toll plaza, giving bikers and pedestrians an easier and safer way to traverse to the Island. Changes included a widened bike-lane and shoulder, and elimination of forcing cyclists to merge with traffic at toll plazas on either end of the bridge, an often times dangerous act.

County officials’ overall mission for the newest bike path was to encourage visitors to keep their gas-guzzling motor vehicles on the main land, and help reduce traffic along the Causeway during busy seasons, all while promoting a more active lifestyle. Given the quaint setting that is Sanibel and Captiva Island, exploring the area by bike can often times be a much more rewarding and consecutive form of transportation, especially if you're just visiting for the day.

Have you taken a biking or walking trip over the new and improved Causeway? In and of itself, it's a lovely experience.

It's a long and elevated road flanked on both sides by palm trees and blue green waters.

Some may call it a causeway, but we call it the pathway to heaven.

And now you can enjoy the view and breezes by the seat of your bike!

Are Sanibel Real Estate Values Holding Their Own?

With a highly volatile stock market, a rock and rolling job market and an overall economy that has seen better days, the question frequently arises about the Sanibel Real Estate Market.

There is no doubt that Sanibel prices have come down from what they were 3 years ago, but no where near the drop of other locations in Florida or across the country.

In addition, Sanibel Island is frequently named in top tourist attractions within the continental USA because of the beaches, shelling and wild life combined with all the civilized amenities of restaurants, shops and accommodations.

In fact, just recently, Barron's listed the 10 best places in America to buy second homes, and no surprise that Sanibel Island made the prestigious list.

According to the editors at Barron's, the locations chosen were based on the following: "gorgeous houses, spectacular views, world-class golf, fishing and skiing, fine dining and great shopping."

And though they offered three caveats:
1) Our selections are every bit as subjective as tastes in homes themselves.
2) The prices cited are based mainly on conversations with locals, because hard data isn't available.
3) Your plush new retreat may take some time to rise in value.

Their bottom line says it all: Serious appreciation will require a better economy and, quite possibly, another big rally in stocks. But hey, you could do worse than marking time in paradise.

And certainly the description of Sanibel and Captiva was compelling:

Sitting off the coast of Fort Myers, a nerve center of America's foreclosure crisis, the barrier islands of Captiva and Sanibel are the very picture of laid-back living. Linked by a bridge at Sanibel's northern point, the islands are renowned for their pristine beaches and abundant seashells. Then there are the hiking trails; half the island is a nature preserve. The late Robert Rauschenberg is, even in death, one of the largest landowners. His 35-acre spread, complete with studio, is intact on Captiva's northern end.



But what does all this mean to the Sanibel traveler? Well, for beginners it means that Sanibel has enough to offer investors and home buyers to keep it a viable destination. Translated, that means that your vacation rental experience will continue to be sublime. Neither oil nor blight has visited Sanibel and that means a pristine environment for those living and visiting the Islands.



It also means that Sanibel will not offer the cheapest entrance to a beach vacation and discounts, where they exist, will not be as deep as other locations.



But there are beaches and there are beaches and there are islands and there are islands.



Is it worth spending a little more to get the best?



We think so and hope you will come on down and test our boast!



Looking forward to seeing you soon.