Sanibel and Captiva Beaches

Sanibel and Captiva are islands and, as such, is one big beach. The good news is these beautiful, white sand beaches are public and accessible to you. These public beaches are lovely, well-cared for and recognized by travel experts as exemplary. In just the past five years, they have received 30 awards from such travel experts as Coastal Living, USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Frommers, and others. There are six public beaches on the islands and they are easy to get to and family-friendly.

Bowman’s Beach

Location: Bowmans Beach Road
Acres of Beach: 50
# Parking Spaces: 218

Lighthouse Beach

Location: East tip of Periwinkle Way
Acres of Beach: 32
# Parking Spaces: 170

Tarpon Beach

Location: Gulf Drive
Acres of Beach: 0.9
# Parking Spaces: 76

Algiers Beach

Location: Algiers Lane
Acres of Beach: 28
# Parking Spaces: 46

Blind Pass Beach

Location: San-Cap Road
Acres of Beach: 1.5
# Parking Spaces: 27

Captiva Beach

Location: Captiva Drive
Acres of Beach: 2.0
# Parking Spaces: 24

Parking – Public beaches have a parking fee of $4 per hour. Cash or credit cards are acceptable. Handicap parking is free.

Facilities – There are restrooms and showers at all public beaches. Most have picnic areas and grills.

Rules – There are a few rules to follow while enjoying the beach – but nothing onerous.

1. Pets must be leashed on Sanibel beaches. No pets are allowed on Captiva beaches.
2. No open fires are allowed on the beach
3. No live shells can be taken from the beach.
4. No alcohol is allowed on the beach during the season (November thru May).

sanibel island beaches

Finding Your Home On The Beach

If you are staying in a gulf front condominium or home you will have your own beach. If not, you will probably go to the public beach that is most convenient to where you’re staying. It would be a good idea to get there by bike, if you can. Most beaches have bike racks so you can save the parking fee for that extra libation at dinner. Whatever way you get there you will have a wonderful time in the balmy waters of the gulf, or enjoying the shelling, fishing or birdwatching. You could do this on your own beach if you had a beach-front property.

Just imagine walking out onto your own beach every day or enjoying the gorgeous sunsets from your lanai every night. You could do it. The island real estate market is diverse enough to meet the needs of most buyers. All you need is an expert to help you navigate this wonderful island market – and David Schuldenfrei is just such an expert.

He has the highest professional designations – CRS, GRI and SCIS. His colleagues have made him president of the real estate association 3 times and his customers have made him Realtor of the Year 4 times. David is a consistent market leader who has more experience with this market that most any other. He will be a real asset to you in finding that beachfront property. Call him and see what a difference a Dave can make.