Southwest Florida is truly a vacationers paradise. Each City of Southwest Florida has it’s own unique qualities to offer. Among some of the most significant amenities are a vast array of museums, nature trails, galleries, theaters, golf courses, fishing, boating and white-sand beaches.
Popular City Destinations in Florida’s Southwest Region
Bonita Springs located in Lee County is a welcoming beach community nestled between Fort Myers and Naples and home to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Nature Center. Shop amid waterfalls, palm trees and Mediterranean architecture at The Promenade st Bonita Bay or its counter, mega Coconut Point Mall. Launch a canoe or kayak at the Imperial River Boat Ramp for access to the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail and several local sites of interest: Follow the Blueway north of Bonita Springs to Estero and visit Koreshan State Park to tour the Koreshan settlement – a former 19th-century Utopian community.
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Cape Coral located in Lee County is known for her Gulf Coast beaches, verdant golf courses and family fun attractions like the popular Sun Splash Family Waterpark. The kid in all of us will love the multitude of skate, water and “family fun” parks. While the nature-lover in us all will be amazed with all of the outdoor adventures. At Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve, you can kayak or meander the boardwalk with an amazing walking tour to see lots of wildlife. For the art lovers, check out the Cape Coral Arts Studio, offering year-round fine arts and fine craft classes for all ages and skill levels. Get inspired and get ready to laugh, cry and sing along at the Cultural Park Theater Co., where you’ll find an exciting mix of musicals, plays and revues the whole family will enjoy. The outdoor adventurer will want to visit Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park, where ziplining, rock climbing, go-karts, mini golf, and a cutting edge arcade can all be experienced. When you’re all out of breath, take a break and find the big game on the big screen at the on-site sports bar.
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Clewiston is located on Lake Okeechobee in Hendry County midway between West Palm Beach to the east and Fort Myers to the west. Known as Florida’s sweetest town for its sugarcane crop and Sugar Festivals, visitors flock from all around for sugar tours, fish for bass in its freshwater lake, and to hike or bike the trails. At Roland Martin Marina you can rent a boat for fishing or hire a professional bass fishing guide to assist. Agriculture is the other attraction, and the chamber’s Sugarland Express gives visitors an up-close look at harvesting and processing for both citrus and sugar.
Englewood – Charlotte County offers a slower, easygoing pace of life, here you can visit Olde Englewood Village and West Dearborn Street, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, to find the best of Old Florida. Charming and laid-back, visitors are greeted by a down-home friendliness and casual ambience ideal for making treasured vacation memories. First settled in 1878, this former fishing village is quickly becoming a go-to destination.
A popular sun-seeking destination, Manasota Key is a beautiful barrier island where a variety of vacation rentals can be found along a stretch of white sand beach reveling boutique shopping, eateries, night life and all types of watersports activities such as paddling, kayaking and parasailing. Some of the area’s most memorable sights exist inside three state parks along its barrier islands: Stump Pass Beach State Park – At the southern tip of Manasota Key, Stump Pass has 1.3 miles of shoreline perfect for shelling, picnics, sunning and surf fishing. The soft sand is practically untouched and very secluded. Nearby nature trails provide short walks through subtropical vegetation. Don Pedro Island State Park – located between Knight Island and Little Gasparilla Island, Don Pedro can only be accessed by boat and has approximately one mile of white beach and elevated sand dunes. There is swimming in the Gulf. In the summer, you can see the nests of Loggerhead sea turtles, but take care not to disturb them. Boca Grande Beach – Set on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, this park overlooks the Gulf of Mexico, and comes equipped with picnic areas, grills and restrooms. This is a nice place to rest and perhaps spot a tarpon rolling through the summer waters.
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Everglades City located in Collier County near Florida’s southern tip and southeast of Naples is known as the gateway to Ten Thousand Islands. With Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park and the Ten Thousand Islands as neighbors, you’ll see why Everglades City is considered a hidden gem. If you can resist the call of the wild, duck into the Museum of the Everglades. From Everglades City, just follow the signs to reach Everglades National Park’s Gulf Coast Visitor Center. One-third of its 1.5 million-acre subtropical wilderness is waterlogged. Fish the flats, bike or hike the trails, paddle the Everglades Wilderness Waterway Trail or take an airboat tour just outside national park boundaries – plenty of outfitters operate back in the “city.”
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Fort Myers located in Lee County has something to offer vacationers looking for family fun, outdoor adventures, or just a white sand beach to relax in the Florida sunshine. Here you’ll find several island destinations such as Sanibel and Captiva, world-renowned for their Gulf of Mexico beaches and brilliant seashells. There are sea birds and raptors and resident dolphins at havens such as Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. This region is a paddlers‘ playground, with the Calusa Blueway among the many kayaking options. Fort Myers is home to two of America’s most innovators, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Tour Edison and Ford inventions, original antique cars and artifacts, at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Lovers Key is a destination for beachside weddings and a home for manatees, roseate spoonbills, and bald eagles. Downtown provides fun for all with river cruises, art walks and the annual Edison Festival of Light – southwest Florida’s largest and longest running festival. The 1908 Arcade Theater building, home to the Florida Repertory Theatre, is designed to excite, delight, and entertain.
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Fort Myers Beach in Lee County is a popular destination for visitors eager to engage in water sports such as parasailing and kayaking – or simply relax on the inviting sugary white sand beach. Even the nights are bright here as crowds shift between souvenir shops, bars and restaurants on the strip. From food festivals to Sand Sculpting Championships, Fort Myers Beach has it all. Annual festivals include the American Sandsculpting Championship and the Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival. Carve out some quiet time at Lovers Key State Park.
LaBelle located in Hendry County is known as the City Under the Oaks. Along the scenic Caloosahatchee River and not far from Lake Okeechobee, you’ll find this friendly, historic town of LaBelle, or the Belle of the Caloosahatchee – known for its Curtis Honey House, country architecture, citrus farms and Swamp Cabbage Festival. Once a center of cattle raising and still popular with Florida cowboys, LaBelle offers visitors a glance at the state’s rich heritage.
Lehigh Acres is a charming city located in Lee County. A town built on rest and relaxation, Lehigh Acres is a perfect destination for both fishing enthusiasts and beginners alike. For a change of pace, visit the Gulf of Mexico and nearby barrier islands for spectacular saltwater fishing opportunities, with bountiful grouper, mackerel, redfish, snapper, snook and trout. For a challenge on the green, visit one of Lehigh Acres’ championship golf courses. With parks, lakes, tennis, and safe roads for bicycling or walking, this charming suburban enclave is the ideal retreat for families or seniors seeking an affordable and laid-back vacation, you can fish, golf and paddle here. Nearby Hickey’s Creek Mitigation Park includes a fishing pier, canoe and kayak landing and hiking trails amid pines, marshes and cypress swamps where alligators, tortoises and otters thrive.
Marco Island, known as Collier Counties “Slice of Paradise”, offers so many things to do that no matter what kind of tropical vacation you’re seeking, you’ll find it here. Whether you’re looking for relaxed sunbathing on the beach, great shopping and restaurants, getting to know the natural world, boating, or enjoying some fresh Florida seafood, start packing for your trip to paradise, Marco Island specializes in an island experience – without leaving the U.S. This is the gateway to the world-famous Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands, both perfect for daytrips to see unspoiled natural attractions, bird watching and wildlife viewing.
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Naples located in Collier County offers the perfect Southwest Florida getaway. Offering the best restaurants, one-of-a-kind shopping, unique attractions, festive events, and some of Florida’s best beaches, Naples is known as a hidden gem. Here Golf is debonair, as is the scene along Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, where the carefree congregate in vogue galleries, boutiques and eateries. Artis-Naples is the home to the Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic.
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Port Charlotte located in Charlotte County is halfway between Sarasota and Fort Myers, along Florida’s welcoming Gulf Coast. For outdoor enthusiasts, you’ll find recreational lands, fishing charters, paddling outfitters, seven golf courses, Charlotte Sports Park – home to spring training for the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Tippecanoe Environmental Park. The area is a boating and fishing paradise, with access to miles of waterways and prolific fishing, and a reputation as the Tarpon Capital of the world. The Murdock area, a bit north of Charlotte Harbor, is a commercial center, with shopping areas, office complexes, financial institutions, theaters, and restaurants.
Punta Gorda located in Charlotte County offers many natural attractions, waterside shopping and leisurely strolls along the Harborwalk and at Fishermen’s Village on Charlotte Harbor. More than 30 hand-painted murals depict local flora, fauna and founders. Punta Gorda features streets lined with huge royal palms, old Florida-era tin-roofed homes with wide verandas, brick lanes, and street lamps and benches that leave an almost tangible old-Florida atmosphere.
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Sanibel Island located in Lee County is world renowned for its abundance of pastel colored seashells. Whether you are planning a family vacation, a romantic weekend or just a getaway, Sanibel Island is the place to be. There are twenty-five miles of bike paths for you to explore the island. Shopping is always an exhilarating experience with so many unusual items to purchase. The local restaurants offer a Floridian flair of foods from casual to fine dining. Be sure to explore the Botanical Gardens at Sanibel Moorings as well as the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which makes up a large portion of Sanibel Island, protecting the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the United States.
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