Cape Coral or Matlacha
 

Hi :wave:
I am planning an East Coast and West Coast Florida trip for my 50th birthday next April. We have sorted out our accommodation for our first week on the East Coast but are now considering our options for our final 7 nights. I would really appreciate opinions and views on both Cape Coral and Matlacha, I realise both are very close to one another and linked by a bridge. The Cape Coral villas in contention are in the South west and all have canal side settings and look to be of a good standard with high end kitchens and bathrooms. The Matlacha property is older and quaint but has been nicely renovated but not as ritzy some of the villas. We are leaning towards Matlacha because the setting is stunning with a more open aspect and we like that we could walk to restaurants rather than having to always get in a car. It would just be the two of us and we would be there the last week in April.

Thanks :wavey:

The best person to answer this question is ChrisS who I’m sure will be along shortly to offer some great advice from a ‘local’.
Very difficult to compare Cape Coral and Matlacha as they are quite different. Location wise, Matlacha is fantastic if you like Seclusion as is a stones throw from Pine Island and Bokeelia which is one of my favourite places on the planet.
We have stayed in Cape Coral three times, but if I could find a suitable place to stay in Matlacha, I would be there in a heartbeat.
Would love to find out where your Thinking of staying in Matlacha

Without knowing what your interests are, it’s hard to guide you in what would best suit your needs.
We owned a villa in Cape Coral until last year and we liked the mix of being away from the main city of Ft Myers, but the Cape still had all the amenities of a usual Florida area (chain restaurants, Malls, Walmart, Target, etc). Cape Coral is a residential town, with a small man made beach, lovely waterfront restaurants and a nice pier. You are also within minutes of getting over the causeways (if your villa is situated in SW Cape Coral) to get to the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva, Ft Myers & Ft Myers beach, Naples, the Everglades etc.
If you picked your villa near the yacht club or at Cape Harbour, there are a few restaurants and bars you can walk to.
Matlacha is very small, laid back quaint old fishing village, with gift shops, some art galleries and a few restaurants- a real chill out place, very popular with the fishing fraternity and nature lovers. It has nice seafood restaurants and a very friendly vibe.
ChrisS (also here on The Dibb) vacations for 6 months every winter in Matlacha after selling her Cape Coral villa so has experience of both and I am sure can offer her views (although unlike us) she is not a Mall shopper or an eating out person and prefers a quieter pace.

I agree ChrisS would be the best person to ask. There is very little she does not know about the area. I know at the moment she has other things on her mind so may not see this post for a few days.

Thank you for your post, yes, I realise they are quite different from my research but it’s great to hear from those who’ve experienced both as you have. I will send you a PM with a link to the Matlacha property too.

[QUOTE=capecoralfl;14519564]Without knowing what your interests are, it’s hard to guide you in what would best suit your needs.
We owned a villa in Cape Coral until last year and we liked the mix of being away from the main city of Ft Myers, but the Cape still had all the amenities of a usual Florida area (chain restaurants, Malls, Walmart, Target, etc). Cape Coral is a residential town, with a small man made beach, lovely waterfront restaurants and a nice pier. You are also within minutes of getting over the causeways (if your villa is situated in SW Cape Coral) to get to the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva, Ft Myers & Ft Myers beach, Naples, the Everglades etc.
If you picked your villa near the yacht club or at Cape Harbour, there are a few restaurants and bars you can walk to.
Matlacha is very small, laid back quaint old fishing village, with gift shops, some art galleries and a few restaurants- a real chill out place, very popular with the fishing fraternity and nature lovers. It has nice seafood restaurants and a very friendly vibe.
ChrisS (also here on The Dibb) vacations for 6 months every winter in Matlacha after selling her Cape Coral villa so has experience of both and I am sure can offer her views (although unlike us) she is not a Mall shopper or an eating out person and prefers a quieter pace.]

Thank you for your response, it’s good to have your perspective as a former Cape Coral villa owner. We do like to shop and eat out but also love wildlife, nature, boat trips and walking etc, so I guess we want it all! It’s quite difficult to choose as both areas have lots to offer.

Hi Claire - you'll enjoy Matlacha, but (always a but!) my suggestion would be location based, if on Stringfellow Road, I'd be wary. April is the end of the season and the traffic on Stringfellow is constant and noisy. We spent 3 seasons on Matlacha before moving to Bokeelia from 2013 onwards, we were approx 150 yards in from Stringfellow and whilst not as noisy, traffic noise remained evident.

I can suggest places to enjoy on/off, island if needed, including the superb Capt Bruce and his 21" pontoon boat that leaves from Maria Drive Marina straight into open waters, see HERE - we head out with Bruce two or three times over the winter and have a blast every time. HERE are the live cams for the island with a few more dotted around Lee County. We're inbetween Pineland Marina and Bokeelia Pier, from Feb onwards Bokeelia Pier sunsets are superb, which is where we are each evening. Pine Island/Matlacha cams; Bokeelia Pier, Fourwinds, Pineland Marina and Pineland Tarpon Lodge (expensive restaurant with good food according to islanders), D&D, Berts, Gulf Coast Kayaks on Matlacha Pass, the only kayak rental business we recommend.

10 years of wintering on Pine Island, are we tired of it? Let me think... no! You can never tire of island life and all the beauty, flora, fauna, wildlife, marine life et al., it provides, plus (BIG plus to us), it has a superb salt water, heated, pool on Sesame Dr, entrance fee is $3pp or $2 if over 55, changing rooms and hot showers included.





As Nicky said, tramping around US malls is not our cuppa, not with all the island has to enjoy. We only go a few mile off isle to the Cape if imperative to shops on Pine Island Road - bar necessary visits to our excellent car mechanic in Nth Fort Myers it's isle all the way. I can pretty much guarantee most Brits will enjoy the island :thumbs-up

Recent storm from Randall Pier (where my signature photo was taken)



Recent storm from Bokeelia Pier



Matlacha Bridge, Nov 2019



Population Tree



Matlacha sunrise (look at the moon above)



Photo's take from friends drone:

Bokeelia (north of PI)with two thunderstorms looking to shake hands



St James City (south of PI) sunset



Matlacha



Don't hesitate to ask if you want boring any further :d:

Great advice, and you have definitely sold it to me Chris xx

Chris should work for the tourist board, incredible photographs and such a wealth of information too :thumbs-up

Chris, thank you very much for sharing the photographs, simply jaw dropping!
I am very grateful to you too for posting such a detailed and interesting reply to my questions regarding Matlacha. The property that we are interested in renting doesn’t state its address for obvious reasons but I’m sure we will be able to find it with a bit of a mooch about on Google Earth. We are pretty much convinced that Matlacha will be where we spend the final week of our next Florida trip (COVID permitting ) and we will definitely check out Captain Bruce as we adore being out on the water wildlife spotting! Thanks again and I am sure I may want to ask for more advice on island activities etc if that’s ok? :wave: