Help - Enough in Cape Coral for 5 nights?

[jmchessy]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

Hi Mil - I recommend going out with Bruce, leave it to him he knows what he’s doing and will take you to some super places, you will see masses of marine life and birds on the water, he’s substantially cheaper than other Capt’s who charge much more. If you look at the link I posted about Bruce, you can see his 21 foot double the bimini pontoon boat, it’s very comfortable. He recommends you take plenty of drink and sunblock, he has a huge cool box so take a bag of ice to keep your drinks/picnic very cold. We believe you see a lot more and enjoy the whole experience much better if you have a captain, who knows the waters and is fully licensed, operating the boat

I can’t remember who it was, I had a message from another Dibber to say they’d gone out with Bruce and had a superb time.

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Hi Chris, it was me that messaged you. I can echo everything you said about Bruce. We only booked with Bruce when we were in Cape Coral and were flexible so worked with Bruce on the best day for Weather. We had a great day visiting North Captiva (Bruce got us into the Mango's Pool Bar), secluded beach on Captiva (again, Bruce the person who owned the mooring) and lastly Cabbage key.

Cheers

James

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by jmchessy

Hi Chris, it was me that messaged you. I can echo everything you said about Bruce. We only booked with Bruce when we were in Cape Coral and were flexible so worked with Bruce on the best day for Weather. We had a great day visiting North Captiva (Bruce got us into the Mango's Pool Bar), secluded beach on Captiva (again, Bruce the person who owned the mooring) and lastly Cabbage key.

Cheers

James

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Fantastic photos.
Thank you for posting. I think you have persuaded me that this may be the way to go rather than hiring our own boat. Thank you

[Milpston]

Thank you so much to every one that has helped. We have decided to go ahead and have 5 nights in Cape Coral at the end our trip next summer.

I have no doubt I will be back with more daft questions.

We are just trying to finalise our accommodation details before I update my pre-trip report.

Thank you all.

[bella9]

Originally Posted by capecoralfl

We owned a villa in Cape Coral for 16 years until earlier this year, and happy to answer any questions. ChrisS has extensive knowledge also on the area, and as you can read, loves all things nature.
I will put my 10 cent in and say:
When renting a villa try and keep to zip codes 33904 or 33914 as these are just off the causeways of Vererans Bridge and Cape Coral Bridge (across the Caloosahatchee river from Ft Myers) so easy exit & access to Ft Myers, the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva.
Downtown Ft Myers is often bypassed as a great day out but the historic area is very interesting and there are lovely walks and nice shops, restaurants and bars - as well as a great rooftop Skybar overlooking Ft Myers.
There are many waterfront restaurants (Rumrunners, Fathoms, Nauti Mermaid) on the Cape and you can see many different species of wildlife
Cape Coral has its own local beach - small but has all the amenities you would want for a day at the beach without driving for miles (tiki bar, bbq pits, kids play area, toilets, etc)
Unlike ChrisS - I am a huge shopper and enjoy eating out and there are loads of places and Malls to visit - you will be spoiled for choice!
I did a SW Florida trip report a few years ago of some of the activities and places we visited when we had friends visiting us - which can be found under my profile.

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Awww, Cape, sorry to hear that; I had kept your details, and like to read your comments on the area. I understand, you'll have your reasons. Is it still being rented out?

[bella9]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

I highly recommend a boat trip out of Maria Drive Marina, Pine Island with Capt Bruce. We go out with Bruce 3 or 4 times during our winter stays. He charges $50pp, minimum of 4. His boat is a 21 foot, double bimini (great for shade) and his service is 5*. Others charge considerable more. See HERE for reviews and photo's. My bro and sis in law are currently at their CC home, they went out with Bruce the end of last week and are having a sunset cruise this Thursday.

Depending on when, and where, you are in SW Fla, Cape Coral has a water park, Sunsplash. sunsplashwaterpark/

SW Fl is a lovely area down, you'll have a smashing time. Plenty of beaches, watersports, fishing. Naples is a nice place to check out too - excellent soft white beach and long pier - naplesdowntown/naples-pier.htm
Naples conservancy - conservancy/
Tin City in Naples - tin-city/
Corkscrew Swamp - corkscrew.audubon/
Ding Darling on Sanibel (closed Fridays) dingdarlingsociety/
Edison Ford Estate in Fort Myers - edisonfordwinterestates/
Boat trips/dolphin watching/sunset cruises; from Captiva to Cabbage Key - captivacruises/
Casino Big M boat from Fort Myers Beach - bigmcasino/fort-myers-beach/
Everglades National Park boat tours - evergladesnationalparkboa...gulfcoast/
Babcock Ranch, on SR31 between Fort Myers and Arcadia - babcockwilderness/#!home/mainPage
Octagon wildlife sanctuary, just off SR31 between Fort Myers & Punta Gorda; Lauri Caron is an incredible lady who provides home to a multitude of animals, from exotic tigers, a rare black leopard, lions, bears, wolves to donkeys, goats, chickens, ducks, racoons, gators et al - check out the website video. The citizens/local big & small businesses donate food, supplies, manpower to keep them all fed. All volunteers happily donate their time, some for 10 plus years, ensuring the majority of monies collected cares for the animals. Hours: Mon - Fri 9 am - 12 pm, Sat 11 am - 4 pm (Year round), Sun 11 am - 4 pm (Nov - May) - octagonwildlife/
Fort Myers tourist website - fortmyers-sanibel/?gc...FdY8gQodTo8ACA
Visit Florida website - visitflorida/en-us/ci...ort-myers.html
Muscle Car City, Punta Gorda - musclecarcity/
Shopping anyone? Miramar Outlets with over 140 top designer outlet stores - miromaroutlets-px.smrtlnk/
Sanibel Outlets - sanibeloutlets/

If you like music then the top SW Fla band is Deb & the Dynamics - boy they're good. Take a look at their schedule - HERE
We winter on Pine Island and see them at Berts Bar on Matlacha Thursday nights but like to head for Doc Fords on a Sunday (under Fort Myers Beach Bridge docfordsfortmyersbeach/) as they play outdoors from 1 to 4pm - or on a Friday night 6 to 9pm at Pinchers @ Wyndham Hotel where they play on Estero beach. Extremely professional band, Deb sings like Janis Joplin, take a peek here - the sax players wander into the audience when playing - there's no charge to these venues, eat, drink or drink, don't eat, nobody cares, just go, watch this excellent band and have a good time.

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Fantastic Chris, and your other comments. 👌 Have book marked.

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by jmchessy

Hi Chris, it was me that messaged you. I can echo everything you said about Bruce. We only booked with Bruce when we were in Cape Coral and were flexible so worked with Bruce on the best day for Weather. We had a great day visiting North Captiva (Bruce got us into the Mango's Pool Bar), secluded beach on Captiva (again, Bruce the person who owned the mooring) and lastly Cabbage key.

Cheers

James

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James, tyvm for posting your superb photo's/experience, apologies for forgetting your Dibb name.

Meant to advise, I don't recommend Bruce for any gain, we pay him his $50pp (nowt but right!) plus tip. I simply want to see him being used by others as he is worth every cent of his cheaper service. As James said he got permission from owners to dock/walk the land, plus the private pool on Upper Captiva. It's personal choice, either eat on Cabbage Key or take a picnic, we take a picnic as Bruce knows a 'hidden' body of water where alligator and manatee chill and dolphin pop in for a root around. We sit and watch whats happening whilst enjoying our picnic.

On the Google map I posted, I forgot to add; click on the great egret photo to see other photos taken and posted to Google maps

[florida girl]

Me and my DH stayed in a villa at Cape Coral for 2 weeks we found plenty to do but had such a relaxing time there. We hired bikes for the day from Billy’s rentals when we went over to Sannibel Island you can park the car there for free and it’s a great way to see the Island, there are cycle paths so it is very safe.

[Milpston]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

Bruce will keep close contact, and as you don't pay until you're on his boat there'll be no loss of monies. He's well on the ball re weather and works with dates that convenience you. Bruce likes his pax to muck in, so you'll be able to steer his boat whilst he sits with his feet up

We've done self hire but, at the time, not being waters au fait we found it a burden checking markers/looking for other traffic rather than enjoying the cruise/wildlife spotting. A friend heads out from his home (south of Cape Coral Pkwy), thro Chiquitta lock, even that close to the river it's still 35 mins of slow speeds thro the canals. The river tends to be very busy as you tag on the back of a queue of boats. Admittedly we're biased, but Pine Island Sound is substantially quieter and makes for a great experience as you're immediately in open water, hence why Bruce leaves from Maria Drive Marina, click HERE for location and photo's.

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ChrisS,
Just wanted to report back that we have booked a villa for 5 nights in Cape Coral and have made contact with Captain Bruce. He has pencilled us in for a day with the possibility of a second whilst we are there. As you mentioned, he will keep an eye on the weather in the days leading up to our stay and we can now contact each other by WhatsApp. Thanks again for the tips
Just one question. What would be a reasonable tip on a $300 day trip? I'm up to speed with the tipping on most things in Florida. I don't want to insult him but by the same token I am not made of money. Interested in what you would recommend re this and if you would rather send me a pm than start another highly entertaining tipping thread then I get it

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by Milpston

ChrisS,
Just wanted to report back that we have booked a villa for 5 nights in Cape Coral and have made contact with Captain Bruce. He has pencilled us in for a day with the possibility of a second whilst we are there. As you mentioned, he will keep an eye on the weather in the days leading up to our stay and we can now contact each other by WhatsApp. Thanks again for the tips
Just one question. What would be a reasonable tip on a $300 day trip? I'm up to speed with the tipping on most things in Florida. I don't want to insult him but by the same token I am not made of money. Interested in what you would recommend re this and if you would rather send me a pm than start another highly entertaining tipping thread then I get it

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Hiya Mil, Bruce doesn't care if you tip him or not, which is very refreshing! We give him 10%, but you'll make your decision based on your day, which I'm sure will far outweigh my explanations of the good time you'll have

Must catch up with him as I owe him $60 from our trip, just afore we went home in May. I counted his cash out at home and, for some daft reason, put it away again! I had $50 in my purse and whilst he wasn't bothered one iota, I was

[ChrisS]

Originally Posted by Milpston

ChrisS,
Just wanted to report back that we have booked a villa for 5 nights in Cape Coral and have made contact with Captain Bruce. He has pencilled us in for a day with the possibility of a second whilst we are there. As you mentioned, he will keep an eye on the weather in the days leading up to our stay and we can now contact each other by WhatsApp. Thanks again for the tips
Just one question. What would be a reasonable tip on a $300 day trip? I'm up to speed with the tipping on most things in Florida. I don't want to insult him but by the same token I am not made of money. Interested in what you would recommend re this and if you would rather send me a pm than start another highly entertaining tipping thread then I get it

See more...

Hiya Mil, have you heard anything regarding your flight/holiday, has it been called off? I'm sorry if so after all the research you've done for this trip, but, there'll be others if you don't go

Take good care, keep you and yours well