Cape Coral !

[barnyard]

Hi we are counting down 38 days ! Until our first trip to Cape Coral.. Any General tips on things to do, go see, places to eat... We are two families with 5 kids between us 8-17
Thanks

[capecoralfl]

Originally Posted by barnyard

Hi we are counting down 38 days ! Until our first trip to Cape Coral.. Any General tips on things to do, go see, places to eat... We are two families with 5 kids between us 8-17
Thanks

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Where to start
Locally, the Cape Coral beach is lovely with tennis & racquetball courts, an outdoor pool, a free car park, pier, children's play area, tiki bar and restaurant and BBQ pits. There is also ten pin bowling and a movie theatre on Del Prado Blvd.
Down at Cape Harbour, you can go on an afternoon or evening boat trip to see dolphins or a lunch trip out to the gulf of Mexico barrier islands.
We like Tarpon Point and Rumrunners for lunch (both waterfront restaurants) and Mel's Diner and Perkins for breakfast. There any many chain and independent restaurants for dinner - our favourite is Ford's Garage and Duffy's (all have websites)
If you decide to leave the Cape, there is Ft Myers, Sanibel & Captiva and Naples all nearby - I would recommend the Cheesecake Factory in Naples and the Bubble Room on Captiva (the kids will love the desserts!)
The Edison Mall is very popular with teens (Ft Myers) as it has all the teen brands as does the Coastland Mall in Naples which has Forever 21 and all the teen stores.
If they love the Abercrombie & Fitch stuff and RL, CK, Aeropostle etc - Miromar Mall will impress them, great bargains.
If they are into water sports, head for Ft Myers where they can paraglide, windsurf, hire jet ski's or go on a boat trip!
Have a great time.

[barnyard]

That's brilliant and really helpful... We can't wait... Is the sea warm this time of year? My daughter loves swimming in the sea!

[capecoralfl]

Originally Posted by barnyard

That's brilliant and really helpful... We can't wait... Is the sea warm this time of year? My daughter loves swimming in the sea!

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Oh yes, it will be like bath water! Try and have a walk on Captiva beach, or Lovers Key or spend the day at Bowditch beach (this one is great as it has showers, snack bar, cheap & plentiful parking and a bit quieter that along at Ft Myers beach / Times Square area).

[barnyard]

Oh sounds brilliant very excited to be trying somewhere new other than Orlando! Can't wait thanks for your help

[weg831]

Sorry to jump on this thread but seemed silly to start a new one! We are looking at Cape Coral for next summer and wonder if anybody can advise on the best area, we are looking at villas and have some short listed. Some are in the south west and a couple are further north and seem to be a bit cheaper. Does that mean the area isnt as good or not as accessible to the main harbour and amenities?

Thanks in advance

[capecoralfl]

Originally Posted by weg831

Sorry to jump on this thread but seemed silly to start a new one! We are looking at Cape Coral for next summer and wonder if anybody can advise on the best area, we are looking at villas and have some short listed. Some are in the south west and a couple are further north and seem to be a bit cheaper. Does that mean the area isnt as good or not as accessible to the main harbour and amenities?

Thanks in advance

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The North of Cape Coral is still pretty undeveloped and you are miles away from the two main causeways back over into Ft Myers, the beaches and to get to anywhere of interest (Sanibel & Captiva, Naples, etc). There is also a lot of empty land plots and less amenities, although it is slowly being developed. Land and houses are much lower in price than in zip codes 33904 and 33914 (which is the only zip codes I was told to consider when we bought). You will be driving for miles all the time to get anywhere!

[ChrisS]

As capecoralfl has said, it's a wonderful area, as we both know

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

It's a lovely area and 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 City Ranger boat tours - nps.gov/ever/planyourvisi...ided-tours.htm
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, ligers, 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. Open Sat & Sun and by appointment Mon to Fri - 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/
Tanger Outlets between Fort Myers and Sanibel - tangeroutlet/fortmyers

If you like music then the top SW Fla band is Deb & the Dynamics - and boy they are really good. Take a look at their schedule - debandthedynamics/bandschedule.html
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

[Pumba75]

Originally Posted by ChrisS

As capecoralfl has said, it's a wonderful area, as we both know

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

It's a lovely area and 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 City Ranger boat tours - nps.gov/ever/planyourvisi...ided-tours.htm
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, ligers, 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. Open Sat & Sun and by appointment Mon to Fri - 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/
Tanger Outlets between Fort Myers and Sanibel - tangeroutlet/fortmyers

If you like music then the top SW Fla band is Deb & the Dynamics - and boy they are really good. Take a look at their schedule - debandthedynamics/bandschedule.html
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

See more...

Thanks Chris - this is a great list. Potentially planning a stay in Cape Coral so will look into some of these.

[COL41]

Thanks ChrisS from us as well. We're spending 12 nights at Cape Coral next August and now have a few more things to research. CapecoralFl, once again thank you for your top tips