Sanibel Island is in southwest Florida and is known for its beaches filled with shells brought in from the Gulf of Mexico. Sanibel Island boasts numerous enjoyable tourist attractions. Between the J.N. Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Sanibel Island Farmers Market, the Sanibel Island Lighthouse, the Bailey Matthews Shell Museum, and the Historic Museum and Village, you’ll never be bored! Sanibel Island is truly a wonderful quaint island 15 miles long and 5 miles across with 15 miles of pretty beaches.
Sanibel Island Museum and Village is home to the 1926 Post Office, the 1896 School House, the 1927 General Store, and many more historical buildings. We always enjoy walking around these educational villages to learn what life was like back then. It gives you a glimpse into Sanibel Island’s historical past during the 1880s to 1940s. It’s also neat to compare these historical villages to others that we have visited to see how life differed from one location to another.
The Shell Museum has more than fifty thousand people each year visiting, as well as about two thousand students! This was such a wonderful surprise for us as we didn’t know what to expect from a Shell Museum. We never knew there was so much to learn about the various shells! We thoroughly enjoyed the Shell Talk, as well as learning about the various 750 thousand shells that are housed in the Shell Museum! This is a must visit attraction on Sanibel!
We enjoyed walking around the Lighthouse, but wished the Keeper’s Quarters had been open for us to tour. We enjoy learning about lighthouses and about the lives of their various keepers and their families. We find their lifestyles so intriguing! One day we hope to do an east coast lighthouse RV trip so we can see all the lighthouses along the east coast!
We planned our Ft. Myers trip around Sanibel Island because we had heard such wonderful things! We tried to stay at the one and only RV park on the island, but it was already booked when I called six months out. If we go back, I’ll make sure to call even earlier so we can stay on Sanibel!
Have you been to Sanibel? Did you enjoy it as much as we did? What was your favorite attraction?
Great write up. I had hoped we would visit here while in Florida this winter, but it never happened. Looks like a lovely time!