Red Coconut RV Park in Ft. Myers Beach has sites right on the Gulf of Mexico. They're so pricy they often have vacancies, plus after about a week of the wind & sand folks are ready to leave.
San Carlos RV Park on the causway to Ft. Myers Beach has several sites on the water with your own boat dock. It's located on the inland waters protected by the barrier islands and is right on the Lee County kayak trail. Good luck getting in there, most sites are snapped up for the season.
Perriwinkle on Sanibel Island is the most charming, with the Gulf or inland waters a short walk away. It's kind of isolated with the bridge to the island having a $6 toll. They don't allow pets because they have a little zoo.
The island town of Matlacha has a park on the water and a very nice community park right across the street. It's a very cute area full of arts & crafts shops. But the sites are pretty tight.
They all have their pros and cons. Probably too many to sort out before you see them. Why not check into one somewhere and start looking around? We get several like that at Fox Park. Some can't wait to get out of there for someplace better. Some like me stay there year after year because it's cheap and always has vacancies. Plus everything I want is accessable from there. Walking distance to one of the finest delis' in town, library, post office, Ace hardware. On a calm day I'll drive south and launch my kayak in the Gulf. If it's windy I head north and launch in one of the creeks or rivers. And the bicycle network is accessable from there. Some days I'll pedal all arount the town to the places I've mentioned. It's not that big and there's water everywhere.
Look at a map of Lee County. There's water everywhere. What kind of water do you want?
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Try Upriver Resort in N Fort Myers, on the river, lots of actives, close to shopping. Nice size lots and very friendly people. Stayed this year from late January to late March
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To me SW Florida means Lee County which is the Ft. Myers area. Charolette County to the north has little tourist infrastructure, and Collier County to the south is so expensive.
In Lee county traffic congestion can be a problem. It's like a force of nature like the wind & tides, ignore them at your own peril.
But once you leave Rt.41 you start wondering "Where did everybody go?" The parks, nature preserves & beaches aren't crowded except maybe for Ft. Myers Beach. And there are other beaches.
I've come to the conclusion that there is no "sweet spot" in Lee County. There's water everywhere. The kayak trail is 190 miles long!
You need to see for yourself what appeals to you. I met a woman who paddles her kayak off of the same beach on Pine Island every day. On the opposite side of the town I met a man who goes to the Six Mile Cypress Slew Nature Preserve every day. I like to do it all. A sampling of Lee County
X2 on everything that Dave has said, plus more in Lee County!
In addition to all the activities he listed, there is a plethora of great restaurants and good entertainment such as Broadway Palms Dinner Theatre and Lee County Parks and Rec always needs volunteers whether it be picking up litter in the county parks and waterways or assisting with the Florida Senior Games.
Several service organizations also welcome volunteers especially when the snowbirds return.
And, yes, traffic can be heavy at times, but it doesn't take long to learn the alternative routes. (Shhh, but US 41 and I-75 aren't the only north/south routes.)
* This post was
edited 04/06/12 06:12am by fchammer1 *
jetboater454 wrote: With the price of fuel going up,they might not even be crowed next year.Even this year there were a lot of empty spaces in most parks.
michelb wrote: There are tons of parks in SW FL so there's a lot of selection but you might want to have an idea what your budget is. "I'm willing to pay for a nice park" is pretty vague - from my experiences, prices vary from about $30 to $100+/night. Your timing is not great either is many parks will be full for the winter by then (e.g. someone mentioned Periwinkle - I'd be kind of surprised if you can get a place there from late Jan to end of Feb).
It would also help to narrow down with your requirements. Do you want a park with a pool, spa, organized activities, tennis, etc? Do you want a lot of space? Do you want easy access to public transportation, shopping and groceries, etc? What are you staying in - there are a number of 'motorcoach resorts' that only accept Class As. "Near the water" is also pretty vague as there are lots of lakes, retention ponds, the inter-coastal and of course the beach and ocean and to some "close" is within 30 minute drive while to others, "close" is walking distance.
I have a 2011 Montana 35' 5th wheel. Organized Activities are not important to me. I like space. "Near water" means either walk to beach or a short (<5 mile) drive. I don't like my park to be right where the shopping congestion is. Hope that narrows it down
OK, I'm sorry for what I said about Charolette County/Punta Gorda. It does have charm and is less crowded.
I guess I was posting from my personal perspective and what appeals to me. When I'm in Florida my primary means of transportation is either bicycle or kayak. Lee County/Ft. Myers is more compact.
That's why I keep telling people to come and see for themselves. There is so much to choose from.
To me SW Florida means Lee County which is the Ft. Myers area. Charolette County to the north has little tourist infrastructure, and Collier County to the south is so expensive.
I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THIS COMMENT! There are many activities in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. The cost is less, and we don't have the terrible traffic. No, we do not have a symphony, opera, or 5 star restaurants. What we do have is a metro area of over 80,000 snowbirds and permanent birds. We share Sarasota to the North (about 40 miles) and Ft. Myers to the South (about 40 miles) We have Tampa Baseball Spring Training, The Best College Baseball in Florida with approximatly 50 colleges spending a few days during the spring break. We saw Ohio State/Michigan baseball at night for a donation.
We have been to Ft. Myers for a portion of the winter. A day here and there is enough for us.
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I agree with the comments on Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte. We stayed in/around Venice/North Port/Englewood. Had a great time. Good kayaking, biking and beaches. Don't forget Snook Haven on Thursdays. (just a plug for my friends)
Joe & Carol
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You are smart to try SW florida. Don't come here,unless you are prepared to stay. After ten years of Texas snowbirding,we decided to see what we were missing. Now we never go back to Texas. We are so busy here with events,in and around Punta Gorda,we have a hard time deciding where to go each day.After 5 months this winter,there are still lots of places we did not get to visit. We hate to leave next week to go back to Michigan,for the summer. I would stay another five weeks,but I need an operation,schedualed for early May. Check out Punta Gorda and the Charlotte Harbor area.
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