After more than 50 years of hard work, limited travel and the static routine of your day-to-day life, it’s finally time for freedom, time to do whatever you want, go wherever you want and live wherever you want—it’s finally time to retire.
What now? Why not Sanibel Island?—ranked the ‘No. 1 Place to Retire’ by Travel Expert and Blogger Arthur Frommer.
‘Do What You Want’ in Sanibel
Sanibel is privately tucked away on the edge of Fort Myers. You can spend the best years of your life at the beach fishing, boating, golfing, shopping and doing whatever else your heart desires. According to Frommer, Sanibel offers retirees amenities including, “excellent restaurants and good shopping.” We would have to agree.
Photo of The Sanibel Café located at Shop On Sanibel’s Tahitian Gardens plaza
Let’s start with our favorite places to eat. Breakfast is a meal you DEFINITELY don’t want to skip in Sanibel. From homemade cinnamon rolls to oversized omelets, it doesn’t get better than what is whipped up every morning at The Sanibel Café and Over Easy Café.
Photo of the beach access outside of Mucky Duck Neighborhood Pub at sunset
Not a breakfast eater? Just grab a quick, healthy and organic lunch, lite snack or smoothie from Among the Flowers. We also suggest sunset dinners at the area’s waterfront restaurants including the beach accessible Mucky Duck Neighborhood Pub and the marina-front Lighthouse Restaurant.
Photo of Why Knot located in Village Shops on Periwinkle Way
Sanibel also offers unique boutique shopping for intimate afternoons with friends or bonding with your children and grandchildren. The best shopping is located along Shop on Sanibel’s buffet of boutiques, appropriate for any age. We suggest visiting Shop on Sanibel’s Tahitian Gardens location on Periwinkle Way for casual island wear for men, clothing for women of all ages, island-appropriate footwear, handmade jewelry, home décor and fine jewelry. The Shop on Sanibel Village Shop’s location is also great if you need a visit to the salon, in need of bath and body products, want to do some afternoon ladies shopping or enjoy perusing exquisite artwork. For handbags, local artwork and doggy gifts, visit Shop on Sanibel’s third location, the Olde Sanibel Shoppes on Tarpon Bay Road, which is also the home of the Over Easy Café.
‘Go Where You Want’
Other than eating and shopping, Sanibel has tons of leisurely activities that are just a bike ride away. Frommer’s favorite, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, is “visited by thousands of birds of every species, who bask in the sun after diving for fish and are one of the great natural sights of wildlife in America.” We also suggest biking to The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum where you will find the most enchanted collection of shells.
Beyond biking, another “practical” way to get around the island, is boating. At Port Sanibel Marina, you can dock your own boat or rent one for the day. The marina also offers fishing charters, kayaking and much more.
‘Live Where You Want’
What a life…fishing, boating & biking one-attraction-to-the-next…what more could you want? Sanibel is an “idyllic haven of white-sand beaches, condos whose sea-front apartments are available for weekly rentals,” but why rent for the week when you can LIVE here? Royal Shell Real Estate and Royal Shell Vacations have rentals for your short-term and long-term adventure. Whether you want to come to Sanibel for a vacation or’staycation,’ Royal Shell has everything from elite homes to lavish condos perfect for living up the best years of your life. If you want to try out Sanibel for a weekend, we also recommend Sundial Beach Resort & Spa.
Sanibel is a great place to slow down and enjoy life, but don’t take our word for it. Come visit and try it for yourself!
