What are my best lodging options?

I have scoured many of the rental sites trying to find something that would work for me but it is frustrating.

Basics ... Looking for 5 nights April 6th-11th (Sun-Fri). Mom and two kids, 7 %26amp; 8, on our first trip ever to that area. Plan to do a lot of shelling, hopefuly some fishing and some bike riding. Very nature and activity oriented family. I expect most time will be spent on the beach, in the water or fishing somewhere. A kitchen might be nice (especially if we catch something edible) but a mini kitchen would probably be ok. I%26#39;ll be too tired to cook full meals after chasing around after both of them without dad there to help.

From what I can tell, the week we are looking at is the last week of high season for most places even though there is a ton of stuff available since this is a very late week for spring break around the country. I am probably not going to make the trip that week if I have to pay high season rates and especially if I have to do a week rental for 5 days. I%26#39;ll just put it off until summer when dad can join us and rates are cheaper. The upcoming fmaily ski trip to Keystone, CO is blowing my vacation budget but I have been promising my son this trip for a few years so I%26#39;m trying to keep cost down.

I%26#39;ve read a lot about the option of stopping at the chamber of commerce/visitor center (whatever that place is) right after you get on the island to see if you can get a last minute deal. What sort of discount do owners usually give at that point? I%26#39;ve not had good luck with last minute discounts when I%26#39;ve tried getting them on the NC outbanks so I%26#39;m wondering what is typical in Sanibel.

Bottomline, looking for some ideas that I may not have explored yet.

Thanks for any help!

Lori

What are my best lodging options?

hummmm .................... Tough question. I%26#39;d start with Tropical Winds Resort - They have efficiencies. They are on the less densely built up west end. Also around there is West End Paradise.

Caribe Beach Resort is a possibility. The Blue Dolphin is another possibility.

But in all honesty, I might take a chance and arrive without reservation and see what kind of walk-up rates are available. In season the efficiencies are around $200/nite plus tax [11%] and up. Walk-up rates have 20% discounts in season, sometimes a lot more.

Owners will offer discounts sooner. 30% at 4 weeks in advance is typical. Some might offer more.

On Captiva there are a couple of modest places that rent for less than one week. Blue Moon duplex, and Starfish - which is closer to the beach are both pretty good buys. Very modest and available for less than 1 week and with dock access for fishing are the cottages at Tropical. Just 1 bedroom cottages. Very small, but an awesome location.

The best buy is Baywatch Cottage which has access to a dock for bay fishing. Not in the village and look closely as the location might not suit - but lots of lawn area.

What are my best lodging options?

oh yes, all those places are on www.captiva-island.com

And one other option is Twin Palms run by the Jensen%26#39;s. They have efficiencies. On the bay. www.gocaptiva.com Spotless and the Jensen%26#39;s are wonderful and they run the fishing supply place and marina. Guests are usually given rods to use. Hugely popular with fishermen.

All - including the ones I named above are walk to beach, but no bike paths on Captiva. I would suggest biking on Sanibel.

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