Parking near beach, shops, dining?

We are doing a day trip to Sanibel.

Is there one central location where we can park and walk to the beach, shops and dining area?

From the posts I%26#39;ve been reading it sounds like Sanibel is very spread out. I%26#39;d rather not have to drive/move our car all day if we don%26#39;t have to.

Thanks!

Em

Parking near beach, shops, dining?

Not really. Unlike most beach areas, there aren%26#39;t shops and restaurants right off the beach.

If you wanted to just park the car and do it all, I would say park at Bailey%26#39;s Shopping Center. You could walk to the beach from there (although the actual beach parking lot is just about a block down the road and the traffic usually isn%26#39;t bad around there). There is a little bit of shopping and a restaurant (Gasparilla%26#39;s) on their corner, but there are addtional shops and restaurants, relatively close (Amy%26#39;s Over Easy) and a nice shopping area right across the street and more in the other direction and across the street within a couple of blocks.

Parking near beach, shops, dining?

You could go to the Lighthouse end where there are a couple of car parks, 1 gulf side and nice beaches. There are a couple of shops within reasonable walking distance but only the Lighthouse cafe for meals,excellent breakfasts but can%26#39;t say on other meals.

If you went further to Captiva you would find all you are looking for BUT parking can be a bit of a problem.

East end deli is also by Lighthouse beach, Rosie%26#39;s market for snacks, coffee and bibs and bobs. Rosie%26#39;s is next door to the cafe, Deli is across the street.