Sanibel Island - Is it worth going to?

Will be in the Tampa/Clearwater/St Petersburg area from Feb 9 thru the 13th. How far is it to Sanibel Island, and what is there?

Sanibel Island - Is it worth going to?

It is wonderful! It%26#39;s about 2 1/2-3 hours south of Tampa. (depends on traffic)

My daughter (FL native) lives in Pittsburgh and stays there at least once a year.

It is a tranquil place with a greanature preserve called Ding Darling Nature Preserve.

If you%26#39;re looking for ';action'; Sanibel is not the place.

Sarasota/Siesta Key is also nice.

No offense to the residents, but the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area is not my idea of a great vacation spot. Too much concrete, not enough tropical....

~SRQgirl

Sanibel Island - Is it worth going to?

The main difference between Sanibel and other areas of Florida is the wildlife and the relately undeveloped nature of the island; that is its draw. As said before there is a National Wildlife Refuge, J. N. ';Ding'; Darling NWR. Sanibel%26#39;s unique positioning off the coast makes it a good spot for shelling.

There are plenty of nice beaches in the Clearwater Beach - St. Pete Beach corridor. There are even similar nature parks/preserves (Sawgrass Lake, Weedon Island and others).

If you think you want to visit just because someone else raved about it, then do some google searches and see if it is worth it to you. I normally would not recommend someone go to Sanibel when vacationing in St. Pete/Tampa area.