48 Hours on Sanibel Island, Florida
Sanibel Island
A 2-Day Itinerary
DO: Make sure you rent bikes to explore the island-the trails are beautiful!
DON’T: Plan too much-this is the perfect island to relax & unwind!
Over Thanksgiving Break, we took a trip to Florida to visit my parents in Englewood and they were nice enough to keep Graham for two nights while we took a little adult getaway to the beautiful island of Sanibel! This was our first time on the island and we were drawn by the beautiful beaches and bike riding around the island. Sanibel did not disappoint and we found that 48 hours was the perfect amount of time to get a taste of the island. The food was amazing, beaches were relaxing and we loved getting from point A to Point B by bike. We got to Sanibel just in time for lunch and kicked off our 48 hours of eating, drinking & enjoying the sunshine.
Below you will find:
Places to Eat & Drink in Sanibel
Where to Stay on the Island
Things to Do & See
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Day 1: Settle In & Explore
There are so many amazing places to eat on Sanibel, so it was hard to choose our first spot. When researching where to eat, I read a story on another blog about the owner having beers waiting for them when they went to grab takeout-the owner had heard their baby crying over the phone. Being new parents, we thought this was just such a nice gesture! The Clam Shack had amazing seafood. We split the clam strips, a big bowl of lobster bisque (filled with huge chunks of lobster) and each got a lobster roll. It was such a cute little restaurant and a great spot for our first meal.
Stop 2: Accommodations-The Sanibel Island Beach Resort.
When deciding where to stay on a trip, we usually check out a few spots: Airbnb & the booking portal through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For this trip, we really wanted something on the water and close to everything. We also needed a place that offered bike rentals. A bonus was a pool & tiki bar. The Sanibel Island Beach Resort checked all of those boxes. As soon as I saw pictures that walked out onto the beach I was sold. These accommodations are not super fancy, but they were very clean and had all of the amenities we needed. We especially loved that our room was literally steps from the beautiful beach. It looked exactly like the pictures showed.
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Stop 3: Happy Hour!
We grabbed bikes and rode on the windy paths to our next stop: The Turtle’s Tiki Bar at the Sundial Resort. The views to the ocean there were also beautiful and it was a fun stop to grab an adult beverage before dinner!
Next up, we dropped our bikes because the sun was starting to set. On foot we set off for Periwinkle, the main strip of the island. On our way to dinner, we had a quick drink at the Tipsy Turtle as a halfway point.
Stop 4: The Lazy Flamingo
We loved our dinner at the Lazy Flamingo. It had a great Rustic Florida Vibe and we were seated right away at the bar in the center of the restaurant. We were both in the mood for more seafood and both ended up getting Grouper Dishes-a sandwich & the basket. The sauce alongside the grouper was our favorite and paired perfectly. We also started the meal with some amazing bang-bang shrimp!
Day 2: More Relaxing, More Seafood
Stop 1: Walk on the Beach
Since we were right on the beach, we decided to take a sunrise walk as soon as we woke up! The sunrise was beautiful and beach was so calm- there were people out and about doing one of the most famous Sanibel activities: Shelling.
Stop 2: Breakfast at the Island Cow
We had worked up an appetite on our morning walk and bike ride along Periwinkle that morning and this was the perfect spot. My favorite part about the whole meal was that they brought a freshly-baked muffin to the table for each person. I always have so much trouble deciding between sweet & savory at breakfast & this helped make my decision since I had a sweet treat drinking my coffee waiting for our meals. Nate got a hash with eggs & sausage gravy & I had the Hashbrown Eggs Benedict. Both were hearty & amazing! The ambiance was eclectic and had a really fun patio.
Stop 3: Jerry’s Shopping Center
Wow, this was one of the coolest grocery experiences because it was in a huge outdoor mall-like area with plenty of shops. We stocked up on lunch and beverages for the beach that afternoon and grabbed some souvenirs-shirts and a sticker for our wall!
Stop 4: Sanibel Beach
We are new parents and this was one of our first times away from him. At this point we missed him terribly, but also were really hoping to soak up some much needed kid-free relaxation. After our morning outings we sat our butts on the beach for 5 hours straight!! We kept saying how weird it felt to just sit & do nothing (and have two free hands!) We just took in the smells and sounds of the ocean, people watched & relaxed. At one point, I walked back to our room & when I returned Nate told me “I tried to get into shelling, but it took too much energy”. Words of a true new parent. Usually on a trip, we are go, go, go-exploring all we can pack in during the short time we’re at a destination, but for this trip it was exactly what we needed & I wouldn’t change a thing.
Stop 5: Dinner at Gramma Dots
We got showered up & dressed up for dinner. We decided to go early so we could take the bikes & be back by sunset. Our final dinner spot was at Gramma Dots at the Marina. We had clam chowder, lobster bisque and crab meatballs to start. We split the seafood feast as our main (including grouper, shrimp, crabcake and oysters) and then a piece of key lime pie for dessert. We definitely indulged in lots of seafood while we were there and this topped it off! I loved that they included a little chocolate cup with fruit with our meal too!
Stop 6: Sunset at The Sanibel Island Beach Resort
We were itching to get back to Graham the next morning so decided to call it an early night and just watch the sunset back at our resort’s Tiki Bar. We got back just in time to grab a drink and then have some wine by the pool overlooking the ocean before bed!
Although only there for a short time, we really enjoyed our time relaxing and eating our way through as much seafood as we could get our hands on! We felt like this was the perfect 48-hours we could have spent on the island!
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