LOCATION:  Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast, North West of Miami

AREAS OF INTEREST: Sanibel Island, CaptivaIsland, Fort MyersBeach on EsteroIsland, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Cape Coral, Pine Island, Boca Grande & Outer Islands (Cabbage Key, Useppa Island, Cayo Costa State Island Preserve), North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres

GEOGRAPHY:                     

652,000 acres of total land area

590 miles of shoreline

50 miles of white sand beaches

100 plus barrier and coastal islands/Gulf of Mexico

AVERAGE ANNUAL AIR TEMPERATURES:

23° c average annual temperature

29° c average annual high temperature

18° c average annual low temperature

Peak temperature falls in July and August at 33°c

AVERAGE ANNUAL WATER TEMPERATURES:

25.2°c average annual temperature

21.5°c average fall/winter temperature

28.9°c average spring/summer temperature

18.8°c average winter low temperature

30.5°c average summer high temperature

AIRPORTS:                                   

UK visitors tend to use the gateways of Miami International, Orlando and Tampa

MILEAGE FROM FLORIDA CITIES:

Miami              148 miles (2½ hours drive time)

Orlando           167 miles (3½ hours drive time)

Tampa            134 miles (2½ hours drive time)

Daytona          219 miles (4¼ hours drive time)

Jacksonville     311 miles (6 hours drive time)

HOTEL/MOTEL & CONDOMINIUM/RESORT ACCOMMODATIONS: 

More than 20,000 rooms range from inexpensive motels to idyllic cottages to condominiums and full-service resort properties

CAMPING:                            

3,500 campsites, countywide may be found in the LeeCounty area

29 RV parks equipped with electrical & sewer hookups, as well as

13 RV parks with spaces for tent camping

GOLF:                             

166 courses in southwest Florida including public courses and semi-private courses

MARINAS:                       

31 marinas, half of which offer boat rentals or charters

Interesting Information

For 15 miles, Fort Myers' McGregor Boulevard is lined with statuesque royal palm trees, the first 200 of which were imported from Cuba and planted by Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison, who spent many winters in Fort Myers, is considered the most inventive man who ever lived, holding 1,093 patents for everything from lightbulbs, cement and phonographs to the natural rubber he made from goldenrod

The first tourist to visit southwest Florida was Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, who visited PineIsland in 1513 and was later mortally wounded in the same waters by a Calusa Indian arrow

The sport of tarpon fishing originated in southwest Florida's Pine Island Sound in the late 1880's, and BocaGrandePass, the opening between Cayo Costa and GasparillaIsland, is considered the 'Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World'

The beaches are ranked some of the best in the USA for shelling, with more varieties found on these shores than anywhere else in North America. The shelling posture is so common; it's given a name – the Sanibel Stoop and the Captiva Crouch!

You can boat straight across the state of Florida from Fort Myers/Sanibel to Palm Beach via the CaloosahatcheeRiver and Okeechobee Waterway, both part of the Intracoastal Waterway.

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For more further information or images please contact Jules Ugo or Amelia Astley Birtwistle at Lotus UK on 0207 593 7470 or firstname@lotus-uk.co.uk

In the United States please contact Nancy Hamilton at The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel on 001(239) 338 3500 or NHamilton@leegov.com

EDITOR'S NOTES: The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel in southwest Florida includes: Sanibel Island, CaptivaIsland, Fort MyersBeach, Fort Myers, BonitaSprings, Estero, Cape Coral, PineIsland, Boca Grande & Outer islands, North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres.