Places to go in Southwest Florida.

Fort Myers, Naples, Sanibel, Marco Island. There are 10 places here.

All places

Everything in Southwest Florida, by category.

Gardens & wildlife

J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Sanibel, FL · Southwest Florida$

On Sanibel Island, the refuge's Wildlife Drive runs one way for 4 miles with a 15 mph limit, and you can bike or walk it as well as drive. Go at low tide on any day but Friday…

Gardens & wildlife

Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

Naples, FL · Southwest Florida$$

Corkscrew's 2.25-mile boardwalk, half an hour northeast of Naples, passes through a 700-acre stand of old-growth bald cypress. Some of the trees reach about 130 feet, hung with…

Beaches

Bowman's Beach

Sanibel, FL · Southwest Florida

The quarter-mile walk from the lot to Bowman's Beach, on Sanibel's western end, crosses a footbridge over Clam Bayou, where you might spot a manatee or an alligator. People come…

Beaches

Cayo Costa State Park

Boca Grande, FL · Southwest Florida$

A 30-minute boat ride from McCarthy's Marina on Captiva Island puts you on Cayo Costa's nine miles of white-sand beach. It's day trips only, and the island has no drinking water…

Beaches

Naples Beach

Naples, FL · Southwest Florida

Naples Beach is 10 miles of white sand on the Gulf. The stretch by the pier is steps from the shops on Third Street South. The pier dates from 1888 and is being rebuilt after…

Beaches

Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach, FL · Southwest Florida

The Gulf off Fort Myers Beach deepens slowly, with no sudden drop-offs or big waves, along all seven miles of Estero Island. Lynn Hall Memorial Park and Crescent Beach Family…

Beaches

Lovers Key State Park

Fort Myers Beach, FL · Southwest Florida

The tram at Lovers Key State Park has been discontinued, so you reach the beach on foot or by bike. From parking lot 1 it's 1,000 feet over the Mid-Beach Wood Bridge, or half a…

Attractions

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

Naples, FL · Southwest Florida

The boat ride at Naples Zoo runs past islands where the lemurs and apes live, and one admission covers more than one ride. The islands sit in lakes Julius Fleischmann dug in the…

Attractions

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Fort Myers, FL · Southwest Florida$$

Thomas Edison built his winter home here on the Caloosahatchee River in the 1880s, and Henry Ford later bought the bungalow next door so the two friends could tinker side by…

Gardens & wildlife

Lee County Manatee Park

Fort Myers, FL · Southwest Florida$

The canal at Lee County's Manatee Park is warmed by cooling water from the Florida Power & Light plant across the street. Manatees come in once Gulf water drops below 68 degrees…