Hi there!
So you want to go to Sanibel Island or Captiva Island! (Or… both!)
Well, as of September 2022, you can’t drive to Sanibel Island.
The bridge to Sanibel Island was destroyed during Hurricane Ian.
Below reflects what it was like previously.
In addition to what the Sanibel Causeway bridge used to be like before, there are also pictures of what the Causeway Islands Park was like.
The Causeway Islands Park was a roadside park along the Sanibel Causeway that you could stop at on your way to Sanibel Island.
Sanibel Causeway before and after
Sanibel Causeway after
👆 Sanibel Causeway after the hurricane: Watch the ABC News video to see the Sanibel Causeway damage caused by Hurricane Ian. See below for pictures of the Sanibel Causeway before the hurricane and what it used to be like.
Sanibel Island after
👆 Sanibel Island after the hurricane: Watch the US Coast Guard video to see what Sanibel Island looks like in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian during helicopter rescues.
Sanibel Causeway before: Pre-hurricane Sanibel Causeway
aka: the original Sanibel Island Causeway toll post before the hurricane! aka the possible Q&A once the Sanibel Causeway bridge is repaired!
Can you drive to Sanibel Island?
Yes, you can drive to Sanibel Island!
Cars are allowed on Sanibel Island!
Sanibel Island is one of the islands in Florida that you can drive to, and you can drive your own car to get there.
There is a bridge to Sanibel Island!
So if you are making it a great Florida road trip to Sanibel Island, the way to get over to Sanibel Island is by driving across a bridge.
You will be driving across the Sanibel Causeway Bridge to get to Sanibel Island.
It costs money to drive to Sanibel Island.
The Sanibel bridge is not free to drive across.
There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island.
How do you pay the toll on the Sanibel bridge?
If you have a Lee County pass, a Florida SunPass, or any other kind of compatible pass, you can drive straight through to pay the Sanibel toll. You will automatically be charged.
So yes, the SunPass works for Sanibel Island.
According to Lee County, if you have any of the following passes, you can pay with the pass you currently have.
These passes are accepted on the Sanibel Causeway:
- LeeWay (Florida)
- SunPass (Florida)
- E-Pass (Florida)
- E-ZPass (various states)
- Quick Pass (North Carolina)
- Peach Pass (Georgia)
- I-Pass (Illinois)
- Riverlink (Kentucky)
👆 You can use the SunPass to pay the Sanibel Island toll. Other passes are also accepted.
If you do not have a pass, you will receive a bill later based on your license plate. You can’t pay the Sanibel toll by cash.
If you don’t have a pass and you still have time before your drive to Sanibel Island, you may consider buying the SunPass (if you’ll be driving other toll roads in Florida) or the LeeWay pass (for Fort Myers and Sanibel Island area tolls: Midpoint, Cape Coral, Sanibel).
I am not a Florida resident, and I ordered a SunPass before I left Michigan. You can also buy a SunPass once you get to Florida at (most?) rest areas along the Florida Turnpike (aka the Florida toll road).
👆 You can’t pay the Sanibel Causeway toll by credit card.
How much does it cost to drive to Sanibel Island?
The cost of the Sanibel Island toll is $6 per car if you have a pass. If you don’t have a pass, it’s $9 per car. See current fees under Sanibel toll plaza.
👆 The cost of the Sanibel toll is $6 per car if you have a pass like the SunPass.
There is no toll to leave Sanibel Island.
The Sanibel toll is not both ways.
You only need to pay the Sanibel toll on your way to Sanibel Island.
👆 Leaving Sanibel Island. You don’t need to pay a toll to drive the Sanibel Causeway when you are leaving Sanibel Island.
Captiva Island toll bridge?!
In order to go to Captiva Island, you need to drive through Sanibel Island.
This means that you will need to pay the Sanibel Causeway toll in order to go to Captiva Island.
And then, once you are on Sanibel Island, you will also drive across a bridge to get from Sanibel Island to Captiva Island.
But this is a small bridge, and there is no toll for this bridge to Captiva Island!
Blind Pass Beach is on the Sanibel side of the bridge, and then Turner Beach is on the Captiva side.
You’ve made it through the Sanibel Causeway toll plaza! Now what?!
Once you drive through the Sanibel toll plaza, you will keep driving until you get to Sanibel Island!
The road will lead you straight there.
The road from “mainland Florida” (aka the toll booth) to Sanibel Island is around 3 miles long. (So the Sanibel Causeway is around 3 miles long.)
It might take you around 5 minutes to get to Sanibel Island once you pass through the Sanibel Causeway toll booth.
Along the way, you’ll pass by Causeway Islands Park.
This is a roadside stop and you can park directly along the water!
These are little islands along the way to Sanibel Island!
So actually, you will be island hopping in Southwest Florida just by driving to Sanibel Island!
There are 2 small islands along the Sanibel Causeway before you get to Sanibel Island. (map)
Once you get to Sanibel Island, make your first stop the Sanibel Captiva visitor center! You can pick up a map of the islands, including a map of the Sanibel shelling beaches and Captiva shelling beaches. You can also pick up a shell identification guide.
Then if you’re going to Sanibel and Captiva for shelling, first head to the National Shell Museum to get your intro to shelling!
And then finally, drive to your Sanibel Captiva beach of choice!
Drive to a Sanibel beach:
- Lighthouse Beach
- Gulfside City Beach
- Tarpon Bay Beach
- Bowmans Beach
- Blind Pass Beach
Drive to a Captiva beach:
- Turner Beach
- Alison Hagerup Beach
And that’s a bit about driving through the Sanibel toll booth!
I did a drive through the Sanibel Causeway toll in April 2022. Your experience may vary!
More for your Southwest Florida drive and beyond:
- Best Sanibel Island shelling
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
- Best camping in Southwest Florida
- Best shelling in Florida
- Sanibel Island to Miami
- Sanibel Island to Key West
HAPPY DRIVING THE SANIBEL CAUSEWAY TOLL BRIDGE!
Here's some info on Florida trip prep!
- Things to do in Southwest Florida
- Best shelling in Florida
- Tampa to Miami drive
- Things to do in Everglades National Park
Southwest Florida is where Hurricane Ian made landfall in September 2022 which resulted in historic destruction.
Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island were among the hardest hit by the hurricane.
The Sanibel Island bridge that links mainland Florida to Sanibel Island and Captiva Island was destroyed during the hurricane.
This has since been repaired, but Sanibel Island beaches were still closed to the public for months... until recently!
Read current info from the City of Sanibel: Sanibel Island beaches that are open
What the open Sanibel Island beaches on that list were like pre-hurricane:
- Bowmans Beach
- Blind Pass Beach
- Tarpon Bay Road Beach (Trost parking lot)
- In general: Sanibel Island shelling beaches