Best Sanibel Island shelling beaches (so many shells!) 🐚 Best shelling in Florida… and the world! 🐚 Gulf Coast Florida travel blog

Hi there!

You can’t talk about Sanibel Island without talking about shelling!

Sanibel Island is most famous for shelling in Florida.

You can make your time on Sanibel Island all about shelling.

Sanibel Island shells

Yes, Sanibel Island is good for shells!

You will find some of the best shelling in Florida on Sanibel Island.

Not only that, it’s said that you will find the some of the best shelling in the WORLD on Sanibel Island! (Although, there might be a little bias. 😉)

In any case, there is some very good shelling on Sanibel Island.

You can find so many seashells on the shores of Sanibel Island.

Where on Sanibel Island is the best shelling?

You can go to any of the beaches on Sanibel Island and you will find shells.

Along the shoreline, you can find tons of small shells

And the more you look, the greater your chances are for finding different types of shells!

Again, you can find shells pretty much everywhere along the gulf coast of Sanibel Island.

But the most popular beaches for Sanibel Island shelling are Lighthouse Beach and Blind Pass Beach.

My favorite Sanibel Island shelling beach was Bowmans Beach!

Tarpon Bay Beach is a lesser known Sanibel Island shelling beach, but you can find lots of shells there too.

You can also start a long shelling beach walk from almost all of the Sanibel Island beaches.

👆 Sanibel Island shells: You can find some of the best shelling in Florida at Lighthouse Beach!

👆 Sanibel Island shells: You can find some of the best shelling in Florida at Blind Pass Beach!

👆 Sanibel Island shells: You can find some of the best shelling in Florida at Bowmans Beach!

👆 Sanibel Island shells: You can find some of the best shelling in Florida at Tarpon Bay Beach!

Is Sanibel Island open after the hurricane?

Yes, there are some Sanibel Island beaches that are open in late March 2023.

Southwest Florida is where Hurricane Ian made landfall in September 2022 which resulted in historic destruction.

Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Cayo Costa State Park 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)

Sanibel stoop?!

The Sanibel stoop is a thing when shelling on Sanibel Island.

The Sanibel stoop is when you see people stooping over in search of shells on Sanibel Island. 

If you can avoid the Sanibel stoop, it’s probably easier on your back! 😜

Rather than stooping, just sit and surround yourself with shells! 😄

Another way that you can look for shells on Sanibel Island instead of stooping is by bringing some type of shelling stick when you go shelling.

You can scoop up shells without having to bend over as much.

It will also allow you to search for shells in shallow water without putting your face in the water.

A shelling stick also can help you in rinsing off shells in the ocean (err… Gulf of Mexico…) too.

You also might want to wear water shoes when you go shelling to avoid getting cut since some shells can be sharp!

Sanibel Island shell identification guide

You have a chance to find lots of different types of shells on Sanibel Island!

You may also be interested in visiting the National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island.

You can stop by the National Shell Museum before you go to your first Sanibel Island shelling beach! (map)

According to Lee County, live shelling is not allowed on Sanibel Island. This means that you can’t take home anything you find that is alive. Otherwise, you can take home shells you find at Sanibel Island beaches.

Sanibel Island seaweed

You might also see seaweed washed up on the shore of Sanibel Island with shells!

Seaweed and sea grass are considered to be an important part of the coastal ecosystem. If you see seaweed while shelling, you can just consider it a part of your Sanibel Island experience!

Sanibel Island visitor center

Since shelling is your goal (and even if it’s not), be sure to stop by the Sanibel Island visitor center!

You’ll look for signs for the visitor center right after you get on Sanibel Island.

Most importantly, you can pick up a shell identification guide!

You can also pick up a map of the shelling beaches of Sanibel Island and Captiva Island.

Cost to go shelling on Sanibel Island

In order to go shelling on Sanibel Island, you’ll need to drive across the Sanibel causeway bridge.

There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island.

If you have a Lee County pass, a Florida SunPass, or any other kind of compatible pass, you can drive straight through and you will automatically be charged.

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.

There is also a Sanibel Island beach parking fee at every beach parking lot.

It is an hourly fee, and you can expect to pay around $5 an hour for parking. See current fees.

So the starting cost to go shelling on Sanibel Island is $11! ($6 toll + $5 for one hour)

But since you will probably be shelling on Sanibel Island for more than an hour, it will likely cost you minimum $16 for the Sanibel toll and the Sanibel Island beach parking.

👆 In 2022, the cost of Sanibel Island beach parking was $5 per hour.

More for your Southwest Florida road trip and beyond

• What to pack for shelling in Florida
• Best shelling in Florida
• Marco Island shelling
• Honeymoon Island shelling
• Cayo Costa State Park shelling
• Lido Key shelling
• Siesta Key shelling
• Things to do in Southwest Florida
• Sanibel Island to Miami
• Sanibel Island to Key West
• Miami to Key West
• Tampa to Marco Island
• Best snorkeling in Florida

See below for pictures of Sanibel Island shelling!

🐚

Where do you find shells on Sanibel Island?

1. Lighthouse Beach

Lighthouse Beach is often listed as one of the best shelling beaches on Sanibel Island.

Lighthouse Beach is a part of Lighthouse Beach Park.

It’s possible to find shells walking along the shoreline at Sanibel Lighthouse Beach!

The Lighthouse Beach parking lot is not small, but it’s also not huge.

Because it’s popular, it’s possible that you might arrive to find a full Lighthouse Beach parking lot. You can wait around and hope that someone will leave soon.

You can also drive around to go to the other parking lots, including the parking lot near the Sanibel City Pier. (You can also find shells at this beach. Next on the list!)

You can also drive around to see the Sanibel Island lighthouse! Even just driving to get a closer view will give you a scenic drive along the water, although it’s just a short part that is the scenic drive!

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Lighthouse Beach.

See more about this Sanibel Island shelling beach:

• Lighthouse Beach

2. Sanibel City Pier beach

The Sanibel City Pier, also commonly called the Sanibel fishing pier, is also located at Lighthouse Beach Park.

This is a small pier with beach on both sides of the pier.

You can give a try to look for shells along the beach here.

You can park at the main Lighthouse Beach parking lot and then walk over to the Sanibel City Pier beach.

Or you can keep driving to find another parking lot within Lighthouse Beach Park that is closer to the Sanibel City Pier beach.

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of the Sanibel City Pier beach.

3. Gulfside City Beach

I didn’t make it here, but Gulfside City Beach is a Sanibel Island beach along the gulf coast, so there’s a good chance you can find shells at the Gulfside City Beach too!

Plus, there are some google reviews that say there’s good shelling at Gulfside City Beach.

This is a Sanibel beach that isn’t as well-known.

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Gulfside City Beach.

4. Tarpon Bay Beach

Tarpon Bay Beach, officially at the Tarpon Bay Road Beach Park, is one of the lesser known shelling beaches on Sanibel Island.

It doesn’t have as much name recognition as other shelling beaches on Sanibel Island.

But it’s possible to find lots of mounds of shells walking along the shoreline at Tarpon Bay Beach!

There is a Tarpon Bay on Sanibel Island, but you aren’t actually going to Tarpon Bay for the shelling beach.

Tarpon Bay Beach is at one end of the road called Tarpon Bay Road. This is the gulf coast end of the road.

On the other end of Tarpon Bay Road to the north is the actual Tarpon Bay. (map)

For most people, the driving directions you will want to use will be “Tarpon Bay Road Public Beach Parking,” also called the Trost parking lot. (map) This is a short walk down the road from Tarpon Bay Beach. The only parking available directly at Tarpon Bay Beach is if you have a disability permit.

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Tarpon Bay Beach.

See more about this Sanibel Island shelling beach:

• Tarpon Bay Beach

5. Bowmans Beach

Bowmans Beach is one of the best spots for shelling on Sanibel Island.

I think you will not be disappointed if you make your own and only beach visit Bowmans Beach if shelling on Sanibel Island is your goal!

It felt like there were so many shells as you keep walking and walking along the beach!

There were mounds of shells along the Sanibel Island shoreline!

And, you might even spot a sea turtle on Sanibel Island at Bowmans Beach!

The Bowmans Beach parking lot is pretty big, so it’s one of the Sanibel Island beach parking lots that may be easier to find an open parking spot.

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Bowmans Beach.

See more about this Sanibel Island shelling beach:

• Bowmans Beach

6. Blind Pass Beach

Blind Pass Beach is often listed as one of the best shelling beaches on Sanibel Island.

You can find a lot of shells walking along the shoreline at Blind Pass Beach!

Blind Pass is the channel of water between Sanibel Island and Captiva Island.

The bridge that goes over Blind Pass that connects Sanibel Island and Captiva Island is called the Blind Pass Bridge!

You can drive across this bridge, and you can also walk across this bridge for great views of both Sanibel Island and Captiva Island!

There are shelling beaches on both sides of Blind Pass, on both Sanibel Island and Captiva Island.

Blind Pass Beach is at Blind Pass on the Sanibel Island side of the bridge. Turner Beach is at Blind Pass on the Captiva Island side of the bridge.

There are beach parking lots on both sides of Blind Pass, although they are pretty small parking lots.

This means it usually requires a little bit of luck to find an open parking spot to go shelling on Sanibel Island at Blind Pass!

👆 Blind Pass: To the left is Blind Pass Beach and Sanibel Island. To the right is Turner Beach and Captiva Island.

👆 Explore the Sanibel Island map of Blind Pass Beach.

See more about this Sanibel Island shelling beach:

• Blind Pass Beach

More shelling on Sanibel and Captiva

Blind Pass Beach will take you to the end of Sanibel Island!

But, you can keep driving!

If you continue driving, you will end up on Captiva Island!

Captiva Island is also known for shelling.

You can go to Turner Beach or Alison Hagerup Beach.

And that’s a bit about where to find Sanibel Island shells!

My Sanibel Island shelling trip was in April 2022. Your experience may vary!

More for your Florida road trip:

• What to pack for shelling in Florida
• Best shelling beaches in Florida
• Things to do in Southwest Florida
• Camping in Southwest Florida
• Best snorkeling in Florida

HAPPY SHELLING ON SANIBEL ISLAND!