Best things to do in Southwest Florida (views!) + camping 🌞 Southwest Florida road trip 🌞 Florida travel blog

Hi there!

So you want to go to Southwest Florida!

Southwest Florida is located on the gulf coast, and it’s where you can find some of the best beaches in Florida.

I did a road trip along Southwest Florida (mostly a camping trip staying at a few different campgrounds along the way), and here are the things you need to know about!

1. Lido Key

You have lots of islands and lots of beaches to choose from in Southwest Florida!

Lido Beach on Lido Key is one of them.

👆 In April, the water temperature of the Gulf of Mexico at Lido Key was 75 degrees. This can be a comfortable water temperature for swimming! The air temperature was 86 degrees.

You’ll pass through St Armands Circle on your way to Lido Key where you will find lots of restaurants and shops.

2. Siesta Key

Siesta Key is an island in Southwest Florida, and it’s one of the most popular beach destinations in Florida.

It has been named one of the best beaches in America.

At one end of Siesta Key is the famous #1 beach that is Siesta Beach.

This is where you’ll find an amazing white sand beach with a wide stretch of sand.

👆 In April, the water temperature of the Gulf of Mexico at Siesta Key was 76 degrees. This can be a comfortable water temperature for swimming! The air temperature was 84 degrees.

On the other end of Siesta Key is the quieter end, and it’s where you’ll find Turtle Beach… along with the Turtle Beach campground! If you want to go camping on Siesta Key, the Turtle Beach campground is it!

There is a direct path from the campground to the beach, so your campsite will just be a few minutes walk from being able to see the amazing Gulf coast.

I also saw dolphins swimming along the shoreline from Turtle Beach!

You need to get lucky in order to find camping availability, as campsites get booked up pretty much as soon as they are available months in advance. But people do cancel.

Camping in Southwest Florida:

• Turtle Beach campground (Siesta Key)
• How to make reservations for Turtle Beach campground

3. Myakka River State Park

Myakka River State Park is a perfect nature spot if you’re looking for lots of green.

It can be a scenic drive through Myakka River State Park.

Myakka River State Park is also known for the canopy walk.

You’ll walk across a bridge that’s suspended in air, and then continue climbing the stairs up the tower for views above the trees.

There is also a spot in Myakka River State Park that’s known for alligator sightings.

When you come across the alligator bridge in Myakka River State Park, make a stop to see if you can spot some alligators!

Plus you might make some bird sightings!

Camping in Southwest Florida:

• Myakka River State Park campground
• How to make reservations for Myakka River State Park

🌞

4. Cayo Costa State Park

Cayo Costa State Park is on an island in Southwest Florida.

To go to Cayo Costa State Park, you’ll need to leave the car behind!

That’s because the way to get to Cayo Costa State Park is by boat!

You can make it a day trip to Cayo Costa State Park, or if you’ve got some time to spare, you can make it a night (or more!) on the island of Cayo Costa!

This will be a mostly rustic stay!

There are no traditional accommodations like hotels or resorts.

Instead, you can get an epic island tent camping experience in Southwest Florida.

Or you can get a rustic cabin experience in Southwest Florida!

Either way, it’s pretty much bring your own everything!

There’s a small store on the island, but it’s not much to depend on.

So it will require a bit of an effort in the form of planning a trip to Cayo Costa, but no matter how you choose to stay on Cayo Costa, you will be just a few minutes walk from the beach!

Is there a lot to do on Cayo Costa island? No, not really. Your time will be spent at the beach or walking around the island on the beach… or in search of another beach!

And you can watch an epic sunset!

You can also look for shells in Cayo Costa State Park.

The “real Florida” as the people of Florida state parks like to say! It’s a quiet Southwest Florida island experience!

See more about planning your trip to Southwest Florida:

• Cayo Costa State Park shelling

Camping in Southwest Florida:

• Cayo Costa State Park campground
• How to make reservations for Cayo Costa State Park

5. Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is known for its beaches.

But Sanibel Island isn’t just any beach stop.

Some of the best shelling beaches are in Southwest Florida!

Sanibel Island is not only where you will find some of the best shelling in Southwest Florida, but it’s known for having some of the best shelling in all of Florida.

And even more than that, Sanibel Island beaches are known for being the best beaches for shelling in all of the United States!

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!

To get you started, you likely will not be disappointed if you make Bowmans Beach your one and only Sanibel Island shelling beach to visit!

There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island. See current fees under Sanibel toll plaza.

The Sanibel Island beach parking fee is hourly. See current fees.

And then once you pass that toll bridge, you are driving along the Sanibel Causeway to get to Sanibel Island.

You will soon see places that you can stop along the bridge.

You can make this a picnic stop or just stop to take in the views!

It’s a part of the Causeway Islands Park, and it’s located directly along the road.

See more about planning your trip to Southwest Florida:

• Best Sanibel Island shelling
• What to pack for shelling in Florida

Camping in Southwest Florida:

• Koreshan State Park campground
• How to make reservations for Koreshan State Park

6. Captiva Island

And there is also Captiva Island for beaches and shelling!

You will drive through Sanibel Island to get to Captiva Island.

There’s a small bridge that you can drive across… or walk across… or bike across! (Lots of people rent bikes on Sanibel Island.)

Plus you might make some bird sightings!

See more about planning your trip to Southwest Florida:

• Captiva Island beaches

7. Marco Island

Marco Island is another one of Southwest Florida’s best beach destinations.

The 2 main public beaches on Marco Island are South Beach and Tigertail Beach.

You will probably have an easier time with parking at Tigertail Beach.

Tigertail Beach is known as the best shelling beach on Marco Island, although you can look for shells along any Marco Island beach.

It’s also known for the lagoon water crossing to get to the beach, although there is also an alternative walking route that is not so bad.

If you want to walk normally to the beach, you’ll want to park at the far end of the parking lot as far as you can drive, and then start walking from there.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, you see a wide expansive white sand beach of Marco Island!

It’s possible you might walk around 10 minutes from your parking spot to where you want to set up camp on the beach.

And if you will be staying an overnight on Marco Island, be sure to catch a Marco Island sunset!

In the winter months, you can leave Southwest Florida behind and take a ferry to Key West from Marco Island! (Or, if your Southwest Florida trip is in the summer, you can take a ferry to Key West from Fort Myers FL any time of year!)

Or, if you want to keep the car, you can drive 5 hours from Marco Island to get to Key West!

Although, you may want to spend several days making your way to the Florida Keys and make it a great Marco Island to Key West road trip!

See more about planning your trip to Southwest Florida:

• Best Marco Island beaches
• Marco Island shelling
• Marco Island to Miami
• Marco Island to Florida Keys

Camping in Southwest Florida:

• Collier-Seminole State Park campground
• How to make reservations for Collier-Seminole State Park

8. Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park

The best way to experience the Ten Thousand Islands can be through a boat tour!

You can consider Everglades National Park to have the Southwest Florida side (Gulf side) and the Miami side (Atlantic side).

All land-based activities in Everglades National Park that you can drive to are on the Miami side.

On the gulf side is where you will find the Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You will not actually be within the Everglades National Park boundary by going to this visitor center.

Instead, the way to experience this gulf coast side of Everglades National Park is by water.

You can do the Ten Thousand Islands boat tour that starts from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You have a chance to see dolphins and manatees on an Everglades National Park boat tour in the Ten Thousand Islands.

You’ll want to book ahead as these boat tours can sell out. You can book through Everglades Florida Adventures.

What is Southwest Florida famous for?

Southwest Florida is famous for its beautiful Gulf Coast beaches and amazing water color!

The beaches of Southwest Florida are also considered to be the best beaches in Florida for shelling.

It’s easy to include the beautiful beaches into your Southwest Florida road trip!

👆 One of the best things to do in Southwest Florida is to look for shells! Southwest Florida is home to some of the best shelling beaches in Florida and the entire United States! It doesn’t take much to go shelling in Florida, but you may want to pack extra things for your Florida shelling trip!

👆 One of the best things to do in Southwest Florida is to look for shells! It’s not unusual at some Southwest Florida beaches to see people sitting in shallow water in search of shells!

👆 One of the best things to do in Southwest Florida is to look for shells! It’s not unusual at some Southwest Florida beaches to see people bending over in shallow water in search of shells!

The boring safety message about Gulf Coast swimming in Southwest Florida!

In short, take care!

Some beaches may have a lifeguard, other beaches may not.

👆 There are beaches in Southwest Florida that don’t have lifeguards.

👆 Lifeguard station in Southwest Florida: There are beaches in Southwest Florida that do have lifeguards.

Yes, it is possible to go swimming in Southwest Florida!

👆 In April, the water temperature at Southwest Florida beaches may be in the mid-70s. This can be a comfortable water temperature for swimming! The air temperature can be in the 80s.

Swimming in Southwest Florida CAN be generally safe… IF the water is calm!

The ocean is powerful!

The Gulf of Mexico is powerful!

Rip currents exist!

Know before you go!

According to the National Ocean Service, rip currents account for 80% of beach rescues.

Before heading off to the beach, talk with your group about what to do if you find yourself in a rip current!

In short:

• Don’t fight the current.
• Swim parallel to shore.

Learn about rip currents from the National Ocean Service (NOAA).

Take care out there!

If the beach you are going to has a beach flag, take extra caution based on the color of the beach flag!

You will see a green flag, yellow flag, or red flag.

And even if there is a beach flag indicating “calm conditions” meaning it’s relatively safe for swimming in Southwest Florida, it’s still the ocean, so take care!

And that’s a bit about spending time in Southwest Florida!

More for your Florida road trip:

• Naples to Miami
• Tamiami Trail alligators
• Miami to Key West
• Best things to do in the Florida Keys
• Best things to do in the Florida Panhandle
• Best camping in the Florida Panhandle

HAPPY VISIT TO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA!