Becky you may also like Captiva Island, Sanible Island or Boca Grande. White sand, tourquoise water, lots of shelling. I live in Cape Coral. We moved here when real estate was moving. Now Cape Coral is known as forclosure capital. For me not too much to do here but fishing, boating, golfing of which my husband and I dont do. We were just looking for a place to retire. We've been here six years and havent really ventured out on day trips. When we were planning to move here that's all we talked about, but with work its hard to do. He hope to retire in a couple of years and begin exploring. I've not been to Marco Island yet, only pass it on my way to Key West. I've heard its beautiful. Probably similar to Sanibel or Captiva. Fort Myers beach is touristy and not as pretty of a beach as Sanibel.
Today I was watching Florida's 10 best beaches. Sanibel came in 6th and Lover's Key which is a State Park in Fort Myers Beach area ranked fourth.
Carmen.