Shelling on Sanibel and Captiva Islands
Tourmaline
Shell collecting for vacation memories and crafts
May 1, 2006
based on 17 votes
Best shelling beaches to gather shells for your home collection or crafts. After storms the shelling everywhere is often excellent for sometime.
Public access beaches on Sanibel charge $2.00 per hour. There are machines in the lot where you buy buy parking time and it will dispense a ticket that you place on your dash where it can be seen. No change and they do take VISA and MasterCard. The police do check cars in season and parking tickets are given out. There are RV spaces at Tarpon Bay Road Beach parking and it is possible to find a spot at the Lighthouse Beach, but there are no designated spaces there.
Revised April 2007
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Explore locations featured in this goList:
Sanibel Island
- Category: Best of
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Traveler type: Active/Outdoors, Repeat visitors, Beachgoers
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Appeals to: Couples/romantics, Singles, Families with small children, Families with teenagers, Seniors, Budget travelers, Tourists
- Seasons:
- Tags: beach, shelling beaches, Sanibel, Sanibel shelling beaches, beach, Captiva, beach, shelling
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| Use the link above to find an interactive map of Sanibel. You can use the 'Attractions' option on that site to find most of the beaches named below. This will help orient first time visitors. Since it is a bike path map, Captiva Island, Lover's Key and the Causeway beaches are not shown. |
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Blind Pass is where Sanibel and Captiva meet and the shelling here is good year round and great after winter storms. The cut, which sometimes fills in with shifting sandbars, has currents that can run strong and brings in lots of shells. Limited parking and restroom facilities. No picnic tables. Good for surf fishing as well. There is paid parking on both the Sanibel side [many spots reserved for residents by permit only] and Captiva side - where it's called Turner's Beach. I have had good luck finding a wide range of shells on this beach year round and it's my personal favorite. Red drift algae has been here, mostly on the Sanibel side, but on Captiva as well. Check current condition.
NOTE: There are plans to re-open the currently closed cut under the bridge at Blind Pass, but continuing lawsuits have it on hold again. Shelling in this area has been off. |
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On the very east tip of Sanibel, this beach runs east west and collects shells from both the Gulf and San Carlos Bay area so you can get a wider selection. This public access beach is very popular with locals and day trippers as well as visitors. There are some dangerous rip tides in the area, so becareful if you walk out, but the water is shallow and warm for the most part and shelling is fair to great depending on the winds. The pier is a very popular fishing spot and the Lighthouse is a scenic backdrop. Big parking lot.
Lighthouse Beach has been experiencing problems with red drift algae off and on. Be sure to check on current conditions. |
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4. Bowman's Beach
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Located mid way between the Causeway entrance to Sanibel and Captiva Island, Bowman's Beach is one of the less visited beaches. There are picnic facilities and restrooms, but they are a long walk from the beach near the parking area. Many of the pines that had lined the beach and shaded the parking area are now gone, but Bowman's is a wide beach and there is only limited development in the area, so there are fewer people looking for shells.
Some folks will take advantage of the privacy of some areas of this beach to do a little topless or nude sunbathing. The police actively discourage this as it is against the law. Sanibel/Captiva beaches are very modest places. |
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5. Tarpon Bay Road Beach Access
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| On Tarpon Bay Road just up from where it meets West Gulf Drive is the parking lot for the beach access near the Pointe Santo Condo complex. The restrooms are near West Gulf Road and you'll walk between two condo complexes to reach the beach. This area can be a bit more crowded in season when the condos are full, so there is more competition for shells. I find the above beaches better. This beach parking area has designated RV parking. |
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6. Algier's Beach Sanibel (Gulfside City Park)
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| This mid-island beach is off Casa Ybel and Algier's and not visited as much as others. There are picnic tables off the beach and a good sized parking lot. Access is just a short walk over a boardwalk from the lot to the beach. This area of the beach has rather limited condo development so it is much less crowded than the Tarpon Bay Beach area just a short distance away. Worth finding this beach a little off the usual tourist path. |
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7. Captiva Public Beach Access - Captiva Drive
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| Captiva Island is mostly private homes, two resorts, a B&B and a few small condo and cottages. As the beach is lined with private property, public access is limited to the Blind Pass area above and one very small lot at the end of Captiva Drive beyond the village area and past South Seas Resort entrance. This area is nestled between the houses on private lanes in the village and beach homes of South Seas. In the winter when the resort and houses are full, competition for the shells can be pretty stiff and the shelling doesn't seem to be a good as it is at Blind Pass. You can walk to the resort entrance where a small general store sells sandwiches, drinks and snacks. No restroom facilities at the beach area. Aside from two spaces at the end of Andy Rosse Lane, this is the only public beach parking access on Captiva. there is parking available at McCarthy's for a daily fee and you can walk down Andy Rosse Lane to the beach. |
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8. Middle Gulf Drive
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| The beach along Middle Gulf Drive, from about the Shorewood to Gulfside Place condos, has often been an excellent area to find shells. There is no public parking and access is almost all by deeded beach access. If you stay along this stretch you can usually find beach access when staying off the Gulf. There is an area at the foot of Fulgar where you can get to the beach if you're riding bikes or walking. Off season, some folks will use the condo parking lots and gain access that way, but in-season some have guards, and it is ALWAYS a parking violation. |
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9. West Gulf Beach Access Points
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| There are a series of small lots that permit parking for cars with special passes only along West Gulf Drive. These are deeded beach access points and can be used by visitors, but don't attempt to park there unless you have the "A" parking permit issued by the City of Sanibel. There are bike racks. These access points are used mostly by people staying in private homes off West Gulf Drive in East Rocks, West Rocks, Lake Murex and other subdivisions across the street from the Gulf. This stretch of the beach has only a few condos and a couple of cottage/inn type places and is very quiet. |
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10. North Captiva Island beach
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North Captiva is a separate island just north of Captiva Island that can be reached only by boat. A large section of the island is undeveloped and the shelling is very good. You can hire a charter captain [that's what I do] and they can take you directly to the beach, rent a boat at one of the marinas below that offer water taxis and take yourself [I only recommend this if you are an experienced boater as the waters are very shallow] or take a water taxi from Jensen's, Tween Waters Inn or McCarthy's and get dropped off at the North Captiva Club and walk over to the beach and then down. Thanks to hurricane Charley, North Captiva has a cut through the island that divides it in half. The houses are all north of the cut. The beach away from the houses has only boaters and shelling is good to excellent. You can find sand dollars here. I don't find them much on Sanibel or Captiva. The water is clearer here than on Sanibel, where its murky from the sand, so you can snorkel. No facilities away from the developed north end area. Restaurants bayside by the Club entrance.
For help with a charter captain, go to the Chamber of Commerce website above or stop at the Visitor Center for a list. Captain Mike Fuery is the best known shelling captain, but almost all of the captain's do shelling trips. In season, do make reservation in advance as the captain's get quite busy with half and full day trips. Captain Betty Reed runs a nice group boat. |
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11. Cayo Costa State Park
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| Cayo Costa State Park can be reached by water taxi, private charter or via Captiva Cruises. The beach here seems to have softer sand than Sanibel and the water is clear enough for snorkeling - though you'll mostly see bait fish and some manta rays. There are no colorful reef fish along these islands - and no natural reefs off beaches. [There are some man made reefs off Sanibel that can be visited via boat and are OK for divers, but nowhere as good as those you'll find off the Keys.] The water is shallow and warm. If you enter the park by the visitor center, you have to walk across the island to the beach area and move south to the best shelling areas. If you go by private charter, the captains have access to docks away from the visitor center and again you'll walk across a very narrow strip to the beach. Use insect repellant as the mangroves can be full of no-see-ums. There is NO shade on this beach, so wear a hat and bring plenty of water or sports drinks to keep hydrated. [That's good advice on any beach] This is where I have found some of my largest shells. Snorkeling will show you some large, half buried shells and the beach is the one most likely to have sand dollars. Beautiful place and excellent shelling in season and good shelling off season. No facilities away from the park entrance. Be sure to protect yourself from the sun. |
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| You'll have to go back across the bridge and turn south through Fort Myers Beach to drive to Lover's Key State Park. Lover's Key can be busy in season as folks look for an alternative to busy Fort Myers Beach. It is a lovely spot, has concessions for canoe, kayak, bike and boat rentals, picnic areas, food and ice cream concessions, restrooms and a tram or boardwalk from the paved lot to the beach areas. Wildlife and shelling are good, but the shelling is no match compared with Sanibel, Captiva or the other islands above. The sand is beautiful and soft. Popular with European visitors. It does have all you could want and its worth a visit, even with the hassle of crossing the causeway. In season, getting through Fort Myers Beach by car is a nightmare, so look for alternate routes or wait and do the park off season. Entrance fees are per car. For current fee schedule, go to the website above. |
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13. Causeway Islands
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| As you come across the Causeway you'll see several man-made island with random parking. Most have picnic and restroom facilities. These little islands are popular as there are no parking fees and the fishing is pretty good. I have tried shelling here and it's so-so, but they are good for sail boarding and fishing and you'll see plenty of both. With the new fixed bridge construction, these locations may not be desirable stops or may be restricted. Great bay views and boat watching. |
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