The Florida Island that Ruined All Other Island Getaways for us

Everything you need to eat, stay, and explore from someone who's been there.

If you haven't crossed the bridge onto Captiva yet, let me be the person who finally convinces you to go. The second you drive onto the island it feels like you left Florida and landed somewhere in the Caribbean. The water gets clearer, the pace slows way down, and suddenly your biggest decision of the day is pool or beach.

Here's exactly how we spent our weekend at South Seas Resort.

Where We Stayed: South Seas Resort

We stayed in a 2 bedroom 2 bath oceanview suite and it was super clean and comfy. There was plenty of room for the whole family. The resort itself is huge, and once you're on the property you really don't need to leave. We spent most of our time on property between the pool, Captiva Landing Water Park, the beach, The Clutch, and the restaurants.

Pro tip, get the golf cart. The property is expansive and it makes getting around so much easier. It's nice to explore Captiva in an open air cart, and you can go all the way up to the Green Flash restaurant on your golf cart.

Our Favorite Morning: The Clutch

The Clutch was our favorite morning of the whole trip. We had never played before but we played a few holes anyway and truly enjoyed ourselves. There were some beautiful views and you can grab breakfast right there.

We loved it so much we went back to The Clutch one evening for karaoke and making s'mores. So worth it.

A Whole Day at Captiva Landing

We planned to spend two hours at Captiva Landing and ended up spending the entire day there. The lazy river was my favorite, it was heated and a dream. The girls loved the slides and the dump bucket. Nobody wanted to leave.

Flippers is right there at Captiva Landing and it was super cool. They delivered the food right to our cabana and the chicken tenders, burgers, everything was tasty.  The cabana was also nice when it rained, we closed it up and watched tv for 30 minutes and then went back to the lazy river.

Where We Ate

Harborside

My favorite restaurant on the Island.  I can't say enough good things about this restaurant.  The seafood was super fresh, I have had it both times.  The truffle chicken pasta was to die for.  The steak was perfectly cooked and don't get me started on the crispy brussel sprouts!  Everything here is worth trying.

Beach House

Right on the water and a good spot for a relaxed dinner.

Scoops at South Seas

We went to Scoops for ice cream and candy. They also have Slices right there where you can get a pizza to go.

Bubble Room

Super colorful and a bit overwhelming, but worth seeing at least once.

Lazy Flamingo

Great bar food. We enjoyed the wings, cheese sticks, caesar salad, and burgers.

Things we did nearby

Sanibel Lighthouse

In Sanibel we stopped at the Lighthouse. It's a super busy beach park but worth seeing, and the water is beautiful.

Captiva Curio Cottage

For unique gifts stop in at Captiva Curio Cottage. The owner is super nice and has a neat dog. It's the dog from Coco, which is a Xoloitzcuintli or Xolo

Driving an EV to Captiva

We drove an EV and arrived with 48% battery, but this was not enough. It was so hot that the car used a lot of battery to keep itself cool. We charged at the Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce so that we could get off the island. If you're planning to drive an EV to Captiva, arrive with more charge than you think you need.

The Bottom Line

Captiva is one of those Florida spots that still feels a little untouched. It's quieter than Sanibel and slower than a lot of the other Gulf Coast beach towns. Once you're on the island you really do forget you're still in Florida.

Follow along so you don't miss the best of Florida.