Marco Island guide
What we would tell a friend staying at the house for a week.
Beaches
South Beach is the easy choice: paid parking, restrooms, and a wide stretch of sand about five minutes from the house. Get there before 10am in season for a spot.
Tigertail is the better beach if you do not mind a walk. Park, cross the lagoon at low tide, and you are on Sand Dollar Spit, which is where the shelling and bird watching are.
Free public access is 1.5 miles from the house. Take the beach cart, chairs and umbrellas from the garage instead of renting anything.
Food
Marco Walk is the closest cluster of restaurants. DaVincis and Marco Prime are both there, along with Beebe's for ice cream after.
Oyster Society and Salty Dog cover raw bar and fried grouper respectively. Both fill up in season, so call ahead.
Stan's in Goodland is a twenty minute drive and a proper old-Florida Sunday afternoon. Live music, picnic tables, no pretense.
The Publix two minutes away handles the rest. Most guests cook at least half their meals here because the kitchen and grill are good.
Parks and rainy days
Mackle Park is 1.1 miles away and has the splash pad and the pirate-ship playground, plus ball fields, a skate park and a community center.
The YMCA is half a mile away if you want a lap pool or a gym.
When it rains, the covered part of the lanai stays dry, and there are games, books and toys in the house.
Boating and fishing
The private dock is on a quiet canal. Guests tie up their own boat for the week, and fish straight off the dock for snook, sheepshead and mangrove snapper.
The five kayaks and two paddleboards live in the garage. The canal is calm enough for a first-timer.
For a charter, half-day backwater trips out of the Marco River are the most reliable with kids. PLACEHOLDER: name the captain you recommend.
Bring or buy a Florida saltwater fishing license before you fish from the dock.
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