Gulf Coast Travel Guide

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Gulf Coast

Off Florida's west coast adjacent to the pretty inland city of Fort Myers is a sprinkling of coastal islands resting in the tranquil Gulf waters. Many have been carefully developed as pristine and appealing resorts which, together with Fort Myers Beach and the sophisticated town of Naples further down the coast on the mainland, have made this area with its subtropical climate an extremely desirable holiday destination.

South west Florida is the ideal place to enjoy leisure and pleasure in the great outdoors, it being one of the warmest areas of the United States. In the height of summer ocean breezes keep things cool while visitors enjoy swimming, sunning, shelling or playing a round of golf. Nature lovers are drawn here because of the area's close proximity to the Everglades National Park, the Big Cypress Swamp and numerous other wetland reserves, wildlife refuges and habitats. Then, of course, there are the miles of beautiful beaches, washed by the warm Gulf waters and covered in a fascinating array of seashells. Winter is 'in season' in this part of the world, which stays warm while the more northerly states freeze. Little wonder that the Gulf Coast has become a magnet for visitors whom locals term 'snowbirds' migrating from the north to winter here.

Resorts

See our separate guides to the following Gulf Coast holiday resorts: Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva, Naples and Marco Island

Attractions

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Famous inventor, Thomas Edison, and his friend, automobile magnate Henry Ford, both spent dozens of winters in the city of Fort Myers in the early years of the 20th century. Edison's home is the region's top historic attraction, and has been preserved as... see full details

Koreshan State Historic Site

In the dying years of the 19th century a former Civil War surgeon, Dr Cyrus Teed, founded a pioneer settlement on the banks of the Estero River south of Fort Myers where he led the community to practice a religion he termed Koreshanity.... see full details

Lee County Manatee Park

A sighting of an endangered West Indian manatee, a shy and lumbering walrus-like creature whose numbers are dwindling, is a must for visitors to Florida. At the Lee County Manatee Park on the Orange River in eastern Fort Myers these animals can be... see full details

Shell Factory and Nature Park

The beaches along this area of the Florida coast are world-renowned for their seashells and the largest collection of shells, fossils, corals and sponges in the world is the focus of a unique family oriented attraction north of Fort Myers. The Shell Factory not... see full details

South West Florida Museum of History

The Museum of History in Fort Myers is housed in the former Atlantic Coastline Railroad depot and chronicles the history of Southwest Florida, from the Paleo Indians through the Calusa, the Seminoles and the Spanish explorers to the early settlers. A pioneer cracker house,... see full details

Gulf Coast Travel Guide

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Gulf Coast

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