Written by
Laura Ruane, lruane@news-press.com & Dennis Culver, dculver@news-press.com

Pittsburgh residents Jeremy Rosen and Susan Crouch walk along the beach on Sanibel Island on Tuesday. They said the island is one of their favorite vacation spots because it is peaceful. / Dennis Culver/news-press.com

The dean of U.S. travel writers ranks Sanibel Island first among his 10 favorite places to visit — in the world.

That’s above the island of Bali and Paris, which are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on Arthur Frommer’s list.

To be sure, it’s high praise from Frommer, who in 1957 published “Europe on $5 a Day,” which is credited with changing the way a generation of Americans visited Europe.The book launched one of nation’s the biggest lines of travel guides, under Frommer’s name.

Tourism promoters in Lee County, not surprisingly, are thrilled about the compliment, and the media and visitor buzz it is creating.

“It’s perfect timing,” said Ric Base, president of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce. In a few weeks local tourism’s winter high season kicks in. That’s when demand — and lodging rates — are the highest.

Reservations for island lodgings and vacation rentals already are looking very strong, Base said. Frommer’s remarks can help sustain the momentum, according to Base.

About a year-and-a-half ago, chamber staff gave Frommer a “behind-the-scenes tour, all over the islands,” Base said, adding that Frommer is a longtime repeat visitor to Sanibel.

Writing for his Dec. 28 frommers.com blog, Frommer calls Sanibel an “idyllic haven of white-sand beaches, condos whose sea-front apartments are available for weekly rentals, excellent restaurants, good shopping.” He then singles out for special praise, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, “visited by thousands of birds of every species, who bask in the sun after diving for fish and are one of the great natural sights of wildlife in America.”

Frommer’s remarks also appeared in a column he writes, and which a number of newspapers across the country use.

Favorable remarks “from a person of Arthur Frommer’s caliber means they will be repeated in a number of media outlets. The reach will just grow and grow,” said Lee Rose, a spokesman for Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau.

This isn’t the only recent accolade from important travel sources. TripAdvisor recently named greater Fort Myers as No. 3 among of the “15 destinations on the rise,” based on a significant increase in user reviews for the area on the travel Web site over the past year. Sanibel and sister island Captiva were also recognized by readers of TripAdvisor when they were named the “Top 25 Beaches in the United States & the World” in TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice 2011.

Some visitors to Lighthouse Beach late Tuesday afternoon didn’t hesitate to add their endorsement of Sanibel.

“It’s beautiful,” Jeremy Rosen and Susan Crouch of Pittsburgh said in unison.

“We just love the area,” Crouch said. “We are planning on moving down.” She said they learned about the island through word-of-mouth recommendations.

St. Louis-area residents Camie and Roy Northcutt said they honeymooned on the island 25 years ago, and have been coming back ever since.

Camie Northcutt said she loves the shells, the cleanliness of the beach and the minimal commercialism.

Ray Northcutt said he enjoys the quiet: “It’s not so much a crazy college beach,” he said. “It’s a laid-back beach.”

January 12, 2012
BILL SCHILLER (bschiller@breezenewspapers.com ) , Island Reporter, Captiva Current, Sanibel-Captiva Islander

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home, but sometimes, there’s good reason to brag. While the picturesque paradise that is Sanibel Island is well recognized by anyone who lives or works here, the community may attract a number of new admirers due to the release of several new reports that further herald Sanibel’s status as the most desirous of Florida destinations.

In a recent U.S. News & World Report ranking of the eight best beaches in Florida, Sanibel shined as the #1 spot. Neighboring communities like Naples (#2) and Fort Myers (#8) were included on the list. In accompanying text, travel writers said, “You’ll be hard-pressed to find a place in Florida with quieter and clamer shores than Sanibel Island.” Pleasant weather and low-cost lodging venues were credited with making Sanibel enjoyable all year long. Online media attached with the article also paid tribute to area attractions such as Captiva Island, the shops along Periwinkle Way, programs at Big Arts, Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum and J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The multimedia presentation is available on the Internet at www.travel.usnews.com.

Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel secured distinction for itself in a Top 10 of Most Secluded Beaches as surveyed by principals of the popular travel website known as “shermanstravel.com. Bowman’s, which is located along a corridor of the San-Cap Road took top honors. It was regarded as a great place to find shells, but not a lot of competition from other shell collectors.

TripAdvisor.com, which is reportedly the world’s most widely-used travel-related website, also recently announced their Top 15 U.S. Destinations for 2012. These were determined through a poll of TripAdvisor travelers and editors.

Fort Myers, which ranked in 3rd Place, was distinguished among the top vacation hot-spots. The accompanying text, however, regarded Sanibel and Captiva among the area’s top attractions.

Of course, Sanibel and Captiva remains first and foremost in the hearts and minds of so many who live here, but such polls have been shown to influence destination choices made by tourists. Given the degree that this community achieves favor in this kind of national reporting, locals may soon see even more visitors with which they can share their love of Sanibel.

As posted in USAToday’s travel section

Every professional travel writer, it seems, has a happy place, a destination where they return not so much to gather new material, but to unwind and relax. For me, that place is Sanibel Island, Florida.

My parents started taking us to Sanibel when I was a teenager. Eventually, they bought a condo there and now spend most of the winter on the Florida Gulf Coast. I’ve visited almost every year since I was 16; I love the area so much that I chose to get married on neighboring Captiva Island.

Sanibel’s claim to fame is the vast amount of shells that wash up on its beach every day. The island has an eco bent, and unlike other beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast, resorts and condo associations are forbidden from removing sea debris. That bothers some people, who don’t like seeing seaweed, horseshoe crab skeletons and other things that wash up (I’ve seen everything from starfish to sand dollars to an immense dead sea turtle). But for shellers, it’s paradise.

There’s even a name for the bent over posture of the people who you see walking the beach looking for treaures: The Sanibel Stoop.

The island has capitalized on its shelling reputation for more than a century. In the early 1900s, two of Sanibel’s first hotels, Casa Ybel and The Matthews, used to hold a competition for guests over who could find the best and rarest shell. Hallie “Granny” Matthews hosted the first Shell Show & Fair in her hotel lobby starting in the late 1920s, and by 1931, the event moved to the Sanibel Community Association’s (SCA) Community House.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Sanibel Shell Fair & Show. In honor of the anniversary, businesses and associations will be holding “Shellebration” activities around the island, including an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Record for number of people on a shell scavenger hunt.

The “flash Sanibel stoop,” so to speak, will take place at 10 a.m. on Feb. 17 at Bowman’s Beach. Anyone who participates will be sign their names and be immortalized in an aerial photo that will be sent to Guinness (the current record is 208 people).

If you’re still confused about what the Sanibel Stoop is, here’s a handy YouTube video that talks about how to do it. Happy shelling!

Shelling Sanibel: The Sanibel Stoop is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist’s Travels on the Road

Casa Ybel Resort, a 23-acre full service resort off the coast of Southwest Florida’s Sanibel Island has promoted Lea O’Brien and Sean Ramsey to Event Coordinator and Restaurant Manager for its Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant.

Since 2006, Lea O’Brien has co-supervised the Food & Beverage operations at Coconuts Poolside Bar and Grill and has been front and center to Casa Ybel Resort’s many annual visitors.  Lea’s guest service ability and attention to detail make her an excellent candidate for the Event Coordinator position. She will work closely with Casa Ybel’s clients and staff to coordinate every aspect of an event to make sure it runs smoothly and successfully.

Sean Ramsey who has been recently appointed Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant Manager, is no  stranger to Casa Ybel’s Food & Beverage Department.  Having been one of its fine-dining servers since 2003 and later Dining Room Supervisor, Sean continues to share a wide-ranging  understanding of food, wine and its preparation.  With his prior role in providing the  premier Thistle Lodge experience and the  help of fellow management team members, Sean will  maintain Thistle Lodge Beachfront Restaurant’s reputation for Best Beachfront Dining on Sanibel Island. Both Sean and Lea will continue to work under the direction of Dennis Riley, Food & Beverage Director for Casa Ybel Resort.

According to Froilan Ramirez, General Manager of Casa Ybel Resort, “Both Lea and Sean have an excellent working knowledge of the Resort and its Food & Beverage Operations.   We are committed to continuously enhance the guest and owner experience.  Lea and Sean’s promotions reflect our commitment to our associates as well. They will complement our strong Casa Ybel Resort management team.”

With each summer season on Sanibel Island there is growing anticipation for the moment the baby turtles hatch and crawl together to their ocean home by moonlight. The nesting begins in May and the hatching can continue into October. This year, along the Casa Ybel beach we were home to four different nests which each hold approximately one hundred eggs.  They were each marked off to give caution and awareness to beach-goers until the hatching.

Most of the baby turtles hatch from their eggs and with their combined movement and escape they are able to free themselves from the sand that is packed on top of them by their mother. Every morning during season, the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (or SCCF) volunteers go to each of the nests to inspect for activity.  If any turtle tracks are observed, the nests are inspected and counted.  If any baby hatchlings are left, they may need a little nudge and encouragement to make it out to sea. We were fortunate to have one of our nests hatch recently, and further, the opportunity to observe the volunteer inspect the nest to find that a few did need our help. 

As we cheered for the little turtles, we captured the exhausting experience of one little one to share with you.  The pictures we snapped from this event, and being a part of nature excited our staff and guests, and helped to bring us all together on this island that cares so much about preservation.  We can only hope that our little turtle returns some day to lay her own nest and continue that circle of life for us all.

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