Fort Myers Beach has a rich history dating back 2,000 years to the Calusa Indians.The best spot to dock on Fort Myers Beach is the Pink Shell Resort & Marina (87). For this extended weekend cruise, the distance to each destination in nautical miles is noted for both a Gulf of Mexico run and the GIWW.Įstero Island, also known as Fort Myers Beach, is a barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico that lies just south of the junction that marks the western end of the Okeechobee Waterway and the beginning of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Fortunately for boaters, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) allows for safe cruising on back bays behind the barrier islands when the weather turns. However, when a cold front passes through, the blustery northwest winds leave the waters free for experienced sailors. In the winter, on days when the winds are light, power boats rule. The Florida Gulf Coast offers both enjoyable and sometimes challenging cruising. If Disney did the Caribbean, Jumby would be it.Boating north from Southwest Florida allows two routes to reach your destination. Don't miss the Sunday-night White Nights beach barbecue, a toes-in-the-sand, steel-drum-serenaded spectacle. The offspring can spend their days crab racing in the shallows, going on baby-turtle discovery tours with the Rose Buds kids' club or pootling about on sweet little bikes (after they've gussied them up with shells, ribbons and personalised number plates). Then there are the sleek suites and whacking great villas (sea-breezy Sandpiper is our favourite), with their enormous pools and private chefs. The sand is sieved daily, the water is so clear and shallow you can spot starfish nudging about on the bottom and twinkly can-do staff cut through the Caribbean heat in crisp white shirts. Jumby is for families who want a bit of space but also a few whistles and a lot of child-friendly bells. MALLIOUHANA HOTELĪfter a seven-minute boat ride from Antigua airport, close your eyes and tumble into a quiet world of butter-soft beaches, gentle winds and a calm, calm ocean as warm as a bath. Very little is imported (just wine and cheese), so no steak or brown bread, but who cares when you have indigenous fish freshly caught by local fishermen, starfruit, papaya, coconut and chocolates made using the farm's cocoa beans? Yomp through the rainforest, pluck mangoes from the trees, laugh at the green vervet monkeys, drink in the views. The gorgeous guesthouses are plantation style, with four-poster beds, terraces, plunge pools, outdoor bathrooms (be careful not to tread on a frog when you go to the loo in the middle of the night) and fragrant products made with lemongrass from the resort's farm - where you can hang out or pick vegetables for your dinner. But pleasure has not been sacrificed for idealism. It was built by locals, most of the staff are local and the plan, eventually, is to make this the cultural hub of the island, where St Kitts can show the world its best self (and, naturally, be self-sustaining within five years). Created by Trinidadian entrepreneur Val Kempadoo, it sits between the rainforest of Mount Liamuiga and the calm turquoise of the sea. Which is what makes Belle Mont Farm such an absolute inspiration. We know that comfort can be costly - and not just financially, but also socially and environmentally. There's also a yacht, Xanadu, for sun-soaked lounging on the padded foredeck before you chug back to a dockside bar at sunset and sip a totally tropical rum punch to the sound of a steel-drum band. The French chef will whip up tropical-fruit sorbets in the open-air Bali House, Moroccan feasts on the beach at night or suppers served on the BIGGEST SOFA EVER in front of your favourite movie. The smiley staff have been there for years, along with the palm-fringed pool, immaculate tennis courts and jungly garden with its winding paths, darting lizards and warbling pearly-eyed thrashers. This Eighties-built private estate on juicy little Virgin Gorda has been spruced but not smoothed out of recognition (retrotastic tiles in all the bathrooms), and you feel like you're staying with (very generous) friends. It's fabulous - big enough to run laps, leaving footprints in the deep-pile rugs as you go, with wide-open views of the gin-clear Caribbean and a bathtub fit to fulfil all your Pretty Woman fantasies. Then scamper upstairs and bag the master suite.
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