Our Family Vacation to Sanibel

Last night we got back from a family vacation that was a long time in the making. As so many of you can relate, I’m sure, we cancelled our 2020 Spring Break to Sanibel, Florida for obvious reasons and decided to reschedule the exact same vacation this year. We’re so glad we did.

It sounds kind of funny since our little family has done nothing but spend time together over the last year due to COVID, but we needed this time away together. It’s not just about being together, but spending time away from the house, away from work and school, and away from the stress. We needed to relax and play and enjoy life.

Our Resort

We stayed at the Sundial Resort on a friend’s recommendation and it was perfect for our family vacation. We had the space of a condo with the ease of a hotel and fun of a resort. It was perfect. The kids loved the different pools, games and crafts at the resort and the food was great too! Highly recommend staying at the Sundial, especially with kids because there’s so much to do and it all feels very easy.

The Beach

While the weather was a bit cool when we arrived, it warmed up throughout the week. We spent every day on the beach swimming, playing in the sand, reading, taking walks and listening to the ocean waves. The beach was really our home base throughout the day.

One of the best things about Sanibel is how many shells wash up on the shore. The girls loved finding good shells on walks — especially Lily who even requested to wake up early and walk along the beach to get the best shells before anyone else got them! Let’s just say, we came home with a lot of shells.

Out & About

It was really fun exploring Sanibel and Captiva. Chris rented a convertible so we could ride around in style (trying to be fun dad!). Of course, the girls didn’t like the wind and the trunk didn’t exactly fit all our luggage, but great try Chris! 😉 We loved the feel of the Captiva “downtown” — it kind of felt like a tropical Door County — if you’re from Wisconsin you’ll know that means a lot of charm and a lot of fun. We went to a couple of restaurants there including RC Otters and The Mucky Duck (right on the water to watch the sunsets) and Lazy Flamingo on Pine Street in Sanibel. Similar food at all of these restaurants — great shrimp, grouper sandwiches and beer!

I’m so sad this vacation is over but we have a ton of happy memories we’re so grateful for! Read more about what I read and what we wore on our family vacation to Sanibel!