Nonetheless, the area here is popular among a great many tourists, both from the adjoining southern states and elsewhere. Though their beaches are indistinguishable in their uniform high quality, their atmosphere and tourism are sharply different. The lower Gulf Coast receives a far more affluent type of visitor. And for the most part, visitors to both islands stay in cottages, in complexes totalling perhaps a few dozen rooms. Near Fort Myers, the tourists concentrate at Fort Myers beach on Estero Island, and at the aforementioned Sanibel and Captiva, just west offshore, though reached by a separate pair of bridges.
Vacationers come for swimming, for shelling, for reading and sunning.
Yet one of the gratifying surprises for a first time visitor, in this rarified atmosphere, is the discovery of many moderately-priced but attractive motels. I suspect that many of the viewers of this Encyclopedia may never have visited this part of Florida. The beaches are broad and slope gently to the water. They're very accessible. Mind you, there's little action such as you find in Palm Beach.