You won’t suffer from boredom while staying at Sandalfoot Condominiums! While the shelling on the beautiful world famous beaches is legendary, Sanibel Island offers the opportunity for you to enjoy any of your favorite outdoor activities at any time of the year! Sanibel boasts over 25 miles of paved bike paths, winding mile after mile alongside quaint shops and lush tropical island foliage and wildlife. Just imagine hopping on your bike and seeing a bald eagle fly over your head, or watching a pelican dive into the water to catch his evening meal! This is not your typical afternoon bike ride!

For your convenience, don’t forget that you can rent bikes directly from the Sandalfoot office! For a popular new way to see the islands, try hopping aboard a Segway scooter available from Billy’s Bike Rentals. Billy’s also offers a full range of bike rentals, scooters, beach, and specialty items.

Perfect for all ages, is an excursion with Adventures in Paradise. You might catch a glimpse of playful dolphins frolicking in the waves and the trolley picks-up right at Sandalfoot! Catch a wave yourself and go boogey boarding or windsurfing! If fishing is your passion, there are plenty of Deep Sea fishing charters ready to take you out on the high seas, or just grab a rod and fish right from the beach or at the community fishing pier. You certainly don’t need a boat to go fishing here, as Back Bay fishing is extremely popular here. Golfing is a real treat on Sanibel as well, since much of Sanibel is a preserved wildlife refuge and you never know when you might see a creature trying to join in on the fun! Don’t feel like doing anything? Great! Just lie on the beach! Sanibel and Captiva are adorned with over 15 miles of pristine white sand beaches lined with swaying palm trees.

However, if you are looking for some adventure while enjoying your day at the beach, why not try the activity that made Sanibel famous! Shelling! Visitors come from all over the world to this Sheller's paradise to search the beaches of Sanibel. They come for good reason! Sanibel Island lies east west in the Gulf of Mexico, thus the currents in the water actually push multitudes of shells to the beaches! The result is that Sanibel is home to more than 400 varieties of shells! Some of the shells you can expect to find are: Conch, Junonia, Lightning, Whelk, Cockle, Scallops, Murex, Tulip, Olive, and Coquina.

Harlan Wittkopf, Conchologist, author of The Sanibel Kaleidoscope and his wife, Jeanne have enjoyed staying at Sandalfoot for many years. His inspiration for writing the book came from years of shelling on the beaches of Sanibel Island. Harlan and Jeanne come to Sandalfoot for several weeks each year and if you are lucky enough to be here when he is, he’ll autograph his book for you.

According to Harlan, who is an attorney in Iowa, writing the book, “is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. I will never quit walking the beach.” Sanibel Kaleidoscope is now in its fifth edition. His new book, coming out in March, includes pictures of Sandalfoot and you will be able to buy it at Sandalfoot once it is released.

Shelling tips:

• Bring along a bucket or a net bag and scoop. Learn to do the "Sanibel Stoop"!
• The best time to go shelling is at low tide.
• Never take any live shells! This includes sea urchins, sea stars (starfish) and sanddollars. Live shelling is prohibited and the $500 fine enforced!