I'll add that the guide doesn't mention the water taxi option from downtown Fort Myers across the Caloosahatchee River. If you're staying near the Cape Coral Yacht Club or the Bimini Basin area, you can park at the Fort Myers City Marina for $5 and take the water taxi over for about $8 per person. It's a scenic 20 minute ride and drops you right near some good restaurants like Fathoms. Not practical with a lot of luggage but it's a nice alternative if you're arriving during daylight and want to skip the bridge traffic.

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The guide mentions the public bus option but doesn't really stress how impractical it is for most visitors. I've taken Route 50 once when my car was in the shop and it was a two hour ordeal with the transfer at the Cape Coral Transfer Center, plus the bus doesn't run very late. For the $1.50 fare you're getting what you pay for, but if you have luggage or are traveling with anyone else, just budget for a rideshare or taxi. One thing that's saved me a few times is the RSW app's real time parking availability feature, which is great if you're picking someone up and want to know if the garage is full before you get there.

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Good tips in the guide but it skips over how bad traffic gets on Cape Coral Parkway itself during snowbird season. I've sat through three light cycles just trying to get from Del Prado to the bridge, so if you're staying on the north side, tell your driver to use Santa Barbara Boulevard instead. The guide's spot on about booking early for winter, I learned that the hard way last January when every rental car was sold out by noon.

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The Matlacha Pass is worth mentioning as a half-day trip that barely requires a drive. It's about 15 minutes from Cape Coral on Pine Island Road, and those little pastel-colored buildings along the main drag have some genuinely good seafood. Go to the Blue Dog Bar and Grill for their fried grouper sandwich, then walk across the street to the Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge boardwalk for a quick nature stop.

For the Everglades trip, I'd recommend stopping at the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters on US-41 in Ochopee. It's a quirky roadside spot with a small exotic animal exhibit and the owner tells wild stories about the Florida skunk ape. The airboat rides there are cheaper than the ones near Everglades City and the guides are locals who actually grew up in the swamp.

One thing about Naples that people miss is the Gordon River Greenway. It's a 2.5 mile paved trail that starts near the botanical garden and winds through mangrove forests with actual boardwalks. Free parking and you'll see more birds and turtles than you will at the pier. I usually do that in the morning then hit the garden afterward.

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solid list, i've done most of these. for cayo costa, if you don't want to pay for the ferry, you can launch a kayak from the bokeelia pier at the end of main street on pine island and paddle over. it's about 4 miles each way so you need to be comfortable on open water, but the landing on the north end of the island is usually empty even when the ferry crowd is at the main beach. bring more water than you think you need, there's nothing out there

also for fort worth historic district, the edison estates are great but if you want a free spot, walk over to the caloosahatchee riverfront park just off hendry street. good views of the bridge and you can usually see dolphins feeding around the jetties around sunset

naples botanical garden is worth the $22 but go in the morning before it gets hot, the butterfly garden is best right after they open when the butterflies are still active

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I've done all of these and they're spot on. One thing the guide doesn't mention for Sanibel is that the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel-Captiva Road is actually worth the $15 admission if you're into shelling. They have a touch tank and can identify anything you find on the beach, which is handy when you pick up something weird and want to know if it's rare.

For Fort Myers, the Edison Ford estates are great but the guided tour adds about 45 minutes and you get to see the actual laboratory where Edison experimented with rubber from goldenrod plants. The botanical gardens on the property are included in admission and are usually empty while everyone else is inside the houses.

If you're doing Naples in one day, hit the botanical garden first when it opens at 9am, then do the Gordon River Greenway trail right next door, then head to the pier for lunch. That way you beat the heat and the crowds.

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