NAPLES AND PUNTA GORDA: Book two tickets (or more) to Florida's Paradise Coast (2024)

Looking for two tickets to paradise?

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Well, with all due respect to Eddie Money and his hit single from 1978, you don’t need to limit yourself to two tickets when you visit Florida’s Paradise Coast. Heck, bring the entire family or a large group of friends to check out one of the lesser-known Sunshine State destinations for Canadian snowbirds.

And, if you’re feeling a little more adventurous when heading south, combine a stop at the Paradise Coast, a 50-kilometre stretch of stellar Gulf of Mexico white sand beaches and coastline in the southwest corner of the state, with a visit to the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach area about an hour drive north of Naples, where you’ll find the heartbeat of the region.

That’s exactly what I did recently, doubling up on the two often-overlooked destinations for a sensational few days in F-L-A. Here’s the breakdown.

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NAPLES, MARCO ISLAND AND THE EVERGLADES

Get away from the maddening crowds you’ll find in other popular Florida destinations – that means Orlando and the Disney experience, Tampa and Miami – and drop into one of the most relaxing, and less populated, stretches of beach in the entire state.

Don’t pigeonhole the Paradise Coast as just a shopping (Naples is a pretty swank town), sun, sand and sea centre, though. It’s also a great base to get out and enjoy the environment, with the Everglades a short drive away, limitless boating and fishing options and golf courses out the wazoo, with more than 90 public and private tracks available to play.

Immediately upon landing at RSW after a stress-free three-hour flight from Toronto, our small group of Canadian travel writers headed for the Everglades to enjoy an exhilarating airboat tour, complete with the expected adrenaline rush you get from ripping around the area’s wetlands. Talk about a fun way to start our trip!

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Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Ochopee allowed us to cruise on (the water) and over 259 acres of private grasslands while learning about the flora and fauna of the ‘Glades, one of Florida’s most famous natural features. A wander through Wooten’s animal sanctuary, where you’ll experience everything from otters to lions to alligators, or watching their 20-minute gator show, is also worth your time.

The pace of our journey slowed considerably – and I mean that as a compliment – when we hit the luxe and recently renovated Ritz-Carlton Naples, our beach-front home for two nights.

One of two Ritz-Carlton properties in Naples – the other is the Ritz-Carlton Naples Tiberon, which is geared more to golfers (Tiberon Golf Club is on site) than beach lovers – the iconic luxurious resort is the perfect place to unwind and relax by the pool or on the sandy shoreline. With so many options available at the hotel, from dining to entertainment, you’ll never need to step foot off the property unless you choose to do so.

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Of course, there is also a plethora of things to do in the area, so you’ll probably want to get out and move for at lease part of your stay, like we did. More on that later.

Like so many other hotels, the Ritz-Carlton Naples had a bite taken out of it by Hurricane Ian in 2022, two years after work began on the 14-storey Vanderbilt Tower. The hotel was shuttered for nine months while repairs were completed and renos done and the new tower, which is home to the exclusive, 4,000 square foot Club Lounge (and 70-plus Club-level rooms), opened in July 2023.

The ornate grand lobby, complete with an impressive marble-topped lobby bar and its champagne menu, was transformed during renovations and the pools were upgraded to include bungalows and cabanas, All told, the resort boasts 474 rooms and suites, all with the touch of refinement expected at a Ritz-Carlton property, and nine restaurants, ranging from Nolita (Italian classics) to The Grill (steakhouse) to beach-side Gumbo Limbo (casual, seafood), which offers sensational views of the sunset.

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An even better way to watch the sun go down is to rent a private, open-air beach cabana – it includes a butler and drink service – which is how we spent the start of our final evening at the resort. We also hit up one of the pool-side, air conditioned private cabanas for a couple hours one morning, which was a great way to start the day.

As tempting as it is to stay on the resort grounds (book some time in the spa, keep your workout going in the state-of-the-art fitness centre of relax by the adults-only pool), the Ritz-Carlton is also a great launching point for seeing some of the many options a trip to Florida provides, be it on the water or, well, on powered tricycles.

Thanks to Marco Island Boat Tours, we spent a glorious, sunny afternoon viewing dolphins in their natural habitat, marvelling at the many species of birds and doing some shelling on one of the uninhabited barrier islands in the area. The two-hour tour, guided by a Florida master naturalist, was a relaxing way to educate ourselves about the area’s wildlife

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The next morning, we headed off to Tin City, an eclectic collection of dozens of unique shops on the waterfront of Naples, including Trike Tours USA, to get saddled up on our motorized trikes for our 90-minute guided ride through some of the town’s poshest neighbourhoods (think nine-figure houses; at least seven billionaires own property here), the town’s landmarks and the iconic Naples Pier.

Sure, your motorcycle-riding friends (or in this case, my girlfriend) might chuckle at the sight of you on the peppy little trike but it was a neat way to get around town. Be warned, though, the breathtaking homes will probably make you feel slightly inadequate.

And before you go, be sure to walk down Fifth Avenue, Naples’ unofficial main street and prime dining, shopping and entertainment district.

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A couple of places to eat in the Naples area I’d highly recommend, besides the top-notch eateries at the Ritz-Carlton, are Bicyclette Cookshop on Vanderbilt Beach Rd. (a hop, skip and jump from the resort) and Barbatella on 3rd St. S.

Bicyclette, a “new American” restaurant with executive chef/partner Kayla Pfeiffer, a winner of the Food Network’s “Chopped,” at the helm toes the line between “traditional and eccentric,” which includes the likes of caviar paired with Bugles and creme fraiche. Barbatella, an Italian trattoria, serves up some of the tastiest artisan pizza and pasta you will ever mange.

PUNTA GORDA/ENGLEWOOD BEACH

An hour north of Naples, in Charlotte Harbor, is the Sunseeker Resort, a massive new (opened in late 2023) waterfront resort that we called home for two nights.

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Although slightly lower on the opulence level than the Ritz-Carlton, the Sunseeker is another resort where you won’t need to leave the grounds to have a great time.

With 785 guestrooms and 189 Sunsuites, the Sunseeker offers private check-in, personalized concierge service and signature suites, along with multiple dining options. Check out the Harbor Yards Food Hall, with 11 unique culinary counters, a novel idea for a large resort, or Maury’s steakhouse, one of seven traditional restaurants on site. The resort also boasts a beautiful rooftop bar and pool, if you want to get even closer to the sun.

Bring your golf clubs, too, if you’re staying at Sunseeker. Charlotte Harbor’s Aileron Golf Club (green fees range from $249 US plus tax in winter and spring to $140 plus tax in the summer), a world-class 7,235-yard course that features 17 water holes and Stratolaunch, a 664-yard par-5, is only available to Sunseeker guests.

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Do yourself a favour, though, and book some down time to walk the white sand or catch some rays at Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park on Manasota Key. And pop in at the newly renovated Lock ‘N Key Restaurant and Pub across the street – literally – from the beach for lunch.

An activity you don’t want to skip when you’re in the area is a kayaking excursion with SUP Englewood on the waters off Don Pedro State Park in Cape Haze. We had a blast paddling off the shore of Don Pedro Island – it wasn’t taxing but anyone with physical limitations might have difficulty – and saw plenty of dolphins and manatees up close before navigating a tricky route through the mangroves to a quiet, sheltered pond. All the while our guide, who was on a stand-up paddleboard, educated us about the importance of conservation in the local waters and chatted about the wildlife we were seeing.

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Later in the trip, we also got to visit Babco*ck Ranch, east of Punta Gorda, to learn about the land-based creatures of the Sunshine State.

We stopped in for a 90-minute Swamp Buggy Eco Tour through the 14,000 acres of pastureland of the working cattle ranch, the Crescent B Ranch. We rode in a converted school bus through four different eco-systems of Florida, including the Telegraph Cypress swamp, looking for gators, deer, wild hogs and turkeys and distinctive Florida Cracker cattle. Again, education about local wildlife was key but the tour was also plenty of fun.

If you’ve got some down time and are looking for some retail therapy, visit the Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda. The waterfront outdoor mall, marina and resort features boutique shops, restaurants (lunch at Harpoon Harry’s was fantastic) and even luxury two-bedroom rental suites. It’s also a good one-stop spot to book harbour cruises, pick up some warm-weather clothes, have a drink at the new Sunset Beach Club Tiki Bar or check out a live band.

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On our last night in Florida, we went out in style, stopping for a casual waterfront dinner at Laishley Crab House – the Grouper Laishley, a grouper fillet topped with blue crab meat and a parmesan cream sauce, was outstanding – before walking a short distance to the dock to board our tiki boat for the tour of the Peace River, which divides Punta Gorda from Port Charlotte. Red Tiki Tours took us on a fun but unconventional cruise aboard the tiki-shaped vessel, where we enjoyed a cold beverage, a refreshing breeze and, yep, karaoke.

Because what better way is there to finish a Florida vacation than singing off-key classics with friends?

HOW TO GET THERE

Air Canada offers regular non-stop service from Toronto to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, which is probably your best choice, but other options include Punta Gorda (PGD), Tampa (TPA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL) or Miami (MIA) airports. Fort Lauderdale or Miami would require a two-hour drive across Florida, though, and Tampa is three hours away.

MORE INFO TO HELP PLAN YOUR VISIT

Check out the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) website for a ton of useful information if you plan to check out the Paradise Coast.

The Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau website will help plan your visit to the Southwest Gulf Coast.

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