Sanibel Island, Fla., is a particularly pet-friendly place. The beaches allow leashed pets and many resorts allow your furry family members as well. Whether you prefer a studio efficiency unit or a four-bedroom beach house, you can find somewhere on the island to enjoy sunsets and Gulf views alongside your pet.
Your pet can vacation in luxury at Signal Inn Beach & Racquetball Club. This resort, on Olde Middle Gulf Drive, allows pets in most units: 19 elevated beach houses, some with panoramic Gulf views. The inn had received the Superior Small Lodging Award for 15 consecutive years, as of 2010.
The 19 units, each with wireless high-speed Internet, washer and dryer, private lanais, cable and DVD players and air conditioning, are located off two boardwalks that stretch to the white sand shelling beach.
You can choose from one to four bedrooms. The inn's interactive Web site allows you to easily scroll over any size unit to see where it appears on a map of the property. After you click on a unit, scroll over any room in a floor plan to see a picture of each space. It's like being there before you're there.
If you get tired of shelling on the beach, the inn offers a pool and jacuzzi, gazebo and racquetball court. The ocean, of course, offers plenty of opportunity for other activities.
And Fido or Fluffy can do it all along with you (well, maybe not snorkeling).
Nearly all the units allow pets (two-pet limit) at a fee of $80 per pet per week, or $55 for three nights.
Signal Inn Beach & Racquetball Club
1811 Olde Middle Gulf Drive
Sanibel Island, Fla. 33957
800-992-4690
signalinn.com
The pictures of dogs lounging with their master under a brilliant sunset or frolicking in the Gulf on the Beachview Cottages Web site nearly make you want to be a dog. Beachview says the resort is pet-friendly to ensure a "true family vacation."
Guests who bring a pet must pay a $20 per-day (per-pet) fee and sign a pet agreement. You also must call in advance with information on your pet.
The resort, on West Gulf Drive, offers 22 units along a sandy drive. There are 14 one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units and five studio efficiencies. Some of the cottages are duplexes.
As of March 2010, rates ranged from $199 to $329 per night in-season (end of December to mid-April) and $169 to $239 off-season.
The office has laundry facilities and pay phones, and a pool sits on the southeastern end of the property near the entrance.
A tiki hut and sundeck sit on the white sand beach.
Beachview Cottages
3325 West Gulf Drive
Sanibel Island, Fla. 33957
800-860-0532
beachviewcottages.com
A number of other Sanibel resorts also allow pets.
Pets of any kind or size (certain dog breeds are not allowed) are permitted at Castaways Beach and Bay Cottages (a sister resort of Beachview Cottages) for a fee of $20 per pet per night.The resort offers cottages, motel units and efficiencies, and special areas to walk or bathe your pet. Castaways has its own resident pet mascot: Sassy, a cat abandoned by her owners 12 years ago who sleeps in the guest mail basket on the front desk.
The Driftwood Inn allows pets at a fee of $10 per night.
Waterside Inn on the Beach allows cats and dogs under 30 pounds (dogs must be at least two years old). The $5 per-night pet fee is refundable.
Mitchell's Sand Castles has a $10 per-pet daily fee,and Beach Road Villas (offering four luxury 1,200-square-foot villas) allows pets who know how to behave.
Another note: Sanibel Island's beaches are pet friendly. The city does require that you keep them on a leash and pick up after them.
