Florida Travel Guide
Naples and Marco Island
Naples
A major tourist destination, is on the Gulf of Mexico at the South Western edge of the state. If you are looking for an active holiday this could be the place for you. The area is richly endowed with golf courses and tennis courts. The Everglades, with endless opportunities for exploring either on foot by bike or boat, are a short drive away or there is the beach.
Naples has great shops, boutiques bars and restaurants. The Gulf of Mexico has long been a magnet for sport fishermen of all sorts and boats are easily chartered in Naples. Wildlife abounds from the 'gators in the swamps to the dolphins of the open sea or the pelicans in the ports and harbours there is always something to see.
Naples as a settlement goes back over 100 years but it was only in the 1920's that it became linked to the rest of the world. The railroad came in 1926 and the road, the Tamiami Trail, in 1928. Although the town has expanded rapidly inland from its coastal beginnings, it is the old town or Olde Naples that remains the focal point. For more local history visit the Collier County Museum that has information on the Indian settlement in the area going back centuries. Olde Naples also has a number of other well-preserved 'historical' buildings.
Marco Island
Lying just off the coast to the south of Naples and is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands. This is an area of tiny islets that seem to have just crumbled away from the coast of mainland Florida. Marco is the largest of these islands and it has a reputation as being a wonderful place to go and chill out.
Linked by a solitary bridge to the mainland Marco Island is a full on resort island with all the facilities one would expect of a modern, up market destination. Sure it has the condo blocks, the shopping, the dazzling beaches, the watersports and golf courses but it also remains pleasantly relaxed and at peace with itself.
Marco Island has really only come into being as a resort since the 1960's when a number of entrepreneurs saw the potential and turned it from a mosquito infested fisherman's hideaway into the magnificent holiday beast we see today.
The tropical climate attracts sunbirds so it is an all year round place. Be prepared to book well in advance.
The restaurants and bars are excellent and the fresh seafood is sublime.
The remainder of the Ten Thousand Islands are a wilderness of mangroves and wildlife at once magical and mystical. Go here to see dolphins frolic and manatees lolling (in winter).
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