Fun on Marco Island, FL

With my first blog post under my belt, I decided to start a weekly post based on something I love – traveling.

I’ve been blessed with visiting many places (from southern Germany to the Oregon Coast and little Indiana towns), and I know that I have enough travel diaries to keep me stocked up until my next adventure (I’m looking at you, St. Louis or Northern Michigan).

So welcome to Kate’s Take on Travel Thursday!

Since January, I’ve vacationed three times in Marco Island, Florida, and it seems like each visit I find something new that the island has to offer.

Arriving at Marco

The first thing I really look forward to though is the view arriving on the island. Picture this:

After traveling for over an hour on a busy road lined with tropical trees and scattered stores, you arrive at a bridge that is so high you can only see the sky as you begin to ascend. As you drive up and up, the world is suddenly open on all sides.

To the left, there are the sparkling waters of a channel that allows boaters access to the Gulf. The channel is dotted with tiny islands covered in trees. To the right, you see sailboats making their way towards the sea, and maybe – if you’re lucky – you’ll spot a dolphin playing in the evening sun.

Actual picture of Marco Island’s beach waiting for you.

As you look straight ahead, Marco, filled with fun island homes both big and small, stretches out before you. In the distance, you can see the hint of a white, sprawling beach and the clear blue waters of the Gulf waiting for you to put your feet in.

That’s just the beginning of Marco Island’s wonders, which leads me to…

Kate’s Take of The Day:  There are so many options for fun on Marco Island that whether you’re wanting a laid-back or exciting day – you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Kate’s Laid Back Day ♥ One thing I’ve learned from my trips to Marco is that Island Time is real. Here are my favorite activities that embrace it:

Flowers at the Farmer’s Market.

Poolside in our rental home.

Four mile beach walks start the day off right..

• Visiting the Farmers Market to eat from local restaurants, get fresh produce for home, and admire artisan booths. The vibrant booths and friendly owners make this the thing to do on Wednesday mornings
• Taking long walks on the beach (cliché but also so right). It’s hard to comprehend how beautiful this beach is until you stand facing the shore and have to walk a quarter-mile over white sand to reach the ocean.
• Embracing your inner pool-side bum. One things that’s nice about the island is there is a lack of pressure to do anything other than exactly what you want to do, and for me on break from school, that was often catch up on my sleep in the Florida sun.

Kate’s Exciting Day ♥ Whether or not you have your wallet, there are plenty of adventures to be had on Marco such as:

Successful hour paddleboarding.

High in the sky with Marco Island Parasail.

Yes, I was this close and took this.

• Parasailing or taking a jet ski through the 10,000 islands. Marco Island Water Sports has it all – allowing you to see Marco Island from the sky, flying alongside the shore on a jet ski, or taking a fun boat ride 
• Paddleboarding on the smooth waters of Tigertail Beach. At 6’2′ I thought I was going to majorly flop at keeping my balance on the paddleboard, but it turns out I wasn’t too bad. The calm waters are great for both beginners and more advanced paddleboarders.
• Witnessing wild alligators in their natural habitat. Okay, so this one is about a forty minute drive, but it’s still worth it to go to the Big Cyprus National Reserve  or other parts of the Everglades and walk along nature-packed boardwalks.

After all this – there’s one thing I love about Marco that I won’t begin to touch on until a future Travel Thursday, and I’ll leave this here as a hint:

Yum!

In the meantime, I hope you stay tuned for my next blog post (which will be most likely centered around the Indy 500 or Memorial Weekend!).

With love,

Kate