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    Bowman's Beach

    4.0 (166 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Boardwalk to the beach
    Candace M.

    Have never been to a Sanibel beach, this one I believe is the furthest one. Parking is easy, pay online, make sure u pay, we saw a guy there giving tickets! The walk is quite long to the beach, that was the only downfall of this beach. Nice restroom & changing facilities. We wanted shells but we were there at high tide & need to go back at low tide, didn't want to go 20 ft out into the water to look. Beautiful beach that's not real crowded.

    Carolyn J.

    I love Bowmans Beach. Yes, it's a bit of a hike to get to the ocean, but that's kind of nice because the beach isn't so crowded. You do have to pay to park. It's also a great place to get shells. I'll always come to this beach when I'm on sanibel island.

    Boon C.

    This is shell sand beach in the west coast Florida. You may need to wear protective footwear on the beach. The facility is beautiful and the park has all thing you need such as changing room, restrooms, fresh water wash off, parking, bridge access, playground, and more. The parking is required a fee. They do have canoe launch area for your use. The beach is no dog allowed. The beach contains of a lot of sea shell coarse grain. Footwear is definitely a must. The beach wave is very mild. Great for kid. However, close the shore line has a lot shell that difficult to sit on the edge of water. Overall is a good beach for the sea shell collector. Beach goer wear footwear over bridge is recommended.

    Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico
    Bobbi S.

    Although we were definitely disappointed by the lack of quality shells that the Sanibel Island beaches are known for, we had a good & rollicking time standing in the surf, hand-dredging for shells & getting a good, wild ocean "bath" at the same time as the tide came in (we started looking during the ebb tide but, post-low tide, the waters came in REALLY quickly). We had a few, successful finds shelling in this manner. As for the beach, it is nice & long with lots of folks walking it, has a lot of detritus on it, mostly natural, ocean things such as dried twigs, lots & lots of old & calcified shells, dried beach grass & those super cool "Mermaid necklaces" that hold whelk eggs in their flat, opaque pods. They were everywhere as you walk northward on the shoreline. The beach is fairly crowded closer to the parking lots ($5/hour to park & there are bathrooms, showers, water fountains & history/geography info between the parking lot & the beach) & thins out after around 5 PM. The water gets rough pretty quickly as the tide rolls in but offers great sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.

    Heather B.

    A beautiful beach. Great bathrooms. There is also a changing area located outside. There is an area to dine off outside as well. Getting to the beach itself is not too bad. There is a path, and a small boardwalk/bridge to cross over. If you are looking for seashells, this is a good spot. Most of mine were found when we were swimming in the water. The beach is pretty clean. They try to keep it like that tooZ Parking is easy, and plentiful.

    Jo S.

    Very nice beach on Sanibel Island. You do have to pay for parking ($5/hour), pretty big lot, we did find a spot easily in April. Not so crowded after spring breakers left. Nice facilities, restrooms, changing rooms and showers for coming back from the beach. The actual beach is quiet, with lots of nature around, many birds, shells. We enjoyed walking around, picking up shells and taking in the views. It wasn't crowded, so we enjoyed some relaxing time here. You need to bring chairs, umbrellas, food. There isn't anything around. I don't mind, but it's good to know. The sand is white, the water blue, your typical paradise island. In the best way! I'd go back again, enjoyable spot, perfect vacation getaway!

    Craig T.

    Beach baby! Let's go! Best shelling happens a lot here. The beach is gorgeous. There are facilities. There is parking.

    Lauren G.

    The best beach! This beach is equal comparison to any beach in Destin! Pictures do absolutely no justice. You cannot tell, but the sand is white and the water is blue and absolutely beautiful. Beautiful waves, a ton of shells, and very needy seagulls so watch your food! The beach is wide and very long so you can spread out and even play frisbee or volleyball! Even for a cloudy day, it's a 1 in a million beach. It's pricey as you have a toll to enter the island and $5.00 per hour parking. If you're like me, you wanna spend all day here! The conservation will check your dashboards so please do the right thing and pay before you stay. There's nice showers and changing areas. You can camp here and there's a play area for kids. The trash cans are located at the front. PLEASE TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU. If you see holes, fill them and if you see trash, pick it up! Do the right thing. :-)

    Cathy W.

    Ended up here on the recommendation of our brunch waiter, a Sandibel Island local. He said it was his favorite beach. It quickly became one of ours. It was easily accessible. The parking lot had plenty of available spots and the restrooms and changing areas at the entrance were very convenient. The beach provided a bounty of shells and room to spread out or walk alone if that's your jam. We swam, waded, ran from the waves (and fish!) and watched the birds and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon. We were an all adult group so we were okay with the fact that the waves were pretty strong and the descent into the water is pretty steep. There's a drop off not far out so if you are not a swimmer, beware. I would say this is NOT an ideal beach for young children.

    Bowman beach Sanibel
    Denise S.

    Dolphins, shells, and lots of sand! It's beautiful! What more could you ask for? Parking is five dollars an hour but you can pay with your phone.

    Rhonda W.

    Love this island ..this is the most popular thing on the island .. a public beach. We always stay on places at this beach closer towards Ft Myers down the beach. It's all pretty similar but the public beach is much more crowded and you have to pay for parking .. like 5$ and limited parking. In other words no reason to come here when we are staying right down the beach where it's not crowded. right now in the corona virus its even more an issue to be places that aren't crowded. Alot of beaches are closing soon .. but it sounds like Sanibel beaches are staying open. so the thought by the locals is the are all going to come here for the 4th of July ... and the locals and people staying here aren't happy about that. This is a quiet island and paying to get over the bridge and paying for parking usually keeps alot from coming here. We like it quiet. Sanibel was socially distancing before social distancing was cool lol. .. before this crazy virus. but bowman beach is open and it's a great beach if you can find parking. I love the ocean here .. the water is usually calm and lovely. no sea grass or red tide ... yay. Lots of sealife and birds .. especially sea birds. Sometimes dolphins, sting rays, manatees, ospreys and best shelling beach in USA. right now is sea turtle season ... they are coming to shore to lay eggs so they have barriers up to protect the turtle eggs till they hatch and can make it to the ocean .. soooo cool. always something neat to see on the island. Its usually peaceful and always gorgeous.

    Walkway from parking lot to beach

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    6 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Great beach! Amazing views. Not too crowded beautiful sea shells perfect area with family to go.

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    6 months ago

    Water is really rough and not clear at all. Parking is expensive. Fort myers beach is way better.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Quite the variety of shells to collect, birds to watch and photograph, plenty of sunshine!

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    7 years ago

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    Bowman's Beach Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Bowman's Beach

    Is this a nude beach?

    Nope

    Do they allow dogs?

    Dogs are allowed as long as they're on a leash.

    Are the beaches open right now due to vovid 19?

    They were open 2 weeks ago. Bring bug spray. There are many mosquitos in the parking area.

    Is topless sunbathing allowed?

    I have been told by locals that the west end was nude. And after walking the beach I discovered that it was true. Don't know if it's officially a nude beach area but they definitely had nothing on

    View All 5 Questions

    Review Highlights - Bowman's Beach

    I looked it up on a whim while driving through Sanibel Island and realized I had a couple of hours before Spring Training.

    Mentioned in 19 reviews

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    Captiva Beach

    Captiva Beach

    4.1(20 reviews)
    5.1 mi

    About a half hour drive on the causeway from Ft Myers to this remote but lovely beach. Enjoy the…read morescenic drive with blue-green gulf waters and lovely private homes hidden behind palm trees and lush tropical vegetation. Sea shells all over- so much fun! You see folks absorbed in finding one after the next pretty ones! But when you get to this paradise, be ready to pay a more for public beach parking. If you can find a spot! Not easy. Patience is a virtue! As of today, late August 2021, the price is $25/2 hours or $40/day. Nothing in between, like 1 hour or by the half hour. Pay by cash or credit card and display your receipt on the dashboard. I saw park services vehicle in the area. Don't get a ticket. There are no public restrooms, showers or food service. Prices are meant to keep out most ordinary citizens. Captiva is pricey, the playground for the wealthy for the most part. Private landowners enjoy private beach access. We enjoyed the shell-laden beach for two hours. It really is a beautiful stretch of beach. We drove back through Sanibel Island to the other area beaches, checking each one along the way. Most beaches on Sanibel offer parking at $5 /hour. Good for the common folk like us lol!

    Beautiful beaches on Captiva near South Seas. You'll get an amazing sunset here for sure. Parking…read moreis a tad easier up here because of the shops and restaurants. They filmed parts of sweet home Alabama up here as well. Because it's beautiful.

    Photos
    Captiva Beach - It's kinda like paradise here

    It's kinda like paradise here

    Captiva Beach
    Captiva Beach

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    Bowman's Beach - beaches - Updated May 2026

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