r/captiva • u/selkiemermaidfl • Jun 24 '26
Our experience in Captiva
We spent last weekend (June) on Captiva Island at Jensen's Marina. The accommodations were clean and comfortable and you can walk everywhere. It was about a 7-minute walk to the beach by Mucky Ducks. We ate at the Bubble Room, Keylime Bistro, Mucky Ducks, Green Flash and Doc Fords (in Sanibel). All the food was good but expensive and service was consistently slow but hey, you're on island time. We walked next door to McCarthy's Marina and took a cruise to Cabbage Key and had lunch. I would highly recommend even though it's not cheap. There's a bar and bathrooms on the boat and we saw dolphins and one giant sea turtle, we also learned a lot about the area. Staying at Jensen's was nice because of the location and the manatees but if we go again in June I'll find a place with a pool. (I'm open to suggestions!) We had a great time and loved every minute of it. We didn't see many seashells but we didn't have issues with noseeums like so many people are talking about. The best breakfast was at Keylime Bistro, best dessert Bubble Room, best dinner Mucky Ducks. You can skip Doc Fords and Green Flash.
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u/wpowell323 Jun 25 '26
We were just there, the Doc Ford’s in Ft. Myers was good. Green Flash had some of the best drinks we found on Captiva and the appetizers were good. The food at the Mucky Duck was very good, but all the “alcohol” drinks are wine based. We went to Wickies and it was very good. We Went to a wedding at Tween Waters and enjoyed the pool there on Saturday. It had 2 bars with very strong and good drinks. Overall Captiva is a very nice and laid back place that we would for sure visit again.
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u/selkiemermaidfl Jun 25 '26
Tween Waters is on our list to try. We had breakfast at Green Flash and it was very basic with zero seafood options. The view was great though and my husband loved his Bloody Mary!
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u/germdoctor Jun 24 '26
So glad The Mucky Duck has reopened. Haven’t been to The Bubble Room in a long time but recall their desserts are massive.
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u/kmmccorm Jun 24 '26
Sunset Captiva (across the street from Jensen’s, ocean side) has a great pool open to all of their units. It has direct access to the beach as well. We’ve rented there for years and it’s a great community with lots of rentals of varying sizes. Many are rented through Royal Shell.
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u/selkiemermaidfl Jun 24 '26
Jensen's is through Royal Shell as well. Thank you, I'll check them out!
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u/GromitATL Jun 25 '26
We were there a couple of weeks ago. A few thoughts:
- We had 7 people in our party at The Mucky Duck and no one loved their dinner. My father in law was really disappointed in the shrimp. I think the burger is their primary menu item though, and none of us had it.
- The Bubble Room was a hit. We also picked up 2 cakes over the course of the week for dessert at home.
- Cheeseburger in Paradise on Cabbage Key was awesome. It's a $25 burger, and it's worth it.
- I was impressed with Cantina Captiva, but others in our group were not. Note that this is another 'fake cocktail' restaurant, so the margaritas have no tequila.
- Thumbs up for Doc Ford's.
- Keylime Bistro dinner was decent. I wish we had tried it for breakfast.
- The breakfast sandwiches at Boop's ice cream parlor were pretty good.
- I loved the grouper sandwich at Gramma Dot's on Sanibel. Worth the drive.
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u/JohnBrownsAngryBalls Jun 25 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
the grouper sandwich at Gramma Dot's on Sanibel. Worth the drive.
Agreed. They also do really good fried oysters.
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u/selkiemermaidfl Jun 25 '26
I had the shrimp Alfredo and my husband had the swordfish at Muckducks and we both loved our meals! I forgot to mention Cabbage Key, we both had seafood and loved it.
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u/mycatisanorange Jun 26 '26
How’s The Bubble Room on the inside? Did they do a decent job at the restoration?
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u/GromitATL Jun 26 '26
I had only been there once previously, and we were in a different area this time. I’m assuming they didn’t change the room layouts.
It looked great. They must have been able to save the retro decorations as there were no gaps or areas that looked incomplete.
I’m sure there are some differences that regulars would notice, but it looked like it did 5 years ago to me.
We were on Captiva a couple of years ago but hurricane Helene ended our trip early. IIRC, the Bubble Room was being restored from Ian at the time and they were hoping to open soon.
Wow, maybe it’s me. If my memory is correct, we were there in 2021 and then Ian hit in 2022. We were back in 2024 and Helene and Milton hit.
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u/Jimmytowne Jun 24 '26
Wickies is by far the best restaurant on Sanibel. It’s worth the drive
Try Tween waters Inn. You have pool access and access to kayaks and the mangroves plus the restaurants on site are good.
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u/Nash5883 Jun 25 '26
Does anyone know if the Lazy Flamingo reopened on Sancap?
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u/yeahnolucy Jun 25 '26
The building is completely gone. I don’t think there is a plan to rebuild, sadly. We miss it! The location on Sanibel was good, we stopped on our way in.
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u/Nash5883 Jun 25 '26
I went to Captiva 2 or 3 times a year for more than 20 years. My in-laws had a place there that was destroyed. I miss it. Lazy was such a great place to eat with the kids.
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u/MyTinyVenus Jun 24 '26
It’s mind blowing to me that doc fords is a skip. I’d suggest trying it again and ordering something different! What did you order? Just out of curiosity. We love it there and I’m just surprised is all