Sanibel may have a quiet reputation... but right now, it’s anything but.
Tourism officials say Sanibel is seeing its strongest visitor numbers since Hurricane Ian devastated the barrier island. Only just over half of the island’s hotel rooms are back online, but over 90 percent of them are booked!
At the Sundial Beach Resort, even pool passes for non-guests have been selling out daily for the last two weeks. General Manager Becky Miller says it’s a welcome change.
It’s been great to have people back on the island...a little sense of normalcy again,” Miller said.
Beaches like Lighthouse Beach are packed, and parking lots are overflowing, but it’s not just seasonal residents crowding the island. Tourism officials say it’s spring breakers, many with families in town --who are really packing the island to the max. Spring breakers like Will Bowling from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"This is our first time here, and we were going to go to Panama City Beach, but we wanted to do something a little more exciting, so we went to this little island," said Bowling. "I'm not a huge fan of, you know, like, super big, loud areas, but everyone is really nice here."
But with the crowds comes congestion. Drivers say it can take up to an hour, and maybe more, to get across the Sanibel Causeway during peak times. Our crew hit the road around lunchtime and still spent an extra 30 minutes in traffic.
Island restaurants like Mudbugs are also experiencing the surge of people and wait times.
“As soon as it’s 4 o’clock, we’re on a two-hour wait,” said Isabella Balenzuela, a server at Mudbugs. “I’ve never seen it like this. Since I started, we’ve had busy seasons—but nothing like this.”
Despite traffic backups, most residents and business owners say they’re thrilled to see people returning to the island, eating at local restaurants, and shopping at stores that have been rebuilding from the storms.
Looking to join the spring break fun but dodge the traffic jam? Locals say your best bet is hitting the island after 10 a.m. and making your escape before 2 p.m. or waiting all the way until after the dinner rush to leave Sanibel.