Fort Myers Beach vacation rentals on Estero Island

Fort Myers Beach is the town on Estero Island, a seven-mile barrier island with a wide, flat beach and some of the calmest, shallowest water on the Gulf coast. You can wade out a long way before it gets deep, which makes it an easy beach for small kids. The north end, by the Matanzas Pass bridge, has always been the busy part, and the island gets quieter and more residential as you head south toward Lovers Key.

Rentals run from Gulf-front condo buildings to older cottages and canal homes on the bay side, where many have docks into Estero Bay. Hurricane Ian hit the island head on in 2022 and the town has been rebuilding since, so ask the owner what the property and the street around it look like today.

Things to do near your rental

• Lovers Key State Park beaches and kayak trails at the south end of the island
• Bowditch Point Park at the northern tip, where the bay meets the Gulf
• Estero Bay paddling among mangrove islands and dolphins
• The Sanibel Causeway, about 25 minutes north