the beach today
Gulf Coast Guide

Sanibel
Island

The Sanibel Stoop

The shelling capital of the US — conditions, parking, Bowman's Beach sunsets and the best grouper after.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & shelling window

Parking Finder

Beach lots & meters

Sunset

Bowman's Beach west-facing sunset

Dining

Grouper, key lime & island eats

Things to Do

Shelling cruises & dolphin tours

Events

What's on this week

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Lighthouse Beach

1884 lighthouse, fishing pier & shells

Paid lot · point

Bowman's Beach

Wild, undeveloped, best on the island

Paid lot · long walk

Blind Pass Beach

Top shelling at the pass cut

Paid lot · tidal current

Tarpon Bay Beach

Central, calm, easy family swimming

Paid lot · mid-island

Turner Beach

Captiva side of Blind Pass · sunset

Captiva island · paid lot

Causeway Beach

Free sand on the causeway islands

Free · great views

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Captiva Island

North over Blind Pass

Village, Mucky Duck & Turner Beach sunsets

Fort Myers Beach

30 min east

Times Square, Estero sand & the rebuilt pier

Cape Coral

40 min northeast

Canals, tiki bars & the Yacht Club beach

Naples

50 min south

Pier, 5th Avenue & upscale Gulf sand

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Sanibel Island. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Sanibel, the water is 89°F, surf is running 0–1 ft and the air is 88°F but feels like 98°F. Wind is 6 mph from the SW and the UV index peaks at 8 (very high) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 29 minutes right now, and the strongest stretch runs 12 PM to 5 PM. Today’s tides: High 5:21 AM, Low 12:18 PM, High 6:13 PM, Low 11:59 PM. Dogs are allowed.