Discovering the Natural Beauty and Charm of Boca Grande, Florida

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If tropical secluded beaches where you can swim, snorkel, fish, and find tons of beautiful shells sounds good to you, then Boca Grande is the perfect place.

Boca Grande was recommended to us by an older couple that spend the winter in Florida every year. They told us that is was absolutely beautiful. Well, they were right! The area is amazingly beautiful and the beaches are loaded with shells. I have found tons of shells every time that I have been there.

 Boca Grande is a small residential area located on the southern end of Gasparilla Island. To get onto Gasparilla Island, you will cross the Boca Grande Causeway where you will stop at a toll both.  There is a toll fee of $6 to get onto the island.

The island is small and has no traffic lights. Bicycles and golf carts are the preferred mode of transportation on the island.

The drive to the beach is simply beautiful!  Most of the homes are surrounded by tropical foliage and flowers.

Just north of Sanibel and Cayo Costa, both know for the great shelling, Gasparilla Island beaches are usually loaded with shells. And the best part is that there are no crowds, so you can look all day and find good ones.

There is a public beach access with parking on the right 2 miles before you get the the lighthouse beach.

This is a great place for swimming. This beach usually does not have many shells.

The Boca Grande Rear Range Lighthouse is located on the beach at this access point.

Around the jetty is a good place for finding shells and fishing.  It is located behind the South Beach restaurant, but you will have to park at the public access just a short distance on the right before you reach the restaurant. 

The main road ends at Gasparilla Island State Park.

 This is the best beach to finding shells. It is also home to the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse and museum.

In addition to tons of large shells, we saw hundreds of starfish and sand dollars this particular day.

My mother is almost as crazy about shells as I am! 😊

Address:

880 Belcher Rd
Boca Grande, FL 33921

The park is open from 8:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year.

Lighthouse Museum Hours:

November through May
Monday – Saturday 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Sundays 12:00 pm-4:00 pm

June through October
Wednesday – Saturday 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Sundays 12:00 pm-4:00 pm

Museum Closed all of August



Admission Fee:

$3.00 per vehicle using  the honor box method



Happy Travels! 

Exploring the Cajun Riviera: Holly Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana

If you love finding tons of beautiful shells on a secluded beach, then you are going to love this southwestern Louisiana beach!

Holly Beach, known as the "Cajun Riviera", is a stretch of coastline in Cameron Parish.  The area was completely destroyed by Hurricane Rita in 2005 and hit again by Hurricane Ike in 2008. The area is slowly rebuilding, but continues to be fairly isolated.

My first trip to Holly Beach was totally unplanned. We were getting plants from the nurseries in Forest Hill, Louisiana and were looking for something else to do in the area.  We found Holly Beach and decide to check it out since we had never been to that area of Louisiana. It was a two hour drive, but we were feeling adventuresome.   

We followed interstate 49 to the bottom of the state, and then I’m not exactly sure where we were. Are plans were to see how close we could get to the coast and follow it over to Holly Beach.

 Well….for the most part, the bottom of Louisiana is marsh and swamp!  We drove for about 3 hours looking at nothing but marshy areas on both side of the road. It was getting close to sunset when we came upon the Cameron Motel. It was a nice clean hotel, which was a good thing considering it was the only one within 50 miles.

Address: 531 Marshall St, Cameron, LA 70631

Phone: (337) 775-5442 

We stayed there for the night and caught the ferry to go across to Holly Beach early the next morning. The cost for the ferry was $1 per car. We were surprised to find that the kind gentleman in front of us had paid for our ride. We got out and visited with him as we crossed the channel. I could listen to someone with a Cajun accent all day!  

The area around the hotel is mainly shipping ports. There are a few small places to eat, a Dollar general, a fire station, and not much else.  

We were in shock when we arrived at Holly Beach! We drove out onto the beach and there was not another person anywhere to be seen.

And shells were everywhere! Thousands of them!

  

We had not even planned on going to a beach on this trip, so we didn’t have anything to put shells in. I don’t remember what we found to carry them in, but we got home with tons of unique shells.

I have been to Holly beach several times now and it still remains one of my favorite beaches for shelling. It is an excellent place for walking on the beach and finding shells. 
 

It is not a good place for swimming at times because of high levels of bacteria in the water, although, I have seen people swimming on every visit since the first one.

 If you would like to check for swimming advisories before you go, click here.

Happy Travels! 

Discovering Shells on Sanibel Island, Florida: A Guide to Where and How to Find Them

Sanibel Island is known as one of the best shelling places in the world. The island's sloping incline and East West positing make perfect conditions for sea treasures to wash upon the beaches without damage.

I remember preparing for my fist trip to Sanibel. Reading all of the articles and watching videos on shelling had me so excited! I envisioned walking out to the beach and picking up tons of beautiful large shells all day long.

Well, that’s not exactly how it works. There are beautiful shells and some large ones, but timing and luck play a big part in finding them. I have walked out on the best beach at prime time and not found a single shell. Not even a tiny one!

Shelling is serious business on Sanibel! Lol No matter what time of year you go, there will be a lot of people from all around the world there too…and they are looking for shells!

 But there are several things that will increase your chances of finding shells.

Best times for shelling:

Low tide in the morning

Be out there at the crack of dawn – you will see people with flashlights way before daylight (Yes, I have been one of those people! :) )

A day or two after a storm – this stirs things up and brings in a bigger variety of sea treasures.

Cooler months - November thru February

Best places for shelling:(Information on beaches)

Lighthouse Beach

Blind Pass

Turner Beach

Captiva Beach

Bowman Beach

Don’t be discouraged if you walk out to the beach and don’t see any shells. You just need to go to another beach. The last time I was there, I tried Turner Beach and Blind, not a single shell. Then I drove down to Bowman Beach, not a thing. I decided later to drive down to Lighthouse beach and there were so many shells it was crazy!

Luck:

One day you may not find anything and the next day may be excellent. But no matter what you find, it’s a great day if you’re on the beautiful Island of Sanibel!

Have fun shelling and making great memories!

Below are two short video with some shells on Lighthouse Beach, Blind Pass beach, and Turner Beach.