North Captiva Island is beautiful and a true dream for anyone looking to downshift. I loved the island, but was a bit disappointed in the Club.

Now that I've been there I understand that North Captiva Island Club is not your only or best choice when traveling to North Captiva. You have several other choices for services and ammenities on the island and I will seek those out next time. And I will be back, we loved the island.

We stayed in the Lazy Dolphin which was advertised as a new property, meaning newly built, we thought. What we found was that it was new to their management. It was a lovely house, but it definitely needed some upkeep. The heated pool never did work longer than a few hours, the TVs didn't work in a couple of rooms, sliding doors didn't slide, handrails were loose, most everything inside needed new paint. Trying to get maintenance done was a frustrating task and eventually I gave up. We didn't spend much time in the house anyway watching TV, but it would have been nice to use the pool. They did show up twice (we were there 7 days and I called 5 of those asking for repair) and tried to get the heater working. It did work for a few hours both times. On the positive, what a view of the Gulf, the view is fantastic. And the floorplan was very conducive to family time.

YOU NEED GROCERIES if you are going to be on the island as you will quickly tire of $20 Mango burgers. Again YOU NEED GROCERIES, as you will quickly tire of the variety available on the island. However use another grocery delivery service than Sandy's. They charge you full retail for the food at Publix (even when on sale) then charge you another @30% on top of that. Plus they didn't get everything we asked for. I'm not sure if the others deliver to your house though? You could ask.

As far as the recommended local businesses from their website I'd definintely use Pine Island Taxi again, they did a great job and even picked us up at the marina on the way back so we wouldn't need to ride the bus. THANK YOU!

I'd also use Island Bob's for any sort of grocery delivery, golf cart rental, or boat rental. Captain Andrew is the best. Their stuff is much nicer than the equipment available through north captive and Boats and Fun (the other boat rental on the island, which we used for 2 days before switching) and the same or lower price. I think Bob's does grocery pick up for a much lower percentage as well. I think the taxi service will do it too. The golf carts at Island Bob's are much nicer quality (they are a couple more bucks per day), but the batteries hold a charge and you can go from one side of the island to another without running out of juice and being stranded.

I don't have a good suggestion regarding another house rental outfit, but I can't imagine any would be any worse than the Club. The Club really didn't add any value for us. You're basically on your own.

Good luck and I hope this was helpful.

Our family, for "Papa's" 60th birthday, stayed at the Windswept home on North Captiva Island . This beautiful home is located right near a State owned nature preserve. It is a one of a kind "round" 5 bedroom 2 bath home with its own swimming pool & put-put golf. Owner's Mark,Wendy & Miranda made us feel like family. Their home attended to our every need and more! We spent every morning enjoying the pool,golf,or numerous family games provided at the home. After lunch,we all had fun exploring the "tropical island" ; from taking nature walks through the state preserve to the unihabited beaches, collecting sea shells, making friends with turtles, fishing off Barnacle Phil's landing, watching the dolphins swim close to the shores, or just exploring the island's paradise and all it has to offer on golf carts. At night we could relax on 1 of 3 decks to watch the beautiful sunsets or later watch many a family movie or spend quiet time reading a vast variety of adult/children's books provided. We spent Papa's birthday at The Boathouse Restaurant, a very small restaurant run by the NCIC Resort which is only able to accomodate a small number of people at a time. A very nice unique experience. The food was wonderful! The chef & waitress made it a very special occasion. Our whole family including 4 children ,ages 6-13, & an aupair from Sweden, & 5 adults can't wait till the next time we can come back, maybe for my 60th!!

We arrived as a party of five for our annual girls trip. Our airport shuttle was waiting upon the arrival at the airport, and our ferry ride over was great. The Captain and his staff were extremely friendly and fun to joke around with. We checked in without any problems and the office staff was very friendly and accommodating. We stayed at the Green Flash which is a gorgeous home right on the beach. I believe we had one of the best locations on the island! The views are fantastic and the home was clean and comfortable. We only had one issue with some of the bedding, which was taken care of immediately. We took advantage of the complimentary kayaks,bikes and tennis court. The resort pool was very nice and refreshing. We also booked the Captiva shopping trip which was a great time. On our way back, our captain spotted some dolphins and maneuvered around so they would follow in our wake. They were jumping and following us for quite some time and was actually the highlight of our trip! On our last night we had dinner at The Boat House restaurant. We had one of the best meals we've ever had. The portions were huge, the seafood was fresh, the staff was friendly and we felt the food/service matched the price. You have to have dinner here at least once!
Since we traveled in September, there was a skeleton staff, but they all took the time to talk to us and were very accommodating. We actually like that everything was "on island time" because we felt a sense of relaxation and we didn't want to be hurried, that's why we were on vacation! There was always someone around to help us. If there was anything negative, I would say that the noseeum bugs were driving us crazy and we got eaten alive in the evenings. I realize it was the time of year we went, and this is out of anyone's control. If we go back, we'd probably pick another season because of these bugs. You have to realize you are on an island which comes with limitations, but if you are prepared for this, you will love your trip here!

If you are looking to completely get away from everything this is the place for you. We stayed at a nice 3 bedroom 3 bath house that was about 100 steps to the beach. We were given a golf cart to drive around the unpaved roads on the island. Everyone from the resort were wonderful and helpful. It is a great place for a family with kids especially if you like the outdoors/beach. I suggest ordering your groceries ahead of time and have them delivered to the house. There is very limited items at the island store to purchase so you need to plan ahead or plan on taking a ferry to the mainland for groceries.

Bug spray is a must in the summer!!!!!. Also be prepared to see some wildlife. There was also some beach erosion in some beach areas but not where we were staying.

We had the beach to ourselves virtually. We brought our dog to the beach everyday as well and the kids had a great time playing in the waves with her.