After all is said and done as much as I enjoy the “buzz” of Orlando with its theme parks and attractions, there comes a time when you just want to kick back and relax. Or maybe it’s not your thing to mix it with the mouse.

Then the ideal place is South Florida and Fort Myers or Naples in particular. I love these places, they are so far removed from the hustle and bustle of Orlando with a laid back almost “Caribbean” lifestyle.

About a 3-hour drive from Orlando takes you to these Gulf Coast treasures. Fort Myers Beach is basically on a peninsula called Estero Island. It has a population of around 6,000 inhabitants. It’s pretty close to the airport too. Accommodation here is mostly in condominiums, but there are also hotels. A large part of the condominiums can be rented and most are privately owned. Priced at around $750,000 for one on the beach with an ocean view! They are all well equipped and the ones I have stayed in were fantastic. We had a sea view with 2 rooms and all the things we needed to feel at home. Each condo had a Jacuzzi and it was huge, no exaggeration, you could easily fit 4 people in it. I’m 6ft 2in and I could lie down and neither my head nor my feet would touch the ends.

We had the most fantastic view of the ocean from the master bedroom windows, it was a delight to wake up to in the mornings. You could lie down there for a while and watch runners work out in the cooler morning temperatures or bums wading along the water’s edge in search of that elusive shell.

The community pool was a delight and a 2 minute walk gives you access to the uncrowded white sand beach. You can walk for miles along this pristine coastline. There is a dock if you want to maybe do a spot of fishing.

There are many places to dine on the beach in Fort Myers, most of them around the pier area. One place we went to and found quite novel was dinner and a movie at the Beach Theater. You choose your movie, order your food and a server brings it to your table where you can comfortably watch the movie. The rooms are quite small, so it has quite a personal touch. There are few rows of seats in the front, a counter you can sit on and then behind them are the tables.

If you want to do your own thing, the condo has its own set of gas barbecues. We did it one night, went to the nearby publix supermarket and got a couple of nice steaks and some shrimp and made a tasty meal.

For shopping you have to go to Naples, which is about 20-30 minutes by car. There is the Coastlands Mall which contains the usual store offerings. One thing you’ll see a lot of is the high-priced furniture stores that cater to wealthy Naples residents, some pretty famous ones too, like Judge Judy and Steven Spielburg, also have a place here. Naples is said to have more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States. There are also many elderly people here, which has earned Naples the nickname “God’s waiting room”.

There are many more hotels here than in Fort Myers. It has a lovely Mediterranean feel inherited from its namesake. It has high paths lined with palm trees and is well worth a visit.

Even if you don’t spend your entire vacation (holiday) here, just try to come down for a few days and relax. The condos we stayed in were Pointe Estero and the sister property next door, The Gullwing. We got our 2 bedroom condo for $180 a night. You can contact the property directly or if you’re in Orlando before your visit, do what we did and go to a room wholesaler like Know Before You Go. They have 2 locations in Orlando, one in Sand Lake and I drive and one I don’t, the 192 around mile marker 13 if I remember correctly.

Go ahead, enjoy!