Family Vacation Idea: Little Gasparilla Island

By Guest Blogger Julie Wagoner

Now that spring break is behind us, it’s time to think about summer plans! Our idea for a trip to Little Gasparilla Island actually occurred during a spring break trip a few years back to New York City. While the city was wonderful, amazing, and exciting, it was also COLD! All bundled up in winter coats, scarves and hats, we looked at each other and decided that next year, we were headed south!

My husband was in charge of booking and I had three “requirements” for him:

• I wanted to stay on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I had heard so many wonderful things and had never been before.
• The location had to be far enough south that the temperature was at least 80 degrees during the March/April spring break season.
• And it need to be relaxing.

I run my own business and my husband’s job as an engineer had required lots of regular travel in the past year. With three busy girls at home, it had seemed to be a particularly crazy busy year. I’m sure many of you can relate. So when my husband sent me a list of potential bookings, the condo on Little Gasparilla Island caught my eye.

Getting to Little Gasparilla Island

Little Gasparilla Island is a very small tropical barrier island located just off the Southwest Coast of Florida. The most unique feature of Little Gasparilla Island is that there is no bridge connecting the island to the mainland. You can only arrive by boat. Once on the island, there are no cars or roads, only sandy paths and golf carts. There are also no restaurants or stores on the island.

Could we make it a week on this island as a family? I decided that if I was looking for something peaceful and relaxing, I could certainly find it here. We booked a condo through VRBO and began counting down the many days until the trip.

When our spring break finally arrived, we traveled the long journey to south Florida. My trusty minivan was packed full with my husband and myself, our daughters and a friend of our daughter. To say we were excited to finally see the sign for the ferry to Little Gasparilla Island was an understatement!

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Hideaway Bay Beach Club condos on the island. We choose to rent one of the condos as opposed to a house on the island because the condos came with use of their private ferry that runs several times a day from the island to the mainland. Otherwise, you would need to own a boat or hire a water taxi to get to the island.

The ferry provides these large wheelbarrows that you can use to load all your stuff for the ride over and the walk to your condo. This is helpful because when coming to the island, you must bring EVERYTHING you need for your stay (groceries, sunscreen, even toilet paper!). There is no store on the island to pick up something forgotten. After a short five minute ferry ride and a short walk to our home for the week, we were ready to begin relaxing!

What To Do

Even after specifically planning a “relaxing” vacation, I was still a little concerned that we would be bored on this tiny island with no excitement for the kids. But as the week passed, we found plenty to occupy our time. Golf cart driving was a huge hit with all kids. After checking with the local police riding their own golf carts around the island, we were told that as long as they were being responsible, anyone could drive the cart through the sandy island paths. Lots of time was spent by all the girls taking turns driving around at top golf cart speed.

Little Gasparilla Island was also a fantastic place for shelling and wildlife watching. We found a countless number of shells, sand dollars and shark teeth throughout the week. Every day we checked in on the huge osprey nest at the condo and were so excited to catch a glimpse of her babies.

  

During the day the water was calm and the beaches were not crowded. The condo community also had a pool if a change of scenery from the ocean was needed. On the one rainy afternoon during the week, the condo was stocked with board games and books (and cable TV too, of course!)

Each evening after dinner, we would head over to the beach to watch the sun set over the water.

We did venture off our little island a couple of days during the week. I took the teens outlet shopping one day while the younger girls visited a park to see manatee and a butterfly sanctuary. Also, one morning we all took a kayak/paddle board excursion with a tour guide.

The Ideal Place to Relax

If you are looking for action and adventure, Little Gasparilla Island is likely not your ideal vacation spot. But for a busy family looking to really relax, reconnect and spend quality time together, it was just what we needed.

Although we took this trip over spring break, I would recommend it over summer break as well! In fact, I’m already planning when I can make it back to this tiny island where the only roads are made of sand and the only road signs are nailed to a tree.

For a similar experience, check out this TMoM blog about Bald Head Island!

Find more Vacation ideas here.

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