Chelle Koster Walton has lived in Southwest Florida since 1981. She is a freelance travel and food writer and editor who has authored and co-authored more than a dozen guidebooks and apps, including Fodor’s guides, the Sarasota, Sanibel Island & Naples Explorer's Guide (Countryman Press), The Bahamas Explorer’s Guide (Countryman Press), and DK Eyewitness Florida Family Guide. Chelle has written thousands of articles for local and national publications and Web sites and produced food, travel, and other miscellaneous segments for the local PBS station, WGCU-TV. Her WGCU documentary Sanctuary Islands: The Sanibel Legacy won a Telly Award in 2010 and her 2013 Pink Gold Rush documentary won an Edward R. Murrow Award.
Eleuthera is the perfect place in the Bahamas for a romantic weekend. Many travelers have heard of Harbour Island, part of the Eleuthera chain, which lies due east of Nassau’s New Providence Island. Besides the romance and beauty of its famous pink sand beaches, Harbour Island’s reputation comes from its fine restaurants, superb diving, top-end resorts, and the celebrities that...
The larger, 96-mile Grand Bahama Island (GBI) has more variety to offer in a destination than does Nassau. Its superlatives include dive operation UNEXSO, long stretches of deserted beaches, small fishing settlements like West End and High Rock, Lucayan National Park with caves and trails to explore, freshwater kayaking, and long drives through Caribbean pine forest. And like all the Bahamas...
Experience luxury travel in Sarasota with its history of affluence and good taste, starting in the early 1900s when Bertha Potter Palmer (of the Chicago Palmer House fame) and John Ringling (of circus fame) made their winter homes in town. Ringling also introduced a legacy of arts that combines with the wealth to make Sarasota a destination for cultured sophisticates....
Some of the best restaurants in Fort Myers are local secrets that require a little help finding. Here are five best hidden restaurants. You’re welcome. Breakfast Gathering Place, an off-the-beaten-path favorite, dang near requires a compass. A GPS at the least. It serves an unusual combination of homemade American and Belizean comfort foods including changing cakes and turnovers made fresh...
Most Bahamas visitors see only Nassau, which is unfortunate because you should really take an island day trip. One may be able to glean a small taste of culture in Old Nassau, but you have to work to look between the commercialism and homogenization. One good solution: Balance your visit to Nassau with a follow-up trip to at least one...
Sarasota offers several great opportunities for off the beaten path travel experiences. That moment when you realize you will be hooking up your own harness hardware (sans supervision) to the 650-foot TreeUmphant! zip line. Or when you realize that despite all training, you are coming into the landing backwards. Which is most terrifying? East of Town The canopy courses at the new TreeUmph!...
Follow backroads and highways to Grand Bahama Island off the beaten path adventures in the East End — the quietest, most authentic old Bahamian part of the island — to experience Bahamas beyond Freeport and Lucaya. From the airport you can hire a driver to take you to the East End. To decompress even faster, rent a car and and bypass...
One of my most memorable Caribbean days took place in Exuma, Bahamas. It began with free-diving to the sea’s bottom to see a mermaid and ended with a hot bubble bath strewn with red tropical flower pedals in our villa. In between there were swimming pigs, grape-eating endangered dinosaur descendants, a free dive into Thunderball Cave (shoot site of the eponymous James Bond film), beach...
Sanibel and Captiva Islands make a great jumping off point for exploring the fascinating Southwest Florida region – from the Florida Everglades to islands you can reach only by boat. If you are like most island visitors, you will want to merely languish in the loveliness of Sanibel and Captiva. The region, however, holds a lot of treasures, so I...
With the Gulf of Mexico and back bay waters practically right out their door, Sanibel & Captiva island restaurants naturally boast an infatuation with seafood, a number of them with views of the water – the quintessential island dining experience. The islands also feel the influence of Caribbean, Cajun, Italian, French, Mediterranean, Mexican, Southern, and Midwestern food traditions to make...
Sanibel and Captiva islands are all about appreciating nature, playing on the beach, hiking and biking, getting in a round of golf, and taking advantage of all of the year-round water sports opportunities including boating, sailing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, fishing, swimming, windsurfing, kiteboarding, parasailing, water-skiing, and wakeboarding. Note: You will want to book some of your tours and charters ahead of time, especially in the high...
Hopefully, you have more than one day to spend on blissful Sanibel Island, where stoplights and streetlights are taboo and no buildings rise higher than a palm tree. The island is all about glorifying the nature that islanders have worked hard to preserve since the 1930s, through incorporation in the 1970s, until today, when the Sanibel Plan still dictates that nature rules. If...
Tiny Captiva Island is easy to explore in one day, but most like to linger longer to take advantage of the island’s beaches, water sports, handful of attractions, restaurants, and shops. It’s “downtown” area is easily walkable. Since it has no bike paths, cycling can be a bit tricky, especially when the island fills with tourists and snowbirds in the winter months. Some would say any...
Nassau showers families with attention, outdoor activity and plenty of cultural and historical engagement. Think pirates, dolphins, birds you can feed by hand, and miles of sand beach in the Bahamas. Day 1: History and Heritage For history, you should not miss an off the tourist path experience called Educulture Bahamas. Do not let the name scare the kids into thinking school desks and stuffy...
In two days, you can get a good sampling of the flavor of the Fort Myers area’s scene, from its historic downtown cultural arena to its beachfront treasures and other opportunities to be in the great outdoors. Day 1 in Fort Myers Start out your first morning at the beach – you know it is where you want to be,...
Fort Myers and its family of communities — Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Bonita Springs, and Cape Coral — give families the warm welcome of near-constant sunshine and a year-round playground. Four days will allow you to experience most of what the area has to offer kids. Day One — Fort Myers Beach Area To counteract the stress and weariness...
Locals consider Sarasota the cultural heart and soul of Southwest Florida. And although the population consists of the usual fluctuation of winter snowbirds and a year-round retirement community, its artsy colleges keep it young. Sarasota’s arts scene dates back to the early 1900s and the appearance of the Ringling family, who wintered their circus here. John Ringling in particular adopted...
Sanibel and Captiva islands, Florida: They conjure images of seashell-carpeted beaches, lazy gulf waves, skies and beaches full of birds and other wildlife, and palm tree silhouetted skies. Readers of Condé Nast Traveler name Sanibel Island among the top 10 U.S. islands year after year. Birding, paddling, and family magazines also sing its praises. Sister island Captiva wins kudos for...
The greater Naples area generally encompasses the town itself, plus the Bonita Springs area to the north and Marco Island to the south. The area as a whole is relatively new in the scheme of Florida things, but its attraction runs deep. Who comes to Naples? Beach lovers, water sports enthusiasts, golfers, shoppers, families and folks just wild for its...
Located on the Southwest coast of Florida, Fort Myers lies on the Caloosahatchee River and is the doorstep to popular resort islands Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Bonita Beach. Downtown Fort Myers Despite its place in Florida’s retirement demographics, Fort Myers has been “youthening” up a bit in past decades, particularly in its downtown area. Known as...
Snorkeling with manatees in Crystal River, Florida, was most memorable and the experience I talk about most. This baby manatee came up to me and went vertical in front of me. When I scratched his neck with one hand (as allowed), he folded my hand with his two fins and squeezed it to his chest. I still tear up thinking about it.
It depends. If I’m doing guidebook work or any other detailed research, I’m best and most efficient on my own. I most love writing experiential pieces, and for that it’s most often better to be traveling with companion(s). One of my best trips of late was to California wine country with my husband and two good friends from Minnesota.
My feet, because walking allows me to slow down and gather details and a sense of place.