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I shouldn't even tell you
about Palm Island, Florida. It's one of the few islands left on the lower
Gulf Coast where you can really get some quiet time and ignore the rest of
the world. For me, the most beautiful thing about the island is that there
are very few cars here, and very few roads. There is no bridge to the
island. You have to take a ferry to the island, which runs 7 days a week from
6:30 am to 10pm (11pm on Friday and Saturday). Cars can ride the ferry (Palm
Island Transit),
but only people who are living or vacationing on Palm Island actually take their cars. You see,
there are no parking lots or stores or other businesses on the island, so
if you don't have a driveway, there is no place to put a car. Visitors to
the island either walk, ride a bike, or use a golf cart. There are several
resorts on Palm Island, the most well known is
Palm Island Resort which
pretty much takes up the whole north end of the island.
Take a
video tour of the beach rental I stayed in at Palm Island Resort.
Thinking of buying or building a home on these
islands? Because there is no road or bridge to the islands, all
construction materials have to be brought over on the ferry. Building
costs average around $240 to $340 per square foot. The lots aren't cheap either.
But how can you put a price on paradise?
Palm Island is located about 9 miles south of Englewood, Florida, off
the coast from Cape Haze.
Palm Island is
actually not an accurate name for this island complex. It is made up of
4 interconnected islands as follows:
Thornton Key - an uninhabited preserve with
no beach.
Knight
Island - home of the Palm Island Resort. It takes the name Palm
Island. Because the Palm Island Resort is relatively well known, the
publicity it gets overshadows the rest of the islands and the whole
bunch of them just seem to fall under the catch-all name of "Palm
Island." But it is technically and descriptively inaccurate.
Note: Don't confuse this Palm Island
Resort with "Little Palm Island Resort" on Little Torch Key down in the
Florida Keys. They are two entirely different places.
Don Pedro Island
- adjacent to and south of Knight Island. Private homes and vacation
rentals. No stores, no restaurants. No high-rises or big resorts. No
hotels. Includes Don Pedro Island State Park. You can drive or walk from
Palm Island to Don Pedro Island.
Little Gasparilla Island - south of Don
Pedro Island. This island is accessible only by boat. You cannot reach
it from Palm Island or Don Pedro. Even though there is a physical sand
road, it crosses private property that denies access to anyone but
residents with a gate key. You can visit the island if you have a kayak
or boat by pulling up to the beach anywhere you like. The south end of
the island is popular with weekend boaters. No stores, restaurants,
hotels or high-rises. No paved roads. No cars.
Grande
Tours provides a passenger ferry to Don Pedro Island State Park. For
$150 they will ferry up to 6 people to the island and back by
reservations only. Beginning in 2006 they tried to run a daily ferry but
there just wasn't enough business to keep it running so it was
discontinued. In
addition to the ferry, Grande Tours
presents Eco-Tours, Kayaking, Fishing, Cruising Boca Grande, Florida and
Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve, and offers wilderness camping. Be
sure to call before you come, as their schedule is subject to change.
941-697-8825. |
