Fort Myers | Cabbage Key Inn & Restaurant

Dock & dine in style: Discover Fort Myers’ best waterfront restaurants

Posted on October 6, 2023
By Travelweek
Cabbage Key, Dining, Fort Myers, Recreation, Tarpon Lodge

Inhale those fresh Gulf breezes and feel the warmth of the sun on your face as the day unfolds before you.

All throughout Fort Myers’ islands, beaches, and neighborhoods, you can go straight from an exhilarating boat ride to an amazing meal while overlooking the water.

You’re invited to experience a local legend. Cabbage Key Inn sits on its own 100-acre island and has been feeding guests for decades. Hop aboard a charter or book your own private boat to reach this remote restaurant famed for its cheeseburgers, fresh seafood and frozen Key lime pie. Its defining feature is the thousands of dollar bills taped to the restaurant’s ceilings and walls, and you’ll likely spot tortoises and other wildlife roaming the walkways outside.

Feel the charm of an Old Florida landmark at the Tarpon Lodge & Restaurant in Bokeelia on Pine Island. This historical 1926 house overlooks Pine Island Sound and is surrounded by a restored boathouse, bungalow-style cottage and comfortable Island House. Enjoy a leisurely lunch or exquisite evening meal at Tarpon Lodge Restaurant, where you can dine on the catch of the day, prized Gulf pink shrimp or other locally sourced favourites.


This is an excerpt from an article originally published by Travelweek.


Cabbage Key among the 15 Best Things to Do in Lee County, FL

Posted on June 3, 2023
By Rice Ocampo of Travel Lens
Cabbage Key, Dining, Fort Myers, Lee County, Recreation

Lee County is your ultimate beachfront destination on the Gulf Coast within southwestern Florida.

Founded in 1887, this county is more famous for its sandy beaches, historic homes and estates, quirky galleries and museums, and islands. It got its name from Robert E. Lee, who was an American Civil War general who helped the country reunite.

Aside from its noteworthy attractions, the county also offers access to an impressive water channel, including the Imperial River and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s also home to a variety of collegiate opportunities, what with the Florida Gulf Coast University within the property. Keep your beachfront vacation simple and elegant by choosing to travel to its county seat, Fort Myers, or any of its cities, including Cape Coral and Bonita Springs.

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Old Florida alive and well on Cabbage Key

Posted on January 4, 2023
By Barbara Linstrom, Special to Florida Weekly
Cabbage Key, Fort Myers, Hurricane Ian

Overlooking a hurricane damaged Cabbage Key towards Useppa from The Tower.

Towards Useppa from Water Tower

If you want some reassurance that Old Florida survived Hurricane Ian, take a trip to Cabbage Key. There you’ll find warm hospitality and a very welcoming vibe among the islanders. After all, the locals on Cabbage Key are the staff and family that run the historic inn.

At 112 acres, the island is accessible only by boat and is one of the smallest inhabited ones in Pine Island Sound. Cabbage Key lies to the west of the undeveloped barrier island of Cayo Costa. That’s where Ian finally touched shore with sustained winds of 150 mph on Sept. 28, 2022.

“Landfall was about a mile and a half from us,” says Cabbage Key manager Scott Lepson. “We were in the eye for at least an hour.” At 33-foot elevation, atop a Calusa shell midden, the 1926 structure was built to endure and accommodate the Southwest Florida climate. In fact, the inn resumed its long tradition of welcoming boaters by serving food and drinks within 18 days after the storm.

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This Chain of Islands in South Florida Is the Perfect Summer Getaway

Posted on May 31, 2022
By Olivia Young, Thrillist
Cabbage Key, Cayo Costa, Fort Myers, Pine Island, Sanibel

Life is an island highway.

Island hop till you drop.

When you strip away the omnipresent Disney and admittedly-pretty-funny Florida Man stereotypes that plague the Sunshine State, you just might see America’s southeasternmost extremity for what it really is: a subtropical-to-tropical paradise. Here you’ll find 1,350 miles of convivial coastline, an effervescent ecosystem teeming with nature not found anywhere else in the States, and a melting pot of (not all gray-headed) thalassophiles blissed out on the salt life.

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In Fort Myers area, Mother Nature is the best salesperson

Posted on March 25, 2019
By Holly V. Kapherr, Travel Weekly
Cabbage Key, Captiva, Fort Myers, Nature & Wildlife, Sanibel

A shell-strewn strand of beach on Captiva Island. Photo Credit: Holly V. Kapherr

Ever since my childhood best friend brought a sand dollar she found on the beach on Sanibel to show-and-tell, it has been my dream to find one myself.  I recently visited the Fort Myers, Sanibel and Captiva Island area on a media tour with the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau and triumphantly toted home three beautiful sand dollars. Mission accomplished.

On the trip, my group saw an incredible amount of wildlife: giant gopher tortoises named for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; blue crabs winding their way through the mangrove roots; a couple of adorable marsh hares with their signature tiny ears; an enormous great blue heron who dared us to come closer while he eyed a fisherman’s chum bucket; and some live “pink gold,” the large, pink gulf shrimp that originally brought riches to the region.

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7 unforgettable moments you’ll have fishing The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, Florida

Posted on June 29, 2018
By Tom Keer, Matador Network
Cabbage Key, Fishing & Boating, Fort Myers, Pine Island, Sanibel, Tarpon Lodge

Photo: The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel

There are so many reasons to visit Florida’s lower Gulf Coast — all those beaches, the calm, warm water, the sailing, power boating, kayaking, diving, SUPing…. But hey, my linebacker legs don’t do well on SUPs. No, all those things are well and good, but I come here for one reason: to fish.

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How to Do a Digital Detox Holiday Near Fort Myers

Posted on March 22, 2018
By Natasha Mekhail, WestJet Magazine
Cabbage Key, Captiva, Fort Myers, Local Attractions, Sanibel

Leave your devices at the door when you visit Florida’s Sanibel and Captiva islands.

J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, photo by Susan Rydberg/Thinkstock

Close your eyes. You’re reclined in a beach chair on a long stretch of powdery white sand. Out in the water before you, a pod of wild dolphins turns somersaults in the waves. You rise, walk to the ocean’s edge and dip your fingers in, only to catch a sand dollar in your outstretched hand. Around you, thousands of seashells tinkle in the tide like a giant wind chime. Relaxed yet? This isn’t a guided meditation—it’s real life on Sanibel and Captiva islands, just across the bridge from Fort Myers. Explore these unspoiled isles tip-to-tip by bike, spot resident manatees from trailside lookouts and roam the shell-strewn beaches.

Here are the top things to do.
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Finding Florida’s best places to eat and drink

Posted on July 10, 2017
By Michael Fitzpatrick, Manchester Evening News
Cabbage Key, Captiva, Fort Myers, Reviews, Sanibel

The burger at Cabbage Key restaurant

The burger at Cabbage Key restaurant

A tour of the American state with your appetite in mind

On a food and drink tour of Florida you might think enjoying a burger isn’t very adventurous. There are countless joints here in Manchester to get your beef-fix – but this was no ordinary burger.

Before sinking my teeth into this American classic I’d enjoyed a boat trip across the south west Florida ocean, accompanied by family of dolphins for part of the hour-long cruise, before docking at an island that despite its unassuming name, can only be described as paradise.

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Star-filled nights, sun-lit days at Cabbage Key

Posted on September 21, 2016
Cabbage Key, Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, Fishing & Boating, Fort Myers, Interviews

A conversation with Fort Myers attorney and author John D. Mills

One of our favorite things about working at a family-owned island resort is getting to know our guests, even becoming lifelong friends with many of them. Take, for example, John D. Mills, a Fort Myers attorney and author of six legal thriller novels. A fifth generation local, John has been coming to our neck of the waters since he was a toddler. The Mills family fishing shack, burnt down in 1995, is a source of John’s fondest memories and how he got to know all of us at Cabbage Key. Our island cottages remind him of those childhood days and keep him coming back to us at least four weekends per year. Plus, he participates in two of our annual fishing tournaments – so we get to see him quite often.

We sat down with John to learn more about him and what he likes best about Cabbage Key. He was generous with his time, and with his interesting stories. In his own words:

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Cabbage Key Featured in National Geographic: 10 Reasons to Visit Fort Myers and Sanibel, Florida

Posted on August 20, 2016
By Gillian Kendall, National Geographic
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, Cayo Costa, Fishing & Boating, Fort Myers, Nature & Wildlife, Pine Island, Sanibel, Tarpon Lodge & Restaurant Reviews

For a beach lover, the beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel are a dream destination.

Sunset at Bowman's Beach.

A man walks at sunset down Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island, Florida. PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL GOZANSKY, ALAMY

Trouble in paradise: I’m at the tollbooth on the causeway that crosses to Sanibel Island from Fort Myers, Florida. There’s a six-dollar charge, and they don’t take credit cards. After fumbling through pockets, purse, and beach bag, I come up with only four crumpled one-dollar bills. But the tan booth attendant offers an authentic smile. “If you don’t have it, it’s OK,” she says, waving me through. “Someone ahead of you just paid it forward.”

Receiving a favor from a stranger is an unexpected welcome to the islands west of Fort Myers. But it’s just one of many things that make the area unusual.

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