Step back in time by visiting Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's winter estates, the nation's 9th most visited historic home. You can take an extended guided tour of the homes, museum, laboratory and gardens. Botanical tours are available by special request.

The Fort Myers Historical Museum is housed in the former Atlantic Coastline Railroad depot on Peck Street in downtown Fort Myers. Here you will find information on early settlers of Southwest Florida including the Calusa, Paleo and Seminole Indians and an extensive artifacts collection. Exhibits include a private Pullman rail car and an authentic replica of a pioneer "cracker" house. Browse the exhibits at your own pace, or take part in a group tour.

Hours of Operation:
Tuesday - Saturday 10am-5pm
Sun from noon until 4pm

If you are looking for a place to interact with the kids, the Imaginarium offers fun for the whole family. Located just off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd this science museum features more than 60 interactive exhibits. These fun and educational exhibits allow children to learn obout the environment, weather physics and other topics. Attractions include animals, aquariums displaying marine life, a touch pool, hurricane simulator, puppet theatre and interactive areas for preschoolers.

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 12pm-5pm

The Calusa Nature Center has a museum, nature trails, aviary and planetarium. Visit the museum to learn more about Southwest Florida's natural history. There are daily programs which include educational talks about indigious animals including snakes, alligators, birds and butterflies. Visitors are able to get up close and personal to some of these creatures. Learn all about constellations, planets, star clusters and galaxies in the planetarium. Calusa's 105 acre site has plenty of picnic areas in the grounds.

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Saturday 9am-5pm
Sunday 11am-5pm

Bonita Beach is part of the town of Bonita Springs, which is located on the southern Gulf Coast just south of Fort Myers and north of Naples. Bonita Beach is the Gulf Shore of Bonita Springs, and visitors can easily reach the beach through several “beach access points” along Hickory Boulevard. This is a very pretty beach with soft, white sand, dunes and sea oats, and visitors can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, beachcombing, boating and other beach activities. Golf, hiking and biking are also available in the area. Other areas of interest near Bonita Beach include Lovers Key State Recreation Area and the Cocohatchee Nature Center, which offers narrated boat tours through a mangrove estuary. The town of Bonita Springs has upscale shopping and boutiques, fine restaurants, beautiful hotels, inns and beach resorts. It is in an area that is very convenient to exploring other southwest Florida cities, such as Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Islands, Cape Coral and Naples. Bonita Beach is a short 15-minute drive to the Southwest Florida International Airport.

Sanibel Island is beloved for its beautiful white-sand beaches, an abundance of seashells and the huge variety of wildlife that calls this Gulf coast island home.

For those who like entertainment and adventure, as well as dining, shopping and more, Sanibel has it all. Live theater, arts classes, music festivals and performances, craft fairs, art exhibits - these are just a few of the choices you'll have.

Long a vacation haven for families as well as romantics, Sanibel Island offers the slow pace of island life with just enough fabulous amenities to make it unparalleled. Accommodations range from condos to resorts and homes to small inns & cottages. Visitors and residents alike, choose whether to spend their days enjoying the beaches, biking along protected paths, observing birds and wildlife in refuges (and right at home!), attending cultural events or enjoying fabulous fresh seafood at one of the many island restaurants.

Sanibel Island is located on Florida's southwest coast, just 45 minutes from Southwest Florida International Airport in Ft. Myers. The island is a 2-3 hour drive from Tampa International and Ft. Lauderdale. Miami and Orlando are 4 hours away.

Captiva Island, to the north of Sanibel, is one of the most exclusive islands in North America, yet retains a casual ambiance. So narrow in spots you can see both the Gulf and Bay, tiny Captiva retains its small-town feel, even amidst enormous wealth and a few world-famous residents.

Captiva’s village is a quaint mix of restaurants, shops, homes and condos. The heart of Captiva, the village is lively, the place to see and be seen. Beyond the village, and comprising the two miles of Captiva's northern end, is the large, luxurious and exclusive South Seas Island Resort, a full-service resort.

Captiva Island beaches all face west and offer incredible sunset views. Visitors and locals alike congregate for the nightly event. Like Sanibel, watersports are almost limitless. While nighttime entertainment can mean driving to Sanibel for live theater or special concerts, there’s lots of live music at the island's restaurants, bistros and lounges.

Captiva is located on Florida's southwest coast, just one hour from Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Ft. Myers. The island is a 3 hour drive from Tampa International and Ft. Lauderdale. Miami and Orlando are 4 hours away. For driving directions, see Getting Here.

Cleveland Clinic Florida, 6101 Pine Ridge Road, (239) 348-4000. The only hospital in Naples with all private rooms. Specializes in orthopedic surgery, general surgery, plastic surgery, colorectal, urology, neurology and cardiac care. Doctors and nurses subscribe to the "Healing Hospitality" program, in which a patient's comfort and emotional well-being is an integral part of the healing process.