Area Attractions

[Local Website Links]  [Excursions]

Restaurants

• The Vanderbilt Inn has breakfast, lunch and dinner inside and lunch and dinner and entertainment nightly Weds - Sun. The outside bar is near the beach and called the Chickee Hut.  It has a lot of great sandwiches and tropical drinks.
  
  
• About a 1/4 mile down the beach from the Vanderbilt Inn is the La Playa. My favorite place to have breakfast. You can sit outside and look on the water and the coffee is good. Food and service is decent. The price seems to include the view. They serve lunch and dinner as well. Their website has a photo showing a view of the gulf from your table.
  
  
• Another 1/4 mile down the beach is The Turtle Club. Very very good. If you make dinner reservations well in advance you can get a table by the beach and watch the sunset with dinner. They also serve lunch. Currently they are building a new condo right beside it... so it's a little crazy over there during the day.
  
  
• If you walk a little more (another 1/4 mile), you'll be at The Ritz Carlton. It has two restaurants, as well and the Gumbo Limbo by the beach. Good for sunsets and fruity drinks but a little more pricey.
  
  
• The Sea Witch is across the street from The Turtle Club on the bay side. Quaint little locals type place. Good food and reasonable prices.
  
  
• Close by is Buzz's Lighthouse with fried food and sandwiches, lunch and dinner. A couple blocks South is Da Ru Ma, a Japanese steakhouse. You're seated around the stoves for the cooks to show off.
  
  
• My favorite restaurants on Fifth Avenue are:
  
  • Chop City Grill
  • Vergina
  • Bistro 821
  • McCabe’s Irish Pub
  • Pazzo! Italian Café
  • Yabba’s Island Grill
  • Zoes (Pronounced Zo-ees)
    
    
• Another great area for restaurants is a couple blocks south on Third Street. My favorites are:
  • Campiello’s - The calamari appetizer is the best!
  • Tommy Bahama’s

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Local Website Links

• A website listing for the whole area can be found at http://www.entreenaples.com/map.phtml (Vanderbilt Beach is at the upper part of the map.)
  
  
• Here's another good map: http://www.vanderbiltbeachvacation.com/links.htm
  
  
• Local weather: http://www.wunderground.com/US/FL/Naples.html
  
  
• Fifth Avenue area in Old Naples: http://www.fifthavenuesouth.com and http://www.fifthavenuesouth.com/restaurants_cafes.php

Excursions

• If you are interested in a trip to Key West, I have a friend who flies daily charters from Marco Island on a twin prop 6-seater plane. Lovely scenic way to see the Keys and it only takes 30 minutes without the hassle of the commercial airlines or airports. They also do scheduled excursions to the Bahamas for groups of 4 or more. Contact Peggy Villiard at the Marco Island airport at (239) 394-0010 for schedules and rates. Let them know I sent you.

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