Marco Island has plenty of what families need

Sun-Sentinel

June 6, 2004

Recipe for kid fun: a great beach, good accommodations, lots of things to do. That's what Marco Island offers families taking a short break from the daily grind.

Hotels and restaurants keep kids in mind too. Most eateries offer children's menus. Large hotels provide supervised programs, giving parents some of that elusive alone time.

This Gulf Coast island possesses one of Florida's best beaches -- and it's the broad, 3 1/2-mile crescent that is the focus of most kid activity.

Wading for wee ones: The shore deepens gradually, so there is always a lot of shallow wading water for toddlers. And the beaches are so wide that there's plenty of room to stretch out on a towel, build sand castles or sharpen Frisbee skills.

Shelling tours: Because Marco, along with Sanibel Island, offers some of the best shelling in the country, many families comb the beach for whelks, olives and other shells. More avid shell collectors can take a boat tour to offshore sand bars and uninhabited isles where more treasures await.

Kayaks and sailboats: Beachfront operators stand ready to rent sailboats, canoes, kayaks and other water craft. Marco Island Water Sports (239-394-4344; marcoislandwater sports.com), for instance, rents Yamaha Waverunners for $65 per half-hour or $120 an hour (single or double), Hobie Cat sailboats for $35 an hour and kayaks for $25. Or the company will take you on a guided Waverunner tour from the beach into the waters of the adjacent Ten Thousand Islands for $120 an hour.

Parasailing: If you've always wanted a bird's-eye view of the beach, a parasail ride is yours for $70, including a foot dip.

Dining: Visitors have a choice of nearly 100 restaurants offering everything from inexpensive fish sandwiches to elegant cuisine, and most of them are child-friendly. Bimini's even has a supervised playroom, so Mom and Dad can eat in peace while the kids play.

Where to stay

The bulk of the accommodations on the island are condominiums and time-shares, most of which have minimum stays of at least a week. For short stays, most families opt for one of five main hotels; the first three listed have kids' programs:

Marco Island Marriott Resort, 400 S. Collier Blvd.; 1-800-438-4373; marcoislandmarriott.com.

Hilton's Marco Beach Resort, 560 S. Collier Blvd.; 239-394-5000; hilton.com.

Radisson Suite Beach Resort, 600 S. Collier Blvd., 239-394-4100; marcobeachresort.com.

Marco Beach Ocean Resort, 480 S. Collier Blvd., 1-800-260-5089; marcoresort.com.

Olde Marco Inn, 100 Palm St., 1-877-475-3466; oldmarco.com.

For more information on visiting Marco Island, call the Greater Naples, Marco Island & the Everglades Convention and Visitor Bureau, 1-800-688-3600, or see classicflorida.com.

Activities

Water sports: Marco Island Ski and Water Sports (239-394-4344, marcoislandwatersports.com) rents personal watercraft, hobie cats, etc., as well as parasailing, guided excursions to Everglades.

Boat excursions: Sea Excursions (239-642-6400, seaexcursions. com) operates the Shell Cat, which picks up passengers from the Hilton beach for twice-daily shelling trips to barrier islands, $35. It also runs sailing and sunset cruises with Kahuna Katamarans (239-642-7704, sail-ka huna.com). Sunshine Tours (239-642-5415, sunshinetoursmarcoisland .com) takes passengers on fishing, shelling, sightseeing, sunset cruises.

Marco Movies (599 S. Collier Blvd.; 239-642-1111) is a cinema pub with salads, cheese steak sandwiches, fajitas, burgers, soda, beer and wine. Movie tickets: $5.75 for kids under age 12 and $8 for others.

Tigertail Beach County Park is a playground and beach for those not staying in a beachfront hotel.