Where IS SouthWest Florida?

Last weekend, we took a road trip to visit friends at the Grand National Paso Fino horse show in Perry Georgia. (Years ago, we were in the Paso Fino breeding and showing business. Now, as our horse friends fondly say, instead of throwing money into the horses, we are dumping money down another hole… our boat.)

We struck up a conversation with a Georgia property developer who, gasp, did not know where Fort Myers was. Naples? Nope. Sarasota? Nope. Miami? Yep.

Fair enough. Before moving here, we did not know much about the geography of Florida either. So where is exactly are we? We define SouthWest Florida as encompassing Charlotte, Lee, and Collier Counties. The primary cities, from north to south, are Punta Gorda, Cape Coral, Sanibel-Captiva, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, and Marco Island.

This illustration shows where the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan areas are in relation to well-known Florida cities: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and Key West.

This is a chief advantage of living in or visiting SouthWest Florida: proximity to other Florida attractions, whether the night life in South Beach, the beautiful bay at Tampa, the beaches of Sarasota, or the family fun in Orlando. They are all within 2 or 3 hours driving distance, close enough for a day trip or an extended weekend get-away. The playground of Key West is also in our “backyard,” a 1/2 day trip of about five and a half hours.

All this in addition to the arts, recreation, boating, fishing, and sports right here in SouthWest Florida. Whew! So much to see and do.

Getting Here. Our area is served by the SouthWest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, with direct flights from Toronto, Munich, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, New York City, Memphis, Dusseldorf, Indianapolis, Washington DC, St. Louis, Cinncinati, Boston, Chicago, and many more major cities in North America and Europe.

Alternatively, the international airports in Miami and Tampa are just a two hour drive. And there are local municipal airports for private and corporate jets.

Related Posts: On the Water, Why We Chose SouthWest FL Part 1, Part 2,

Good links for more about SouthWest Florida: Lee County Visitor Guide, Charlotte County Visitor Guide, Collier County Visitor Guide, SouthWest Florida International Airport