Fort Myers Beach Boat Rentals
Fort Myers beach is an annual sunshine trip we take every year to escape the cold and gloomy and visit with our friends who snowbird it down there for the winter months. Every year we make it a point to rent a boat on Fort Myers Beach and trek along the inter-coastal for an entire day. The kids search for dolphins, we may stop for lunch, and we beach hop- it’s amazing and you should experience it too!
I am here to share with you my tips, tricks, suggestions, and guides to make your boating experience a perfect one! If you have never rented a boat before, it’s no biggie really! Just make sure you stay off the big ocean and know your boat driving rules.
Boat Rentals on Fort Myers Beach:
- Salty Sams Marina. Located at 2500 Main St, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
- Marina Mike’s. Located at 18650 San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
- Moss Marina. Located at 450 Harbor Ct, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
- Holiday Adventures Tours & Boat Rentals. Located at 275 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
- Fort Myers Boat Rentals. Located at 645 Old San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
- Fish Tale. Located at 7225 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
Tips to Fort Myers Beach Boat Rentals
Tips for renting a boat on Fort Myers Beach:
- Call ahead to reserve your boat.
- Be aware of the cost of renting a pontoon. It’s typical for a half day pontoon rental to be about $175 and a full day rental be about $300. This does not include taxes and the cost of gas, which is about an extra $20.
- Confirm that the marina has life jackets for all on board, especially children’s jackets if you are bringing little people along.
- Pack coolers, towels, sunscreen, sand toys for kids.
- Make sure a phone and bluetooth speaker is charged. Sometimes the quality of the boat speakers are not very good so you won’t be able to use them. Also, running the music all day long can cause the battery to drain and you be stranded.
- Make sure another phone is charged so you can utilize your map app.
- If you do not know the beach very well, stick to the inter-coastal waterways and steer away from the open ocean waters.
- Make sure you know you’re boating safety and rules.
- Ask marina for their phone number in case you get lost or have questions.
- Ask marina for a map.
Fort Myers Beach Boat Rental Boating Safety and Rules
Boating safety and rules:
- No one under 14 years old can operate a boat.
- You must be 18 years old to rent a boat.
- Children up to the age of 8 must have a life jacket on at all times.
- Know your signs. Red triangle signs that have even numbers on them. When you are driving away from the marina and heading towards the ocean, the red signs will be on your left hand side. When you head back to the marina or away from the ocean and into the inter-coastal, these markers should be on your right.
- Know your signs. Green square signs are the opposite of the red triangles. Driving away from the marina the green signs will be on your right. Coming back to the marina the green signs will be on your left.
- You MUST drive in-between the red triangle signs and green square signs.
- Be mindful and aware of all of the other boats. A lot of boat drivers are more experienced and will tend to pass you. Be aware before you make turns.
- Boating driving directions are the same as road driving.
For a great video on the red and green signs, check out this short video!
Fort Myers Beach Boat Day Suggested Itinerary
Suggested day trip for a full day pontoon boat rental:
Our annual boating trip consists of picking up a boat from one of the marinas at the northern end of Fort Myers Beach and boating to Lovers Key State Park Beach. It’s the perfect beach that takes about two hours to get. It’s a great plan for those renting a boat for a full day. Two hours to get to the beach, two hours at the beach, and then two hours to boat back to the marina. If you want to head to Lovers Key Beach, just throw it on your fully charged phone map app and look for the blue lift bridge that you go under to get to the beach!
There are so many beautiful things to gaze out at as you boat around Fort Myers Beach. Old vintage sailboats, sailboat cruise lines, yachts, gorgeous houses, fun restaurants to visit, beaches, islands, dolphins, manatees, and birds. Honestly, the sites are endless. After nine years, the sites never get old to us, even though we see them year after year!
Explore. There are a handful of islands in the inter-coastal area of Fort Myers beach where you can park up in the sand and explore! Even though Lovers Key is not an island, you can still explore the area in the green lush woods and walk the beach to the tip. Another great spot to explore is an island five minutes north of Marina Mikes (ask the marina for the exact location, you really can’t miss it when you pull out of Marina Mikes).
If you are looking to explore more beaches from land while in Fort Myers Beach, be sure to check out my latest blog on Best Family Friendly Beaches on Fort Myers Beach!
Happy boating and exploring friends!
