Skip to content
GoldeneyeGulf
Sea oats and palms framing a quiet Gulf Coast shoreline at golden hour

Real places · Local stories · Gulf Coast life

More Thanthe Beach.

The places worth finding across Southwest Florida — from local favorites and waterfront tables to hidden beaches, weekend plans and places to stay.

Explore the Gulf
A very wide expanse of white sand with two umbrellas near the waterline and dark green Gulf water beyond

Feature

An Afternoon at Lovers Key

A Sunday in late June on the barrier island — the long bridge walk, the mangrove creeks below it, and two miles of Gulf beach at the other end.

Read the story

HAPPENING NOW

Island Hopper Songwriter Fest 2026

September 18–27, 2026

An outdoor waterfront crowd watching a songwriter perform during Island Hopper Songwriter Fest.
Photo courtesy of Fort Myers – Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods.

Follow 100 organizer-listed performances across Captiva Island, Cape Coral, Downtown Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach. Explore the schedule by date, area and venue.

Explore the Festival Schedule

Goldeneye Gulf is an independent local discovery publication and is not the festival organizer.

Find your Gulf

What are you looking for?

Eat well, stay somewhere special, find something to do — or just see what’s happening.

Start here

Editor’s Picks

New picks are being verified. Published stories will appear here as they go live.

Go somewhere

Explore the Gulf Coast

View all areas

  • Bonita Beach

    Bonita Beach is the Gulf-front neighborhood of Bonita Springs, reached by Bonita Beach Road and running along Hickory Boulevard. Public shoreline access is verified at two points: Bonita Beach Park, a Lee County beachfront park at the southern tip of the beach, and Barefoot Beach Preserve, a Collier County coastal preserve on an undeveloped barrier island. Alongside them the graph holds one beachfront restaurant, Doc's Beach House, and two accommodation operators, Bonita Dolphin Beach Rental and Sands Real Estate & Property Management.

    Explore

  • Bonita Springs

    Bonita Springs is a city on the southwest coast of Florida, in Lee County, and the widest area Goldeneye Gulf currently covers. Two parts of it are mapped in detail: the Old 41 Downtown district inland and the Bonita Beach neighborhood on the Gulf shoreline. The records verified here run from city and county parks and a botanical garden to restaurants, a rooftop bar and vacation-rental and property-management operators. Lovers Key State Park is recorded as near the city rather than within it.

    Explore

  • Old 41 Downtown

    Old 41 Downtown is the historic downtown district of Bonita Springs, and every record Goldeneye Gulf has verified here carries an Old 41 Road address. They are Riverside Park, the City of Bonita Springs park that hosts most city special events; the Wonder Gardens, a botanical garden and refuge for rescued birds and reptiles; and two places to eat and drink, The Bohemian Restaurant and the open-air Rooftop at Riverside. It is the inland counterpart to Bonita Beach, the other part of the city mapped so far.

    Explore

A Goldeneye Gulf editorial series

CoasttoToast

Eat. Drink. Go out.

Our food, drink and going-out desk: waterfront tables, neighborhood bars, sunset pours and the nights worth staying out for across Southwest Florida.

Coast to Toast pieces are written from firsthand visits. None are published yet — in the meantime, the Eat & Drink hub collects the places we have verified.

Explore Eat & Drink

What’s happening

This Week Around the Gulf

New happenings are being verified. Check back as the local calendar fills in.