What’s New in Naples, Marco Island and the Gulf Coast Everglades

What’s New in Naples, Marco Island and the Gulf Coast Everglades

New and Interesting Amenities Beckon Visitors Back to Florida’s Paradise Coast

If you haven’t visited the Paradise Coast region of Southwest Florida recently, there is plenty to explore that’s new since your last visit.  The new Naples Botanical Garden has emerged as one of the largest subtropical gardens in the South, hotels continue to upgrade and renovate in the region, a state-of-the-art children’s museum is scheduled to open in early 2012, and numerous new restaurants are opening this fall.

Naples, Marco Island and the western portion of the Everglades make up Southwest Florida’s Collier County – also known as Florida’s Paradise Coast. Collier is the largest county in the state of Florida by land area, yet more than 80% of the vast expanse of land is preserved as park and nature preserve land by federal, state, county, city and private agencies.  Beautiful white sand beaches stretch for more than 30 miles along the Naples coastline, along the shores of Marco Island, and on nearby beautiful barrier island beaches stretching south into Everglades National Park. Naples has been named “America’s Best All-Around Beach” by the Travel Channel and as the “#1 Small Art Town in America” by art critic John Villani. For more information on visiting Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades – The Paradise Coast and a free visitors guide, call 1-800-688-3600 from within the USA, or 1-239-225-1013 from outside the USA. Or, visit the area’s official visitor information website at www.paradisecoast.com. Follow the destination on Twitter @ParadiseCoast and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TheParadiseCoast.

Go Green on the Paradise Coast

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB has launched a new website designed to help eco-minded travelers find the best information on environment-friendly hotels, nature-based activities and tours, how to be an eco-friendly guest and a list of opportunities to get involved through volunteering, organizations and workshops.  Deals and packages are posted by area hotels in the Florida Green Lodging program and by eco-tour providers.  For more information, visitwww.ParadiseCoast.com/green.

Events

Fall, winter and spring are prime time for many excellent arts and seafood festivals in the region, but events take place in the destination year round.  Be sure to check the area calendar of events for visitors for detailed event listings.  There are three seafood festivals each year – the Everglades Seafood Festival the first weekend in February, the Marco Island Seafood Festival in late March and the Stone Crab Festival in late October.  During fall, winter and spring there are almost too many art festivals and events to count.  Naples has been named the #1 Small Art Town in America, and when you discover all of the local galleries, art centers and many festivals and shows you’ll appreciate why.  On October 29, 2011 the first annual Florida Panther Festival debuts at North Collier Regional Park in Naples, with guided field trips into panther territory available on Friday, October 28.  November is Celebrate the Arts Month in the region and the month gets underway in style with the Naples International Film Festival November 3-6, followed by a large selection of live performances, art openings, art shows and more. The Christmas holiday season always brings “snow” fluttering among the palm trees of the Third Street South shopping and dining district and regular free sidewalk music and entertainment at multiple area venues to liven up your evening shopping outings.

What’s New with Attractions:

Naples Botanical Garden has completed a huge renovation and build-out, completing the world-class subtropical garden with the cultivated gardens of Asia, Florida, Brazil and the Caribbean, along with a Water Garden and interactive Children’s Garden.  The garden paradise is called “Gardens With Latitude,” featuring the plants and cultures found along 26-degrees latitude North and South, along with 90-acres of beautifully-restored natural Florida habitat with hiking trails and a birding tower.

Opening in February 2012, C’mon, the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples will be an inspiring environment where children and their families play, learn and dream together.  Under construction at North Collier Regional Park in Naples, the 30,000 sq. ft. museum will feature ten spectacularly-designed, child-scaled exhibits to invite sensory and intellectual exploration.  Children’s museum specialist Mary Sinker and acclaimed exhibit designer Jack Rouse Associates conceived each exhibit as a model of three interrelated principles: an appreciation of children’s play behavior, knowledge of how an environment can influence play and learning, and an understanding of children’s developmental milestones. These three core beliefs enabled them to transform the learning landscape so that serious learning looks like play…for those who know how to look. The museum will be LEED-certified by the United States Green Building Council.  This will be the first green museum to open in Collier County and will serve as an educational learning lab as to how visitors can make their own home green. Environmentally-friendly features in C’mon include recycled materials, rainwater harvesting, natural sunlight, a wind turbine and low VOC paints throughout.  These features make the museum a much safer, healthier space for children.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Naples Nature Center has long been a leading family attraction in Naples.  The Nature Center reopens in November 2011 for a “soft opening,” but when the full campus reopens after completing a major renovation (expected reopening in fall 2012), it will be part of a state-of-the-art sustainable facility enhancement at the Conservancy campus, making the Conservancy one of the greenest nature attractions in the country.  As they create three new buildings and renovate three others, each will meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards and the center will utilize an integrated energy consumption approach through geothermal cooling, solar, LED lighting and “smart buildings” technologies.

Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, welcomed a herd of seven giraffe recently.  They are on display between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily in a temporary exhibit, while fundraising continues to build their state-of-the-art habitat, expected to open in 2012. For $5, visitors may buy tasty giraffe treats and take part in the Giraffe Feeding Experience – the first time the public has been allowed to feed animals at Naples Zoo. Three ratels, also known as African honey badgers, now call the zoo home.  Naples Zoo is one of only four American zoos where you can see this fierce species.  Naples Zoo is also the only zoo in the Southeastern United States to exhibit the fosa, a rare predator from Madagascar.  Other new state-of-the-art exhibits include Black Bear Hammock, the largest black bear exhibit at an Association of Zoos & Aquariums accredited zoo east of the Mississippi.  Leopard Rock features a floor-to-ceiling glass window that allows visitors to get eye to eye with the carnivorous cats. Newly paved pathways provide ease of passage for walkers and strollers through the zoo’s old growth botanical garden environment.  Visitors continue to enjoy the unique primate expedition cruise, a boat ride to view the cage-free island homes of the zoo’s many primate species.

Seminole Casino Immokalee has undergone a 35,000 sq. ft. expansion that includes additional gaming, dining and nightlife to the attraction.  New gaming options in place now include blackjack, several varieties of poker and Las Vegas-style slot machines.  Immokalee is located 40 minutes northeast of Naples. Public transportation is available to the casino from several Naples area locations.

Eco tours and wave workouts on stand up paddleboards, along with kite boarding, are all the rage now in Naples and Marco Island.  There are multiple locations to buy or rent equipment.  One, True Blue Water Sports, offers guided eco tours on stand up paddleboards.

Cruise Naples is a convenient one-stop-shop for family fishing charters, sightseeing boat tours, JetSki rentals and tours, and boat rentals. Located at Tin City on the Naples Waterfront, Cruise Naples has many options to get your family out on the water in a variety of ways.

Naples Marina and Excursions celebrated its grand opening recently on the banks of the naturally beautiful Cocohatchee River just north of downtown Naples.  Their slogan is “Everything on the Water.”  This is a great one-stop spot for backcountry and deep sea fishing charters, scuba diving and spear fishing, narrated nature tours by boat or kayak, sunset and party cruises, JetSki rentals and tours and much more.  They will even help arrange helicopter and bicycle tours.  They are walking distance from the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Naples, which has recently been named the #1 DoubleTree hotel worldwide for the sixth time.

The Dolphin Explorer cruise is a must for anyone interested in learning about the Paradise Coast region’s resident bottlenose dolphins.  Naturalists from the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project work on board to identify, photograph and record behaviors of the area’s dolphins.  Passengers participate as Citizen Scientists to assist with spotting dolphins and identifying various behaviors.  Data from the past five years of Dolphin Study is now available online for access by the public and educators.

Explore the swamp with experienced guide and professional nature photographer Rick Cruz, who has spent many years photographing the beauty of this unique ecosystem.  Swamp walk tours and paddling expeditions are available with Rick Cruz Expeditions as well as photo eco-safaris for photographers seeking insight into how to capture images including the rare plant life and the unique landscape of this pristine environment.

Everglades Swamp Adventures operates from landscape photographer Clyde Butcher’s Big Cypress Gallery.  They offer public swamp walks the first Saturday of each month, along with special walks arranged for private groups, and larger public swamp walk gatherings each year in February and September.

Everglades Adventure Tours provides pole boat tours of the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp wetlands with native guides, allowing you to quietly glide through the vast landscape, much as the early settlers known as Gladesmen and Native Americans did.  Florida native guide Jack Shealy provides rich narration complete with historic and cultural information about life in the Glades.  You can also select from canoe tours, swamp hikes and back country camping excursions.

Everglades Edge Backcountry Eco Tours offers guided bicycle rides through the Picayune Strand State Forest.  Both slower paced nature rides and sport rides are offered and intensity can be adjusted depending on the riders’ abilities.  You’ll also learn about the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan project underway at Picayune.  Alternatively, you can join Everglades Edge for one and two-night kayak sailing tours into the Ten Thousand Islands and Everglades National Park, departing from Everglades City.

Naples Kayak Company recently opened several new kayak launch, rental and tour locations in Naples at the Village on Venetian Bay and the Extreme Rentals station at Bayfront Marina.  They also offer guided kayak tours and rentals from the beach behind the Capri Fish House on Isles of Capri, from the Glades Haven Marina in Everglades City, and from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Naples Nature Center on the Gordon River.

Everglades Area Tours is now headquartered at JT’s Island Cafe & Gallery on Chokoloskee Island and has added multi-day kayak fishing/camping tours in the Everglades between November and April, along with sunset and full moon paddling tours, as well as half day and full day motorboat assisted kayak eco tours and fishing excursions. They also offer guided swamp walks and paddling through mangrove tunnels, along with educational information about the importance of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to the area’s hydrology and ecology.  In addition, they now offer motorboat-assisted kayak eco and fishing tours from Calusa Island Marina in the village of Goodland on Marco Island. This location provides easier access to the western 10,000 islands and Rookery Bay National Marine Estuarine Research Reserve.

Everglades Rentals & Eco Adventures, the guide service operating out of the Ivey House B&B in Everglades City, now offers guided canoe and kayak adventures year round.

Hotel Renovations & News

 

The Inn on Fifth, located along the prestigious Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples, is expanding to

include 32 all-new suites at Club Level. The expansion will take place in a brand new, three-story building across Fifth Avenue from the Inn’s current landmark location. The Club Level suites, which range from 550-900 square feet, will offer guests a separate check-in, private rooftop hot tub and sunbathing area, as well as buffet breakfast, afternoon tea, afternoon snacks, and evening cocktails and appetizers. The new building will also feature a 1,000-square-foot board room, which will increase the Inn’s meeting space to nearly 9,000 square feet. Construction is scheduled to begin on August 1, with a tentative opening scheduled for November 2012. The first floor of the 40,000-square-foot building will feature retail space, including JP Morgan Chase and a national woman’s retail store.

Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club opened a new $5 million swimming pool complex in early 2010 with two beachside pools, one a large recreational pool and the other a more secluded quiet pool.  The pool complex includes private cabanas and a bar with food service, and provides an appealing tropical event space close to the Gulf of Mexico for evening sunset events.  The resort also has completed an extensive upgrade of guest rooms and guest bathrooms, and recently reopened their golf course after renovations that   include new grass on all of the fairways and twelve of the greens.

LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort recently refreshed the luxurious guest rooms with new bed linens, decor and fresh paint, including the addition of an accent wall. The poolside cabana furnishings have been completely updated, and upgraded package options are available. The resort’s signature fine-dining restaurant Baleen boasts new furnishings including new chandeliers, chairs and a large group dining table. Baleen was recently awarded the prestigious “Award of Excellence 2009″ by Wine Spectator magazine.  In addition to updates to the resort’s rooms and restaurant, an extensive landscaping project is in progress to add to the lush tropical landscaping already in place at the resort.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples beach resort, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, has added $6 million worth of new venues and enhancements. VUE, or Virtual User Experience, is a state-of-the-art interactive entertainment lounge featuring all of the latest and most popular interactive virtual-reality games played via consoles hooked up to 40” LCD TVs.  The new Sushi Bar features a stunning 150-gallon fish tank.  The tropical ambiance of the Gulf-front Gumbo Limbo casual restaurant was enhanced by the addition of a roofed area and an expanded boardwalk.  The Sand Bar opened with a hip Tiki roof, a hand-carved wooden bar and unique cypress-stump chairs for guests to enjoy spectacular Gulf of Mexico views and tropical beverages.  Nature’s Wonders offers children an interactive sanctuary complete with eleven aquariums including two touch tanks and a lab complete with microscopes.  =H2O+, an adult retreat located on the third floor of The Spa, celebrates fresh, healthy and creative cuisine. The resort’s traditional Lobby Lounge has been updated with elegant hardwood flooring and new furnishings, and becomes Bites in the evenings, serving globally-inspired small plate cuisine. The resort, along with sister property The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples was named to the Top 100 Mainland U.S.A. Large Resorts list in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveler Reader Survey.

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples has a new children’s program called Eye Wonders that enhances children’s awareness of the universe around us.  Half-day programs include Bird’s Eye View, Eye on the Moon, Eye on the Sun, Eye on the Solar System and Eye on Star Gazing.

Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa is celebrating the completion of a $225 million renovation and redesign that has infused every moment with the spirit of Balinese beauty, hospitality and well-being and added even more wondrous experiences to this already acclaimed destination resort.  Nestled on three miles of pristine Southwest Florida beaches, the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort Golf Club and Spa is the perfect destination for a family vacation, a romantic retreat, a memorable meeting or an unforgettable wedding. With several renowned restaurants, championship golf, a world-class spa and a wide range of activities and amenities, the re resort offers even more – including upscale shops for men and women, a free-form fantasy pool with views of the Florida Gulf, new dining options and completely redesigned and redecorated guest rooms.  The resort was named to the Top 100 Mainland U.S.A. Large Resorts list in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveler Reader Survey.

The Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa recently renovated guestrooms and meeting space and now has a luxurious new 10,000 sq. ft. spa.

The Marco Beach Ocean Resort has renovated all 98 of its luxurious guest suites.  The resort is located on the beach on Marco Island.

The Lemon Tree Inn in Naples has planted a butterfly garden and, in honor of the renovation and reopening of Naples Botanical Garden, all of the boutique hotel’s rooms have been renovated, each in a unique Caribbean island style.

The Naples Grande Beach Resort underwent a multimillion dollar renovation that transformed its lobby and several aspects of its meeting space in 2007, after being renamed Naples Grande Beach Resort from the previous Registry Resort.  The hotel, and its sister property, the Edgewater Beach Hotel, have now joined Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria Collection.

“Discover Crayton Cove” and Explore Naples’ Most Historic Neighborhood

The Cove Inn, a Naples staple known for down-home breakfasts at their coffee shop, is offering visitors the chance to experience the luxury of Naples for just $80 a night with a 2-night minimum stay now through December 15, 2011. Located in Naples’ historic Crayton Cove neighborhood, guests at the Cove Inn can take advantage of the “Discover Crayton Cove” vacation package that includes special deals at Crayton Cove’s restaurants, art galleries, shops and charter boats.

 

Spas & Wellness

Simply Faces is a new spa service providing both pampering and healing facial, skin and relaxation treatments at two Naples Community Hospital locations   Services include organic cleansing facials that increase oxygen flow and melt away stress, the ancient Ayurvedic Shirodhara treatment, anti-aging eye treatments, back facials and make up lessons and application.  Aesthetician Susan Watts is certified in Clinical Oncology Esthetics and also specializes in assisting cancer patients with gentle treatments to relieve pain and burning brought on by chemotherapy or radiation, as well as providing deep relaxation.

Fit Solutions Naples provides onsite training for corporate, girl’s getaway or wedding groups.  They’ll tailor your workout to your group’s needs from water Aerobics to an intense beach FIT Camp.

The Shopping Scene

Trader Joe’s grocery store, popular with a cult-like following on the west coast of the U.S., is coming to Naples with a store opening in late 2011 – the first in Florida.  The store will be located in the Granada Shoppes in north Naples, in the location of the former Border’s bookstore.

Marissa Collections on trendy Third Street South now includes Alexis Bittar accessories and has added Loquita scarves and Meredith Wendell bags, jewelry and belts to its extensive collection of designer fashions.  Waterproof, colorful and affordable Rumba Time watches, co-founded by Marissa’s own Jay Hartington, are available in a wide variety of vibrant colors.

Miromar Outlets, Southwest Florida’s largest designer outlet mall, continues to expand with the opening of a Bloomingdale’s outlet.

The Mercato shopping, dining, entertainment and residential complex in north Naples now includes a Bio New York boutique, with women’s casual to evening wear as well as accessories, shoes and handbags.

It’s All About Me by Patchington is a new specialty boutique offering resort fashions and accessories for women, located on Fifth Avenue South just west of The Inn on Fifth.

Contemporary German fashion house Basler has an 1100-square-foot freestanding boutique at Waterside Shops in Naples, the first-ever in the United States.

Naples Soap Company in the Tin City Waterfront Marketplace offers more than 70 handmade artisan soaps custom crafted with natural ingredients.  Each bar contains beneficial ingredients like aloe, honey, olive oil, goat’s milk, herbs, spices, and natural clay for color.  They recently introduced Beer Soaps, with rich, conditioning anti-bacterial lather perfect for men’s skin.  Choose from Corona, Dos Equis, Guinness, Sam Adams, Stella Artois, Blue Moon, Red Stripe and many more selections.  Naples Soap Company also offers custom branding for personal, special events and corporations. Soaps are custom stamped with event or company name or logo to create a uniquely personalized gift.

The Local Restaurant Scene Continues to Expand:
Agave Southwestern Grill is one of several new additions to the north Naples dining scene.  Southwestern cuisine including authentic Sonoran moles, fresh made tortillas and tamales, guacamole made tableside and a selection of more than 200 tequilas are all on the menu.

Osetra Champagne & Caviar Bar recently opened on Fifth Avenue South in Naples.  Osetra’s menu selections include salads, chilled shrimp, crab and lobster cocktails and platters, as well as steak, lobster and pasta.  The extensive caviar menu ranges from affordable to astronomical.  There is a lengthy list of champagnes, wines and beers by the glass.

Citrus also opened recently on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples.  The specialty here is fresh seafood obtained from local fishermen.  This is the place to go if you are looking for tasty Gulf of Mexico seafood treats that are normally only accessible if you catch them yourself – flavorful selections such as tripletail, cobia and hog fish, along with fresh grouper and snapper.  As the name implies, many of the preparations include a fresh citrus twist.

L’étoile, French for The Star, opens in north Naples on 11/11/11 featuring classic French cuisine including preparations with local seafood, roast duck, foie gras, lobster bisque, French onion soup, Seafood Napoléon, crab cakes, crepes and soufflés.

Just north of Mercato in north Naples, a new Seasons 52 fresh grill and wine bar opens in October.  Seasons 52 features a seasonally-inspired menu and an award-winning international wine list with casually sophisticated ambiance.

A new waterfront restaurant is expected to open in November.  The 360 Restaurant & Market is located just east of the Gordon River on Haldeman Creek in the previous location of the Tipsy Seagull.  The tin-roofed wooden restaurant will have nine boat slips available for boat-up diners.

Coming soon to Old Naples is Barbatella, a new kind of restaurant that will grow on you in the same way that the leaves and branches of a grape vine develop out of a shoot: a barbatella. Barbatella will offer an extensive menu that incorporates fresh interpretations of authentic dishes from many regions of Italy and the Mediterranean, brought to you by the owners of Sea Salt.  Expect this new dining spot in late 2011 or early 2012.

Pate’s House of Prime Rib opens this October in Coastland Center mall in the former Naples location of Ted’s Montana Grill. The restaurant’s specialty, prime rib, will be served from a custom-made trolley in an English pub setting. The menu also features New York strip steak, filet mignon, several seafood dishes and a variety of chicken entrees.

Sea Salt opened in late 2008, bringing a fresh new dining choice to the Third Street South area.  Chef Fabrizio Aielli, a former Naples Winter Wine Festival celebrity chef, is inspired by the Southwest Florida seafood repertoire and uses organic and local produce, wild caught seafood, poultry and meat raised naturally along with fresh and seasonal ingredients. A Chef’s Table that seats 11 is now available for multi-course tasting dinners or regular menu selections with close interaction with the chef and his team. Sea Salt was named one of the Top Twenty New Restaurants for 2009 by Esquire magazine.

M Waterfront Grill at the Village on Venetian Bay specializes in cutting edge continental cuisine utilizing fresh and organic ingredients, all with a view of Venetian Bay. Also now at the Village, are Mira Mare, featuring authentic Italian dishes with a lovely view of Venetian Bay, along with 20-yera local favorite Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar, recently reopened after extensive renovation to enhance its beautiful water views.  Cloyde’s Steak & Lobster House has also undergone extensive renovation.  The fresh look and new menu innovations at all the restaurants at the Village make it easy to wander from place, creating your own progressive dining experience, all with beautiful water views.

The Mercato development is a vibrant and growing center with upscale condominium homes, retail shops, restaurants and entertainment in North Naples that is fast becoming the new hot nightlife spot in the region.  Rocky Patel’s first USA signature cigar and spirits bar is now open at Mercato, called Burn by Rocky Patel. Also at Mercato are AZN pan-Asian restaurant and The Pub at the Mercato, an authentic English Pub, a restaurant and lounge for pre and post-film dining at Silverspot Luxury Cinema, Capital Grille, Bravo! Cucina Italiana featuring fresh Italian cuisine, Piola wood fired brick oven pizza, Stage 62 Delicatessen and the innovative Pure Urban Oasis.

Three restaurants in the historic Crayton Cove district alongside Naples City Dock offer a Cook My Catch special.  Go straight from your fishing charter at Naples City Dock to either The Dock at Crayton Cove, Bamboo Café or Bleu Provence for Cook My Catch specials.  The three restaurants also offer the Crayton Cove Classic Daiquiri.

Norman Love Confections has opened a Chocolate Salon in Naples.  The new Chocolate Salon carries all the award-winning confections that have made the Fort Myers-based confectionary store famous, and has recently introduced NLC Italian gelato to the Naples community. The new Euro chic retail space is a combination confection shop and coffee bar. The nearly 1,263-square-foot shop includes a complete selection

of NLC ultra-premium, handcrafted artisanal chocolates, pastries, desserts such as pies, cakes and cookies, breakfast bakeries including croissants, muffins and Danish, specialty coffees, cappuccinos and smoothies.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples Lobby Bar, while continuing to serve guests throughout the day, takes on the additional identity of Bites, a tapas restaurant, in the evening.  Bites serves small tastes from an innovative global cuisine menu, along with live contemporary music a Latin American accent.  At The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, the Bella Vista Lounge transforms into Global from 4pm to 10 pm each evening, offering cuisine tastes from around the world.

Texas Tony’s BBQ Shack serves delicious smoked barbeque at its first recently-opened location just east of downtown Naples.

Always on the culinary cutting-edge, Naples Tomato was the first Florida restaurant to introduce the fresh “mozzarella bar,” a cheese tasting concept already popular in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and throughout Europe. The mozzarella cheese tasting concept is the same as with Naples Tomato’s approach to wine in that many varieties are available in small portions by the glass from its self-serve Enomatic system, which allows the taster to compare flavor, texture and style. Naples Tomato also recently added a full Sunday brunch from 10 am to 2:30 pm.  They also just introduced an innovative iPad sommelier application to assist customers in choosing vintages from their extensive wine list.  iPads with the new application are available at every table.

Naples Originals is an organization of locally-owned, non-chain restaurants that lend an air of uniqueness and authenticity to the Naples dining experience. Naples Originals restaurants hold a variety of

Restaurant Weeks featuring 3-course fixed price meals, and they also have gift certificate sales through NaplesOriginals.com offering discounts at all member restaurants.

Pets in Paradise

A new City of Naples dog park called Central Bark is now open, located at Goodlette-Frank Road and Central Avenue at the City’s Government Services Complex.  Other area dog parks include Rover Run at Veteran’s Community Park north of downtown Naples and the Canine Cove dog park at Mackle Park on Marco Island.  The area’s visitor information website www.paradisecoast.com has information on pet friendly hotels, restaurants and more in the Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City areas

Updated Neighborhood

North Naples

The area north of downtown Naples continues to expand.  Waterside Shops at Pelican Bay welcomed a new Nordstrom’s department store and a newly expanded Saks Fifth Avenue.  The contemporary German fashion house Basler opened its first boutique in the United States at Waterside.  Other new shops include Kate Spade, De Beers, Juicy Couture, Van Cleef & Arpels and Salvatore Ferragamo.  Also in North Naples, the new Mercato development continues to welcome new restaurants and shops, including the Whole Foods natural and organic market, PURE Urban Oasis, Capital Grille, AZN, McCormick & Schmick’s seafood, The Pub (an authentic English Pub), Bravo!, Blue Martini, Burn by Rocky Patel and more.  An upscale movie theater, Silverspot Luxury Cinema, opened in summer 2009 featuring independent and art films along with general release movies.

Getting Here & Getting Around
Air service is available to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Ft. Myers just north of Naples via most major air carriers.  Non-stop service is available to 48 destinations – 43 domestic and 5 international.

Comefly provides nonstop service to Aalborg, Denmark that began in the summer of 2011 and will resume for the time period of December 19, 2011 through April 9, 2012.  Service is on a two-class 358-seat Monarch Airlines A330.  This is the only nonstop service between the United States and Aalborg and the only service provided by any carrier from the State of Florida to Denmark.

Air Berlin offers nonstop service between Ft. Myers and Dusseldorf; Air Canada and WestJet fly nonstop to Toronto; and Air Canada also flies direct to Montreal. For visitors flying in to Miami, you can hop on a 20-minute flight on one of American Eagle’s three daily nonstop flights, or there is a two-hour drive to the Naples area.  There is a one-and-a-half to two-hour drive from the Ft. Lauderdale airport, and from Orlando, you can take a 30-minute flight on one of Southwest Airlines’ four daily nonstop flights between Orlando and Ft. Myers, or it is a four-hour drive.  There are many convenient flights into Ft. Myers from major points of entry including New York and Atlanta.

Naples Trolley Tours provides narrated two-hour tours with stops at most area resorts, shopping districts and attractions.  Riders may purchase a ticket good for an entire day to hop on and off as many times as they like.  Dolphin Transportation operates a Historic Trolley Tour in a restored turn-of-the-century trolley that is fully enclosed and air conditioned.  This tour provides lots of local history while getting around from area hotels to shopping destinations and other convenient stops.

The Naples Bay Water Shuttle service provides fun, low cost transportation between the main waterfront locations of Naples Bay Resort, Bayfront, Tin City and Naples City Dock, with access to the Crayton Cove and Third Street South areas of downtown Naples.  The water shuttle operates 7 evenings a week in the fall, winter and spring, and on Tuesday through Sunday evenings in the summer months.  For one $5 ticket, you can hop on and off as many times as you like in one evening, and wine and beer are sold onboard.  Call for information on special tours with narration about the fascinating history of the Old Naples Waterfront.

How to Save
The Paradise Coast Preferred Pass is all about value.   The best hotel rates and packages, along with deals and discounts on dining, attractions, golf, tours and shopping, are all listed in one convenient place atwww.paradisecoast.com/deals.  These Paradise Priced Perfectly deals offer the very best in accommodations values, along with easy access to the Preferred Pass discounts offered by attractions, tours, restaurants,

shops and more.  Visitors can pick up the Preferred Pass at area visitor centers, which is embedded with a digital tag readable by smart phones, directing users to the many excellent attraction, tour, dining and shopping deals in the area. Visitors who would like to take in the tropical atmosphere of the Paradise Coast on a budget have some excellent choices.  Many hotels offer value-priced rates throughout the year that leave plenty of room in your travel budget to splurge on dining, spa treatments, shopping, fishing charters, eco tours and more.  Also, prices on hotel rooms and golf course greens fees drop by as much as one third to one half off of peak winter season rates during the slower months of May through December.

The Coast is Clear

Southwest Florida’s Paradise Coast, including the beach resort communities of Naples and Marco Island, never received any oil from Gulf of Mexico oil spill that occurred in summer 2010.  Be sure to watch the premiere episode of the visitors bureau’s new Web video series, Adventures in Paradise, featuring a local chef using clear and clean Gulf of Mexico seawater to cook a delicious linguine and crab sauce dish.  Check live Web cams at our Beach Conditions page.

For more information on Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades – The Paradise Coast, call 1-800-688-3600 for a free visitors guide from within the USA, or dial 1-239-225-1013 from outside the USA; or go to the area’s official visitor information website, www.ParadiseCoast.com. Follow the destination on Twitter @ParadiseCoast and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TheParadiseCoast.