1. Cabbage Key

• Best For: Ditching the car. There are actually no cars on the island, not even a paved road. Boats, including water taxis, are the only way to reach Cabbage Key.
• Sleep: Full of antique furnishings, the tiny Dollhouse cottage at Cabbage Key Inn, was built in the 1930's by the family of playwright and novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart and offers a gorgeous view of Pine Island Sound.
• Best Eats: Take a Captiva Cruise, which departs from Cabbage Key, for the exclusive bonus of dining at the private Useppa Island Club. One taste of the coconut-crusted shrimp dipped in citrus Coco Lopez sauce, and you'll be glad you found your way here.
• Play: Kayak around Cabbage Key alongside porpoises, or hike its tree-lined paths. cabbagekey.com, useppa.com, captivacruises.com

2. Charlotte Harbor

• Best For: Bird lovers. In winter, when thousands of white pelicans make the flight from Montana to White Pelican Island in Gasparilla Sound, birders armed with binoculars and cameras head out with Boca Boats for an up-close evening encounter. Wrap the weekend with a hike through Alligator Creek to spot swallows, warblers and other migrants.
• Sleep: Punta Gorda's Wyvern Hotel is a boutique property with a rooftop pool and lounge overlooking the tranquility of Charlotte Harbor. bocaboat.com, thewyvernhotel.com

3. Everglades City

• Best For: Natural immersion. Everglades City doesn't have a mall, a traffic light or even a beach, and that's why naturalists and anglers love it. On the Everglades' northern fringes, the city is surrounded by nothingness and back-bay waters ? the perfect backdrop for adventure.
• Don't Miss: The 103-year-old Smallwood Store in nearby Chokoloskee was the trading post for Everglades pioneers. Fakahatchee Strand Preserve is home to the summer-blooming ghost orchid.
• Sleep: The Ivey House, a lodge and B&B, has its own eco guides who tailor paddling, hiking and backwater fishing excursions (October through April). paradisecoast.com, iveyhouse.com

4. Gasparilla Island

• Best For: Quiet Elegance. Cross the bridge over Charlotte Harbor to Gasparilla Island, where pink and purple bougainvillea cover stone walls guarding private waterfront residences. Continue to the southern tip of the narrow island, where the Boca Grande commercial district awaits.
• Explore: Walk or bicycle through Boca Grande, stopping at indie boutiques and bakeries for fresh coffee and a serving of Southern hospitality. Afterward, a spin down Banyan Road, made famous when the movie Hoot filmed here, is a canopied ride back in time.
• Sleep: Guests drive golf carts past flower gardens to the historic Gasparilla Inn & Cottages' pretty yellow homes. Spacious bedrooms dressed in summer pastels and crisp floral patterns connect to central living areas and screened porches that catch the cool breeze.
• Impulse: Park on any side street off the main road, and walk through a tunnel of sea-grape trees to the beach for an impromptu swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Best Eats: It's OK to dress up for dinner here. The inn's main dining room is tastefully tropical with a view of the island golf course. Order the glazed lump crab with hollandaise sauce. the-gasparilla-inn.com

5. Gulf Islands

• Best For: Island-hopping. From the posh homes and stately condos of Longboat Key to the no-frills ambience of Anna Maria Island, the isles surrounding Sarasota are a fun, eclectic bunch. Start your day with a guided hike with Karen Fraley of Around the Bend Nature Tours at Emerson Point Conservation Preserve in nearby Bradenton. She'll share the area's Native American heritage and even take you dip-netting in the preserve's grass flats. Later stop at the Parker Manatee Aquarium, home to Snooty, the nation's oldest manatee.
• Best Eats: The beachfront Gulf Drive Café is the ideal breakfast spot for towering yogurt parfaits and pancake stacks. Afterward, walk it all off with a stroll along the shore, just outside the restaurant.
• Sleep: Hilton Longboat Key has rooms with views of one of the best beaches on the Gulf coast. Dine on the deck at Latitudes Beach Café underneath an old oak tree with the beach just steps away. floridasgulfislands.com

6. Lake Okeechobee

• Best For: Anglers. With its plethora of birds and fish (especially largemouth bass), Lake Okeechobee, the country's second-largest freshwater lake, is a nature-lover's paradise. If you want to cast a line, let the folks at the Roland and Mary Ann Martin Marina & Resort book your fishing trip. Later brag about your catch over cold beers at Scotty's Tiki Bar.
• Sleep: The plantation-style Clewiston Inn is near the sugar-cane fields. rolandmartinmarina.com

7. The Londoner

• Best For: Those who pine for all things British. Charming Brits Jennifer and John Taylor created downtown Bradenton's first B&B when they refurbished a yellow Victorian home, complete with a dainty wraparound porch and white picket fence. If you're a fan of royalty, book the Victoria Suite, in honor of the queen. It boasts photographs of Victoria and Albert, and of course, a queen-size four-poster bed.
• Best Stroll: Walk a few blocks along the waterfront to the neighboring South Florida Museum for an interesting look at state history and geology.
• Don't Miss: Traditional afternoon tea. thelondonerinn.com

8. Pine Island

• Best For: Catching tarpon and a little island-hopping. Pine Island doesn't have a single beach, and it can count the number of golf courses on just one finger. Still, you'll hardly miss these amenities while napping on a hammock, fishing anywhere along the 17-mile island's coast or exploring its history at Calusa Heritage Trail.
• Sleep: Tarpon Lodge, a converted 1920s Old Florida home with inn-style rooms and cottages, sits so close to Pine Island Sound that the waves lull you to sleep.
• Don't Miss: Matlacha (pronounced Mat-La-Shay), the barrier island between the Cape Coral mainland and Pine Island, has a dozen browse-worthy art galleries and antiques stores painted the color of tropical fruits. Stop by the stunning pottery and jewelry studios of Chuck and Nancy Koucky.
• Best Eats: The lodge's blue crab and roasted corn chowder. tarponlodge.com, kouckygallery.com

9. Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort

• Best For: A golf-packed long weekend. The resort's 36-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course provides the ultimate test of man versus green and plenty of natural eye candy. Rick Smith, the go-to golf guru for pros like Phil Mickelson, gives one-on-one instruction at his on-site academy.
• Best Eats: No need to leave the resort. Lemonia features a new Tuscan menu (try the agnolotti pasta with butter-poached lobster). You can also opt to relive your round on the Bella Vista Terrace while sipping a pojito (pineapple-infused rum and fresh mint) made with herbs from the chef's garden.
• Pet Friendly: The Ritz is the only resort in Naples that caters to canines. It has "petiquette" classes, dog-biscuit turndown service and a new doggie dining area next to its poolside grill. ritzcarlton.com

10. Sanibel

• Best For: Travelers who want to try it all. This lush tropical island has multiple personalities, each with its own magnetic sense of humor. Outdoorsy types will love exploring the habitats of birds, gators and all manner of subtropical flora and fauna at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, either by foot on its many trails and boardwalks, or by car along a paved road.
• Best Eats: Gourmands will love the surprisingly large selection of high-quality restaurants, including authentic Italian amidst a supper-club-like ambience at Dolce Vita ? a surprising find in an island setting.
• Sleep: Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa is the ideal home for those who love spas as much as they love to lie by a Gulf-side pool. The on-site marina is the launchpad for sunset cruises, ecotours by kayak and shelling excursions to nearby islands. sanibel-captiva.org