Cruise for Shells at Cayo Costa State Park

La Costa Island, off of Captiva Island

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A last-minute invitation to hop on board the pontoon boat Santiva for a shelling excursion with Captiva Cruises was too good to turn down. With a 9 a.m. departure from McCarthy’s Marina on Captiva Island, I plied the waters of Pine Island Sound en route to La Costa Island, better known as Cayo Costa State Park. Joining a small group of shell seekers, I disembarked on this Southwest Florida island covered in tangled mangroves and native brush. More feral hogs, raccoons and ospreys reside here than humans. A negative tide left the shoreline outlined with thick layers of small seashells; excited with the find, two boys eagerly filled their empty Coke bottles with chips of shells. As we scattered out in search of treasure, it wasn’t difficult to spot spiral-shaped conch and fan-shaped conkle shells and even fragments of sand dollars, but it took a keen eye to pick out the olive shells and a dose of good luck to find a large conch shell with the bright red animal still inside. Yet, in the two hours on the island, we scoured the beach and found them all! Some we took home with us; others, like the live conch, we threw back in the surf after photos-ops.

Book the full or half-day beach and shelling cruise with Captiva Cruises.

Tags: Captiva Cruises | Captiva Island | Cayo Costa State Park | shelling