
Come home with more than a tan after a visit to South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island in Southwest Florida. Get your sailing certification from Offshore Sailing School, the #1 sailing school in the country, in as little as three days. If you have more time, take the five-day course and you can qualify to earn your US Sailing Certification.

Stay in beautiful accommodations in a hotel suite, one- to three-bedroom villa, a beach home or condo, all just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico or Pine Island Sound. My room overlooked the Yacht Harbour and Marina where a family of manatees likes to hang out most of the year and I spotted dolphins frolicking there several times. Non-sailors can enjoy the beach, shopping, a spa, fishing, waterside yoga classes and tooling around the resort on a golf cart, one of my favorite modes of transportation.

Kids will go crazy over Scoops & Slices where pizza, ice cream and candy rule. They can enroll in the Sanibel Sea School on their own to learn about the wonders of the ocean or enjoy a customized session with the entire family. The Swimtastic program offers swim lessons for infants through adults, featuring mermaid and pirate photo shoots and the opportunity to learn to swim with a mermaid tail. I was really tempted to go full Ariel myself at South Seas. This article appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Travelgirl magazine.