Anyone vactioned in Sanibel Island?

Travel Info
I am planning a trip to Sanibel in May. A friend told me the beaches have gray or dirty sand. He says the beaches aren't nice and are covered in shells with no place to lounge and catch some rays. Any opinions?

Travel Tips

From what i remember it was beautiful, and so was the close island ( Captiva ) we loved that area. Yes it is considered the shell capital, but it still has nice beaches and it was great for shell searching!

Others
I would say that is definitely not true. I have been there just a month ago and it is gorgeous. It is a laid back island and there are a lot of quaint, cute shops, restaurants and hotels to be found all over the island. While it is true that the beaches are shelly, it is not true that there is nowhere to catch some rays. There are a number of beaches on the island, and each one is a bit different. Some are wider than others, but most are pretty white sand.

On Sanibel, you can drive and access the next island over, Captiva. There is a beautiful beach on this island that I would recommend for catching rays. It is the last beach on the island chain, so you will just follow the Sanibel-Captiva road until you come to the end, where there is a public lot. it is not a far drive as this is not a huge area. There are a lot of people that use this beach to tan, shell, and just kick back. It is white sand, a wide beach and nice water.

Give Sanibel and Captiva a chance. It is sad that your friend did not have a good time, but don't let that sway you from exploring this area for yourself as it is magnificent
Your friend couldn't be more wrong.
I have lived in Florida over 35 years, and have visited just about every beach. Sanibel is one of the nicest with soft white sand. There a re a lot of seashells, and that adds to the experience. You are going to love it!
Another beach worth visiting is a about an hour or so north of Sanibel in Venice. This is the ONLY beach in Florida with black sand. It is about 3.5 miles long.
Sanibel is lovely, but it's best if you sit in a chaise on the beach. The waters are calm but cloudy; very shallow and perfect for floating on a raft. I would say that it is a perfect beach for collecting shells. We plucked dozens of whole empty conch shells from the water with our toes! The sand is not dirty, just full of shells. I've lived in South Florida for my entire 36 years and never saw a dolphin until I visited Sanibel, where I saw at least a dozen! As for eating, I recommend the Island Cow which has a huge, delicious menu and serves these amazing muffins with each meal. There are fabulous shopping opportunities on Sanibel and Captiva, it's sister island. Now I wish were going back!
personal experience