Marco Island's enviable crescent of white quartz sand on the Gulf of Mexico made its rapid development inevitable of luxury vacation homes. The skyline of old fishing shacks has been replaced by numerous high rise hotels and condominiums reminiscent of Miami Beach Luxury rentals. Yet this cookie-cutter Florida skyline is deceiving since you'll find a surprisingly large number of outdoor and natural attractions here and nearby: fly fishing for leaping hundred-pound tarpon, canoeing or kayaking miles of mangrove creeks, shell collecting on nearby deserted offshore islands or birding in a region rich with more than 200 species. Marco Island also is an ideal base for exploring the famed Florida Everglades wilderness only a short drive away, one more reason why this is such an ideal all-around destination for families, couples and eco-tourists. As for when to visit, vacation rental villas and homes rates vary dramatically by season - from May through December, rooms are 30 to 70 percent beowever, you couldn't get the environmental permits to build this island paradise today. You see, Marco was built by converting a mangrove swamp into the people playground it is today though filling and ditching. Take a look at the aerial map on this web site. Notice all the green islands and estuaries around Marco? It once looked like them, lush with mangroves, an ocean nursery for fish, shrimp, and shell fish.

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