Bonita Beach vs. Fort Myers Beach - The Benefits and Disadvantages of Each Area

There is sun, sand and surf, beautiful views and the beach life on both Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, but when it comes to building a home, there are big differences in the two areas.

Residents that live along each beach say they picked the right spot, but it really all depends on lifestyle and home style when choosing the perfect place.

Tom Potter, co-owner of Potter Homes, has built a plethora of houses along both beaches and says there are humongous differences. The biggest difference is that lots along Bonita Beach are 50 feet wide and with the required setbacks, homes can be no wider than 40 feet. Fort Myers Beach lots range from 75-85 feet in width and the setbacks are bigger. On a 70 foot lot, Potter can build a 55 foot wide home. On an 80 foot lot he has  64 feet in width to build upon. The bigger setbacks also mean more space from a neighbor on Fort Myers Beach.

“The biggest difference is the outdoor living area,” Potter explained. “On Fort Myers Beach, you get a bigger pool. You can have a bigger outdoor deck. If you are in a Fort Myers Beach house, there is a huge separate kitchen and outdoor living area. There is a bigger view of the breach. It also allows for things like having your master suite on the first level.

On Fort Myers Beach, Potter often builds a house with two master bedrooms: one on the main floor and another on the top floor. Clients often enjoy the higher level master for better views, but like having a lower level one for when they get older and don’t want to climb as many stairs or use the elevator. On Bonita Beach, the narrower homes don’t have enough room for both a great room and master bedroom on the same level.

“A lot of our homes on Fort Myers Beach, when you walk upstairs you walk into a bonus room,” Potter explained. “You walk upstairs and you are hit with this awesome view and then your bedrooms are on either side. On Bonita, you go upstairs and go to a hallway to get from the front of the house to the back of the house. The wider Fort Myers Beach, gets that wide open bonus room.”

Price wise, Potter says, there is no difference per square foot for building a home on either beach, but lots on Bonita Beach are typically more expensive per square foot.

Fort Myers Beach offers more variety on beach front. There are homes set back with 200 yards of sand separating the house from the Gulf. There are homes that are closer to the water and there are those with mangrove areas between the house and beach. Bonita Beach is more consistent with the amount of beachfront. Bonita Beach is less touristy. Real estate wise, Bonita has the more prestigious address. For the last few years the most expensive home sold in Lee County has been along Bonita Beach. That’s why people select what beach to live on based on their personal preferences.

Greg and Sharon Dosmann chose to build their home on Fort Myers Beach for many reasons.

“I like the ability to have a bigger lot,” Greg Dosmann began. “Bonita Beach lots are 50 feet, we actually have 85 feet. You get a little bit wider home, but you also don’t have to build the biggest home. You can have space in between. I think it is pretty to have some space in between.”

Julie and Mike Walton chose Bonita Beach. They say Bonita Beach is a much nicer beach to live on.

“It is a nice family beach,” Julie Walton said. “There is so much touristy stuff in Fort Myers Beach.  We like this area. It is calm. On Bonita Beach you can walk five miles. You can go all the way north to the end of the island and all the way down to Wiggins Pass. It is a nice walking beach and people are friendly.”

The Waltons picked a lot on the south end of the island with easy access off and on Hickory Blvd. They say Fort Myers Beach takes too long to get off of, whether it is coming over the Big Carlos Pass Bridge and then all the way past Lovers Key and down Bonita Beach into town or going through all the traffic to Matanzas Pass and heading into Fort Myers. The Waltons just zip up Bonita Beach Road and quickly get to restaurants and shops.

“We love this spot,” Walton said. “We looked for years. We went to every open house and every house that Potter built, and we wanted to be on the south end of Bonita.”

The Dosmanns have a different lifestyle that focuses more on staying close to home for shopping and dining.

“For us, we loved the idea of having restaurants and things to walk to and ride our bikes to,” Dosmann described. “There is retail. We have a Publix grocery store that I can ride my bike to. We have four sets of friends on the island, and we have done progressive dinners on bikes. I live like a 12-year-old. I just ride my bike everywhere like I did when I was a kid.”

Both families like the idea of lots of space. Dosmann likes the spacious lifestyle the bigger lot  provides.

“The elevated pool deck is the best ever,” he said. “My wife says it feels like you live on a cruise ship because you look out and see all the water. We ended up putting a full size pickleball court in our garage and can still fit four or five cars in there.”

The Walton’s wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted to be on Bonita Beach and they wanted a wider lot, so they purchased a double lot. It was a lot more money than buying a single lot on Fort Myers Beach, but it was worth it for the bigger home they could enjoy in Bonita.

“We love the style, and we love the views,” Walton said. “You walk up the stairs and all you see is Gulf. We were glad to get this lot. We put a lot of thought and heart into this house.”

The Dosmanns say the same thing about their home.

“We love to have coffee on the lanai outside our bedroom every morning,” he said. “I probably have hundreds of sunset pictures. You would think you would get bored of it, but we hardly ever miss one. Every sunset is different. This is a special place.”

Potter said both Bonita Beach and Fort Myers Beach have been transforming rapidly this past decade from communities of little beach cottages to places with mega homes.

“The problem is when land prices are going up, they are not spending $3-4 million on a cottage,” Potter said. “They are going to max it out and build it bigger.”

Then it all comes down to what cottage to buy, and demolish and what to build.

“Fort Myers Beach: that becomes your community. There are no restaurants or stores on Bonita Beach. On FMB you have restaurants and shops all up and down the beach. Fort Myers Beach you tend to stay on the island. Bonita Beach you don’t. There are perks on Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach. There is a personality for each beach.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Bonita Beach vs. Fort Myers Beach - The Benefits and Disadvantages