Fort Myers, Florida's best kept secret

If you are ever looking for a different side of Florida, something outside the radar of tourist traps, then Fort Myers is your place. What Fort Myers has to offer is a unique and excitingly different realm of Southern culture. The city is inexpensive, the people are compassionate and the food is good. Where to stay?



The River District Hostel. One thing I have noticed about traveling in America is that outside the big cities (Chicago, NYC etc), hostel culture is nonexistent. River District is an exception.It has that hostel ambiance but feels like a home at the same time. There is a huge TV with an array of DVDS, a home-style living room, comfortable beds and a fully stacked kitchen and when I say fully stacked, I mean FULLY STACKED with everything: from a rice cooker to frying pans to Southern spices, it has everything. All of these free amenities are at insanely affordable prices. I spent $27 per night. Still don't believe me? head over to Trip Advisor or Hostelworld or travellerspoint.com and read the reviews by travelers.



It was also the top rated hostel of 2009 on hostelworld.com. When it comes to booking hostels, hostelworld.com is the most legit site and before you book a hostel always make sure you read the reviews by other travelers.










The hostel is also within walking distance from the main downtown area


The streets around the area, like the one above, are beautiful and serene. The only negative thing about the hostel's location is its distance from the beach. The beach is about a 30 minutes drive away (much less if there is no traffic). I didn't have a vehicle so the bus was one of our options. The bus ride to the beach takes much longer because it makes multiple stops. This is a very inexpensive option if you are patient. Make sure you check the bus schedules so you know when to catch the returning bus from the beach. You can also consider taking a cab if you are with friends. You can arrange a fare with the cab driver. My friend and I negotiated a 20$ fare ($10 per person) and then took the bus for our return trip.




Reading Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe, a very disturbingly good book










Beautiful sunset


New year 2011 celebration downtown




This band is called No Way Jose and we jammed to their music the entire night. They played everything: rock n' roll, salsa, reggae, everything. You name it, they played it.


And here I am doing tree-assisted headstands on the streets. I don't recall if I was intoxicated at this point (I probably was).


In the hostel the following day, making wonderful Happy New Year food. You buy your own food but all the kitchen utensils are provided by the hostel. Didn't I tell you the kitchen was FULLY STACKED?


My headstands once again, using the jacuzzi for support. Did I also forget to tell you that the hostel has a free jacuzzi? oh my god, it is remarkably relaxing. I wanted to stay in there forever.


And that's all folks. I'll leave you with a picture of this big guy, warmly inviting you to Fort Myers. But before I go, I was just wondering if anyone is having problems logging into their blogger account on Google chrome? the most curious thing. I am not a tech person so I'll be chilling over here at Firefox until the people at blogger or Google accounts sort out their issues. Furthermore, summer is here. Are you guys excited? any travelers out there? what are your plans? any tips on summer travel? I'm thinking about doing something collaborative with other travel blogs but my mind is too soggy at this moment. I will be doing something very different this summer and I can barely contain my excitement. I don't have any major expectations so I'm just going to let myself soak the experience. I will keep you guys updated.

Best regards,
XoXo