The Charter Club of Marco Beach

The Charter Club of Marco Beach is on Marco Island, Florida.

Video by Adam Haniewich

Day One Travel and Arrival at The Charter Club of Marco Beach

Today was a great day because I was changing resorts and not having to drive or fly down from Virginia for my stay. I loved the last resort, but not the hassle of the drive or the flight. To be honest, I am really getting spoiled by these transfers as a writer, and my longer trips. Once this amazing project ends, I will be like most travelers and just take vacations when I can 1-2 times a year and for typically 1 week or less at a time.

By transferring this time, I am only moving from one resort to the next on Marco Island itself. I also have some friends with me on this trip, so we are moving ourselves and two cars during the trip.

When you move from resort to resort, the only downside, I can see is the window of time from check out at 10 AM at one resort and check in at the next at 4 PM. If for some reason you were not feeling well, that changeover would not be convenient. On this trip, none of us reported any issues, so it was easy. We just went to the beach, then to a late lunch.

The Charter Club of Marco Beach villas is a little smaller in 2-bedroom size than those of the Sunset Cove (3-bedroom) but they are still very comfortable. You also have an ocean view from The Charter Club of Marco Beach. I love an ocean view, or oceanfront when I can get them for sure.

Villa Amenities

Then the resort itself offers all of these options.

Resort Amenities

This resort also has tennis courts, and a nice beach-view pool as well. A plus for any active couple or family.

Once we were sorted in our new accommodations, we headed out to grab a few drinks, and later dinner. Across the street from the resort was the Fin Bistro, and this restaurant was a hidden gem. I almost typed sleeper as the description because the food was amazing, and instead I landed with the descriptive term of hidden gem instead. This is not bargain family dining, but rather a linen tablecloth level of dining. The menu choices were great and the taste of the food was even better.

Those on a budget might save this for the fine meal out experience just because of the food quality and the entrée pricing of $20-50.

Day Two Fishing

It is hard to stay on Marco Island and not want to go fishing. Even if you are not a huge fishing fan, this area offers some of the best inshore and offshore fishing experiences in the world. That is not an exaggeration of global fishing quality here.

Even if you know the waters some, and have boating skills, I feel it is always best to charter a boat and a local captain. Yes, it is more expensive, but they are the ones most likely to know exactly where to go to get fish during your trip. The best spots for the time of day, and that is worth every penny. Marco Island Fishing Charters was who we chose for this trip, but there are several charter operations in the area.

Nearshore trips will be less expensive and if you have new fishing partners, it may be a wise choice. My friends have been fishing before, so we split the costs and chose Offshore Fishing for a full day as a package.

The boat we went out on was a 32ft Yellowfin set up for fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. I have had the pleasure of fishing offshore in North Carolina and Virginia many times over the years, but this is my first trip offshore in the Gulf. The difference other than the weather was the speed of the fish during this trip. We must have had a great day by all measures because we spent nearly half our time reeling fish in while at our fishing zone. The travel to and from that zone was fine, but a little rough considering the size of the boat for offshore action. I had a friend who I used to go deep sea fishing off of the outer banks with that had a 27-foot Pursuit boat, and we would be cautioned and laughed at by the charter boats. Most in that area are well over 50 ft. The larger the boat, the less movement in rough water.

The captain of this charter got us on the fish, though. We had to choose our fish because even with a licensed captain you have fishing limits. I have experienced only two times fishing like this. Once when I was a preteen fishing with my grandfather and his neighbor once inshore near his home on the Chesapeake Bay and this time. It was just so busy with fish hitting the line. The captain played it off some, but this just had to be a special day and moment. If it had been filmed, no one would have believed it.

All fished out and even truly tired from reeling and fighting the fish, we headed back to shore. The crew cleaned the fish, and we had more than we could keep or deal with. But local restaurants will cook your cleaned fish for you, and we could send some back with my friends and they could have a feast with friends. I think we came back with over 100 pounds of fresh fish fillets, which is insane. Do not expect that on your trip. Many people also might have had one of our fish mounted. It was a beauty but my friends were not interested, and I had nowhere to put it. Also, I was not the one to reel it in, so since it was not my catch I was not going to trophy mount it. I would have paid to have that done had it been mine, though.

The King Mackerel was an amazing-looking fish.

Day Three Beach Day

It is hard to stay at a beachfront resort and not just take a solid day and just relax. Unwind and enjoy what nature has to offer. The beach here is wide. You also have a nice break between the beach and the pool area with local plant life. It likely stabilizes the sand in the entire area.

Unless there is a storm close to the area, the gulf feels calmer than the ocean on the east side of Florida. The wind will still gather some large waves here, but they seem to always be calmer on the scale than the waves that have journeyed a long distance over the sea. The gulf water also seems warmer most of the year.

Local water temps on Marco Island

The warmest water temperature is in August, with an average of around 87.3°F / 30.7°C. The coldest month is January, with an average water temperature of 67.1°F / 19.5°C. May through October you will find water above 75 degrees and it feels very inviting.

The sun is strong in south Florida so you dry off fast, and warm back up quickly from any swim in the Gulf. I played in the water for a few hours today, taking it easy from the hours of reeling in and fighting fish yesterday. No heavy swimming, just walking in, and then a light swims out beyond the breakers.

This resort was a great location on the gulf and the sunsets here are legendary for a reason. If you want a vacation like this for yourself, just make sure you book through TZort to save the most possible.