South Seas is a gated community located on at the North end of the island. The beach is very wide giving families plenty of room to spread out, make sand sculptures, and not feel crowded. Shelling along the shore of Tiger Tail in the morning will yield perfect sand dollars. You can spend 30 minutes to many hours there. The South end of the island has softer sand, the beach is narrower, and shells are fewer.
For a bit of an unusual dining experience try Lee Be's Fish. It's a "fish shack" serving fish caught just hours earlier- best fish I've had in a very long time. We tried the fish taco (delicious) and island style grouper w/ black beans and rice. Note: It is CASH only. There are plenty of restaurants near South Seas, some within walking distance -Joey's (highly recommend - be sure to try the garlic knots!), Doreen's and Nene's for good lattes and fantastic breakfasts. CJ's, in Esplanade Shops, is a short drive, had a great sunset view, food was fresh, and service was pleasant. We drove to Goodland (30 minutes or so) to have dinner at the Little Bar Restaurant. It's a funky place in funky town. Food was just average. With so many other great choices, we probably won't go again. Take-out from Su's Garden is good choice after a full day when you don't want to out to dinner.
We took Hemingway Water Shuttle to Keewaydin Island for a day trip. It's a family owned business, and it shows. Steve and Matt made sure everyone was comfortable and made us feel welcome. We saw dolphins and a manatee on our way out. Bring plenty of sunscreen and re-apply often. One side of the island is the "party side" w/ boats pulling in, people listening to music, and even food boats. The other side of the island (a 5 minute walk) is on the gulf w/ a wide white sand beach. We found a lot of big sand dollars. We'll definitely do this again on our next visit.
We enjoyed Marco Island and will return for future vacations. Louise's condo was OK. It does need some updating. We will probably stay in a different location next time to try out a different "feel."