Island Retreat Florida

What Eric is creating at the Island Retreat Florida is truly a unique and majestic experience. You are close enough to civilization yet isolated and surrounded by nature. We initially parked at Mosaic Park, but a family was kind enough to warn us not to park there overnight, as a lot of vehicle break-ins occur due to no lighting or surveillance. The boat ramp parking on the other side of the bridge was much safer and still easy to get to the island. I would definitely stay again.

We could have stayed a week, easily! Everything was really just perfect. The fire pits are HUGE, the campsites are too. There is plenty of shade, and the breeze off the water is everything. We stayed on a weekday, so we had the entire island to ourselves. We planned to kayak around and visit the restaurant, but we never left the island except for a quick trip into town. We loved the magic that Eric is creating on his island and we can’t wait to come back. The island is a blast to explore and it felt very safe and private. No alligators, snakes or other predators to worry about, and it actually wasn’t very buggy at all. Eric was a very gracious and considerate host. We didn’t get to meet him this trip, but he was super easy to reach if we had any questions. I am sure we will meet in the future, we are already planning our next trip. I doubt we will even bring a tent next time, there are plenty of great places to hang a hammock!!

It was an awesome trip! We rented the entire island for privacy/safety and he gave us a reasonable price. With bad weather conditions, he added an impromptu pontoon dropoff for my family.
Beware of the oyster beds!

The restaurant across the bay offers to go seafood and drinks. The oysters were amazing.

Downside is the trash that washes up onto the island. I know that it will require constant cleanup, but it was pretty bad.

Kinda nervous about letting people dig catholes to use the bathroom on such a small island.

Overall, was an amazing trip and I recommend it to everyone!

This is a great alternative to traditional campgrounds, being that you’re on your own private island. A very unique experience on a convenient-to-everything island. Restaurants and the boat ramp are literally seconds away from the site. We ordered out and stayed at a primitive campsite - where else can you do that? The food was still hot when we came back from picking it up - by boat. Pretty awesome!
The 3 sites were built-up off the ground and well constructed. There was a 4th platform with a roof-over dining area that would have been very nice during rainstorms or the heat of summer. Fire pits were enormous and plenty of cut firewood was stacked in multiple convenient locations.
Eric was a gracious host and communicated everything about the island very well. My wife and 3 teenage boys rented out the whole island at a reasonable price. The boys had one campsite that was close by (a short walk through a canopy trail to the middle of the island), but far enough away that it provided them the independence teenage boys crave. My wife and I felt like we were all alone on the island most of the time.
A few tips... we came by 18’ aluminum Jon boat. If you’re familiar, these things float in inches of water. But a low tide (only) and in the last 10’ to the boat landing, we had to motor up and push in by pole. All other times there was easily 2-3’ of water under us all the way to the landing. Also, bring decent water shoes. Flip flops were not the thing to wear at the landing site due to some mud and oysters. Also, there is currently some bridge construction very nearby with work going on overnight. They used loudspeakers to communicate and had some frequent loud banging overnight. This obviously has nothing to do with the management of the island but keep this in mind if it’s still ongoing when you plan to stay. It was definitely noisy at night. My teenage sons and I are deep sleepers and didn’t have a problem, but my wife noted difficulty due to the noise.
Otherwise, this place is spectacular. We caught (and released) dozens of spotted sea trout and mangrove snapper nearby (mouth of the river) and truly enjoyed our stay. Thanks again to Eric for the hospitality and we will definitely be back!

Response from Eric, the Host, on January 3rd, 2021

Thanks Spencer for the kind and thorough review and picture of the family and pups enjoy the place. I enjoyed communicate with you about your trip. We have come a long way the island in our first year. Glad your family was able to stay and the weather held. Great tips on the water shoes. The landing at low tide has oyster shells I am in the process of removing/clearing. This tip will be added into the listing and sent with the Welcome Package in the works for parking, map and other tips about the island and surrounding area. Hope to have some surprises for you on the island if you visit again the future. Thanks again Spencer - Eric

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Eric was a great host! The campsite is exactly as advertised and he was very welcoming and helped us tremendously when we had an emergency! The island itself is very private and in great condition.