Matanzas Pass Mooring Field

54 Reviews
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2525 Estero Blvd
Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
26° 27' 23.3'', -81° 57' 6.04''
2392244118
VHF Ch. 16
$25/night
www.fortmyersbeachfl.gov
Fort Myers Beach Harbor
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field
Matanzas Pass Mooring Field

Awards


Boaters' Choice Elite Fleet 2021Boaters' Choice 2022

About


Mooring systems #3- #9 are currently out of order. All moorings are located before Matanzas Pass Bridge. The Town is in the process of reopening the Matanzas Pass Mooring Field and continuing recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian in order to resume services for cruisers coming to this area. Unfortunately, the Town lost all of its amenities due to the hurricane and is now in the process of rebuilding to better serve the community and ensuring all of our mooring systems are safe for boaters. The Town anticipates opening the mooring field in phases to ensure a safe and smooth operation, beginning with wet storage.

Initial Reopening: The first phase is to open the new expansion area north of The Matanzas Pass Bridge. Systems numbered 1 through 19 to WET STORAGE ONLY. Any vessel that is in the Town’s Mooring Field must register through the Town’s online Dockwa system to provide required registration information and payment. Information and pricing within the lease agreements still serve as the guiding principles for the field. We are currently only leasing to WET STORAGE VESSELS until additional amenities are available again. Many of the docks on the island were damaged, including the Town’s public dinghy docks.

Berth Capacity


Moorings:2

Approach


Insurance documentation is required by the town of Fort Myers Beach. Please be prepared to digitally provide proof of insurance, preferably before requesting to stay in the mooring field.

Services & Amenities

Last Updated: May 22, 2023

Moorings:Yes
Pump-out:Yes
Restaurants:Yes
Beach:Within 5 Miles
Dog Park:Within 5 Miles
Pet Friendly:Yes
Dry Storage:Yes
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Verified

Nice to have these moorings available for transits as they build things back.

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Verified

Excellent help on the phone with the a harbor master Easy to book and a really nice town with nice people.

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Verified

Nice mooring ball, but no easy access to land yet. You have to go a few miles to a makeshift dock near the city offices. This will be great once Fort Myers Beach is all rebuilt.

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Verified

Nice place to moor and visit

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Verified

The matansas mooring field in Ft. Myers Beach is up and running. We were assigned one of the new balls placed on the west side of bridge. Still dictated by tides, but much better breeze!! Austin is AWESOME! There are no good places to be able to get to shore on either side on the bridge. They say the duck by old Topps is up and q, however it has a big yellow floating barrier in front of it. We still made it work. Never found the public restrooms or showers they speak of. Moss marina will allow you to tie up tenders there. Publix on island. And no Wal-Mart delivery. Limited eateries, but we still manages to support Ft. Myers local business. So very sorrowful for the Ft. Myers residents trying to put their lives back together.

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Verified

As always it was wonderful. Thank you

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Verified

As billed. Staff were helpful and communicative about the challenges resulting from hurricane Ian. Many thanks

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Verified

Brand new Mooring Balls north of the bridge, Chanel all cleaned up after Ian. Austin the harbor master is a great host. Will be coming back many times!

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Verified

Not many options for dingy docks. Moss Marine let us tie up at n/c for the day. Trying to patronize local businesses. Mooring Balls spaced nicely. A few are tangled so difficult to untangle from high bow.

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Verified

Great mooring. Easy to book, out of the way and good coverage from wind in any direction.

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We used a mooring ball north of the Matanzas bridge adjacent to the Pink Shell. This was the best mooring ball system I have ever used. I would highly recommend. There is a strong current in the channel so slack tide is a great time to enter, however, we entered on an outgoing tide and had no issues. FM is on its way back and there are restaurants open close to mooring field with dinghy access.

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Verified

Nice anchorage and close to a lot of restaurants

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Verified

Patrick is super friendly. Balls are clean and easy to snag. Showers are good.

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Verified

Easy and convenient. Careful of the bridge height. I'm around 64' and just squeaked under without touching

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Verified

The mooring field is very good and location of dinghy dock is convenient for Times Square and the pier on Ft Myers Beach. We were in the East mooring field so it was a long dinghy ride to the dinghy dock. The only problem we had was that check in was at 1pm but then the office staff left at one. We were told that the key fob was left in a green box but not precisely where! After hunting around and Asking other cruisers we finally looked in the dog poop bag dispenser! There it was. Apart from that the facilities were very clean.

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Excellent service, staff is very professional, willing to go the extra mile to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Would definitely stay at this marina again. BTW, the clam chowder at the Matanzas Inn is the best I’ve ever eaten.

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We had a wonderful experience with Austin and Joe last week after we had, ahem, a mooring issue (of our own doing). Just incredibly helpful, friendly and gracious folks! We have a slip nearby, but have discovered that it is such a pleasant place to stay what with plenty of restaurants and, yet, also abundant nature in the mangrove preserve. The mooring balls are maintained on a regular basis, so felt very safe and secure.

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Verified

Nice anchorage. Facilities were clean, washer and dryers were $2.00. Walking distance to several eateries and beaches. Dinghy dock convient.

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Verified

Friendly people and mooring feild to dinghy dock easily accessible

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Great stay! Austin communicates clearly & while the reservation is on Dockwa he made sure that we knew of available space as moorings are on a first come basis. We arrived after the office closed and he went out of his way to drop off the laundry/shower key. Well organized, quiet mooring field and very clean and bright facilities. Lots of room at the dinghy dock. We'll be back! Thanks!

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Verified

Great mooring field. Austin and Matthew keep an open line open line of communication and were very helpful. Hope to be back in November. Godspeed

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Very nice people that run the mooring field. We were on ball 3 nice and close to the free dinghy doc. We liked it so much that we were only planning to stay a few days but we ended up staying 1.5 weeks.

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Verified

Great area. Tough to get marina to call you back.

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Easily reserved with dockwa. Received a confirmation phone call almost immediately. Good stay on the mooring. Free city dinghy dock. Several restaurants also have dinghy docks. Town is great. Lots of action.

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Verified

Love it all. Great food, shops, transportation, and beaches. Fishing was great. Most of all Austin and his crew bent over backwards to accommodate the guests the best they could. Thank you for the best stay

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Great, helpful staff. Decent clean showers. Laundry with several washers and dryers operated with credit card payments and table for folding clothes. Would stay again for sure. Tide vs. Wind can twist your boat all over and against the ball but that's not anything they can control. Well run and helpful staff overall!

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Verified

I was assigned to a mooring ball where my keel boat was aground at low tide. I immediately let the staff know of the situation. They said they would get back to me. I never heard anything back. It has been a month now and I've been back to the mooring office every week. The office staff rotates and the new person is always surprised when I request a new mooring. MY BOAT IS AGROUND! I have spoken with Austin, the dock master twice and no effort has been made. If something had been done the last four visits I wouldn't be leaving this review.

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Verified

Picturesque setting convient to the dinghy dock which is at the village entertainment hub and beach. Great support staff

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Verified

Check in was extremely easy. We enjoyed our stay. Looking forward to all the upcoming changes to make everyone’s stay great.

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Verified

Excellent , The new staff are so great. I had a wonderful time there thanks

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Verified

The mooring field is good but the tethers on the ball was so over grown with barnacles I could barley lift it to put a line on. They need to clean the balls more often. A bit noisy with the commercial boats at night and early in the morning. Staff was very pleasant.

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Had a wonderful time for two nights. This is THE BEST place in Fort Myers to watch the fireworks! Dinghy dock is outstanding and close to lots of restaurants, bars and the beach across the street. The balls are well maintained and easy to grab....the best part is the free pump out services....three times per week, boat side, fast and done by a pro! We will be staying here again for sure! Capt Keith

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Verified

The buoy pendents seem quite a bit shorter than the ones on the past buoys, making it very difficult to pick up a mooring in high winds.

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Verified

Great safe place to stay. Everything you need is with in walking distance. Great dinghy dock. Easy access to water. Beaches are beautiful. Bars are fun.

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Moorings are well maintained. Facilities are clean. Staff is great.

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Verified

Great place to visit ... loved being so close to the restaurants and beaches from the dinghy dock!

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Verified

Always enjoy staying in Ft. Myers Beach! Mooring field is great. Pump out timely. Matanzas staff very friendly and helpful. Nice having the trolly service.

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Verified

Quick response for mooring ball availability. Great stop with very good access to the beach and Times Square.

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Verified

Very well protected from all wind directions and the entire field is in a no wake zone. There is a strong current that can often make the mooring ball bounce on your hull when wind and current conflict. The facilities on land are minimal - - two heads with showers and a fairly large laundry room. That said, we never had to wait for the head in the one week we were there. It's a very long dinghy ride from the farthest end of the field (we were on ball 64) , but there is another closer public landing up the canal by the ball fields. The town of Ft Myers Beach is not a 'must see' but we enjoyed multiple meals at Filipe's and the Matanzas Inn. Matanzas Pass Preserve is accessible by dinghy and offers a nice walking trail. Other than that, don't know what else to do there unless you rent a car.

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Verified

Friendly helpful staff Beautiful area Highly recommend

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We planned to stay for seven nights, but due to high winds, we extended another three nights. It was awesome! The very protected mooring field allowed us to be comfortable with little movement other than spinning around the ball. Even in 35 mile an hour winds, we where not bouncing around! Loved that! The dinghy dock is conveniently located to walk to town. We loved the small shops and restaurants. Can't wait to go back!

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Verified

Great location, great value.

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Verified

Excellent protection 360 degrees. Moorings are in excellent condition and access to dinghy docks, water, facilities is great. Transportation to stores and restaurants is easy and often free. Great beaches and plenty of repair facilities including haul out for larger boats and catamarans. Pumpout included in morning fee. Easy registration and payment throu Docwa.

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Verified

Absolutely Love this place and highly recommend a stay here.

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Verified

Everything was ok. The lady at the phone was very nice and helpful

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A little bit of a challenge getting into the entrance channel. Follow the markers, exactly, and still keep an eye out. They do an excellent job keeping the markers up-to-date. Use them! The marina is not as such. The mooring field is managed my a local hotel. Very well. The facilities are the cleanest we have seen in our 1,500 mile journey. The employees were very helpful when questioned. Went out of their way to get answers. We stayed a week. Very enjoyable. Nice little town. Beautiful beach. Great restaurants. You already have a boat, what more could you ask for? We will probably be stopping again, on our way back around in the spring. That says a lot. There are places we will not be staying a second time. Would have given the fifth star if they had been an actual marina, with full services.

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Verified

We love being on a mooring ball here where it’s so close to town and good restaurants

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Well maintained moorings, dinghy dock and laundry. Nice and helpful Office Staff, Harbormaster and Director of Public Works. Pumpout service is excellent. Tidal current is swift and often counter to wind, so picking up a mooring is much easier at slack. One can access facilities and transport from the dinghy dock, but a second dinghy dock near Publix would be a huge benefit. Snook Bight Marina is variable on allowing dinghy access to pickup groceries.

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Verified

What can you say? It's a mooring field. The facilities are nice but Fort Myers Beach is so much fun! Plenty of bars and restaurants and beautiful white sand beach.

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Verified

Overall it was good,easy tie up to the mooring ball, very secure and pretty. Dinghy dock close by on the Ft Myers Beach (south) side, also easy to get to and tie up The staff were a bit difficult to communicate with but not bad, and I wish they had a mooring field map I could look up with the ball numbers and locations, and not just their Google maps image version Also there are 2 bars on either side of the field, that get loud at night, they died down around midnight. Again overall it was good, these were our small difficulties, I would come here again

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Verified

Great spot. Lots to see and do

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Verified

It is conveniently located, great dinghy dock. Laundry facilities close by. Fresh water available by dinghy, no need to get out of your dinghy to fill jugs. Pump outs available M W F, if you fill out the form online. You can catch the Island trolley to the grocery store on Estero Island. Pricing is good.

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Verified

We loved how close we were to everything and how protected the mooring field was. We will return. ~SV Oracle

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Verified

Rode out tropical storm Eta on ball 8, no problem. Facilities are good and staff is helpful.

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