Bonita Bay or Pelican Landing: How Do They Compare in Bonita Springs?

Both are established, gated club communities built around Estero Bay, and buyers who tour one almost always ask about the other before they decide. I am Kris Asquith, Broker Associate at Premiere Plus Realty, working Bonita Springs alongside eight other Southwest Florida markets, and Bonita Bay and Pelican Landing are the two names that come up most often when a buyer says they want bay water and a golf course in the same address.

They share more than a passing resemblance: both sit on Estero Bay, both are gated, and both carry golf as part of their amenity base. What actually separates them is layout, scale and the specifics of what each club offers once you are inside the gate, and that is worth walking through before you commit to touring one over the other.

Bonita Bay is a gated community built around the Bonita Bay Club, at 26660 Country Club Drive in Bonita Springs. Its Sports Center carries a substantial racquet program: 16 Har-Tru tennis courts, 15 pickleball courts and a croquet lawn, alongside golf as a recorded amenity. The community sits on bay water rather than a landscaped lake, which is the detail that separates it from many of the inland Bonita Springs golf communities that carry a course but no boating water at all.

Pelican Landing is another of Bonita Springs' established gated club communities, also built on bay water with golf as part of its amenity base. It sits near the Bonita Springs and Estero boundary, and some listing sources describe it as an Estero address rather than a Bonita Springs one. Confirmed as Bonita Springs, and that is the answer this site uses. Pelican Landing is also the larger community that The Colony sits inside, as its own separately gated enclave with a second layer of governance stacked on top of Pelican Landing's own.

Yes, golf is a recorded amenity at both communities, so neither is a community you would rule out on that basis alone. What actually differs is everything underneath that single word: membership structure, course access and the rest of the amenity package each club builds around it. Confirm those specifics directly with each club rather than assuming the two are interchangeable because both carry a course.

Both sit close enough to the southern end of Estero Bay that the run to open water is short rather than a long trip up the length of the bay. Estero Bay reaches the Gulf of Mexico through several passes, and the ones nearest Bonita Bay and Pelican Landing, Big Hickory Pass and New Pass, sit at the bay's southern end, close to both communities. That matters if boating is part of why you are looking here at all: depth at low tide, fixed bridge clearance on the way to a pass, and the rated capacity of a specific dock and lift are what actually determine what you can run from a given address, not the community's name alone. Confirm those specifics for the exact home you are considering rather than assuming access based on the neighborhood, and start from Bonita Springs boating homes if genuine Gulf access is the priority.

Bonita Bay's Sports Center is a genuine standout on the racquet side, with 16 Har-Tru tennis courts, 15 pickleball courts and a croquet lawn built for serious play. Pelican Landing's amenity base centers more on its golf and its layered structure, including The Colony's own separate enclave and amenities built on top of the master community's. Neither club's full amenity list should be taken from a general comparison like this one. Ask each club directly for its current member amenities, since programs and facilities do get added, renovated or changed over time.

Start with what you actually want to do most days. If a serious racquet sports program is high on your list, Bonita Bay's Sports Center is worth touring first. If you are drawn to a layered community with a private enclave option like The Colony inside a larger gated Bonita Springs community, Pelican Landing is worth a closer look.

Tour both clubs, ask each one directly about current membership structure, fees and course access, and confirm the boating specifics for the exact address you are considering before you commit to either name. Line up your financing and representation early through the home buying process so you can move once you know which community actually fits.

If you are weighing Bonita Bay against Pelican Landing, or against any of Bonita Springs' other bay and golf communities, get in touch or call (239) 300-1427 and I will walk you through what each club actually offers before you tour either one.