We were itching to get to a beach as things reopened from the pandemic. And St. Simon’s Island on the coast of Georgia provided the perfect place. With less than 24 hours to plan, we had a great weekend trip just five hours southeast of Atlanta.
Near Savannah, many barrier islands dot Georgia’s coast. Nicknamed the Golden Isles, these barrier islands include Cumberland Island, Sea Island and Sapelo Island. St. Simon’s Island is one of the larger islands. At just 12 miles long and three miles wide, the small community is easy to navigate.
The Beach
East Beach runs alongside most of the island’s eastern rim with many public access points. Since our hotel was near the southern tip of the island, we could walk just a few blocks to one of the access points.
St. Simon’s beaches are dog-friendly year-round. During the more restrictive summer months, owners can still bring their dogs before 9 am and after 6 pm.
Unlike the fluffy sand on the Gulf Coast, St. Simon’s beaches offer wide expanses of flat sand during low tide. This makes for excellent sandcastle building and allows plenty of room to play frisbee, spike ball and other beach sports, as well as ample room to set up chairs, tents and beach towels. However, when it becomes high tide, the water almost obliterates the beach area – at least where we were near the island’s southern tip.
Another great feature at St. Simon’s is that the large multi-story condo towers and hotels don’t exist on the island. Only homes, condos and a couple of hotels with no more than four stories. Because of this low density, nature abounds at the beach with lots of seashells, cranes, birds and jellyfish.
Other Activities
We spent most of our time on the beach this trip. However, we’ve been to the area several times and can speak to other activities on the island.
Near the small downtown at the southern end of the island lies the Saint Simon’s Pier. From there, walk along the sidewalk past the public Neptune Park to the St. Simon’s Lighthouse. Reaching 104 feet tall, the 1871 lighthouse replaced a smaller lighthouse that was built around 1807. It remained in operation until automated in the 1950s.
At the northern end of the island lies Christ Church whose congregation has been in existence since 1736. Across the street, be sure to walk in the free 2-acre Wesley Gardens at Wesley United Methodist Church under the oak trees.
Nearby visit Ft. Frederica National Monument. Built in 1736, the fort successfully defended the Spaniards who encroached on the island in 1742. Today visitors can see the remnants of the fort that housed 500 people.
Off the island, head over to Jekyll Island just 30 minutes away. Smaller and less populated, the area was home to wealthy industrialists who liked to spend the winter season in the warmer climate. Be sure to visit Jekyll Island Club Resort where you can tour some of these mansions (called cottages), as well as walk inside the historic hotel where the first transatlantic phone call was made in 1915.
Other sites to visit on Jekyll Island include Driftwood Beach and the Georgia Sea Turtle Museum.
Dining
St. Simon’s offers many restaurants to choose from – especially in the downtown area along Mallory Street. On this visit, we picked up delicious wraps curbside from Palm Coast Coffee and ate on the beach.
For dinner, we made reservations at Del Sur for 5:45 pm. It was our first time eating at a restaurant since the lockdown began 12 weeks prior and I was a bit nervous about sitting inside. It was fine. The tables were spaced out, the waiter wore a mask and because of the early hour, nobody sat anywhere near us. Besides that, our entrees of chicken scallopini and braised short ribs satisfied our hunger from an entire day at the beach.
On previous trips, we’ve eaten a casual lunch at Iguana’s which offers outdoor seating and complimentary soft-serve ice cream. For an adults-only dinner, I recommend Georgia Sea Grill with their excellent wine selection.
However, a must-eat place in St. Simon’s for BBQ fans is Southern Soul, just a short drive away. Since Southern Living magazine claims it’s the best barbeque in the state, we always go early. While eating at the picnic tables outside, we’re amazed at the long line of people waiting to place orders. Due to the pandemic, Southern Soul’s shortened hours didn’t allow for us to visit on this trip.
Accommodations
We stayed at the Saint Simon’s Inn by the Lighthouse. The location is ideal since it’s just a few bocks to the beach. the pier and the small downtown area with restaurants.
Each room is individually owned so the decor can be quite different. Parking is on the first level while the reception desk with small lobby/breakfast area is on the second level of the pale yellow hotel. Rooms occupy levels two and three, while the fourth floor houses the penthouse suite, as well as two dog-friendly suits. Breakfast is offered each day. During the pandemic, they are not performing housekeeping on the rooms during stays. However, we could go to the front desk for clean towels if we wanted.
Conclusion
Although a short trip, 48 hours at the beach did the trick for us. We left more relaxed and in a better frame of mind. For more information about the area, click here.
As always, I’m not being paid for this article, nor do I receive any compensation for referrals. I mention these restaurants and the hotel because we really like them and want to share what made our trip succesful.