St. Simons Island for the classic, easy-to-reach Golden Isles beach town. Jekyll Island if you want public beaches plus real history without a reservation. Cumberland Island if wild horses and genuine seclusion are worth a ferry booking months out. Tybee Island if you’re already in Savannah and just need a beach day.
Six islands, six different trips — Georgia’s coast doesn’t get the attention Florida or the Carolinas do, which is part of why it’s worth a closer look. The real planning question isn’t which is prettiest; it’s which ones you can actually get to without months of advance booking.
The islands, and who can actually visit each one
- Tybee Island — public, no reservation, closest beach to Savannah. Drive right on.
- St. Simons Island — public, no reservation, the most developed of the Golden Isles with real restaurants and a walkable village.
- Jekyll Island — public, no reservation, the southernmost Golden Isle and home to Driftwood Beach’s famous bleached, fallen trees.
- Cumberland Island — ferry-only from St. Marys, reservation required, capped at 300 visitors a day. This is the one that needs actual planning.
- Sea Island — technically reachable by bridge from St. Simons, but effectively restricted to hotel guests and Sea Island Club members.
- Little St. Simons Island — a private eco-lodge with a strict daily visitor cap; you’re booking a stay here, not dropping in.
St. Simons, Sea Island, Little St. Simons, and Jekyll Island — the actual “Golden Isles” — have made Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Islands list for ten consecutive years, including first place in 2023 and 2020. That’s not a fluke or a one-year headline.
My picks, by what you’re actually looking for
Classic Golden Isles beach town: St. Simons Island
The most developed and easiest to just show up to — a real village with restaurants and shops, plus genuinely good beaches. The natural first choice if this is your first Georgia coast trip.
Public beach plus real history: Jekyll Island
The southernmost Golden Isle, with a historic district (the old Jekyll Island Club, once a winter retreat for some of the wealthiest families in the country) alongside public beaches. Driftwood Beach — a stretch of bleached, fallen live oaks and pines right at the waterline — is one of the more photographed, distinctive spots on the entire Georgia coast.
Something genuinely wild: Cumberland Island
Georgia’s largest barrier island, a National Seashore, over 17 miles of largely undeveloped beach, and the wild horses — descendants of Spanish-introduced stock that have roamed the island for more than 500 years. The trade-off is real logistics: ferry-only, reservation required, capped daily visitors.
Don’t try to add Cumberland Island onto a trip at the last minute. The ferry has limited daily departures from St. Marys, the National Park Service caps visitors, and a real visit — especially with the ranger-led Lands and Legacies tour — eats most of a day. Book it as its own planned day, not an afterthought.
Already in Savannah: Tybee Island
The closest beach to Savannah, and a completely reasonable half-day or full-day trip if you’re already there for the historic district. See below for which end of the island actually fits what you want.
Which Tybee Island beach is best?
- South Beach — the classic beach-town pick: the pier, shops, and restaurants are all walking distance. It’s also the busier, more crowded end on a warm weekend, since everything convenient is clustered there.
- North Beach — quieter and less commercial, with the historic Tybee Island Lighthouse, a bird reserve, and tide pools instead of a boardwalk scene. A five-minute drive or short bike ride gets you to food and shops if you need them.
Heads up: some links below are affiliate links. If you book through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only link to places and tours I'd actually send my own family to — if something's not worth it, I'll tell you.
Compare Golden Isles hotel rates →Placeholder link — swap for a real, approved affiliate program before this page goes live.This is one piece of a bigger Best Islands in the USA guide, if you're still deciding where to go.
Questions people ask
What are the Golden Isles?
St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Jekyll Island — a cluster of Georgia barrier islands that's been named among Travel + Leisure's World's Best Islands for ten consecutive years, including first place in 2023 and 2020. Cumberland Island and Tybee Island are part of the wider Georgia coast but aren't technically counted among the Golden Isles themselves.
Which Tybee Island beach is best?
South Beach if you want the classic beach-town experience — the pier, shops, and restaurants are all walking distance, though it's the more crowded end on a warm weekend. North Beach if you'd rather have it quieter, with the historic lighthouse, a bird reserve, and tide pools instead of a boardwalk scene.
Can you visit Cumberland Island without a reservation?
No — Cumberland is ferry-only from St. Marys, Georgia, with the National Park Service capping visitors at 300 people a day. You need to book the ferry (and ideally a spot on the ranger-led Lands and Legacies tour) in advance, not show up and hope.
Is Sea Island open to the public?
Not really — Sea Island is accessible by bridge from St. Simons, but it's effectively restricted to hotel guests and members of the Sea Island Club. It's worth knowing about for the name recognition, not for planning a casual day trip.
How do you see the wild horses on Cumberland Island?
Just by visiting and walking the beach or trails — the roughly 130 to 150 feral horses (descended from Spanish-introduced stock over 500 years ago) roam freely rather than being kept in one viewing area. There's no guarantee on any given day, but sightings are common enough that most visitors see at least a few.
What is coastal Georgia known for besides Atlanta?
The Golden Isles' resort reputation, Cumberland Island's wild horses and undeveloped beaches, and Savannah's historic district with Tybee Island as its closest beach — genuinely different from what most people picture when they think of Georgia at all.
