Best Georgia Beach Retreat

With rapid construction overtaking Atlanta’s already jammed streets, there’s no better way to escape than to cruise down to CUMBERLAND ISLAND. It’s Georgia’s biggest barrier island, and it can only be reached by ferry, making it a subtropical oasis for a plethora of animals, including egrets, pelicans and wild horses. Walk along the secluded beach, with its backdrop of smooth, white dunes, and you might catch a glimpse of loggerhead turtles laying eggs. Or venture under the island’s canopy of massive live oaks to spot anything from painted buntings to armadillos. Be sure to check out Plum Orchard, the remnants of the Carnegie family’s Tara-esque mansion, built in the 1890s. The island’s serenity is constantly threatened by politician-led schemes to turn it into a tourist trap. For now, however, it remains the crown jewel of Georgia’s “Golden Isles.” If you visit, go between now and April, because the island’s wildlife also includes sand gnats and mosquitoes.
912-882-4336. www.nps.gov/cuis

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It may catch a lot of flack for its campy boardwalk and dated motels, but TYBEE ISLAND is a nostalgic alternative to the more highbrow St. Simons and Jekyll islands a little ways south. The three-mile-long barrier island sits 18 miles east of Savannah and 270 miles southeast of Atlanta and boasts Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse — as well as a fair dose of old-fashioned fun, including an annual water gun fight and beach bum parade. The tin-roofed, open-air, sandy-floored Crab Shack (motto: “Where the elite eat in their bare feet”) is not to be missed.
www.tybeeisland.com.