The Best Beaches in Georgia

Tybee Island

Savannah’s beach — a wide, walkable strand with a pier, shops, and lifeguards in season. Every legal spot is metered or a paid lot, so budget for parking and arrive early on summer weekends.

Great Dunes

Jekyll’s main swimming beach beside the Great Dunes Park, with a beach village and bathhouse a short walk away — gentle, family-friendly sand. The island charges a daily parking fee at the gate that covers the lots here.

St. Simons Island

St. Simons’ wide, hard-packed family beach near the Coast Guard Station and the lighthouse — calm water and room to spread out. Parking is free but limited, so the lots near Massengale Park go early on hot days.

Sea Island

A pristine five-mile strand fronting the upscale Sea Island resort — beautiful, quiet sand that’s largely private. Public access is very limited, so most beachgoers head to neighboring St. Simons instead.

North End

A surreal “tree graveyard” where decades of erosion have left weathered, sun-bleached oaks and pines lying across the sand — one of the most photographed spots on the coast. It’s on Jekyll, so the island day-use parking fee applies; the small lot fills at sunrise with photographers.

Cumberland Island

Seventeen miles of undeveloped national seashore roamed by wild horses — about as remote as East Coast sand gets. There’s no driving on; you book the St. Marys ferry in advance and walk in, so it never feels crowded.

Saint Simons Island

Saint Simons Island

Saint Simons Island

Saint Simons Island

Saint Simons Island

Tybee Island-Wilmington Island

Darien

Savannah

Saint Simons Island

Jekyll Island

Jekyll Island

St Marys

Tybee Island-Wilmington Island

Saint Simons Island

Darien

Saint Simons Island

Tybee Island-Wilmington Island

Tybee Island-Wilmington Island

St Marys

Jekyll Island

Tybee Island-Wilmington Island