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.