Savannah and Skidaway & Tybee Islands, Georgia

Our spring break is mid-March, which is unpredictable for finding warm and dry weather. On our recent trip to the Georgia coast, we scored nearly perfect weather. We took full advantage of the good weather to explore Savannah, Tybee and Skidaway islands, plus two campgrounds. Read more to learn about both campgrounds and our favorite experiences of the trip. 

We arrived at Skidaway Island State Park several hours early. Skidaway is a busy park and they rake each site by hand between guests, so checking in early isn’t an option. Fortunately there is a large parking lot available, so getting into the State Park early is possible. Our site, 06, was huge; as were all 87 sites. We had a pull off site with with water and electric. We had a lot of trees around us including woods on two sides. The campsites were gravel and the trees shed leaves constantly, hence the site raking. ​

The State Park offers a trail system through the marshes, a nature center (closed in March 2018 for renovation), and three playgrounds. We got a lot of use out of the trails, we enjoyed walking, running, and biking them. We really enjoyed the boardwalk and  observation tower on the Big Ferry trail. The kids loved watching snails and crabs during low tides. ​

Just outside the park is a Publix as well as The Village Bar and Grill. We bike rode to both and had a good meal at The Village.

Also nearby, about 20 minutes, is Savannah. We really enjoy Savannah. We visited Forsyth Park on Saturday morning during the farmers market. Forsyth Park is also home to a great playground and probably the most photographed fountain in Savannah. ​

The Savannah Coastal Heritage Society privately supports a fort and four museums. They offer a package of three sites at a discounted price. The first of the three sites we visited was the Georgia State Railroad Museum. This museum is located in a former train yard with a turntable and a number of buildings that used to support the rail industry. A large number of train cars are available to view and we enjoyed a group of a couple luxury passenger cars. ​

Next to the Railroad Museum was Savannah Children’s Museum, which was also popular with our kids. The museum is all outside and is recessed in the foundation of an old building. The kids enjoyed the maze, slides, building forts, and exploring the grounds. We spent almost the entire time they were open that day at the museum. ​

The final of the three sites we visited was Old Fort Jackson. The fort was built on a swampy area of the Savannah River a few miles from the city. Old Fort Jackson was a great experience largely because of the amazing people that work here. Our timing was perfect to join a tour. The guide was an outstanding story teller and made us feel the experience of life in the fort. We also experienced cannon and rifle demonstrations. ​

We spent a lot of our time in Savannah walking the historic districts, squares, and River Street. This walking requires good coffee. Fortunately, we found great coffee at Savannah Coffee Roasters and Fox and Fig Cafe. Fox and Fig also had great cookies and looked like a good place to eat as well. We had a very good meal at Treylor Park and even tried the famous PB&J wings, which were awesome. ​

We also enjoyed time on Tybee Island. We walked the beach and the beach shops. The water was cold as it was so early in the season, but the sun was warm and we were able to really enjoy the beach. We had good meals at Bernie’s and Crab Shack, both on Tybee Island. ​

As our week was wrapping up, we called River's End Campground on Tybee Island to see if they had any sites available; they had on site available for one night, which we grabbed. this campground was a good contrast to Skidaway Island State Park. Located on the north end of Tybee just a few blocks from the lighthouse and north beach, Tybee Island Campground location is ideal. The sites are small, but comfortable. The campground has a pool, camp store, game room, basketball hoop, and nice bathhouses. The primary amenity to proximity to the beach and the best of Tybee.

We had our site for 23 hours and decided to maximize our time on the island. We checked in right at 1pm and quickly settled in to our full hookup site. In less than an hour, we had camp set, explored the campground and we were off to explore on our bikes. We hit the beach, the bike trail that runs the length of the island, the beach shops, and a playground. As the sun started to set on a great day on the island, we found 80 East Gastropub for dinner. As it was the day before St Patrick’s Day, we started with corned beef nachos, served on waffle fries. We all enjoyed burgers with sweet potato tots and unanimously voted 80 East as our favorite restaurant of the trip. 

Shane got up early the next morning, while everyone else slept in, for a sunrise run down the beach. We regrouped for breakfast and decided to spend our morning biking the bike trail. 

We were fortunate to have this great weather for a spring break trip and hope the streak continues for spring break 2020. But, we have plenty of great trips planned before then!