You can fill a day or a week in Coastal Georgia with activities tailored to your interests. Get off the beaten path and discover the nooks and crannies of our remarkable coast as you look for rare birds, explore museums, see Colonial and Civil War forts, taste our coastal dishes, explore African-American heritage, or photograph lighthouse after lighthouse.
Museums
The Georgia Coast is awash in heritage and culture, much of it carefully preserved in museums dedicated to a particular historic era, location or activity. Whether your interest runs toward Colonial history, WWII, the radio era, submarines, or fine art, the Georgia Coast can pack your days with interesting exhibits seemingly tailored just for you.
A Sample Day
Morning:
| INTEREST | MUSEUM | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Military | Mighty 8th Museum - Pooler | Exhibits of the 8th Air Force, from WWII to the present |
| Military | Midway Museum | Colonial/Revolutionary War history |
| Art & Architecture | Jepson Center – Savannah | Devoted to contemporary art and rotating exhibitions, the strikingly beautiful Jepson Center links Telfair’s future with its past, unifying the museum’s three distinct sites. It is home to Savannah’s only indoor, hands-on children's museum space, ArtZeum — a unique, 3,500-square foot interactive gallery for children and families. |
| Art & Architecture | Owens-Thomas House - Savannah | Tour Savannah’s most popular historic home, the Owens-Thomas House. Learn the personal stories of the families that lived there, and through them, the broader history of Savannah. It includes one of the only intact urban slave quarters in America. The Owens-Thomas House is architect William Jay’s masterpiece, and the best example of English Regency architecture in America. |
| Art & Architecture | Telfair Academy | The oldest public art museum in the South. View Telfair Museums’ permanent collection at Telfair Academy. Featuring nineteenth- and twentieth-century art from America and Europe, Telfair Academy showcases the best of the museum’s 7,000-object permanent collection in two main galleries. Take a FREE docent-led tour at 10am, 12pm, 2pm,4pm |
Midday: Lunch at the Historical Jekyll Club Hotel on Jekyll Island
Afternoon:
| INTEREST | MUSEUM | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Military | Historic Coast Guard Station at East Beach – St. Simons Island | Museum of St. Simons Island and the Coast Guard |
| Military | St. Marys Submarine Museum | Explore the life of a submariner. View a deep-sea diving suit, uniforms, models, and naval memorabilia. Explore the St. Marys River through a working periscope! |
| Lighthouse | St. Simons Lighthouse Museum – St. Simons Island |
Museum about the lighthouse, its keepers, and life on the sea |
| Radio | Georgia Radio Museum & Hall of Fame – St. Marys |
Antique radios, Georgia radio historical memorabilia, the interactive Georgia Radio Inductee Wall of Fame, a '40s American living room with a radio, and a typical '50s radio studio |
| Art & Architecture | Orange Hall House Museum – St. Marys | 1830-38 antebellum mansion, housing an Austrian and a Tiffany crystal chandelier, an elegant staircase, and unique antiques |
| Trains | Train Museum and Model Train Display - Folkston |
Railroad artifacts, genuine log books and model office used by dispatchers years ago, next to the tracks of the famous Folkston Funnel |