PHOTO: CALEB JONES PHOTOGRAPHY
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Sunrise at Jekyll Island’s Driftwood Beach.
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Pristine, Preserved, and Wild |
Depending on whom you ask, there are perhaps fourteen main barrier islands that flank the Georgia coast, protecting the mainland from the forces of tides, wind, and weather. Maritime forests, moss-draped live oaks, salt marshes, and unspoiled beaches make them enchanting places to visit. Endangered native species like loggerhead sea turtles and piping plovers thrive here, and a few surprising imports—like Sicilian donkeys and Madagascan lemurs—roam free.
Compared with other coastlines, Georgia’s remains remarkably undeveloped save for a few island towns dotted with hotels and vacation homes. Some of the barrier islands present total wilderness and beaches without a soul for miles, and therein lies the paradox: What makes the Georgia coast so appealing—a relative lack of human footfall—can sometimes make it hard to reach. Here’s a guide to exploring them the best ways we know how. —Mary Logan Bikoff
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EXPLORE MORE OF THE GEORGIA COAST |
STORIES TO INSPIRE WANDERLUST
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Where to Go in Savannah Now |
Two Locals Share St. Simons Island Hotspots
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Original Pinkie Masters:
Inside a Spirited Old-School Bar |
A Cumberland Island Home Showcases
the Wonder of Its Wild Setting |
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ELSEWHERE AROUND THE SOUTH
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Seven Southern Stays
with Hands-On Adventures |
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New Orleans. One of my best friends lives in Scotland, and for her first trip to the United States, we met in the Big Easy. It feels like all we did is eat and drink; we fit in many more meals and happy hours than any day is meant to allow (our favorites included exquisite gruyère cheese puffs at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, a jalapeño margarita at Muriel’s on Jackson Square, and the gumbo at Barrilleaux’s in Marigny). But fueled by all the oysters and po’boys and and Sazeracs, we fit in a few other standout activities:
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A first look: On a sneak-peek tour of the Audubon Aquarium and Audubon Insectarium, which will both reopen on June 8 after $34 million in renovations, we saw sturgeon, sea turtles, southern stingrays, and nurse sharks, but it was the insects that really blew me away. Great for kids of all ages, the new facility houses an ethereal butterfly garden, a section starring native Louisiana bugs like diving sunburst beetles—plus a station where an entomologist will be cooking up buggy delicacies (think crunchy Cajun crickets).
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Dancing ’til dawn: We danced until the lights came on at Tipitina’s on Saturday night, with the help of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Quiana Lynell, who stole the show with her jazz-meets-soul vocals and smooth, commanding stage presence. She’s performed with the likes of Jon Batiste and Tank and the Bangas and has an album out now. Here’s hoping she comes to Charleston soon.
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Fraternizing with wildlife: The Pearl River Basin is the natural jewel of Louisiana, home to hundreds of mussels, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and fish—including 98 percent of the species of greatest conservation need in the state. While on a swamp tour outside the city with Cajun Encounters, we saw Honey Island firsthand; learned about Pearl River map turtles (found nowhere else in the world) and invasive apple snails; and, of course, saw our fair share of alligators.
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