St. Simons Island Tour Guide
Your complete companion to one of Georgia’s most beloved coastal treasures — where ancient live oaks drip with Spanish moss, wild marshes glow gold at dusk, and the beach is never more than a short ride away.
Georgia’s Crown Jewel of the Coast
St. Simons Island is the largest and most visited of Georgia’s Golden Isles — a barrier island of extraordinary natural beauty, deep history, and genuine Southern hospitality. Twelve miles of coastline, hundreds of acres of maritime forest, and a charming village district make it one of the most complete coastal destinations in the American Southeast.
The island sits at the heart of the Golden Isles, flanked by Jekyll Island to the south, Sea Island and Little St. Simons Island to the north, and connected to the Georgia mainland via the causeway through Brunswick. Here, the Low Country landscape reaches its most dramatic expression — vast salt marshes stretching to the horizon, centuries-old live oaks forming cathedral canopies over oak-shaded streets, and beaches where loggerhead sea turtles still nest each summer.
Whether you’re drawn by the celebrated golf courses, the thriving restaurant scene in the Village, the watersports on the Intracoastal, or simply the slower, warmer pace of island life — St. Simons delivers in every season.
Christ Church & the Island’s Deep Roots
St. Simons Island has been continuously inhabited since the early 1700s, when Fort Frederica — now a National Monument — was established by James Oglethorpe to defend the Georgia colony from Spanish Florida. The Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742, fought right here on the island, secured the future of the entire colony. Today, the island’s 1820 Christ Church Frederica, shaded by ancient oaks and draped in Spanish moss, stands as one of the most photographed landmarks in all of Georgia — a living testament to three centuries of Southern coastal life.
- Fort Frederica National Monument preserves the ruins of the British colonial fort and the surrounding town established by Oglethorpe in 1736
- The St. Simons Island Lighthouse, built in 1872, is one of only four surviving lighthouses in Georgia and remains an active aid to navigation
- Sea Island, accessible by bridge, is home to The Cloister — consistently ranked among the finest coastal resort hotels in the United States
- The Golden Isles Arts & Heritage Association and vibrant village gallery scene make SSI a serious destination for lovers of art and culture
- World-class golf at Sea Island Golf Club, home to the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic, and multiple championship courses across the Golden Isles
Everything You Need to Plan Your Trip
From celebrated restaurants to welcoming accommodations and unforgettable island adventures — it’s all right here.
Dining Guide
From coastal Georgia seafood and Low Country boils to elegant dinners on Sea Island, lively Village bars, and the freshest shrimp you’ve ever tasted straight off the boats in Brunswick — the Golden Isles dining scene is better than you expect.
Browse RestaurantsPlaces to Stay
Whether you’re dreaming of a legendary resort on Sea Island, a cozy inn tucked beneath live oaks, a beachside cottage, or a campsite under the Georgia stars — St. Simons and the Golden Isles have the perfect place for every traveler.
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Kayak through golden marshes, cast for redfish at dawn, tour Fort Frederica, climb the island lighthouse, take a dolphin cruise into the Intracoastal, or simply sink your toes into the sand at East Beach. The island rewards every kind of adventurer.
See All ActivitiesTaste the South. Take it home.
Bring the island
flavor
with you.
Handcrafted BBQ rubs and Southern seasonings — small batch, big character. The perfect souvenir from your Golden Isles trip, or a taste of the coast delivered to your door.
The Collection — Hover for details
Small-batch crafted
High-quality spices, thoughtfully balanced — bold without overpowering.
Made for Georgia cooking
Brunswick shrimp, flounder, redfish — the Everyday Seasoning was built for the coast.
Low-and-slow or open flame
Sweet BBQ & Black Coffee rubs perform beautifully every time.
Outstanding Dining, Warm Hospitality & Endless Adventure
St. Simons Island’s dining scene has evolved dramatically over the past decade into one of the most compelling on the Georgia coast. The Village anchors the experience — a walkable stretch of restaurants, bars, and ice cream shops centered on Mallery Street where the pace is leisurely and the cooking is serious. Spots like Halyards, with its celebrated wine program and impeccably sourced local fish, have put SSI firmly on the culinary map, while longtime favorites like Brogen’s and the Crab Trap serve cold beers and Georgia shrimp to generations of loyal regulars. The Pier Village area adds waterfront options with views across the Brunswick River, and the causeway corridor offers everything from no-frills Georgia BBQ to family-style Low Country boils that you’ll talk about for years.
Accommodations here span the full spectrum of coastal luxury and laid-back comfort. At the pinnacle sits The Cloister on Sea Island — one of the most legendary resort properties in the American South, with private beach, world-class golf, and the kind of service that inspires guests to return year after year. Back on St. Simons, the King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort has anchored the island’s hospitality scene since 1935. For a more intimate experience, the island’s vacation rental market offers everything from restored cottages beneath canopies of live oaks to sleek modern beach houses steps from East Beach.
On the water, St. Simons and the Golden Isles are genuinely extraordinary. The island sits between the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the vast, labyrinthine network of the Golden Isles Waterway and salt marsh creeks to the west — creating one of the richest aquatic environments on the East Coast. Kayak and paddleboard outfitters launch daily into the tidal creeks where bottlenose dolphins roll alongside your bow, osprey circle overhead, and great blue herons stand sentinel in the spartina grass. Fishing charter captains work some of the most productive inshore waters on the Georgia coast, pursuing redfish, flounder, spotted seatrout, and tarpon through channels and grass flats that have been fished for centuries.
On land, the island rewards every pace and temperament. History runs deep here — Fort Frederica National Monument, Christ Church Frederica, and the island lighthouse anchor an outdoor museum of colonial and antebellum Georgia that is both accessible and moving. The island’s tree canopy, much of it centuries-old live oak, makes cycling one of the great pleasures of a St. Simons visit — rent a bike and follow the trails from the Village to East Beach to the lighthouse with the ocean breeze at your back. As the sun drops behind the marshes and the sky goes gold, there’s no better place to be on the entire Georgia coast.