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If you ask me, an easy weekend getaway from Orlando is anywhere I can drive in four hours or less. If I can leave Orlando in the morning and arrive by lunch, it’s worth packing up the car and skipping airport lines to be somewhere new for a change.
Fortunately for Orlandoans, you can find yourself in a dramatically different environment after just four hours on the road. If you want a destination that feels suspended in another time, then a trip to Georgia’s Jekyll Island is where to route your GPS.
Often referred to as “The Newport of the South” because of its Gilded Age history, Jekyll Island retains much of that early 1900s look and feel left by its posh winter residents like the Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Pulitzers. More than just historic architecture, the island feels like a southern movie set — cicadas buzz, birds twirl and twitter, ancient oak trees’ arms crackle out like lightning against warm sunset skies.
Today, many of the millionaires’ homes and estates still stand, including their exclusive hunting club which lives on as a historic boutique hotel. There’s a lot to do on the stoplight-free island beyond just admiring the living history—bike ride, shop, play croquet, visit a sea turtle sanctuary, and enjoy beaches that are broad and uncrowded.
Here’s how to make the most out of a long weekend in Jekyll Island.
A Jekyll Island Getaway at a Glance
| Drive Time from Orlando | About 4 hours |
| Best for | Couples seeking a romantic getaway, families wanting a screen-free long-weekend away, history lovers |
| Pet friendly | Yes |
| Budget | $$, nightly rates range from $250-$400 |
| On Property Amenities | Bike rentals, croquet lawn, pool, coffee shop, gym |
| Closest airport(s) | Jacksonville, Savannah |
| Jekyll Island Seasonal Charm | Fall for enjoyable temperatures and weather. Winter for the impressive Christmas light installation featuring lights wrapped around hundreds of live oak trees. Spring for the shrimp and grits festival. Summer for the best rates and a late August antique festival, Braderie South. |
Jekyll Island History
Jekyll Island is a protected Georgia State Park and a living history lesson. While some people might be familiar with Sea Island, its posh neighbor to the north, Jekyll Island retains its bygone Gilded Age charm.
In 1888, the exclusive invite-only hunting club, Jekyll Island Club, opened and became the winter gathering place of some of the nation’s wealthiest industrialists. Club members swiftly built winter “cottages” on the island (large European-style villas and estates) and a comprehensive village around this seasonal migration soon flourished.
At the club’s peak membership, its members represented 6% of the world’s wealth. Over the years, notable events took place here; like the meeting of minds that drafted the Federal Reserve, and the first transcontinental phone call.
Like most history lessons, these accounts come alive when you experience them in person—standing in the rooms where these events took place, and wandering the homes of the early American innovators.
The best way to learn all about Jekyll Island’s history is to take a Landmark Trolley Tour. This 60-minute open-air ride happens multiple times daily, and each one includes a private tour of one of the historic homes on the island. For a more romantic twist, you can also take in the sights of the island on a private horse-drawn carriage tour.
Related: Our Favorite Romantic Weekend Getaways from Orlando
Where to Stay on Jekyll Island
For a 2-3 day getaway, you’ll want to stay on the island. It’s 9 square miles and each time you enter the island you must pay a Georgia State Park entry fee ($10 per vehicle).
For lovers of luxury, historic boutique hotels:
If you’d like to wake up in the same surroundings as the former Club members, you’ll enjoy a stay in the original Jekyll Island Club Resort, which features updated rooms inside the original hunting club building. Rooms have their original enclosed porches with rocking chairs, and overlook the croquet green. The property also features a bar, dining room, wrap around porch, pool, and a bicycle rental cottage.
For private parties and large groups:
If you’re traveling with a large family, hosting a reunion, or having a wedding, you’ll want to book out one of the Jekyll Island Historic Cottages. These properties are former homes of the wealthy Club members, and have been tastefully renovated on the interior to have modern comforts while retaining the original character of the historic home. Not all cottages on the property are available for overnight stay, but Crane Cottage and Cherokee Cottage are designed to accommodate groups of overnight guests.
For classic beachfront resort ease:
If you prefer a more modern style hotel, then book a stay at Jekyll Ocean Club, a newer build property with a pool, restaurant, and easy beach access. It also has the Eight-Ocean Kitchen & Bar onsite which serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner of elegant Lowcountry classics.
3 Days on Jekyll Island
You can easily fill three full days on the island with things to do, mixed with downtime just to rest, relax, and rock in the many rocking chairs dotting the property.
What to do on Jekyll Island in the morning
In the morning, find breakfast in the historic dining room of Jekyll Island Club Resort. Southern staples like biscuits, gravy, and a full breakfast are served in this regal room overlooking the property’s large live oaks. If you’re not a breakfast person and just need a hit of good caffeine, wander over to Wake Up Coffee Co., a charming local coffee shop located on property in the former employee quarters.
What to do on Jekyll Island in the afternoon
Georgia Sea Turtle Center
Families and animal lovers should plan to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center which rescues sea turtles and rehabilitates them in a safe environment before releasing them back into the wild. See them up close as they swim around in large tanks, and learn about their habitat and lifecycle from the interactive indoor exhibits.
Rent a bike and Wander the historic village and Millionaires Row
Jekyll Island is a stoplight free island, and you won’t find a lot of car traffic here. The best way to get around is by bike on its many trails and paved pathways. Rent bikes from the Jekyll Island Club Resort and explore on your own. Stop for a beer in the beer garden at Founder’s Social.
Pick up locally grown souvenirs at Georgia Grown Signature Shoppe in the historic district. Or sign up for a vintage-style photo session at J.P. & Co. Gilded Age Photo Studio. If you like to collect local art on your travels like me, you’ll want to stop at the Jekyll Island Artist’s Association housed in the historic Goodyear Cottage. Here you’ll find works of local weavers, photographers, painters and other coastal Georgia artists to add to your collection.
Experience Jekyll Island History
Dedicate a full afternoon to visiting the Mosaic Museum which recounts the island’s extensive history through artifacts and storytelling. This is also where you hop on the trolley tour for a narrated guide to the historic district. Around dusk, book the Jekyll Club’s front lawn for a private croquet game and instruction session through the resort’s concierge. Don’t forget to wear the customary all-white attire and take photos on the lawn as the day’s light turns golden.
Jekyll Island Beach Day
If you’re craving sand between your toes, head to Boneyard Beach (also known as Driftwood Beach) a dramatic shoreline peppered with the remains of a maritime forest. Climb the gnarled tree roots weathered smooth by storms and wind.
Date Night on Jekyll Island
Book a horse-drawn carriage ride around the estate with the concierge. In the winter, when the island is bedecked in holiday lights for Holly Jolly Jekyll, this is the perfect thing to do to score incredible Christmas card photos.
What to do on Jekyll Island in the evening
Cocktails at The Alexander Bar & Boar’s Head Lounge
Kick off cocktail hour like the Gilded Age industrialists did in the Club’s dark wood salon. Sip bourbon or scotch by the bar, or sitting in the leather chairs by the large fireplace surrounds. Or take your spirit outdoors on the southern veranda to enjoy in a rocking chair.
Dinner at The Wharf
dine overwater at this historic pier where early island residents used to step off their personal ferries and onto the island for the winter season. Find southern coastal menu items here like a fried oyster Caesar salad, P’o Boys, seafood towers, chowder, and fried green tomatoes.
Dinner at Eighty-Ocean Kitchen & Bar
Make your way to Jekyll Ocean Club and kick off the evening with a nightly Champagne sabering. Then sit down with an empty stomach for a slow night of elegant Lowcountry plates such as a shrimp board, she-crab soup and a secret chicken dish that was favorite by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
However you decide to spend your time on Jekyll Island, we’re sure this Orlando getaway will make the perfect romantic long weekend!
