This place was excellent and very good interactive exhibits that talked about the beginnings of…read moreJekyll Island

This was a very good and educational museum. They have a lot of information about the island --…read morefrom before the Europeans descended until almost the present day. Included are the slave history and the creation of the Jekyll Island Club and its influence. Some of the nicer aspects are the touch and feel exhibits. And the interactive photo op where you can take pictures of yourself in various old time outfits. You will definitely learn something about the area and the island by coming here. The exhibits are done in chronological order. And they highlight the history and unique happenings on the island. It's a good starting point for those new to visiting Jekyll Island. Plus it is the location for the start of the trolley tour. You can purchase a ticket for just the museum or in combination with the trolley tour. We purchased our tickets on line which added a small service fee, but we figured this was safer as the island hosts many large conventions and sometimes the tours and the museum are quite busy. You can browse the museum before or after the trolley tour, if you take it. The day we came it had been pouring rain, so we were unable to take the trolley tour at our originally scheduled time. So we spent the first hour (waiting for the rain to end) leisurely viewing all the exhibits. In addition, there is a very nice gift shop attached to the museum. And it's worth a visit in itself.

I'm not sure if "blood and guts" is an appropriate description of our tour experience, but this was…read morethe most enjoyable ghost and history tour I've found yet. Our guide was friendly and very knowledgeable of local history and lore. The stories he told us were detailed and interesting and were rich with history, which was enjoyable for my husband as well (a skeptic as far as "ghosts") Take comfortable shoes and be prepared to spend about two hours. Open your mind and have a good time :)

Great tour of ST Simons ghosts! Guide had a great personality, good story teller and historian of…read morethe island. I would recommend the tour to all!

This is a must when you visit Georgia's Golden coast. These tabby slave cabins give you a chance to…read moreexperience a fundamental American history too many aren't taught. The cabins have been restored and preserved by a local garden club. On Wednesdays from 10-12 you can go for a free tour. It won't take long (maybe 30 min tops). The docents are excellent, and trust me you'll never forget what you learn.

This is a good place to visit for anyone intrested in history .The grounds are well maintained …read more Pleasant atmosphere close to the water. Beautiful scenery. A great learning experience.

This was our first trip to the area and we wanted to become more acquainted with St. Simons Island…read morebefore we planned the remainder of the day. So, we boarded the best trolley tour around and for the next 90 minutes...intakes the sights, sounds, and history of this amazing place. We came away with a deep appreciation for the history of this area. Rod did an exceptional job outlining both old and new. By the end, we knew what we wanted to do, the places we wanted to visit, and the restaurants we wanted to dine in. I know that tours are typically thought of for those enjoying their retired years, but we were so thankful we signed up for this experience. I would highly recommend Captain Rod and this tour. You can pay in advance on their website (recommend) or you can hope you get a spot when he pulls up. It's about $20 and well worth it!

SCAM! They take your money and never show up! Also no way to call....all numbers are wrongread more

It was a great day on the water with the Amelia River Cruises & Charters company at the helm…read more It was my first time visiting Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach and wanted to get an overlay of the area and the river cruise seemed like the perfect thing to get an overview of the area. And I wasn't wrong! The tour lasted about 90 minutes (and it leaves promptly FYI) and takes you along the shoreline of Amelia Island - past the shrimping boats and past a Civil War era fort - before heading towards Cumberland Island National Seashore. This is where the true fun of the tour was for me. I had no idea really the history of the island and found it fascinating how the Carnegies and Rockefellers and more of the country's elite used this random Georgia seashore as their private escape. The history of both Cumberland and Amelia Islands is incredibly fascinating and the guides for both the Florida and Georgia sides respectively were well informed and personable. Plus - you'll very likely see a ton of great wildlife throughout including dolphins and wild horses and pigs. It's a great way to spend an afternoon in the area and a fabulous introduction to Cumberland Island National Seashore/Park.

Really nice boat Super friendly tour guides…read moreStunning g views of fort an horses on Cumberland Island Wonderful sunset.! Good pricing!

The three of us decided to head out to Jekyll island and go on a dolphin tour. It was a very windy…read moreday and it ended up being chillier than any of us imagined. The tour had about 30 of us hopefuls and wow -it did not disappoint! Everyone knows there's no guarantee on a tour like this, but you always hope for the best. Our crew of two gave us some nice historical information about the island and great geographical info about the tides and how the island shore is changing. Then we started to spot the dolphins. Two over here, three that way, a pod in front-so exciting! We were able to see dozens of these beautiful creatures and some very close to the boat. Even with the cold, this tour is well worth the cost and I def recommend!

A great dolphin tour with Captain Pablo & Captain Eric. Both are very friendly and knowledgeable…read moreabout the area. You will learn about the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, possibly see a few. There are many interesting historical facts about the island and the surrounding locations, including the wildlife. Captain Pablo is a great narrator and has such a great sense of humor! You will not be disappointed!

Wonderful Family Dolphin Tour! Capt. Matt and Mimi made our trip even better. We saw Dolphins,…read morebirds, and horses. It wax great. The boat was beautiful and we had full access to everything. They even had binoculars for our 2 grandchildren. It was one of our family's fave things to do in St. Simons Island, and we will definitely be back!

BEST PART OF OUR TRIP!!! the boat was beautiful, we were flanked by a huge pod of dolphins and the…read morecaptain and first mate were just great. very welcoming and funny. they even checked if anyone had dinner reservations before letting us stay out a while longer than booked! bathroom on board, BYOB but had ice. i would 100% book this for a second time if i'm back again and they're available.

Great selection of top quality art in a large variety of media. One artist was available to speak…read moreto about her art that she was showing. Another cashier was also available to talk to. They also had books from local authors. The prices were very reasonable for smaller pieces of art. (Doesn't carry art supplies.)

Jekyll Island Arts Association is housed in historic Goodyear Cottage in the Historic District on…read moreJekyll Island. The JIAA hosts art festivals and other events throughout the year, in addition to offering classes in a variety of art mediums. They have a pottery guild on the basement level, a store on the first floor, and classes upstairs. JIAA's store offers art created by its members, and they completely empty and restock the gallery every few months. There are dozens of artists' work on display; paintings, sculpture, fiber arts, pottery, even origami. It is so inspiring to walk through and look at everything. Prices range from as little as $5 or $10 for a crafty item, all the way up to the thousands for large paintings. Most of the art pays homage to the Golden Isles region, which makes it a special place to find a one-of-a-kind souvenir. I bought pottery pieces at the JIAA spring festival 2023, and a painting in Jan 2024. I smile every time I see these pieces in my home. JIAA members run the store, and often there is a member at a demonstration table working on their art during store hours, which is a very cool touch. Many members are retirees who live on the island and bring artistic experiences from all over the world, so for an arts center, this place draws from a diverse pool of talent, and a caucus of expertise. In other words, this place is beautifully appointed and well run!

Walking or biking around the historic district is just perfection, no other way to describe it…read more While it's a good distance to walk, it's manageable. I'd suggest buying a ticket to the Mosaic Museum and trolley tour (buy the trolley ticket and you get in the museum and chapel free) and tour the district first. After the tour you can stroll at your leisure along the homes and decide which ones you want to visit with some knowledge in your pocket. The trolley tour also gains admission into the Rockefeller home, Indian Mound that is just amazing.

Jekyll Island has been many things to many people, throughout history. It was a seasonal place to…read morelive for indigenous tribes (the Guale & the Mocama), just as it was for America's most elite of the Gilded Age. It was first explored by the Spanish in 1510, & called Isla De Ballenas. In 1562, it was claimed by France, & called Ille de la Somme. It was later colonized by the Spanish, then in 1733, colonized by the English. While Jekyll was also once a plantation site, & landing for one slave ship, The Wanderer, (all of which is pretty serious history), there are few physical remnants of that time, & the prevalent stuff the island is known for are the flashy late-19thC / early-20thC "Club Era" manses in the Historic District, surrounding the Jekyll Island Club Resort, which is the most iconic historic building on the island. In its heyday, the JI Club, & stately abodes that make up the Historic District, comprised "the richest, most inaccessible club in the world." BFDs like J.P. Morgan, William K. Vanderbilt, Joseph Pulitzer, Marshall Field, Frank Henry Goodyear, etc. made JI their winter playground. Henri Charles DuBignon set out to create a winter retreat for the wealthy in 1886, & he was successful in this endeavor, until 1942, when the island was evacuated during WWII. At the end of the war, the state of GA bought the entire island. Today, the Historic District is 33 buildings on 240 acres on the western intercoastal "river" side of the island. The HD has a few access roads in it, but it is mostly a network of sidewalks, with benches throughout, & some picnic tables. All of the remaining structures are either fully renovated & in use, or are in some stage of restoration. The architecture is artful & romantic; no two buildings are alike. The showpieces are closer toward the water. These are the individual vacation homes of the prominent club members. Their mansions are called "cottages" in the ironic humor that only the most vile over-privileged people think is cute. I appreciate the work of the architects, & understand funding had to come from someone, but when I read the few didactics available at these sites, I wasn't really gripped by any of the stories. Not sure if it was simply the author's choice to highlight the showy-ness of how fancy, coveted, & expensive things were, or if that home's family really had nothing more noteworthy, humanitarian, or virtuous in their legacy to talk about, but I found the didactics, & even the plaque about J.P. Morgan's yacht, to be utterly grotesque. Yet, after the Trump Era, I guess I should've known better when walking around a former Mar-a-Lago. Maybe this is the socialist in me, but psychologically speaking, one must be a sociopath to reach a certain level of wealth. That said, regardless of these people's moral health, they created a beautiful spot, & no one thinks too hard while on island vacation in the sun, & the Historic District is exactly what tourists want to look at while sipping mochas or eating ice cream. The Jekyll Island Club is a large hotel building. Through JIC, you may also rent a room at the Sans Souci building (some of the first condos in the US), or one of the "cottages." The Crane & Cherokee cottages are popular for weddings. Other cottages are undergoing restoration, or are used for other purposes (offices, small local art gallery, etc.). The Gilded Age folk did create the Federal Reserve System at the JI Club in 1910, & made the first transatlantic phone call from the island in 1927, so some industry was accomplished. The former functional clapboard buildings (farrier, general store, etc.) mostly line Pier Rd, & are now all touristy gift shops. They are painted a uniform mustard yellow color, with brown trim. While quaint, they'd be much cuter in varying colors, to make each one stand out, w/ didactics in front of each to explain its former use. The Jekyll Mosaic Museum is the history museum adjacent to the HD, & they offer tours to explain all of the district's buildings, but still, didactics would be a much more enriching experience, to help that area come alive, IMO. Last, is this place haunted? Google ghosts on JI, for more, but the HD is known for ghost sightings. I encountered some heebie-jeebies at certain parts of the island: the path between Clam Creek & Driftwood Beach, near my rental house, the wooded area of the HD near the Sea Turtle Museum, and the JI Amphitheater ruins. But one night, smack in the middle of the lawn beside the HD's JI Club, I was walking around at sunset with a cocktail taking pictures, texting to a friend. My friend told me to zoom in on one shot; when I did, there were two ghoulish figures sitting on a bench--but there was NO ONE THERE in plain sight. What's more scary? My toddler woke up from his nap in the stroller & started saying "spooky ghost" out of the blue! I was so freaked out! See my posted photos to judge for yourself! Enjoy, but after sunset, get ready for some goosebumps!

Blackbird Charters Company took us on the boat today and give us a great A tour from a boat it was…read moreinteresting to tour the inter coastal waterways, we got to see the ship that turned sideways and they showed us some sea-life up close.

For one of the best experiences of your life choose Captain Raven. Whether you're interested in…read morefishing, dolphin watching or just seeing the Golden Isles from the ocean or the rivers and creeks you will be glad you booked with her. Two of us went out for about two hours and saw so much including Dolphins and an alligator, as well as learned a lot about the islands. You will not be disappointed with Raven's knowledge and abilities.