Experience the best of Tybee Island

Tybee Island lies a short drive east of Savannah, where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic, and its name comes from a Native word for salt. The island's lighthouse, the tallest in Georgia, stands among the old buildings of Fort Screven, in a village of pastel cottages, and the broad beach and pier are the centre of island life.

On the way, Fort Pulaski National Monument, a brick fort begun in 1829 on Cockspur Island, was breached by rifled cannon in 1862, a lesson that ended the age of the masonry fort. Dolphins feed in Tybee Creek, and kayak trips lead through the salt marsh to Little Tybee Island, an undeveloped barrier island. Savannah's shaded squares are a short drive back.

Shrimp and grits, boiled peanuts, steamed oysters and blue crab are the island's meals, and fish shacks sit beside the creeks. The water is warm from late spring through early autumn, and winters are mild.