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My brother Jeffrey, a pasty white land-lubber from the middle of the middle-est state in America, was visiting us during his birthday. As a present, we took him out kayaking. “What is this?”, he shrieked, voice full of terror.

“That’s the ocean, Jeffrey. It’s just water.”

Our brother-in-law Joe had come up from Jacksonville to partake in the fun, and we all arrived early at North Island Surf & Kayak, on the interior border of Tybee Island. The usual proprietor was out-of-town, and his parents were down from Augusta to manage the place. They were a super-friendly couple, fully possessed of that southern tendency to chat openly with complete strangers. It still takes me off-guard to suddenly be swapping stories about my childhood or their dog who’d been poisoned by malicious neighbors, with someone I’ve just met.

The four of us spent the whole day out on the water — split between paddling up the Lazaretto Creek which flows inland, and then into the ocean. Joe and I managed to spot dolphins, one of which surfaced just ten feet from my kayak. Although Jeffrey and Juergen weren’t so lucky, we all had an awesome time. Being outdoors on a perfect, warm fall morning, exercising muscles that haven’t been used in probably 10 years… it was a great way to spend the day.

The kayaks cost us $40 apiece to rent for an entire day, which seems perfectly fair. They were of good quality — despite being total newbies to the sport, none of us were ever in danger of capsizing. And the North Island shop is perfectly situated; you can choose to go upstream, paddle over to Fort Pulaski, or just along the coast of Tybee. They also do day-long guided tours.

North Island Surf & Kayak
Across the Lazaretto Creek Bridge on Tybee Island
Location on our Map
912-786-4000

$75 Off at BedandBreakfast.com

Tybee Island Books

Just a short half-hour drive from Savannah, Tybee is the region’s top recreational destination, with an incredible beach, surfing and kayak shops, nature trails and a wealth of hotels and motels.

This was our first excursion outside of Savannah. Tybee is really easy to reach: a straight shot eastwards down Victory Road, following pickup trucks that have bumper stickers of a necktie and a bumble bee (get it?!) The drive, which goes across Whitemarsh Island and past Fort Pulaski alongside the Savannah River, is gorgeous. For us, it was the perfect introduction to the nature of Georgia’s lower coastal region.

For our first visit to Tybee, we just wanted to see the beach. We parked the car at the very end of the road, and left poor Chucky alone inside. Because of the turtles which use the beach for nesting, dogs aren’t allowed on the sand. The weather was sunny but chilly, and we walked along the sea for about 30 minutes, until remembering that we’d only paid for 20 minutes of parking. We hurried back, and were just in time to see the cop pulling away. Grrrr… An expensive first trip to Tybee.

Tybee Island was originally inhabited by the Yuchi Indians, in whose language “Tybee” means “salt”. For a brief period at the end of the 50s, Tybee was renamed “Savannah Beach”, and although it’s reverted to its original name, that’s basically what it is. The huge majority of people we encountered were from the city, just enjoying the day on the island — about 3000 people live on Tybee full-time, and I would guess the great majority are in the tourism business.

I have a feeling that we’ll be visiting Tybee a lot — in fact, since our first trip, we’ve already returned and done some kayaking, which we’ll be writing about shortly. Anyone got other great tips for Tybee?

Tybee Island on our Map