My husband and I are going to Amelia Island for several days in early March. Should we venture to Cumberland Island? The guides I've seen recommend going between April and June, but they don't say why!

Probably because of the heat later on, but it should be fine, though too cool for beaching, in March. I'd check though to be certan the ferry is running a daily schedule while you'll be there.

It is SO beautiful. You can catch the ferry in St Marys, GA for the day trip, get off at the first landing, do a walk around one of the Carnegie mansions, Dungeness, now in ruins, but it lets your imagination run wild as to what it must have been like. We saw most of the wild horses grazing around the ruins. Walk over the dunes and along the beach, back through the maritime forest to the second landing where you can catch the ferry back to the mainland. Don't recall how long a walk it was, but it couldn't have been too terrible...it was my first day off crutches after a torn calf muscle!

Hi Olyve, I was wondering myself if Cumberland Island is driveable from Savannah? Now isnt Cumberland the giant nature preserve with one Carnegie mansion that you can actually stay in, dress for dinner, NO A/C etc? I think theyre also more rustic cabins also.
I'm looking for day trips from Savannah since I'll be there a week. Beaufort is definitely on my list. Sorry to intrude on your post Laura but I know Olyve used to live there. If my info is correct Cumberland is beautiful, lots of wildlife to see which probably why they suggest the time frame you mentioned. Have fun

Yes, we went down as a day trip from Savannah. It's not a bad drive--unfortuantely I can't tell you exactly how long it took us. If we were driving to JAX though, it was generally 2 hours and St Marys is just over the border. The only problem is that the ferry leaves early and I think we left town before dawn to ensure arriving in time.

If you are planning to go to stay at the Greyfield Inn, which is another Carnegie home on the island, expensive, and yes dress for dinner, you leave from Fernandina Beach, not St. Marys. It's the hotel's boat and it takes you to a section of the island I haven't seen...not really close to the part we walked.

So..if you want to do a day trip, it's very doable from Savannah. The ferry leaves from St Mary's and you'll see the section of the island where the ruined mansion is, plus seashore and maritime forest.

If you want to spend the night, that means leaving from Fernandina Beach, FL on a different ferry for a different section. It will take you longer than 2 hours I would think to reach that ferry as you have to cut off the main road and head toward Amelia. (My 2 hr time frame took us to the JAX airport, which is on the north side of town and just off the interstate).

Beaufort is a nice day trip as well, about an hour north of Savannah. It was no intrusion Jon-Eric--that's what these threads are all about. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks Olive! I wasn't thinking of staying overnight this time, but am considering a day there. I've checked out Greyfield before, seems nice but it was something like 250.00 a night, dress for dinner with NO air conditioning seemed ridiculous. I mean maybe in Nov-March that might work.
I love Beaufort and am definitely going there for a day from Savannah. Thanks again!

You can't drive to Cumberland Island. You will have to take the Ferry over to the island. Don't go in July - September. The heat and humidity is terrible. You will have to do a lot of walking on the island. No transportation. Island is worth seeing but some of the advertising is overated. The "wild" horses look like tired little things. They don't even run from you. However, it is a beautiful beach.

I've been to a lot of places in the U.S. and Europe, and my one day on Cumberland Island (in July, no less) stands out as one of the best memories of my life. We saw more than 30 wild horses, near the ruins and on the beach, and all looked healthy, as did the two deer we came across walking through the forest. There were about 12 people total on the two miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, and the sand dunes were more than 20 feet high. MAt least 10 dolphins cavorted nearby when we were on the beach, and to go from the bright sunshine and ocean into the shaded forest was a unique experience. I highly recommend a day there!

We were there in the dead of summer as well. To make matters worse, I had torn my calf muscle and that day was my first off crutches (no joke), but I did OK with the walk. There was a lot of undisturbed beauty to take my mind off my leg and I happily limped the entire distance from one ferry landing to the other!

In all fairness, Postal and I may be more acclimated to summer heat than Mar459 was. Postal lives in FL, and at the time we did Cumberland, we lived in Savannah. We both knew heat. Laura has already had her trip. Wonder if she went and how she liked it?

Now...as to the wild horses, no they didn't run, but they would have, or worse, had you tried to get too close to them, I guarantee! They are used to visitors--visitors keeping a safe distance. I used to ride and knew instinctively these were horses I wouldn't want to go pet! gt;