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Offered languages
- English
- English
St. Simons Island is almost exactly the same size as Manhattan, but instead of skyscrapers, it has live oaks, and instead of eight million people, it has 6,000 years of layered history. On this audio driving tour, you'll trace the island's story from Indigenous shell rings to World War II submarine attacks. The tour starts at the Pier Village parking lot, beside the old fishing docks. From here, you'll drive past the St. Simons Lighthouse, built in 1872 on the footprint of an earlier light whose Confederate-hidden Fresnel lens has never been found, and along the coast where German U-boats torpedoed American oil tankers just offshore in 1942. Along the way, you'll hear the story of Igbo Landing on Dunbar Creek, where a group of West Africans chose defiance over enslavement in 1803. The tour ends back at Neptune Park by the pier, named for Neptune Small, a man born into slavery on Retreat Plantation whose name now marks the land he eventually owned.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
This tour starts and ends in the Pier area parking lot at the end of Mallory Street. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
Itinerary
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(Pass by)
Gaze up at this elegant 1872 lighthouse rising 104 feet above the southern tip of the island, its white tower marking the spot where an earlier light was deliberately destroyed by Confederate forces retreating in 1862 — and where a Fresnel lens hidden somewhere on the island has never been recovered. Climb all 129 steps to the top for views stretching 22 miles out over the Atlantic, and look down at the coastline where German U-boats hunted American oil tankers close enough to shore that island residents could see the fires burning.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Stop at this beloved community gathering place named for Neptune Small, a man born into slavery on Retreat Plantation who lived to own land on the island that had once owned him. Enjoy the easy atmosphere of a park whose very name carries one of St. Simons' most quietly powerful stories of perseverance, freedom, and the long arc of a life well lived.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
See the handsome 1936 WPA-built Coast Guard Station, now home to a museum that brings the island's extraordinary wartime role sharply into focus. Discover how St. Simons residents watched German submarine attacks unfold just offshore, how the Coast Guard patrolled these beaches on horseback, and how a barrier island of a few thousand people found itself on the front line of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Walk the edge of this quiet tidal marsh where, in July 1742, a small force of British rangers and Highland soldiers ambushed a vastly larger Spanish force in the long grass and changed the course of colonial history. Stand in a landscape that looks much as it did that morning and consider how a skirmish lasting less than an hour secured British control of Georgia and, arguably, the future shape of the American colonies.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Explore the evocative ruins of the town and fort General James Oglethorpe built in 1736 to anchor Britain's southernmost colonial frontier, its tabby walls and excavated foundations emerging from a landscape of live oaks and Spanish moss. Learn how this small garrison of soldiers and settlers held off a Spanish invasion fleet in 1742, in a victory that secured the Georgia colony and ended Spain's ambitions north of Florida.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Pause at one of Georgia's oldest and most beautiful churches, a whitewashed Gothic Revival building nestled beneath ancient oaks on the site where John and Charles Wesley preached to Oglethorpe's settlers in the 1730s. Wander the storied churchyard where the graves of soldiers, planters, and island families trace three centuries of St. Simons life in mossy epitaphs beneath the trees.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Drive the oak-canopied entrance avenue that Anna Page King planted at Retreat Plantation, its cathedral arch of live oaks forming one of the most photographed stretches of road in coastal Georgia. Reflect on the cotton plantation that once occupied these fairways, worked by hundreds of enslaved people whose labour built the wealth that planted these very trees.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Return to the lively heart of St. Simons Island, where the old fishing docks, waterfront restaurants, and weekend market carry the easy energy of a community that has always gathered by the water. Browse the stalls, watch the boats, and take in a scene that connects directly back to the steam ferry tourists in straw hats who first made St. Simons a destination more than a century ago.
Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Finish at this breezy oceanfront park on the island's east shore, where a wide beach and a picnic grove of live oaks offer a natural full stop to a day of layered history. Kick off your shoes, walk down to the waterline, and look out over the same Atlantic that brought Indigenous settlers, colonial soldiers, enslaved Africans, and German submarines to this small but story-rich island.
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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