Sapelo Island, one of the most beautiful undeveloped Georgia barrier islands is a 20 minute ferry ride from the mainland.
- State public/group tours
- Private tours
- miles of unspoiled undeveloped beach
- Light house
- Maritme Forrests
- Plantaion Ruins
- Shell rings
- Gullah Geechee commmunity
- Hog Hammock
- Georgia State park/Reynold's Mansion
- Wildlife
- History
- UGA Marine Institute
This remote barrier island is a unique destination along Georgia’s “Colonial Coast.” The Blue Heron Inn has the closest accomodations and guests houses to the Sapelo Island Visitor Center and ferry dock. Your innkeepers will arrange either a state tour $10.00/person or a private tour of the island (price varies) with an island desendent/resident. A private Sapelo tour allows more time to explore what interests you and gives you a closer glimpse of Sapelo Island's culture. Please let us know ahead of time so we can assure you of a reservation. Last minute reservations are often difficult to secure.
Sapelo Island Visitor Center
The Sapelo Island Visitor Center is located at the mainland ferry dock in Meridian, Georgia and serves as a key distribution point for information about coastal ecosystems, educational opportunities, and tourism activities. Interpretive exhibits at the center highlight Sapelo Island's rich cultural history, the Hog Hammock Community, University of Georgia Marine Institute, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System as well as estuarine, barrier island, and shoreline habitats.
Guests are encouraged to explore the nature trails that weave through the maritime forest and along the marsh and salt pans surrounding the facility. Stop by sometime for a quick hike!
The center has a 50-seat audio-visual room for lectures, special programs, and video and slide presentations. This room is made available for special interest group meetings (Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of Sapelo, etc.). Please call for information on how your organization can reserve the Visitor Center A-V room for your next meeting.
Public tour reservations can be made by calling (912) 437-3224. Group tours for 10-40 people can be arranged by calling the Education Office (912) 485-2300. Tickets for public and group tours of Sapelo Island can be purchased at the Visitor Center. T-shirts, books, and videos are also available for purchase.
Sapelo Siights
Take a Journey of Sapelo Island with JR Grovner, a direct descendant of slaves brought to Sapelo in the early 1800s to work the plantations. Explore Native American shell mounds, visit the tabby ruins of an old French estate, check out Nannygoat Beach, tabby ruins of the slave cabins, and see the newly-restored Sapelo Lighthouse.
CALL JR GROVNER (912) 506-6463
With Sapelo Sights you experience more than a tour of Sapelo Island... you go on a journey!
WHY CHOOSE SAPELO SIGHTS FOR YOUR SAPELO ISLAND TOUR?
Sapelo Island is reachable only by boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile, twenty-minute trip. Your tour guide, JR Grovner is one of only 48 Sapelo Island residents and a direct descendant of African American slaves that worked on the island. He still resides on this phenomenon island with deeply rooted history. A 30 minute ferry ride and you're on an Island you will embrace the minute your feet hit the ground. A place where it feels as though time stands still, where nature and the Gullah - Geechee culture of Hog hammock are of uppermost importance. The R.J. Reynolds' mansion takes you back to the heyday and Sapelo Sights wants to guide through a journey back in time. Come Join us and experience Sapelo Island with a Sapelo Sights journey through time! You will explore the island and experience its unique local culture and history with an insider's perspective that only a native of Sapelo can give.
Spend the day on the beach. Take the ferry to Sapelo Island and rent a golf cart from 'Sapelo Go." Prior arrangemnts must be made in advance for a state tour or through a local island resident for ferry access. Be sure to bring your lunch and plenty of water. You won't find a restaurant you can pop into on Sapelo.