Savannah Squares, Tybee Beach & Cumberland Island Ferry

Three unhurried days in the Georgia coastal world — the Savannah historic district squares and Forsyth Park on day one, Tybee Island beach on day two, and a Cumberland Island ferry day trip on day three. Cumberland Island is accessible exclusively by the NPS ferry from St. Marys (80 miles south of Savannah); the relaxed version stays near the Sea Camp ferry dock and the Dungeness ruins rather than hiking north. The Dungeness Carnegie mansion ruins (1884, 59-room Gilded Age estate, burned 1959) are 2.2 miles from the dock on a level sandy path; the beach directly behind them has wild horses grazing at the dune line. A relaxed day on Cumberland — a picnic at the ruins, time on the beach, and the ferry return — requires no hiking and provides one of the most extraordinary natural settings on the East Coast at essentially no exertion.