Brunswick (population 15,525) is a vital fishing port on the Atlantic coast. Located 243 miles southeast of Atlanta, it is the only major settlement south of Savannah, which lies 64 miles to the north via I-95. Brunswick has Victorian buildings and good beaches but it is best known as a gateway to the Golden Isles.

The Hofwyl-Broadfield Rice Plantation (1807) provides a good insight into plantation slavery and rice cultivation. Fort King George State Historic Site at Darien was the first colonial British garrison in Georgia and the most southerly outpost of English forces in the British Empire (1721-27). There are the brick ruins of an early sawmill, a graveyard, a reconstructed triple-story blockhouse, and also a museum with interpretive displays.

Offshore from Brunswick are the Golden Isles, best seen in spring.

After the Civil War some islands were given over to emancipated slaves but these impoverished agricultural communities have virtually disappeared.

St Simons Island is the most developed of the group. Its palms, oaks, salt marshes, and Spanish moss were found by the Spanish in the 1700s, and it was the site of conflict between missionaries and Native Americans. In 1736, James Oglethorpe began building Fort Frederica here as a defensive outpost.

Today it is best known for its resorts and golf courses. The village of St Simons features a pier and a lighthouse (1872). The Museum of Coastal History is in the lighthousekeeper’s cottage. Bicycle rentals, dolphin-watching cruises, and fishing charters are available. The eastern side has good beaches.

Jekyll Island is 10 miles south of Brunswick. There is a small admission fee. At its northern end are the ruins of Horton House, built circa 1740 of lime, sand, and oyster shells by William Horton, one of Oglethorpe’s officers. The island was purchased in 1886 by a group of millionaires, including the Vanderbilts, William Rockefeller, the Macys, the Astors, Joseph Pulitzer, J.P. Morgan, and the Gould brothers, forming the Jekyll Island Club. They built plush residences, now open to the public, and the southeastern area is now a historic district. Tours of the mansions are run out of the museum orientation center, which also has exhibits relating to the history of the island.

The original millionaires’ club is now a resort (there are other lodgings along Beachview Drive and a campground further north, near the nesting grounds of loggerhead turtles). The island has extensive cycle trails, golf courses, beaches, and a large water park.

Cumberland Island is a wildlife refuge of marshes, lakes, semitropical forests, beaches, and wild horses, and includes Thomas Carnegie’s Dungeness estate. Access is by ferry from St Marys. The National Park Service manages the island and runs history and nature tours. Only residents may drive cars here.

Buses connect Brunswick to Savannah and Jacksonville.