Visit Jekyll Island, American South

Georgia's Golden Isles, Jekyll, St. Simon's, Sea Island, Little St. Simon's and Cumberland Island have a long and colourful history. Originally settled by the Spanish, wealthy planters from South Carolina set down their roots here after the American Revolution, attracted by the perfect growing conditions for “sea island” cotton.

In 1887 Jekyll Island was bought for use as an exclusive club by a group of millionaires, including the Rockefeller and Vanderbilt families, who were enchanted with the island's pristine beauty. Their opulent Gilded Age homes still stand as testimony to a vanished age.

The other islands are well worth visiting, especially Cumberland Island, which has pristine maritime forests, undeveloped beaches and wide marshes that are now protected by the National Park Service.