Tybee Island from Savannah

Yes, as a day of its own. It is the ocean beach for Savannah, about 17.5 road miles out on US-80, with three and a half miles of beach, a lighthouse you can climb, a county pier and a small science center. It is not worth wedging between timed plans downtown, because the one road on and off decides when you get back.

Yes. US-80 runs from Savannah onto the island, and it is the only road. Parking is paid everywhere on the island, $4 an hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. year-round through the Park TYB app or a $25 calendar-day pass, and the city counts about 2,100 spaces for a three-square-mile island. On busy weekends the city sets up traffic controls on US-80.

Lifeguards are on duty from May 1 to October 31, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at towers on the north, mid and south beaches and the Back River, and the safest place to swim is near one. Read the flag: green is calm, yellow moderate surf and currents, red rough water and strong currents, purple dangerous marine life, double red water closed. If a rip current takes you, do not fight it; swim out of the current, then toward shore. The south-end sandbar beyond the warning signs is off limits, with fines up to $1,000.

About 17.5 road miles from the Historic District via US-80, and 27 miles from the airport. Drive time varies sharply with beach traffic, so no fixed minute count is reliable.

$4 an hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the year, anywhere on the island, paid through the Park TYB app (zone 2100), online or at a kiosk; the city takes no coins or cash. A calendar-day pass is $25, ending at midnight, and can be bought for up to seven consecutive days. There are about 2,100 spaces, and the lots near the pier fill first. The lighthouse ticket includes two hours in its own lot, after which you move the car to the public lot across the street.

Yes: 178 steps, with a landing and a viewing window every 25 and no elevator. Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for seniors and ages 6 to 17, sold 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Monday; the station closes on Tuesdays, New Year's Day, the day of Savannah's St. Patrick's Day parade, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The ticket includes the Tybee Museum in Battery Garland. The tower and its catwalk close in bad weather, without refunds.

North Beach, from the lot at 37 Meddin Drive, for the lighthouse, the science center and a quieter base. South Beach, from the lots between 14th and 18th streets, for the pier, Tybrisa Street, the most places to eat and the biggest crowds. Mid Beach for a plain beach day on a residential stretch with no dedicated lifeguard tower. The Back River side, off Chatham Avenue, for sunset and calmer water. Little Tybee is a separate, undeveloped island reached only by boat.

No. Pets are banned on the beach, along with glass, smoking and littering; service animals are the exception. Off the sand, McQueen's Trail allows dogs on a leash no longer than six feet, but the county closed the trail on August 3, 2026, until further notice.

Climb the 178-step lighthouse and see the Tybee Museum in Battery Garland, a Fort Screven battery of 1899. Visit the Marine Science Center next to the North Beach lot, 45 to 60 minutes of touch tanks, a fossil room and a ship-watching loft. Walk the county pier at the south end, open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Take a dolphin boat from Lazaretto Creek. Watch the sunset from the Back River side. On the way out, stop at Fort Pulaski.

Five places publish an address and, in most cases, hours and prices: The Deck at 404 Butler Avenue on South Beach, open 11 to 9 daily, with fish and chips at $22; Huc-A-Poo's at 1213 US-80, pizza by the slice for $5 or whole for $20 from 11 a.m.; Sundae Cafe at 304 First Street at the north end, dinner Monday to Saturday from 4 to 9; A-J's Dockside at 1315 Chatham Avenue on the Back River, the sunset side; and The Crab Shack at 40 Estill Hammock Road on the creek before the island, where the transport-included dolphin day trip stops for lunch.

The Tybee dolphin day trip in the catalog includes trolley or bus transport from Savannah, lunch and the dolphin cruise, so a group without a car can do the coast without US-80 parking; confirm the pickup point at checkout, and note that it does not stop at Fort Pulaski. Otherwise it is a drive on US-80.

The beach is reachable at three points, where Mobi-Mats run onto the sand: the North Beach mid-lot, Second Avenue and Tybrisa. Ocean Rescue lends beach wheelchairs against ID, subject to availability, so call before you go. The lighthouse is 178 steps with no elevator. The pier pavilion has restrooms and showers.