Georgia Region Guide
Why Plan a Trip to Georgia the Smart Way
Georgia gives you the history of the civil rights movement where it happened, a coastal city of remarkable architectural intactness, and a chain of near-wild barrier islands — at prices well under the coastal Southeast.
The friction is heat and distance. From late May to September the humidity is punishing, and the state is large: the mountains and the coast are five hours apart with Atlanta's traffic, among the worst in the country, in between.
The smart approach is to come between October and April, when the weather is genuinely pleasant, and to treat the state as two trips rather than one. Do the coast and the islands, or do Atlanta and the mountains — and if you must drive through Atlanta, do it outside the long rush hours.
Cities and Areas
How to Experience Georgia
If you travel slowly
Base in Savannah for a week and walk the squares. The historic district is small, shaded and made for walking, and the coast is an easy drive.
If you want to see the essentials
The civil rights sites in Atlanta, two or three days in Savannah, and one of the Golden Isles. Five days, with a drive between them.
If you seek local character
Boiled peanuts from a roadside cooker, a low-country boil on the coast, and live music in the university town northeast of Atlanta that produced more American bands than its size can explain.
If you want to go beyond the obvious
The Okefenokee by canoe, and the undeveloped national-seashore island reached only by ferry, where wild horses graze in front of ruined mansions.
Travel Profile
- Cities and Areas 1
- Best Known For Savannah’s squares • Civil rights history in Atlanta • The Golden Isles • The Okefenokee • Peaches and boiled peanuts
- Travel Styles History • City breaks • Beach holidays • Food and drink • Wildlife watching
- Getting Around A car throughout; Atlanta’s airport is the world’s busiest and has rail into the city
Responsible Travel Tips
The civil rights sites are not monuments, they are working history. Ebenezer Baptist Church is an active congregation; visit around services rather than through them, and give the King birth home and the National Historical Park the time they warrant.
Gullah Geechee communities on the coast and the Sea Islands are descended from enslaved West Africans and retain a distinct language and culture. They are under severe pressure from coastal development and property taxes. Buy from Gullah Geechee businesses and guides directly; do not treat the communities as scenery.
The wild horses on the barrier islands are feral and protected. Keep the required distance — they kick, and the rule is enforced.
The Okefenokee is a fire-dependent peat wetland under active threat from proposed mining at its edge. Alligators are everywhere in it, and feeding one is both illegal and a death sentence for the animal.
When to Visit Georgia
October and November are the best months: warm days, low humidity, and colour in the north Georgia mountains through late October.
March and April bring azaleas and dogwood and the most pleasant weather of the spring — along with the golf tournament in the east of the state that fills lodging for a hundred miles.
June to September is hot and very humid, with afternoon thunderstorms almost daily. The coast is marginally better than the interior; the mountains are the real refuge.
Winter is mild and quiet, rarely freezing on the coast, and the cheapest time to visit. The mountains get occasional snow and ice.
Hurricane season runs August to October and can disrupt coastal travel.
Travel Cost Levels in Georgia
What a day costs, by how you travel
Georgia is one of the cheaper states in the East. The exceptions are Savannah at weekends, the Golden Isles in summer, and anywhere near the golf in April, when rates triple.