Amelia Island Travel Guide: East Coast’s Best Kept Secret
It was a whirlwind summer. We stumbled upon really knowing Amelia Island by accident. We were fleeing the West Coast of Florida in St. Petersburg from a Red Sea incident that completely took over. We couldn’t swim in the ocean, and it smelled like dead fish for miles. We stuck it out a few days and then decided to head home. I called a wonderful PR firm that I work with in Florida, asking in general where a great family friendly place to head to would be. Basically everywhere in Florida was booked this summer and especially last minute, so we intended on then heading home after googling and calling every Bed and Breakfast in Florida North of St. Pete. My wonderful agency found us an amazing new hotel, in Amelia Island. And I’m so glad it worked out because I cannot wait to go back to this place.
Amelia Island Travel Guide for Families:
We stayed at Springhill Suites by Marriott. It says it’s across the street from the beach, and it is… but it’s just a short pleasant walk and you can see the ocean from the hotel. The pool was so perfect for kids, the hotel restaurant so good, and everything was so clean. As parents of young kids, those are basically the 3 things you hope for.
We tried to make sure we saw a lot of the island to fully appreciate everything we’ve heard about it. I loved the old-timey feel, like we were part of a little secret slice of the land that no one else knew about. The downtown historic area is so cute and we went in a few shops up and down the street. The waterway on the west side of the island has a little harbor and we stopped to see some sailboats and caught the train go by. We ate at Timoti’s Seafood Shak which was extremely kid friendly with a huge wooden ship outside to climb in. The food came quickly and we ate outside on picnic tables. It was hot, but truly the best situation for young kids! Robert and I got the lobster rolls and the chicken fingers for the kids which were just a delicious.
When we go back, I would definitely stay at the Springhill Suites again with kids. It’s also near a playground and some marshes which made for a cute photo op and something different to see. If we went without kids, I do want to stay at the Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, which is the most beautiful looking bed and breakfast right on the beach. Amelia Island is a quick little getaway, close enough to Atlanta, to make the traveling not too strenuous… and at this point that is saying it’s worth it because I’m pretty much done with going anywhere far until Gable is pleasant in the car lol. Amelia Island has so many other amazing hotels too (like the Omni Amelia Island and the Ritz), but the overall feel of the island is really special. When we went this summer, I had a lot of messages from people saying they absolutely love it there and its not nearly as quiet as it used to be. I can honestly say the feel of it was still quaint and we were there in the busiest time of summer in July! The trip is well worth it wherever you stay, I feel like you can’t lose and will experience the charm anywhere on the island.
