SSI is known for it's gorgeous beaches, the charming Village area featuring touristy shops and excellent restaurants, numerous recreational activities on the ocean and land and the friendly local residents known for their southern hospitality. Brunswick Golden Isles Airport (BQK) offers three round trip flights a day to and from Atlanta on Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), the Delta connection, b
y means of Canadair regional jets. Travel time is only 37 minutes by air. The brand new passenger terminal offers free WiFi, a snack bar, ATM, free baggage trolleys, a conference facility, and three rental car desks for Avis, Hertz and Budget; with courtesy personnel assisting arriving and departing passengers. From the airport, St. Simons Island is a quick 15 minute drive. Simons Island has received numerous travel industry recognitions in the past few months. The secret of this island treasure is receiving the recognition it has earned with it's gorgeous beaches, pleasant weather, strict building codes and array of recreational options. Yahoo Travel named St Simons Island as one of America's Ten Best Winter Beach Retreats! San Diego California, Kuaui Hawaii, Laguna Beach California, Rincon Puerto Rico, Galveston Texas, St Petersburg Beach Florida, Orange Beach Alabama, Long Key Florida, Grand Isle Louisiana and ST SIMONS ISLAND!! Impressive company for the best of America's winter beach retreats. In August, AOL Travel named St. Simons Island #3 of America's 10 Best Islands! They wrote " As America the Beautiful so lyrically states, our country extends "from sea to shining sea and some of the greatest escapes in the U.S. are to the islands that line our eastern and western coast (and don't forget the Great Lakes). No matter what you choose, you're guaranteed a vacation steeped in Americana." Their top 10 are Block Island Rhode Island, Key West Florida, Mackinac Island Michigan, Mt. Desert Island Maine, Mustang Island Texas, Ocracoke Island North Carolina, Orcas Island Washington, ST SIMONS ISLAND GEORGIA, Santa Catalina Island California and Shelter Island New York. Another impressive list of vacation destinations! One more accolade, this from the November/December issue of National Geographic Traveller, where it rated the world's Top Coastal Destinations. The ST. SIMONS ISLAND and the SEA ISLANDS of GEORGIA came in #18! They wrote "This year, the seventh for this annual survey, our panel of 340 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship rated 99 coastal destinations, a geographically and culturally representative sampler of the world’s waterside locales." For the Sea Islands of Georgia " Native Americans, British soldiers, African slaves, and wealthy late 19th-century vacationers have all left their marks on Georgia's sun-soaked barrier islands. Local residents have worked to safeguard relics of this multi-layered history. The islands' ecology is also in good shape. Though pressure to overbuild is mounting, most islands remain either "undeveloped or tastefully developed." Here is a representative sampling of additional anonymous comments from the panelists. They are not necessarily the views of the National Geographic Society:
"Few places on the Atlantic coast are as well preserved as the barrier islands of Georgia. Cumberland Island is managed by the National Park Service, Jekyll Island is a Georgia state park, Sapelo and Ossabaw Islands are largely undeveloped, and even Sea Island and St. Simon's Island are tastefully developed at low scale and density." "Very pretty and low-key. There is some development, but in general it seems to be under control. Beaches are wide and flat, and they slope gently into the water. This makes for relaxing, family-friendly beach activity. Towns can get crowded in high season, but they have retained a sense of cultural identity.”
"Beautiful setting and shaded by abundant live oaks. In addition to beautiful white beaches, the islands offer visitors access to many historic and archaeological sites. There has been pressure to overdevelop, but smart land-use planning has led to a nice mix of preservation and development." Three prestigious organizations have told us what we knew all along. When you live here, or if you have visited in the past, you just know you are in special place. Three flights a day from Atlanta on a 37 minute long flight, 15 minutes to get your bags, 15 more minutes to rent your "wheels" and 15 minutes to drive to SSI. From wherever you live in the Atlanta area, in approximately 2 1/2 hours, you can relax, explore and create lifetime memories here on this tranquil island haven of St. Simons Island! The King and Prince Beach Golf resort on SSI offers a variety of accommodations to suit every style and budget. Ocean front rooms with balconies or standard rooms just steps from the beach, 2 bedroom Villas or one of our 8 Resort Residences, the Resort has a wide array of options to call home away from home on your Get-Away to St. Simons Island. Visit us at www.kingandprince.com or call one of our Reservations Specialists at 800-342-0212.
