Jekyll Island, Georgia

This community is immune to overdevelopment and commercialization because the entire island is under the Jekyll Island Authority, a governing board. A legislative mandate declares that 65% of the island will be left in its natural state. The last home permitted to be built was in the 1970's. In the mid-section of the river side of the island is a 240-acre (0.97 km2) Historic District where most of the buildings from the Jekyll Island Club era still stand, most in remarkable preservation. The centerpiece of the grounds is the enormous Jekyll Island Club Hotel, a two-winged structure that contains numerous suites for rental, including a beautiful presidential suite that contains the 3-story turret on the front of the building. Thirty-three buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries surround the hotel, with many being mansion-sized cottages. A bike path surrounds the island, with wonderful views of tropical vegetation and ocean. The sand on the beach is firm enough to support your bike while weaving among huge tree-sized pieces of driftwood. If your husband thinks a romantic evening is spent with a 12-pack of beer sitting on the couch watching a video, drag the lug to Jekyll. Walk directly from your hotel on an elevated boardwalk over the sand dunes to the beach. The civil war movie Glory was filmed on the beaches of Jekyll Island. Those Hollywood producers aren't stupid.  EARNS OUR HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.