Copyright. Barefoot Beachcombers Club. All rights reserved
Yes, we know...........
Your Planning Committee is well aware that these prices are ALL significantly higher than they were in 2015 when we last visited the Golden Isles of the Georgia Coast. We've been walking around for days with our jaws on the floor, checking and rechecking our math. Nearly everything has increased by 100%.....or more. The travel and tourism industries were devastated by the Covid pandemic and it appears they are determined to recoup their losses as quickly as possible. You can be assured that we have done everything possible to keep your costs as low as possible.
Jekyll Island & St. Simon's Island
The Golden Isles of the Georgia Coast
Day 1 - Monday
Leaving our vehicles safe & secure in Lamer's Bus Yard, we'll head to Georgia, making a stop at the Beaches Town Center in Neptune, Florida.
May 15-18, 2023
4 Days / 3 Nights
Cancellation Policy for BBC Trips Lasting Longer Than One Day
1) A cancellation for an overnight trip will be accepted if it is received by email to the Club Secretary (bbc32162@gmail.com) at least four (4) days prior to the beginning date of the trip anda replacement can be arranged.
2) The replacement will come from the waitlist first. If no waitlist exists for the multi-day trip, the cancelling club member can provide replacements (replacements do not have to be club members.) When a replacement is arranged and confirmed, a refund check will be sent to the cancelling club member.
3) If a cancellation is not able to be filled, either from the waitlist or substituted by the cancelling member, the trip transportation fee will be forfeited. Any money charged for additional activities paid in advance will be refunded.
4) Hotel deposits and cancellations are not the responsibility of the BBC and must be handled separately and solely by the club member.
5) The cancellation will not be accepted if it is received within four (4) days of the beginning of the trip, whether or not a replacement can be found, and the cancelling club member will forfeit their entire trip transportation fee.
The drive-by tour includes 36 points of interest including the highlight of the tour, a walking tour of Christ Church Churchyard at historic Christ Church . Other sites include the Lighthouse, one of only three working lighthouses in Georgia; Bloody Marsh, site of the famous 1742 battle where the fate of the Southern Colonies was decided; Fort Frederica, the colonial town and fort settled by General James Edward Oglethorpe; and Retreat Plantation, where relics from the slavery era still exist.
We will head back to our hotel, the hot tub and pool in the afternoon, either completely tuckered out or ready to hop aboard a Sunset Dolphin Boat tour of Jekyll Island. This is an optional tour that runs $25 per person and departs at 6:45pm. Here's a preview peek: https://captainphillip.com/dolphin-tours/
Day 2 - Tuesday
Nothing quite reveals the history of the island in the manner the Jekyll Island Hotel Club does. We'll venture to the Club grounds and spend some time in the Mosaic Museum before boarding a trolley for our private, 2 hour tour of three "cottages" and a church built by our country's wealthiest men in the late 1800s. These "cottages" typically ran between 11,000 and 18,000 square feet in size! Step aboard the trolley and hear absorbing stories of these families during this era. There are two restaurants on the grounds - the Hotel restaurant and a cafe, Pantry, if you are hungry during your free time here.
Our trolley tour is scheduled from noon until 2pm, and there is too much more to do here to hop off the trolley and board the bus. There are several shops on the grounds and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is just off the same parking lot.
Assuming you’ve developed an appetite for fresh seafood, the ship's staff will prepare and serve a low country sausage and shrimp boil for your pleasure.
The cost of this excursion is $56, including dinner—a very good price, we feel, for an exceptional and entertaining learning opportunity!
Liability Waiver: The BBC has a revised Liability Waiver specific to our club. Please click on link below, print and sign, and give the form to your bus leader on this trip.
Before you click on the waiver, one of these is good for your lifetime. PLEASE do NOT submit these for every trip!!!
The Fine Print
I/we would like to go to I/we would like to go to the Golden Isle Coast of Georgia with the BBC on May 15-18th. Enclosed is my $185 check (per person).
Please print your name(s):________________________________________________________________
I/we would like to be on the bus with these friends: (up to four names) __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I/we still have a credit with the BBC and I would like to use that credit. ____
During the trip, I can be reached at this phone number: : ____________________________
I/we want to take the Lady Jane Shrimp excursion. # of people __________
I/we will likely take the Lighthouse Tour on St. Simon's Island. # of people ________
I/we will likely take the Georgia Sea Turtle Center tour. # of people _____________
I/we will likely take the Sunset Dolphin Boat Cruise on Jekyll Island. # of people ___________
(Do not enclose payment for any additional tours at this time. We will invoice you once the lottery is drawn
and we are certain the group minimums are met.)
I have read the BBC trip cancellation policy for trips lasting longer than one day and agree to adhere to it.
Your Signature: ________________________________________________________________________________
Because we have a number of new members, we want to make sure all of our members are aware of our cancellation policy for trips lasting more than one day. The businesses and services we will be utilizing during this trip require commitments and deposits from us; therefore we (your BBC Committee) must ensure that we will have the necessary funds to meet these commitments. Please read our cancellation policy and acknowledge on the reservation form that you agree to it.
Additionally, our contract with the hotel has a rather steep attrition clause in it. For that reason and the level of participation in the last multi-day trip, we have only contracted for 30 rooms. Should the demand for this trip exceed one bus, we will ask the hotel to add another block of 30 rooms to our contract, but we are not guaranteed the same daily room rate. We are drawing the lottery on a shorter time frame than normal to assess the interest in the trip so that if we need to add rooms, tours, etc., we will be successful in doing so.
If you don't want to climb to the top of the lighthouse, you can enjoy these two photos we took from the top in 2015.
Yes, it is a beachfront hotel on the Atlantic coast. So, some of you may choose to ignore all of the plans we've made for you, find your spot on the white sand......and stay there!
Yes, it's more costly than any of the hotels we've contracted with in the past, but they have all gone way up since our last multi-day trip. This invitation is a tad late because we continued hunting until we were certain this was the best location and value. They are discounting our rooms, waiving the $20 daily resort fee and including a complimentary breakfast for two each day. The hotel also offer a free local shuttle, complimentary Wi-Fi, safe deposit boxes, outdoor pool and whirlpool, the center of Jekyll Island is only 1.7 miles away....the ocean just steps from your room.
You'll have time for lunch at one of the many restaurants, a bit of shopping, or you can stroll down to the beach at the end of Atlantic Boulevard for a bit.
If you want to early peek at the variety of dining spots, you can find them all here: https://www.beachestowncenter.com/dine.
You can start your vacation shopping at Beaches Town Center as well. For a full listing of the temptations you'll encounter, check: https://www.beachestowncenter.com/shop. If you left your planned beach reading at home by accident, the Bookmark (opened in 1990) looks like the perfect spot to pick up a new one!
Back to our beach front hotel for perhaps a nap on the beach? A little later, some of you may want to take another optional tour, but one we can recommend very highly, having taken it in 2015. Up to 35 lucky passengers will venture to Brunswick to board the Lady Jane Shrimp Boat where you will set sail on a 2 hour adventure in protected waters, the Marshes of Glynn County and its’ tributaries, so this will be a calm sea excursions with no rough water. Once a commercial steel hull shrimping trawler, she has been retired after years of loyal service to the shrimping industry. She has been painstakingly refurbished for the purpose of eco-tourism, education, and conservation. The Lady Jane will trawl the waters for many different kinds of sea life which will be brought aboard by nets. A marine biologist will share with you what is caught. You'll have an opportunity to look closely at the catch, sometimes pet the catch (!!) and learn about what all lives beneath the calm waters. Everything they snag in their nets is returned to the sea. Their Trip Advisor rating is currently 5 stars out of 5. https://shrimpcruise.com/
It's difficult to decide where to go beaching when we have 3-4 days to loll around in the sand, but this was not even a close call.
Those members who choose not to participate in the Lady Jane excursion can spend the evening on the beach, by the hotel pool, walking next door to The Beaches Restaurant for dinner, or hoping aboard the complimentary hotel shuttle to the bustling center of the island, or to a restaurant of your choice.
A busy day starting with your morning beach walk, a dip in the pool, your complimentary breakfast and being packed by the 11am check-out time (sigh). Shortly after 11am, we'll be onboard our bus. But before we leave Jekyll Island paradise in our rear-view mirror, we'll make a brief stop at Driftwood Beach on the northern end of the island. The optimal time to visit is at low tide. On May 18, 2023, low tide will be at 2:47pm, so we'll be a tad bit early, but it's probably worth a stop anyway.
Fully underway by 1pm, we'll head to St. Augustine for a lunch and shopping stop....after all, who is in a rush to get home? Again at a designated time, we will re-board and complete the jaunt home. (Tim & Melanie have two granddaughters graduating from high school at 8pm the evening of 5/18, so we will definitely be back at Lamer's bus yard by 5:30pm.)
Cost Per Person - $185
Includes:
- extensive 4-day bus transportation
- admission onto Jekyll Island
- 2-hour private, guided trolley tour of The Jekyll Island Hotel Club and guide tip
- 2-hour private, guided trolley tour of St. Simon's Island and guide tip
- tips and accommodations for our driver
The Sea Turtle Center is Georgia's only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility. The tour cost to visit the rehab portion of the facility is $9. This is an optional tour.
If you'd prefer to support their efforts in a less hands-on manner, they have a great gift shop on the property as well. It's never too early to shop for Christmas presents for your sea and turtle loving friends and grandkids!
Or the following OPTIONAL tours in Georgia:
- Lady Jane sailing and low-country boil -- $56
- St. Simons Lighthouse Museum -- $9
- Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Center -- $9
- Sunset Dolphin Boat Tour around Jekyll -- $25
Day 4 - Thursday
The Lady Jane Shrimp Boat is an OPTIONAL excursion. We are limiting the number of passengers to 36 for comfort and access to the net catches. When we conduct the lottery for this trip, the first 36 members who sign up for this trip will be confirmed for this tour. If the demand is greater than one excursion can accommodate, we do have the option of adding a second outing.
The cost for the Lady Jane Shrimp boat and dinner is $56 and is not included in the trip transportation fee.
To get in on the fun planned for this special trip, print the reservation form by clicking on the green button above. On March 10th, we will conduct our lottery and you will be notified shortly thereafter of your seat confirmation or waitlist status. Mail or drop the reservation form, along with your check (made out to the BBC) for $185.00*per person to:
Barefoot Beachcombers Club (‘BBC’ will also suffice)
333 Colony Blvd. #110
The Villages, FL 32162
Once the lottery is complete, we will provide you with the hotel phone number and group ID so you can personally call and make your room reservation. You will need to do that promptly.
Eventually, we will re-board our bus and continue to Georgia and our final destination for the day - The Holiday Inn & Resort on Jekyll Island - a paradise built on the island since our last trip there in 2015. We will aim to arrive right at check-in time - 4pm.
Get ready for a day of adventure on St. Simon’s Island, but not until after you've enjoyed your morning stroll on the hotel beach and your complimentary breakfast. We will center our day at the St. Simon's Pier Village District on the southern end of the Island. Shopping and dining options are plentiful or you can gather on the pier and take in the vistas. Overlooking the ocean and Jekyll Island across the way, you'll find the St. Simons Lighthouse and Museum, Neptune Park with its ocean-side pool and facilities, playground, miniature golf course, and an oak shaded picnic area, fishing pier, public library and theatre.
At the charming town center on the waterfront, we have arranged for 2 private, 2-hour trolley tours of the island, the first departing at 11am and the second at 1pm. You'll have ample time while you are not on the trolley, to find a perfect spot for lunch, shop or people-watch on the pier or in Neptune Park.
Just a 5 minute walk from our trolley departure location, is the St. Simon's Lighthouse, one of the nation's oldest, continuously working lighthouses. You can tour the museum and climb the lighthouse for $9 admission.
Does Not Include:
- your hotel room ($175 for two people, plus 11% tax, per night)
- most of your meals
- tip for your room attendant
If you are traveling as a single and are willing to share a hotel room, please indicate that on your reservation form and we will put you in touch with another single.
Day 3 - Wednesday