Best Things To Do On Amelia Island:
4 Day Itinerary
Table of Contents
Only a few short months ago, I had never even heard of Amelia Island. But when my sister suggested it as our annual sister trip, I knew immediately we had found a gem! This island feels less like the rest of Florida and a lot more like Savannah, Georgia with it’s low-hanging Spanish moss, historic bed and breakfasts and charming downtown. It’s the perfect getaway spot!
How To Get To Amelia Island
Amelia Island is located at the northern tip of Florida on the eastern side. Just a 2 hour drive from Savannah, Georgia!
Closest airport: Jacksonville International (JAX)
We flew into Jacksonville which is the nearest airport. But even then, it’s a 35-40 minute drive to Amelia Island.
Here’s your options:
1. Rent a car at the airport (have a reservation in advance, rental cars were hard to come by!)
2. Uber or Lyft – we had to wait a long time to find one- try scheduling it in advance! We ended up getting a Lyft for $39. Uber was closer to $55 and never connected us to a driver.
3. Take a taxi. After baggage claim, walk outside and go to shuttle stop #4. Here you can find taxi’s waiting. We were offered a private taxi for $59 to the island.
Where To Stay
Amelia Island is home to countless historic bed and breakfasts. While there are plenty of hotel options available, I recommend staying at one of the B&B’s that are centrally located.
We stayed at the stunning Fairbanks House and loved it’s prime location!
We loved this bed and breakfast for its history, close walking distance to downtown, free bikes, included daily breakfast, welcoming hosts and the free daily social hour of snacks and drinks.
Social hour at the Fairbanks House is not to be missed. Each day, we’d gather on the porch and enjoy a different tasty snack from the chef and complimentary drinks.
We stayed in the beautiful Library Suite for 4 nights which was once the original library in the mansion.
Know Before You Go
- Ubers and Lyft are almost non-existent on Amelia Island so make sure you have a way to get around to your tours & activities
- Amelia Island is a popular vacation spot and tours sell out. Book kayaking tours, trips to Cumberland Island and sunset cruises in advance
- Amelia Island is overall a slightly more expensive destination but cheap food & drinks can be found
Things To Do Amelia Island
Day 1 Overview
- Check into your hotel
- Go explore the downtown shops
- Eat dinner at España for Spanish & Portuguese cuisine
- Grab ice cream for dessert downtown
- Head to the Salty Pelican for live music and sunset from the top deck
Day 2 Overview
- Bike to Fort Clinch State Park
- Explore the fort and look for shark teeth on the beach
- Rent a e-scooter with Road Shark Power Sports
- Soar over Amelia Island with Florida Adventure Sports
- Have late lunch/dinner at The Sandbar & go for a swim on Main Beach
- Return your scooter & go see live music at the Green Turtle or watch sunset from the marina
Bike to Fort Clinch State Park
If you stay at Fairbanks House, you can take the free bikes to get over to Fort Clinch.
Pack water, the bike ride from the entrance of the state park that leads to the actual fort and beach is long but it takes you under the most stunning canopy of Spanish Moss that hangs overhead.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 365 days per year.
Fort is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The fort is a great place to explore, learn about the island’s history, take photos and spend the morning!
Keep your eyes peeled for shark’s teeth on the beach. They wash up during the tide and you’ll spot people down there searching for them every day.
Rent an e-scooter with Roadshark Power Sports
When you’re done at the fort, head over to Roadshark Power Sports to rent a moped or e-scooter.
This is easily the best (and by far the most fun) way to get around the island!
Fly with Florida Adventure Sports
Use your newly rented wheels to drive about 30 minutes over to Florida Adventure Sports.
Here you can soar over the island in a tiny two-person plane. This was the highlight of trip!
Rates:
20 Minute Flight – $99
40 Minute Flight – $199 * recommended!
60 Minute Flight – $249
Eat at the Sandbar & swim at Main Beach
When you’re done with your flight, head over on your scooter or moped to eat some delicious seafood pizza at the Sandbar Kitchen.
The restaurant is delicious and located right on the beach. As soon as you’re done with your meal and a slushy drink, you can go for a swim at Main Beach!
Day 3 Overview
- Go on a kayak tour with Amelia Adventures
- Spend the afternoon bicycling on the water with Amelia River Cycles
- BYOB Sunset Cruise with Amelia River Cruises
Kayak with Amelia Adventures
Get out on the water and book a kayak tour with Amelia Adventures.
We did the tour to Lofton Creek due to wind and weather. But if you can, I suggest you book the tour out to Cumberland Island to see the wild horses.
Rent river bikes with Amelia River Cycles
We weren’t expecting to love this as much as we did! But these river bikes were a fun way to see the water way and explore the area.
People on sunbathing on boats were waving to us as we biked past & the bikes are rigged with a blue tooth speaker so you can listen to music as you pedal around the water!
BYOB Sunset Cruise with Amelia River Cruises
Unfortunately, our BYOB Sunset Cruise was cancelled due to wind and rain. So keep an eye on the forecast when you’re picking what night to do the sunset cruise! There is live music onboard and the boat provides great views of the island from the water.
Day 4 Overview
- Amelia & Cumberland Island Boat Tour
- Lunch at Timoti’s Seafood Shack
- Yummy frozen drinks at Gregor MacGregor’s Mini Links & Drinks while you play mini golf
- Get ice cream from downtown and go watch the sunset from the marina
Amelia & Cumberland Island Boat Tour
This boat ride gives you a private tour over to the beautiful Cumberland Island. It’s a great chance to see the wild horses and marine life in the marshes like manatees or dolphins.
It’s $300 for up to 6 people for 2 hours. But if you have a group of friends, that’s just $50 each for a private boat tour!
Timoti’s Seafood Shak
This place is awesome and has a great assorted of seafood as well as vegan options! It’s no frills but tastes great and is in a prime location downtown. Don’t miss it!
Gregor MacGregor’s Mini Links & Drinks
Located right next to Timoti’s Seafood Shak, this mini golf course provides some family-fun. Or for the adults, you can mini golf with a yummy frozen alcoholic beverage in hand!
Sunset at the marina
After a full 4 days of adventuring, grab a pint of ice cream downtown and head to the marina for sunset. You can sit right on the dock by the boats for a great view.
It does get a little buggy at the marina at night so bring a sweatshirt and some bug spray!
Other itinerary options:
- Take the Cumberland Ferry over to the beautiful but remote island for hiking, camping and to see the wild horses that freely roam the island
- Go on a sunset horseback ride from a variety of stables located on Amelia Island
How To Get Around Amelia Island
We had a fantastic trip but without a doubt, the most difficult part was getting around without a car. Because we flew in and were staying close to downtown, we thought a vehicle wouldn’t be necessary when we could just use Uber or Lyft. What we quickly learned was that there was only ever one or two drivers available on the island at a time. And various things (like the kayak tours) launch about 30 minutes away from downtown.
The island itself is quite large so just be mindful of where you are staying in relation to the activities or tours you book!
Road Shark Power Sports
Hands down, the best way to get around the island is to rent some scooters, mopeds, or golf carts from Road Shark Power Sports.
This company is awesome and provides a wide array of rental option that make getting around the island a blast!
Best of all? It’s within walking distance of Fairbanks House and downtown so you can easily walk here to rent some wheels to get across town.
Check if your hotel includes the use of free bikes
A variety of bed and breakfasts or hotels on the island will include the use of free bikes! Check when booking because this will make getting around the island so much easier and more enjoyable.
Rent a car
If bikes, scooters and mopeds don’t interest you, you can always rent a car.
Make sure you make a reservation in advance. Thanks to covid, there is a mass shortage of rental cars and those that are available are more expensive now.
Drive to Amelia Island
If you live near the island, you may also choose to drive. However with the close proximity of things downtown, you may find yourself still wanting to bike instead of driving everywhere.
Amelia Island 4 Day Itinerary TikTok
Overall, we loved our time on Amelia Island. When I return, I plan to do more exploring of the nearby Cumberland Island. Have you been to Amelia Island? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Thank you to all the tour operators and the Fairbanks House for hosting us during our stay! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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