Georgia and South Carolina Bike Tour - Low Country Adventure

Georgia/South Carolina Low Country Adventure

Highlights:

• Tour historic Savannah by bike and learn about the city's rich history

• Bike to the five mile beach and historic lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park

• Enjoy a walking tour of historic Beaufort, SC

• Bike through pine forests, salt marshes and nature preserves full of birds and other wildlife

• Visit and bike on Sapelo Island, the only undeveloped island off the Georgia coast inhabited by the descendants of American slaves

• Kayak in the magnificent coastal marshes and marvel at the natural beauty of these secluded waterways

• Cycle on the exquisite Jekyll Island, the millionaires' island

Details:

Terrain: This is a relatively easy ride over flat terrain. The average base mileage varies between 20 and 45 miles, but is very flexible allowing each rider to choose the distance they wish to ride. Shorter and longer distances are possible.

Weather: The average high temperature in Savannah is 70° F and the average low 50° F at this time of year

Georgia/South Carolina Low Country Adventure

Price: $2495

Included in Price:

• 6 nights accommodations in very unique inns and B&Bs

• All breakfasts, four dinners and four lunches

• Tours in historic Savannah and Beaufort

• Ferry Tickets to Sapelo Island

• Kayak tour in the Altamaha River Bioreserve

• Experienced guides familiar with the area

• SAG (Support and Gear) Van to provide baggage relocation, mechanical support, snacks, fresh water, and
"rest rides" as needed

• Cue sheets and maps with daily meetings to review route options and points of interest

Additional Fees:

• Single Supplement: $495 (room mates will be sought when requested)

• Bike Rental: $200 for hybrid or road bikes

Georgia/South Carolina Low Country Adventure

Savannah Bed Breakfast Inn:  The block of row homes that encompasses the Savannah Inn Bed Breakfast was developed between 1852 and 1854. Built in the Federal style, the unit at 117 was renovated and opened as a bed and breakfast in 1978. Guests at the inn today are within walking distance of all that downtown Savannah offers—restaurants, taverns, museums, galleries, historic landmarks and trolley tours. The inn keeps its guests well fed with a hearty breakfast, which can be eaten on the patio, an afternoon tea and milk and cookies at bedtime. You can visit their web page by clicking here.

The Blue Heron Inn:  This Georgia coast inn sits on the very edge of expansive marsh and winding tidal creeks. Every guest room opens to breathtaking views of marsh, estuaries and Georgia’s barrier islands. Large comfortable rooms decorated with coastal elegance, are provided with southern hospitality at its best.. You can visit their web page by clicking here.

Jekyll Island Club Hotel:  The beaches of Jekyll Island are packed by the footsteps of early hunter gatherers, members of the Guale Indian tribe, Spanish explorers and eventually the English in 1733. At the turn of the twentieth century, the island became home to a very elite social club for America’s wealthy. It was popular with the tycoons of that time—J.P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, Joseph Pulitzer, William K. Vanderbilt, the Macys, the Goodyears, and the Goulds. Today’s guests enjoy luxury accommodations, fine dining, 10 miles of pristine beach, golf, tennis and horseback riding, among many other activities. You can visit their web page by clicking here .

Georgia/South Carolina Low Country Adventure

Arrival and Departure:   This tour will originate and terminate in Savannah, GA. Escapades will assist with hotel arrangements and local transportation both before and after the tour.

Daily Mileage Options:  20 to 50 miles with longer and shorter options available on all days.

Day 1: Savannah
After settling in at the Bed and Breakfast Inn in the historic district of Savannah, we will embark on a ten-mile warm-up ride through the city with a guide who will tell us about the rich history of Savannah and many of its magnificent residences. A welcome reception and sumptuous dinner at the Pink House, one of Savannah's very finest restaurants, will top off this wonderful day.
Lodging:  Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn
Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Beaufort
The Beaufort area is rich in natural beauty and showcases the very best the South Carolina Low Country has to offer. Cycle along pristine roads cradled by saltwater marshes, massive oak groves, estuaries and rivers. Enjoy a picnic lunch on the beach by the lighthouse and explore historic Beaufort. Beaufort history can be traced back 4000 years to the Archaic Indians with the first European settlers arriving around 1521. Beaufort entered its golden era about 1800, when Sea Island cotton was king, and many of Beaufort's loveliest mansions were built by the wealthy owners of cotton, indigo, and rice plantations. Today, reminders of the area's colorful history abound in architecture preserved with loving care and folkways honored across generations.
Lodging:  Savannah Bed and Breakfast Inn
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Savannah to Sapelo
Starting at the Smallest Church in America, "Where Folks Rub Elbows with God", we will bike in rural countryside through salt marshes and pine forests and the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge, the home of egrets, herons and other water birds. Then, we cruise through the tiny villages of Shellman Bluff, Pine Harbor and Eulonia and on to Valona to see shrimp boats, and Ridgeville, to look at the Victorian style homes of former timber barons who summered here. We end the day at our lodgings in Darien and enjoy a delicous dinner at Skipper's Fish Shack.
Lodging:  Blue Heron Inn
Meals:  Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4: Sapelo
We catch a ferry to Sapelo Island first thing in the morning and enjoy a guided bicycle tour of this fascinating and historic Island.   After a break for lunch, our tour continues and includes a visit to the Sapelo Lighthouse, the nation's second oldest brick lighthouse.  The original brick lighthouse, oil house, and cistern were meticulously restored in 1998 and a spiral staircase was rebuilt inside the lighthouse permitting visitors to climb the tower for an elevated view of Doboy Sound.
Lodging:  Blue Heron Inn
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Sapelo to Jekyll, "The Millionaires Island"
After catching the ferry back to the mainland,we will bike to Darien and take a short tour of Darien including Fort George, the first English settlement in Georgia, and St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, built by former slaves in 1876. Then we pedal on to the historic Butler Plantation where we will hop into kayaks to explore the wonder of the surrounding coastal wetlands. That night, we will stay in the world-famous Jekyll Island Club Hotel. Founded in 1886, the Club thrived as a grand retreat for some of America's wealthiest families. They built a riverside compound of magnificent "cottage" residences encircling a sumptuous Victorian clubhouse that is now a hotel of unrivaled standards of service.
Lodging:  The Jekyll Island Club Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6: Jekyll Island
We will spend this day with a relaxed bike ride around this magnificent island along the coast through salt marshes and past the magnificent cottages of some of America's most famous families. It is one of the most memorable bike rides you will ever take, and we will enjoy a picnic lunch by the sea and adjoining wetlands. For those who want, there is a riverfront pool, a regulation croquet greensward, charter fishing, golf, tennis, bird walks and horseback riding. We will cap this fun-filled trip with a delicious, farewell dinner at "Our Club".
Lodging:  The Jekyll Island Club Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7: Back to Savannah
After a leisurely breakfast and some time to enjoy our accommodations, we will van back to the place of your choice in Savannah.
Meals: Breakfast