America's Best Little Beach Towns

Tybee Island, GA

This island community, just a half hour from Savannah, offers beach lovers plenty of white sand as well as tours to see the resident dolphins. History buffs will dig the two military forts—one involved in a Civil War battle—while kitsch lovers will want to mark their calendars to come back in the fall for the annual, weekend-long Pirate Fest.

Stay: The Mermaid Cottages are made up of 33 crayon-colored former fishing bungalows decked out with screened-in porches.

Eat: The Crab Shack claims to be the place “where the elite eat in their bare feet.” Even if you come in shoes, you can eat piles of great seafood on foil-lined platters. —Katrina Brown Hunt

America’s Best Little Beach Towns