20 Minutes East: Tybee Island Beach, the 1736 Tybee Lighthouse & Fort Pulaski National Monument

Just 28 kilometres (18 miles, a 20 to 25-minute drive due east of Downtown Savannah along palm-and-marsh-lined U.S. Highway 80), the Savannah River empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Tybee Island, known since the 1880s steam-train days as Savannah's Beach. Because you pass right by Fort Pulaski National Monument five minutes before crossing onto Tybee Island, you can combine a Civil War island fortress, Georgia's oldest lighthouse and an Atlantic beach swim in one half-day or full-day trip.

1. Stop 1: Fort Pulaski National Monument (Cockspur Island)

Built over 18 years (1829 to 1847) with 25 million bricks and 2.3-metre-thick (7.5-foot) walls surrounded by a tidal moat, engineered in part by a young second lieutenant fresh out of West Point named Robert E. Lee, Fort Pulaski was considered invincible against smoothbore cannons. That changed on 10 to 11 April 1862: Union forces on nearby Tybee Island fired newly invented James Rifled Cannons from a mile away. Within 30 hours, spinning rifled shells breached the southeastern brick wall toward the powder magazine, forcing surrender and rendering brick fortifications obsolete worldwide. Entry is covered by the America the Beautiful National Parks Pass (or check the National Park Service site for standard admission); walk outside the moat to see 1862 iron cannonballs still embedded in the brickwork.

2. Stop 2 (North Beach): Climb the 1736 Tybee Island Lighthouse

Drive onto the quieter northern tip of Tybee Island at North Beach, where the Savannah River shipping channel meets the Atlantic: climb the 178 interior steps to the top of the 47-metre (154-foot) black-and-white Tybee Island Lighthouse, Georgia's oldest and tallest lighthouse, and tour the restored 1881 Head Keeper's Cottage and 1899 coastal artillery battery across the street.

3. Stop 3: South Beach Pier, Back River Sunset & The Crab Shack

For wide sand and waves, head to South Beach and walk onto the wooden Tybee Island Pier and Pavilion. For sunset over the marshes, visit Back River Beach (Alley 3, where kayaks launch to Little Tybee Island), and on your drive back toward Savannah, stop at waterfront institution The Crab Shack at Chimney Creek for steamed Lowcountry Boil under the oaks.