This Georgia beach ranks as one of the nation’s best. What makes it special?
A Georgia beach boasts a unique landscape — and travelers can’t get enough.
So much so, the coastal destination ranks among the nation’s best beaches for the third year in a row. The beach — Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island — landed in the No. 8 spot as Tripadvisor gave it a nod for being a hidden gem.
“Driftwood Beach is a picture-perfect beach with — you guessed it — beautiful, weathered driftwood dotting its long, sandy shore,” the vacation website wrote in its report. “Quiet and peaceful, it’s a great spot to relax and catch the sunset.”
To create the list, Tripadvisor said it studied the “quality and quantity” of “reviews and ratings” that visitors left for beaches between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023. The winners received Travelers’ Choice Awards, which were divided into categories that focused on the top-notch coastal destinations worldwide, within the United States and in other regions.
“From rave reviews of breathtaking views to unrivaled cleanliness to watersport-friendly seas, award-winners provided the best overall experiences during this time period,” the website wrote Feb. 21, adding that the Travelers’ Choice honor “celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel.”
What makes the Georgia beach special?
Driftwood Beach was the only place in the Peach State to make it onto the resulting list of “Best of the Best” U.S. beaches. It was recognized this year after scoring top 10 spots on similar travel lists in 2022 and 2023.
The beach is known for “beautiful driftwood and trees that resemble a scene from another world. These gnarled and weathered trees are left behind from years of erosion,” according to the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau website.
Tripadvisor said in a news release the destination is recommended for nature lovers and photographers. It suggests people visit in the winter months, when hotel prices reportedly can be lower.
But the beach has earned praise throughout the year, including from fans who took to Tripadvisor to rave about opportunities to stroll near the shore and soak up sunset views.
Nationwide, the No. 1 beach was Ka’anapali Beach in Lahaina, Hawaii. Weeks before Tripadvisor stopped gathering data for its report, a wildfire left a deadly trail of destruction in the region.
Rounding out the top five U.S. beaches on Tripadvisor’s list were:
Siesta Beach in Florida
Poipu Beach Park in Hawaii
Hollywood Beach in Florida
La Jolla Cove in California
Driftwood Beach is about 95 miles south of Savannah and 75 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Florida.
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