Posts Tagged ‘hotel st simons’

St. Simons Fun Trolley Tour

The St. Simons Island Trolley Tours is the only way to see St. Simons Island, in Georgia. The moment you board the St. Simons Trolley, you’ll thoroughly enjoy your hostess, Bunny, as she hands you a peach candy to sweeten you up, then take your money. Bunny is the only woman in town whom all the tourist should receive their history and culture of St. Simons from. Ever since 1992, this Trolley Company has been conducting a comprehensive and original tour around St. Simons Island; but it’s the southern charm and Bunny’s hilarious, funny and well informed narratives about the life in the Old South that makes this tour a ‘not to be missed’ item on your itinerary.

The St. Simons Trolley tour is one of the most acclaimed in the South and you’ll be able to go past the St. Simons Island Lighthouse ; the first lighthouse, built in 1810 in Fort St. Simons was destroyed in 1861 during the Civil War. The new lighthouse and the additional light keeper’s cottage was build in 1872 and in 1950 the last keeper retired, but the U.S. Coast Guard still operates the beacon today.

Fort Frederica, protecting a settlement in 1735 from Spanish soldiers is another fascinating stop of the Trolley tour. This area of St. Simons was an ideal spot for a fort and it overlooks a branch of the Altamaha and the Frederica River. You’ll get to hear about what happened to this once thriving riverport community.

The next stop is at the Christ Church, which is the 2nd oldest Episcopal Church in Georgia and is the 3rd oldest in America. Back in 1740, Charles Wesley, before the church was built, would preach under the Oaks. During the Civil War, Union troops overtook the building and nearly destroyed it. In 1884, Anson Phelps Dodge, Jr., took on the task of rebuilding the church as a memorial to his first wife. Make sure see the magnificent stained glass windows, and the cemetery where many of the early settlers are buried.

The final spot on the Trolley tour is Bloody Marsh, where in 1742, Spanish troops landed on the south end of St. Simons Island and forced General Oglethorpe’s men back to Fort Frederica. The Spaniards eventually retreated back to the beach, but not with out a lot of blood shed.

It’s best if you book a night at a hotel St. Simons offers its tourist in order to be at the St. Simons Trolley tours starting point before 11am. The Trolley tours only happen once a day and lasts one and a half hours, but it is first come first hop-on the Trolley, and space is limited.