Tybee Vacation Rentals Concierge and Tybee Information Site

Tybee Island’s Beach Bum parade will take place on Friday, May 20, 2011. In case you haven’t heard of it, the Parade is one big water fight–people on the floats devise contraptions to squirt those standing on the sidelines, and the sideline people fight back with their own contraptions. It is one big hoot!

The parade begins at the North Beach, commences down Meddin to Van Horne, out the East Ft. Screven gate, on down Butler and turning on Tybrisa. But don’t think you’ll get by with being just a spectator–YOU WILL GET WET, so you might as well get your gun and get ready to have fun!

Parade begins at 6:00 pm. A few rules: no squirting the Police (we’re not kidding here); no running out to the floats–roads will be slippery from all the water and if you fall under the wheels it could be bad; there’s no rule about this but we hope you don’t use ice water and definitely NO ICE CUBES. We want this to be a fun water fight, not a cold, rude one.  Watch your drinking. Again, we don’t want any people hurt–alcohol should be used with caution. Take care of the kids; they’ll be tempted to run out, not realizing they could get run over–WATCH YOUR CHILDREN.

Help Tybee make this a safe and fun parade. The least bit of problems could cause it to be cancelled. Keep our parade safe.

I’m a  Yankee; but more than that, I’m a damn Yankee–I came and stayed.

That’s the popular saying they have down here about Yankees: you’re a Yankee if you visit, but you are a damn Yankee if you stay. When I married my husband, I knew I would live in Georgia, specifically in Savannah. He always wanted to retire there and planned accordingly, so when we met and decided to marry, that was really part of the deal. So we came to Savannah in 1998 and lived in the Troup Square area. It was wonderful; we had a beautiful, historic townhouse, could walk to everything, were in the hub-bub of activity, and had good neighbors. We lived there 2 years, and while all was nice, something was missing.

Then we visited Tybee Island on a weekend and knew it was the place for us. I fell in love with its beauty, its beaches, its people, and its slower pace. It’s small, but it’s large. It’s the beach for a whole state, and the closest beach for many others, including Cincinnati, Ohio where I am from, so we moved here.

I can’t believe that I actually live on an island, and that if I walk out of my door in any direction, I can stand on the beach in 4 minutes. Our restaurants are great; some are funky, some are gourmet, some are homey. We have some great shops, and Savannah is 20 minutes away. I earned my tour license and I give tours of Tybee and Savannah, and love every minute of it. We’ve made great friends of all ages. We belong to a wine club; I am in a book club; I volunteered at the YMCA for 2 years; I’m a concierge at Tybee Vacation Rentals. I never fight ice and snow, yet we can have fires in the fireplace; and spring comes early here-if we’re lucky, it can start in February. I have flowers in my yard 10 months of the year. The only drawback is that my grandchildren and family are in Cincinnati, but in 9 hours, I can be with them–only a day away.

Yes, I am a damn Yankee, but one that appreciates Tybee Island, loves it, takes care of it, works for it, plays on it, and lives on it. Come to Tybee and see what I mean. Call us at 877.468-1654.

There’s nothing greater than sand volleyball, and on May 22nd, it will come to Tybee Island. This is a major event and will coincide with the Beach Bum Parade which takes place the day before.

The two-person team format will feature a purse of $5,000 and play will begin at 7 a.m. near the Pier and Pavillion. Pros and amateurs will play side by side with the pro division hosting 24 teams for the women and 24 for the men. There could be as many as 80-150 teams on the amateur side.

The entry fee is $100 per professional team, $50 per amateur team. Amateurs will begin play at 9:00 a.m. At noon, the playoffs will start with the championship finals getting underway around 4:00 p.m. for women, and 6:00 p.m. for men.

Winning teams can end up playing 8 full matches–all day; hence the name “Extreme Volleyball.”

Tybee was considered for the 1996 Olympic volleyball matches, but lost out to Atlanta’s private recreation facility. This time Tybee will host some of the country’s best. Contact the Greater Savannah Sports Council for details.

Recently we had a question about the Tybee Island beach. “How much has the southend or point eroded over the years? Is it comparable now to the way it was fifty years ago?” Good question.

Mr. Erik Olsen our City Coastal Engineer, was kind enough to answer the question.

The condition of the South end of Tybee is now stabilized (via groins and beach fill), and has been at its most seaward location since at least the 70’s or 80’s. In 1995, prior to groinfield construction, there was literally no beach at high tide at that location. The water was back to the 1930s seawall. In the 1960’s, prior to the COE dredging sand from Tybee Inlet, it may have extended a little farther south as a sandy spit. At that time, however, there was no dry beach around the corner seaward of the parking lot near the pier until the initiation of large scale beach restoration by the COE in the 70’s. The “take away” here is that with a renourishment project every 7-8 years, the sandy beaches of Tybee are in their most robust condition.

Good news!!!!

In 2009, Miley Cyrus made a movie on Tybee Island, GA called The Last Song. A chapel was constructed for part of the story, and Tybee Island was able to acquire it so it could stay on the Island. Now, we are happy to announce that beginning in August, weddings, events, receptions and such can be held in the building!!!!

The 1,800 sq. ft. chapel is absolutely delightful, with beautiful wood floors, leaded windows and a red roof. When ready for rentals, it will have a 700 sq. ft. caterer’s kitchen, a groom’s restroom, a bride’s changing room and two restrooms so it can serve as an all-inclusive spot for wedding and reception or serve as a backup for couples who want insurance against getting rained out on the beach. Parking will include 37 spaces, with additional parking on the street. The location will be the north end of the Island right on US Hwy 80. You’ll be able to rent the building on an hourly basis, and even though it’s sign says “Baptist Church,” it will be nondenominational.

Tybee Vacation Rentals will offer wedding packages – stay in one of our honeymoon cottages, or beach front houses or condos; rent other places for family members (we have over 110 places from which to choose PLUS 40 pet friendly properties); and get married in the chapel and have your reception there, as well. Call us for details. 912-786-5853.