Small Island, Big Appetite

With more than 40 distinctive restaurants from which to choose, Amelia Island serves up an enticing array of flavorful options. From the freshest Florida seafood and authentic Italian and Mexican specialties, to fine dining masterpieces and decadent desserts, Amelia Island’s menu of restaurants provide a satisfying selection of dining experiences. Chef de Cuisine Richard Gras leads the culinary team at Salt, Florida’s longest-running AAA Five Diamond restaurant. Located at The Ritz-Carlton, Salt features a unique menu with seasonal changes each week, more than 500 wines, and a growing collection of salts from around the world. For many visitors and locals alike, the Award-winning Beech Street Grill is their first choice for fine dining in Fernandina Beach. Blackboard specials showcase the island’s freshest seafood, seasoned with freshly-cut herbs, homemade sauces and chutneys. Other visitor favorites include the Ocean Grill at the Amelia Island Plantation, Joe’s 2nd Street Bistro and the new Thyme Restaurant. With Fernandina Beach known as the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry, it’s no surprise that Amelia Island offers a incredible selection of fresh seafood.

Eventful Island Escape

From cycling races and wine festivals, to sport fishing and jazz celebrations, Amelia Island fills each year’s calendar with an amazingly diverse and lively set of local events. In March, the prestigious Concours d’Elegance brings thousands of car buffs to see more than 250 rare classics from seldom-seen private collections around the world. The 46th Annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival takes center stage in May, featuring pirates, parades and dozens of food booths featuring shrimp specialties, like shrimp pie. At the end of May, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival kicks off its eighth season of world-class chamber music. Each October the Annual Amelia Island Book Festival offers four days of lively programs, socials and special events.

A Saloon Like No Other

A fixture on Centre Street in downtown Fernandina Beach since 1878, the Palace Saloon is the oldest saloon in Florida still remaining in its original location. During Prohibition, it is rumored that the Palace was the last tavern in the country to close. During the “dry” years, the saloon sold ice cream. A favorite of socialites such as the Vanderbilt’s, Carnegies and Rockefellers’, the Palace was the first hard liquor bar in Florida to sell Coca-Cola.

Fit for a King, Named for a Princess

Named in honor of Princess Amelia, daughter of King George II, present day Amelia Island draws much of its unique charm from its turbulent past and rule under eight different flags of dominion. Today, the island offers a number of ways to explore Amelia Island’s intriguing past. The Amelia Island Museum of History is Florida’s first spoken-history museum, where knowledgeable docents take guests back in time to explore events, narrating more than four centuries on the island. Visitors at Fort Clinch State Park enlist in the Civil War era, as they roam the battlements and chat with on-duty “soldiers” at one of the most well-preserved 19th century forts in the country. On the north end of the island, visitors can explore Old Town, the last Spanish Town in the Western Hemisphere in 1811. Old town was the original encampment of the Timucuans and at one time featured the Spanish Fort San Carlos. Another popular historic spot is American Beach, which was a glorious oceanfront haven for African Americans during the Jim Crow-era of segregation. In its heyday, the beach offered homes, restaurants and nightclubs that attracted musical superstars such as Ray Charles and James Brown. Today, American Beach is the first stop on the Florida Black Heritage Trail.

Historic Find

On the grounds of the Amelia Island Plantation is an Indian Burial Mound site, and a recently discovered Spanish Mission site at Walker’s Landing, located along the marsh side of the resort.

Natural Inclination

While you could spend a lifetime enjoying Amelia Island’s natural treasures, nature-lovers will find few better ways to appreciate the island’s scenic wonders than a trip to Kayak Amelia. Located in Talbot Islands State Park, Kayak Amelia lets guests paddle their way to close encounters with Amelia Island’s extraordinary wildlife, including egrets, herons, sea turtles, and manatees. The new Cumberland Sound Ferry Service connects Amelia Island with St. Mary's, Georgia, offering a voyage featuring a narration of the region's history, natural features and wildlife. Back on land, visitors can explore the island's flora and fauna while hiking along a nature trail at the Amelia Island Plantation and comb the untouched, natural beaches searching for seashells and prehistoric sharks’ teeth. Fort Clinch State Park also offers swimming, fishing, full-facility camping, and six-mile trails that lead hikers and bikers through the park, where they can also see the largest sand dunes in Florida. Many visitors return each year to spot two endangered species – the Loggerhead turtle and Northern Right Whale – which visit the island each year to bear their young.

Fantasy Island

For many couples in search of a romantic island getaway, Amelia Island is a dream come true. With long, beautiful beaches, and lush landscapes, the island’s unique and breathtaking natural beauty provides an ideal setting for any escape. Guests can choose from a collection of eight charming bed and breakfast inns, three elegant resorts, and a number of stylish hotels and condos for a heavenly hideaway. Visitors can explore paradise with some couples-only adventure – a sunset sail, a horse-drawn carriage ride, or even a peaceful horseback ride along the shoreline. Sporting couples can raise a racquet or play a round on one of our championship tennis courts or golf courses. Form a corner bistro in Fernandina Beach, to a five-star, oceanfront favorite, couples can feed the flames with a romantic meal and quiet table for two at many of the island’s fabulous restaurants.

Amelia’s Family Room

Amelia Island presents a very appealing alternative to the rush and pandemonium of many travel experiences, giving families a real, fighting chance to reconnect. The island offers the kind of variety it takes to entertain the whole family – river cruises, nature centers, fly fishing, kayaking, hiking, horseback riding on the beach, exploring the wildlife on a Segway Safari, and of course, 13-miles of gorgeous beaches! Many of Amelia Island’s hotels and resorts offer programs and accommodations catering to families and children. Our Space at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, features beach games water sports; night sports; fitness challenges; video game challenges; beach kayaking; bike hikes; and pizza and movie nights. Surf lessons and surf clinics are among the beach resort teen program’s most popular highlights.

Holes in the Sand

Amelia Island is home to 117 holes of stunning, award-winning, world-class golf. From oceanfront holes and oak-lined fairways, to Intracoastal marsh preserves teeming with wildlife, the greens of Amelia Island offer magnificent play for golfers of every skill level. Amelia Island Plantation, one of the luxury resorts on the island, offers 72 holes of Championship golf including Pete Dye’s Oak Marsh, Tom Fazio’s Long Point and the towering dunes of five holes which boarder the Atlantic coast line on the Bobby Weed designed Ocean Links. The resorts newest course Amelia River, was designed by Tom Jackson and features incredibly smooth TifEagle greens. Designed by PGA Tour professionals Mark McCumber and Gene Littler, The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach is Amelia Island’s only PGA Tournament Course. The 6,696-yards of challenging, beautifully landscaped golf weaves through marshes and lakes, putting water in play on 14 holes. Guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island and Summer Beach Resort enjoy playing privileges, as well as The Golf Club’s practice range, two putting greens, pro shop and clubhouse. The 27-hole Fernandina Beach Golf Club is considered one of the finest public courses in the Southeast.

Shop Talk

Amelia Island happily satisfies the traveler’s urge to shop with an eclectic collection of local stores, shops, galleries and boutiques, as well as a few familiar retailers. Down and around Fernandina Beach’s charming historic Centre Street visitors will find a delightful shopping experience that spares the heavy hand of mass commercialization. The quaint shopping district blends local flavor and modern convenience with its Victorian past, offering a little something for every taste. Also located on Fernandina Beach, Sadler Road is home to an assortment of new big-name stores, including Coldwater Creek, Talbots, and Starbucks. At the Shops at Amelia Island Plantation, guests find a selection of shopping experiences that include trendy boutiques, a children’s clothier, unique home décor, a holiday shop and more.

Lighting the Way

The Amelia Island Lighthouse was built in 1893 and is considered the oldest structure on Amelia Island, sitting 107 feet above sea level. The lighthouse is still operational and can be seen 19 miles out to sea, and at a certain locations at Fort Clinch State Park and Atlantic Avenue. The lighthouse is not open to the public currently, as it is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, but has tours by reservation once a month.