I arrived on Amelia Island rather blindly, without having done much research and having only a vague agenda for my visit. I chose Amelia Island for a short post-Christmas trip since it is only a couple of hours’ drive from my parents in Central Florida (where I spent Christmas) and is close to the airport in Jacksonville for my flight home.
Driving in from the south, one passes through a series of small islands which grow progressively more rural as the route travels along the St. Johns River and eventually hugs the Atlantic coastline. Amelia Island is the northernmost island in this small chain off the northeast coast of Florida.
I have spent a good amount of time on Hilton Head Island and in some ways Amelia Island reminds me of Hilton Head. The moss-draped canopies of oak trees, the low visibility signage, and the miles of beaches are reminiscent of my many visits to Hilton Head. While the southern end of Amelia Island is occupied by Amelia Island Plantation, the northern end of the island has homes right along the main road (A1A) with glimpses of the beach between homes. Downtown Fernandina Beach has a historic district with a low-key feel similar to the streets of Key West. Since I was only there for about 36 hours, I had time for just a small taste of Amelia Island.
What I Did
Amelia River Cruises – I booked my ticket for Amelia River Cruises’ Cumberland Island tour prior to arriving on the island. Good thing I did because they had 140 people to accommodate on three boats for the trip! The boat ride was about 2.5 hours long and included commentary for the majority of the trip. We journeyed north on the Amelia River past the shrimp boats and WestRock paper mill on the north end of Amelia Island first. The shrimp boats go out at night and were just unloading the previous night’s catch as we passed by. The WestRock paper mill produces craft paper that is shipped off on the railroad to be made into cardboard boxes for Amazon and the like.
We learned about Fort Clinch on the northern tip of Amelia Island, which was used extensively during the Civil War and is now a state park, before crossing the St. Marys River into Georgia and the shores of Cumberland Island. It wasn’t long before we were spotting a couple of wild horses along the shoreline, a sight for which Cumberland Island is known. The rest of the trip was spent cruising along the western side of Cumberland Island and learning about its storied history, including homes built by the Rockefellers and Carnegies and the secret wedding of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Caroline Bessette. Today, 85% of the island is owned by the National Park Service.
Where I Stayed
Omni Amelia Island Resort – Amelia Island has several hotel options in town, but I knew from the get-go that I wanted to stay on the beach. I booked an ocean view room at the Omni Amelia Island Resort to take full advantage of my short time there. While the first room I was given didn’t quite live up to my expectations, a quick swap brought me to a spacious room on the 6th floor with a large balcony overlooking the massive pool area and beach. The room itself was very beachy with nautical blue and white colors, a comfortable king sized bed, and plenty of room to spread out.
The Omni resort is huge. In addition to the 400-room hotel, the resort boasts hundreds of villas, a shopping and dining complex, multiple golf courses, and biking/nature trails galore, all linked by shuttle buses. I knew I wouldn’t really have time to enjoy many of the amenities. I did wish I had brought my swimsuit because the pool water was warm and there were plenty of people enjoying the water with outdoor temperatures in the low 80s.
The resort’s beachfront encompasses 3.5 miles of sand, but it’s not the soft sand I’m used to seeing on Hilton Head. This beach has a lot of shells and small rocks, so it’s not particularly comfortable to walk barefoot except along the waterline. There was some kind of beach refurbishment going on just slightly north of the hotel, with heavy machinery and a large pipe running the distance of the beach. The beach was pretty to look at, but I didn’t feel the usual pull to walk for miles.
What I Ate
Seaglass – I was disappointed that room service wasn’t available during my stay at the Omni because I was looking forward to having a quiet dinner on my balcony when I arrived on Tuesday night. However, the lobby bar/lounge, Seaglass, had small bites available and some outdoor seating. I was given free drink coupons on arrival at the hotel and made good use of one for an Angry Orchard cider (slim pickings on the cider front), and selected the Iberico Flatbread for dinner. The flatbread was topped with goat cheese, iberico ham, sliced apples, arugula, and a balsamic drizzle. The mix was incredibly delicious with the bitter arugula offset by the salty ham and sweet balsamic. I capped it off with a lemon blueberry custard cake which was just a little too tart for my liking.
The Patio Place – I wanted to like The Patio Place after reading all of the amazing reviews online. Brunch consists of a menu of almost all crepes. Having previewed the menu online, I quickly settled on an eggs Benedict crepe with a side of fruit and a cranberry mimosa. Unfortunately, the eggs came out runny (I always ask for my eggs poached hard) and once the replacement arrived, I was left totally underwhelmed. The dish had the makings of a home run: a sweet crepe with grilled ham, eggs, and a rich hollandaise sauce. But the ham was overcooked and the hollandaise had almost zero flavor. The patio setting was nice, but the rest of the meal was unmemorable.
Café Karibo – I had decided on Café Karibo before my trip after looking at the menu online. I decided to head there for lunch after my boat trip on Wednesday. The “20-30 minute wait” ended up being 45 minutes. Once I was comfortably seated on the outdoor patio, I quickly ordered a lemonade cocktail with ginger beer and lemon vodka to accompany a warm ham and brie sandwich. The drink was good, but I’m not a big fan of ginger, and it was pretty strong on the ginger flavor. When my sandwich arrived 30 minutes later, my plate was lacking the cranberry relish and honey mustard I had asked to be put on the side and the mix of regular and sweet potato fries were lukewarm. Strike two for my meals.
Marché Burette – Since I had struck out on my meals on Wednesday, I figured I would just walk over to the Marché Burette market/deli (part of the resort complex) and pick up something to bring back to my room for my last breakfast. However, the large patio overlooking the fountain and pond seemed like a nice place to relax, so I grabbed a table to enjoy my final al fresco meal in the Sunshine State. Service was very slow and I waited 15 minutes just to get a menu. Fortunately, things improved dramatically once my server arrived. I had the largest overfilled ham, egg, and cheese croissant I think I’ve ever had. I ate it with a knife and fork and it still created quite a mess on my plate! The accompanying breakfast potatoes were perfectly simple and seasoned well. This was definitely the best meal I had over the short time I was on Amelia Island.
Overall Impressions
Did I love Amelia Island? No. But I am glad that I got to spend a couple of days at the beach in the warm Florida sun before heading home to the much colder temperatures in New England. Hilton Head Island was my first beach destination in the U.S. and I think I will always compare other beach vacations to Hilton Head. Amelia Island wasn’t quite the same. A short visit didn’t give me much time to explore and I imagine if I had more time on the island, I may have felt differently. Nevertheless, Amelia Island was well worth a visit, even if only for a couple of days.
Traveling with Laura 