Tybee Island, Georgia

Tybee Island, Georgia

Tybee Island is an island and city in Chatham County, Georgia near the city of Savannah in the southeastern United States. It is the easternmost point in the state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,990. (The Georgia barrier island called Tybee includes the city of Tybee Island and has a total population of around 3,700. The entire island is a part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.)

Officially renamed "Savannah Beach" in a publicity move at the end of the 1950s, the city of Tybee Island has since reverted to its original name. (The name "Savannah Beach" nevertheless appears on official state maps as far back as 1952 and as recently as the mid-1970s.) The small island, which has long been a quiet getaway for the residents of Savannah, has become a popular vacation spot with tourists from outside the Savannah metropolitan area. Tybee Island is also home to the first of what became the Days Inn chain of hotels, the oft-photographed Tybee Island Light Station, and the Fort Screven Historic District.

Every year since 1987 Tybee Island has had an annual Beach Bum parade, traditionally held in May. The parade route comes down the main road in Tybee, Butler Avenue, and when parade floats come by onlookers have been known to shoot each other with water-guns.