15 Of The Best Places To Vacation In Georgia: Where To Stay On A Visit To The Peach State

White-sand beaches, historic towns, mountain scenery: The best Georgia vacation spots are as varied as they are beautiful. Whether you’re looking for an active adventure, or wondering where to stay in Georgia for a relaxed weekend away, FlipKey has you covered. We’ll help you find the perfect rental with access to endless trails, urban adventures, or world-class golf courses. From cozy, backwoods cabins in Blue Ridge, to luxe apartments in downtown Atlanta, these destinations boast some of the best Georgia vacation rentals you can book.

Best Georgia Getaways: Where To Stay

With so many great options, finding the best place to stay in Georgia is no easy task. At FlipKey, we’re all about cutting through the noise, since less time researching your accommodation means more time planning out fun activities. To develop our list of best Georgia vacation spots, we analyzed the lifetime average rental home review scores on TripAdvisor and FlipKey (FlipKey is a TripAdvisor company) for all Georgia locations. We identified the cream of the crop—those destinations that were among the highest rated according to our reviewers, whose real-world experience is worth hours of online research. With at least 100 lifetime reviews in each, these Georgia destinations have an average score of 4.50 out of 5.00 stars for their rental properties.

Sky Valley

A cooler climate and mountain scenery makes Sky Valley one of the best Georgia getaways when the weather gets steamy—after all, this is the city with the highest elevation in Georgia. Thanks to that height, some of our favorite rentals in Sky Valley feature gorgeous views of the surrounding forest, too! Sky Valley is great for anyone looking to brush up their golfing skills at an 18-hole, world-class golf course, but it’s not all putting greens, irons, and fairways. After a day on the course or a hike through the nearby hills, you’ll find luxurious spas, vineyards, art galleries, and fine dining that make for a relaxing Georgia getaway.

Find a great place to stay in Sky Valley!

Greensboro

Stroll down streets lined with antebellum homes, and you’ll see why Greensboro is among the best places to vacation in Georgia if you’re looking for Southern charm and history. With an impressive 374 miles of shoreline, nearby Lake Oconee is where to stay in Georgia if your idea of the perfect vacation involves a fishing rod, cold beer, and a comfy spot on a boat. When you’re ready for something a little more ambitious, head to one of the 10 champion golf courses in the Greensboro area—you can book a property right at the edge of the course if you wish, so you can roll out of bed for an early morning tee time.

Find a great place to stay in Greensboro!

Brunswick, Golden Isles

Explore a string of picture-perfect barrier islands along the Georgia Coast on an escape to Brunswick, one of the best places to vacation in Georgia when you want to get away from it all. Brunswick is the main port city, with history, music, art, and great theaters for lively entertainment. You can take off on a dolphin-watching cruise or fishing charter, or tour the gorgeous grounds of the Hofwyl-Broadfield Rice Plantation. Day trips to the surrounding islands are easy, too. Opt for the luxurious charms of Sea Island, or head to the family-friendly Jekyll Island to discover biking trails, a fishing pier, outdoor water park, and perfect, white-sand beaches.

Find a great place to stay in Brunswick and the Golden Isles!

Clayton

Step back in time on a nostalgic trip to Clayton, one of the best Georgia vacation spots if you’re looking for a taste of the simple life. Sidle up to the soda fountain at the town’s old-fashioned drug store, or join a trail ride through the surrounding forest. A great home base for exploring the Southern Highroads Trail and U.S. 441 Heritage Highway, Clayton is full of rental retreats with rustic charm, from backwoods log cabins to updated forest homes with sweeping views over the mountains.

Find a great place to stay in Clayton!

Dahlonega

With an enviable location in the heart of Georgia wine country, this is where to stay in Georgia if you’re looking to explore the state’s award-winning pours. A warm climate makes this prime territory for growing muscadine grapes, which are as sweet as a Georgia peach. Since most of the local vineyards have tasting rooms that are open to the public, the best way to discover your own favorite Dahlonega wine is to sip your way through all of them.

Find a great place to stay in Dahlonega!

Rising Fawn

Discover the perfect hunting lodge or cozy forest retreat during your escape to the poetically-named Rising Fawn, set on the edge of Lookout Mountain. This is one of the best places to vacation in Georgia for enjoying Mother Nature, Southern-style: hike to waterfalls, celebrate deer season, or hit the lake for a day of fishing in the summer sun. Rising Fawn has produced some of Georgia’s best musical artists, from The Forester Sisters to Norman Blake, so whatever you do, you can explore to the soundtrack of some classic Americana.

Find a great place to stay in Rising Fawn!

Jasper

A small town with great mountain access, Jasper is one of the best Georgia getaways if you’re looking for a quick escape that’s easy driving distance from Atlanta. You’ll find ranches, vineyards, and family farms here—make a pilgrimage in the spring to visit when the baby sheep and goats are at their most adorable. But it’s an impressive network of hiking trails that makes this one of the best places to vacation in Georgia for nature lovers. Access the Appalachian Trail from the nearby Amicalola Falls State Park, or head to Burnt Mountain Preserve to walk a beautiful trail to the summit, earning views across the surrounding hills.

Find a great place to stay in Jasper!

Blue Ridge

Deep in the North Georgia mountains, Blue Ridge is where to stay in Georgia when you’re yearning for a cozy cabin and nature therapy (with jaw-dropping scenery). Not that Blue Ridge is all rustic charm, since the community shows its luxurious side with elegant restaurants, galleries, and downtown boutiques worthy of a lazy shopping afternoon. It’s one of the best Georgia vacation spots to hit the trails on horseback, too, with stables that can saddle up a ride for everyone from beginning riders to expert equestrians. Some of our favorite places to stay in Blue Ridge evoke that unique blend of backwoods access and sophistication, and the area’s forest is dotted with log cabins gone fabulously upscale!

Find a great place to stay in Blue Ridge!

Saint Simons Island

Take a dive into Georgia history—and wonderfully warm water—at Saint Simons Island, one of the best spots for a vacation in Georgia if you’re craving sun, sea, and sand. It’s the site of a famous 18^th-century battle between British and Spanish forces, and you can follow in the footsteps of those troops on the island’s beautifully preserved marshes. If you’re dreaming of a room with a view, check out the island’s ocean-side accommodations, where you can drift off to the sound of the tide. Insider tip: you can drive right to the beach thanks to a bridge that links Saint Simons Island with the mainland, but it’s worth bringing a bike to explore the miles of trails that cover blissfully flat terrain.

Find a great place to stay on Saint Simons Island!

Dawsonville

Fans of everything that’s souped up and speedy should steer for the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, whose exhibits are a heady tribute to the racing greats. This might be the best Georgia getaway for the racing crowd, and Dawsonville’s got charm for days: you can sip moonshine at the local distillery, walk to a towering waterfall, visit local farms, and spend a day on the Appalachian Trail. Dawsonville is a jumping-off point for the 2,100-mile trek, so taking a day hike in the late fall means you can meet hikers nearing the end of a solid six-month journey through the Appalachian Mountains!

Find a great place to stay in Dawsonville!

Ellijay

A prime location close to mountain trails, laid-back rivers, and rolling farmland make Ellijay one of the best Georgia vacation spots for outdoor adventurers. Since the waterways in this part of Georgia have more flat water than churning rapids, it’s the perfect place to snag an inner tube for a day on the river, where you can slip in and cool off on your way to nearby Carter Lake. When harvest season rolls around, head to Ellijay for a weekend of picking locally grown peaches and apples—locals celebrate the impressive bounty of seasonal fruit at the annual Georgia Apple Blossom Festival.

Find a great place to stay in Ellijay!

Blairsville

Clear-flowing rivers and a spiderweb of hiking trails run through Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and Blairsville is at the heart of it all. This is where to stay in Georgia if you’re trying to get away from modern life, and some of the top-rated rentals available here are ideal for just that: think woodsy cabins, mountain-side nests, and crackling wood fires in the cooler months. When the weather gets steamy, Blairsville has great access to Lake Winfield Scott and Lake Nottely, as well as a handful of gorgeous waterfalls that invite a long summer afternoon of exploring.

Find a great place to stay in Blairsville!

Savannah

Georgia’s oldest city needs no introduction, since moss-draped oaks, historic architecture, and a vibrant take on Southern traditions has long made it one of the best Georgia vacation destinations—if not one of the best in all 50 states. This is where to stay in Georgia if you’re ready for a whirlwind of fabulous food—a mix of long traditions and young blood keep Savannah cuisine at the cutting edge. Start with a walking tour of the historic downtown, where it all began, then dive into the weirder side of the city’s past on a ghost tour, graveyard adventure, or even a haunted pub crawl.

Find a great place to stay in Savannah!

Tybee Island

Adorable beach houses and oceanside cottages are dreamy getaways on Tybee Island, one of the beachiest and best places to vacation in Georgia. Pack a romantic picnic to take into the island’s rolling sand dunes and—since Tybee Island catches some of Georgia’s most stunning morning light—set your alarm early to see the sunrise from the shore. Even though the sun, sea, and top-rated beach home rentals are what earns Tybee Island a spot among the best Georgia getaways, there’s some fascinating history here, too, starting with the 1736 Tybee Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses in the United States.

Find a great place to stay on Tybee Island!

Atlanta

Urban culture, world-class food, and a bit of swagger make Atlanta a fascinating city—and one of the best places to vacation in Georgia no matter what your travel style is. With so much to choose from, there’s no “right” way to plan an Atlanta getaway: you can immerse yourself in the history of the Civil Rights era, hit up all the classic spots for “meat and three” and fried chicken, or stick to fine arts at the city’s fabulous museums. Each of the city’s neighborhoods have their own character, so it’s worth finding the area you want to explore then picking the perfect digs, whether you’re ready to lounge in a rooftop pool, or looking for a quiet retreat that’s tucked away from the center.

Find a great place to stay in Atlanta!

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