The Cloister, Sea Island

Luxury Escape: Girls Getaway on Sea Island

When one of the Ocean Residences at The Cloister became available for the final weekend of August, I couldn’t help but daydream about a getaway weekend on Sea Island. Scott and I visited Sea Island, Georgia in 2013 for a friend’s wedding and were blown away. Sea Island is quintessentially Southern in all the right ways. The service is top-notch, guys wear navy blazers and refer to you as ma’am, and the setting is otherworldly perfection (think Southern oaks, fields of green, whimsical wetlands and a rugged beach setting).

With three weeks notice, it turned into a girls trip with four of us committed to join this weekend getaway from our corners of the world – New York, DC, Mississippi and Anguilla – for an impromptu escape at The Cloister. We rented a car in Jacksonville and drove up to the Golden Isles, through St. Simons to our final stop in Sea Island.

The Cloister at Sea Island Resort

You know what’s one of the coolest things? Revisiting a place you thought was spectacular and realizing that it wasn’t all in your head. That it is, in fact, that good, if not better. Scott and I stayed at The Lodge during our last visit to Sea Island so walking into the Ocean Residences at The Cloister was a new experience for all of us and it didn’t disappoint.

The Ocean Residences at The Cloister, Sea Island The Ocean Residences at The Cloister, Sea IslandThe Ocean Residences at The Cloister, Sea Island The Ocean Residences at The Cloister, Sea Island The Ocean Residences at The Cloister, Sea Island

Every time I mentioned that I was headed to Sea Island, people would ask, ‘Oh, you golf?’

No. No, I don’t golf. And if you’re thinking of visiting, you should know that you absolutely don’t have to golf to enjoy the area. In four days we did a barre class, I did a Pilates class, we spent an afternoon at the spa, chatted by the pool, sipped gimlets at The Lodge, took a shooting class at the Sea Island Shooting School, attempted to find sea turtles, had awesome dinners out, shopped at quaint stores on St. Simons, and toured Sea Island beyond the resort {read more about my top experiences for a girls getaway on Sea Island}. We had a jam-packed weekend and could have easily spent another four days exploring and enjoying.

Check out this quickie video of our long weekend on the Georgia Coast:

Stay tuned – I’ll be recapping our time at the Shooting School at Sea Island and will be sharing top 5 must-have experiences for a Girls Getaway on Sea Island!

Have you been to Sea Island before? What were your highlights?

Shannon Kircher, The Wanderlust Effect

More about Shannon Kircher

Shannon Kircher is the founder and editor of The Wanderlust Effect. Founded in 2009, she has continued to document her international escapes as an expat in Europe and the Caribbean. Additionally, Shannon is the founder of Compass & Vine, a luxury boutique travel design firm, and is the Director of Marketing for the Frangipani Beach Resort. Shannon holds an MSc in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics and is a current candidate for WSET Level 3 in Wines & Spirits.