Let us be honest, most of us totally ignore north Florida on our way southward to its lavish and sometimes overwhelmed tropical beaches.  We are doing ourselves a great disservice if the goal is a low-maintenance family getaway in a natural but pampered setting.  Just past the Georgia State line and easily accessible via Jacksonville's user-friendly airport, the environmentally serene and amenity-rich resort of Amelia Island Plantation lies modestly in wait for the creative, nature-appreciating traveler.

The 1,350-acre, self-contained subtropical Shangri-La is not immediately visible to the casual observer. Roadways and buildings are meticulously and surgically inserted between, and designed around, a completely intact forest canopy strewn with Spanish Moss, sensitive tree stands, fragile dunes and rare wetlands.

Activities & Amenities

Families will enjoy world-class golfing, nature programs and trails, 3.5 miles of Atlantic beach, 23 swimming pools, 23 tennis courts (the Plantation's Racquet Park has hosted some of the most famous tennis championship players), a full service spa (do not leave without a massage), health and fitness center, fine dining, business/conference center, shopping, fishing, sailing, kayaking, horseback riding, and award-winning youth programs. Complimentary shuttles run throughout the resort and Island Hoppers (commuter golf carts) are available for self-guided transportation.

To enjoy the myriad activities and choice of housing, take advantage of the competitively priced spa or golf packages; depending on the season, these can be excellent values.  Families can combine adult activities with the resort's Kids Camp Amelia youth program (for ages 3 to 10-years, daily all year and some evenings) and find they need not plan at all.  The supervised programs keep toddlers to teens active with scheduled nature tours, tennis/golf clinics, story time, scavenger hunts, babysitting, crabbing, sports instruction, volleyball, jet ski excursions and DJ-hosted teen socials.  Finish a day with the Just for Kids evening dinner activities or send them to the Games Room.

Appreciating the Eco-System

The result of this sustainable vision for the resort is a premium oceanside development that is absolutely compatible with environmental stewardship and natural resource conservation goals. Make no mistake – living at one with nature does not mean you have to rough it or go without the family-friendly and premium relaxation experience many search for in a vacation.  Here, nature is to be enjoyed – not avoided.

To truly revel in the Plantation's pampering, enjoy the juxtaposition of extensive amenities against a backdrop of unique natural resources. It encompasses some of the east coast's Atlantic barrier island ecosystem and the Florida subtropical zone.  This blend of habitats provides a very rare and unique ecosystem of its own with plant and animal communities rarely seen elsewhere – 50-foot live oak forests stand with pine, magnolia and palmettos, terns, sandpipers, storks and even the occasional bald eagle. 

You can take a guided or self-guided nature tour at Drummond Point Park or Walker's Landing.  At the nature center, sign up any budding marine biologists for one of the center's many creature appreciation activities.  The same rare co-mingling of temperate forest and southern coastal fauna is also evident in wildflowers, reptiles, fish and mammals so don't forget your "Peterson" or "Audubon" nature guides for this trip.

Even 72 championship holes of golf courses are uniquely designed and landscaped around natural areas of forests, dunes and lagoons providing some of the most impressive scenery and harmonious design a golfer might ever witness.  Ocean Links provides ocean-side undulating and open greens mixed with dunes and salty breezes.  The Oak Marsh course emphasizes accuracy and precision with numerous water hazards and bunkers.  Long Point is exemplary of meticulous emplacement of fairways and greens throughout forest wilderness and marshes. Royal Amelia is known as one of the best-conditioned courses with smooth TifEagle greens and sculpted around a forest of live oaks, sabal palms, pines and wax myrtles.

Indulge in Recreation & Relaxation

The passively challenged can actively appreciate the outdoors through family fishing, deep sea charters, back water and bass fishing charters, sailing and quail hunting with all necessary rentals available at the Amelia Angler store.  An Island favorite is kayaking and for everyone else, the Plantation offers one of the best opportunities for bicycle touring or guided horseback riding tours to observe nature.

If vacations are more of an opportunity to catch up on vigorous activities and exercise, play endless tennis with a partner on one of the 23 precision clay courts day or night.  Practice with the backboard or ball machine, or sign up for a premium tennis clinic by one of the many certified pros.  Weight training opportunities abound with a circuit of new Cybex machines and personal training assistance.  Aerobic classes of all types are available including Win Chung (a manner of Tai Chi).

This is most noticeable when experiencing the ultimate of all pampering – the Spa.  The 13,000-square-foot haven of relaxation features five kinds of massage, seven kinds of hydrotherapy, 12 types of facials and six types of body treatments.  A very special experience awaits those who try the Watsu massage – a weightless massage in a body-temperature pool of water.

Do not underestimate the purity of relaxing in a beach chair at sunset after a dinner of grouper or red snapper.  As the day fades to moonlight, denizens of urban areas will not only appreciate the salt air, the sounds of rolling surf and the stirrings of nocturnal creatures, but also the absence of artificial light (so as to not disorient hatching sea turtles), noise and any need to plan.  Don't feel guilty – you earned it.

Those of us who travel as a family have learned very clearly that what really sets a memorable family vacation experience apart from others is simply the absence of things that go wrong.  The most outstanding quality of the Plantation is that from rooms, dining and recreation to shuttle transportation and providing advice, the staff is entirely devoted to your comfort.

Details, Details

Contact Amelia Island Plantation (P.O.Box 3000, Amelia Island, FL 32035-3000; 888/261-6161) regarding reservations at any facility; accommodations are as numerous as the recreational opportunities. The Amelia Inn & Beach Club offers deluxe hotel rooms with breathtaking ocean views; families may want to take advantage of their multi-roomed villas and penthouses, whose living areas differ in architectural style and décor.  Guests are served by a business and conference center as well as nine exemplary eating establishments ranging from a beach-front grill to premium culinary experiences (try the shrimp and fish dishes).  The Plantation even has its own shopping facilities and Falcon's Nest – a local bar for dancing and cocktails.  Apparently, many visitors find they cannot leave.  A residentially developed tract of the Plantation has 600 single-family homes, with 400 remaining sites for those considering permanent relocation.

If you're intrigued by my report of The Spa (877/843-7722), try it. Their website is the one-stop-shop for all your information needs including what's new, photos, rates, facilities, reservations and panoramas.  For more about the Island region and attractions check out www.islandchamber.com and www.ameliaislandliving.com. 
 

As an environmental consultant, Andrew Der writes for land development companies and government agencies requiring technical and scientific guidance. Over the last few years, his yearnings have led him to travel journalism and photography focused on creative and cultural family destinations, his children, Eastern Europe - his birthplace - and the occasional offbeat experience or unique niche uncovered in his travels.