(Pop-up) Camping with Kiddos- Savannah and Jekyll Island, GA

In May of 2018, we purchased a pop-up camper off Craigslist. My husband grew up camping in tents and I grew up sleeping in pretty nice hotels, so this was an excellent compromise that would allow us to travel affordably with our family. Over the course of the year we took several small trips to area state parks but we ventured on our first longer “road trip” with Camperina during Spring Break.

As the first official long drive as a family of five (besides Disney with no camper), we chose a fun destination that had entertaining stops along the way- Jekyll Island, GA.

We left Birmingham after Brian got off work on Friday and spent the first night in a hotel in Macon, GA. The Cherry Blossom Festival was going on while we were there, so we drove through town to check out the cool festivities, then headed to our next stop. I think we missed the peak of the Cherry Blossom blooms this year, but would love to see the festival and all of its fun sometime in the future.

Our next stop was two nights in Savannah’s Skidaway Island State Park. This park was about 20 minutes from downtown Savannah, so we got the best of the city mixed with exploring, hiking, and camping in God’s AMAZING creation. Skidaway’s campsites were huge and perfect for our (kind of) loud, excited family. There were awesome loops for riding our bikes and great trails to explore.

We spent the second day in Savannah exploring the old city. Brian and I had been there before we had kids, so we weren’t sure how they would like it. It ended up being perfect. We very intentionally went at their pace- we hit the stores they would like, but not the ones that would stress us out, we planned pizza for lunch, had ice cream as an afternoon snack, and played at the park. We did not rush them and tried to be thoughtful on the things they would enjoy.

Johnson Girl Savannah Favorites

EA (7)- Forsyth Park playground

AG (almost 6) and Bets (3)- Savannah Children’s Museum

Ashley (30 something :))- Blends Coffee Boutique (I highly recommend the avocado toast and cinnamon roll- yum!)

After we left Savannah, we headed to Jekyll Island! Brian and I were longing for a slow vacation that would allow us to relax and enjoy time together as a family and Jekyll completely fit the bill. We stayed at the Jekyll Island Campground. The bathrooms were clean and the bike loop was perfect.

As a photographer, Driftwood Beach was my main goal. There were yards and yards of open beach with amazing driftwood scattered throughout the sand. It was gorgeous and was both a playground and a great place to unwind.

We also loved exploring the Jekyll Island Club on our bikes. We stopped and got ice cream, climbed old trees, and ran wildly around the beach.

Johnson Girl Jekyll Island Favorites

EA (7), AG (almost 6), and Bets (3)- Ice cream from Island Sweet Shoppe and climbing the trees

Ashley- Renting bikes from the Jekyll Island Bike Barn and exploring the island (with an ice cream stop, of course!)

Want to see more pictures from our trip to Savannah and Jekyll Island? Check out the travel highlight on my personal instagram page @thislifefilledwithlove 🙂

Have a question about our trip? Leave a comment or send me a message!

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