Sit back on the flight to Georgia and envision yourself in the Deep South during the Civil War. Whether you're channelling Scarlett O'Hara or Rhett Butler, it's not to remember the image of Georgia's burning landscape in the classic, Gone With The Wind. In recent decades, Georgia has served as the backdrop to other Hollywood movies and Georgia flights are packed with people eager to experience a bit of southern culture here.
Heavy green trees, lush parks and plantations that make the south so special are also what attracts visitors. That, and the fact that many of today’s films are shot on location here including American Beauty and Driving Miss Daisy. Long gone are the days of hoop dresses and bonnets, and uniforms and caps, but Cotillions still take place and Georgia residents pride themselves on their good old-fashioned values.
From the bustling city of Atlanta to the charming town of Savannah, travellers coming off their Georgia flights will always be welcome in the Peach State with some warm Southern hospitality and graciousness.
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Coastal Georgia has a near tropical climate with summer temperatures ranging from the 20s (C) to the 30s with an occasional rise to the mid 30s. The winter temperatures are generally in the mid-teens.Atlanta’s summers are very humid with temperatures around the mid-20s with peaks in the 30s. Winters are generally in single digits with infrequent dips below freezing at night.Inland and southern Georgia are much drier and hotter, but it is cooler in the higher altitudes. Winter temperatures seldom drop below freezing anywhere in the state. Spring and autumn are the longest seasons, and December to April the wettest. months.
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Peak Season:
Coastal summers are busy with sporting events and folk, craft, art, and music festivals. State and local fairs are held mainly in August and September. In spring everything blooms in as many colours as you can imagine, and the fall foliage is particularly beautiful. Atlanta is busy year round with conventions and trade shows. Check before making your reservations as large conventions can mean high rates and long waits in line.
Off Season:
July and August can be a good time to find cheap flights to Georgia, and some good discounts in Atlanta, and many hotels offer reduced rates over Christmas.
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Georgia is still mostly rural and getting around pretty much requires a car, but there are other ways. Atlanta has connecting flights to several Georgia destinations, including smaller cities. Amtrak trains have stops in Georgia and the Georgia railways cover the state. Atlanta has bus service to other cities, and several daily buses run along the coast and Savannah, but beyond that the bus service is intermittent.
Transportation is available in the major cities. Atlanta’s sprawl makes taking a car, taxi, or the MARTA rapid-rail subway trains necessary. Savannah’s historic district can be explored on foot, and the rest of the city explored by public transit and taxis.
For bikers, Georgia has several bicycling organisations, including the well known Southern Bicycle League, which organizes dozens of rides every year, and the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, which holds an annual cross-state event and numerous smaller rides throughout the year.
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- Georgia’s capital, Atlanta has a host of museums and attractions to visit. One of the more unusual is the Children’s Museum, called Imagine It! The museum encourages children to play together to discover the power of imagination and the “delight of learning”. The museum has many interactive exhibits along with numerous special events related to all the arts ranging from readings of Dr Seuss to a circus workshop.
- There are museums in Atlanta for two of its most famous residents. The Margaret Mitchell House was the home of the author and is now a visitor centre and museum. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site comprises numerous buildings around the birthplace of the human rights activist in Auburn, Atlanta. Visits to the house of his birth are available with guides. Also part of the site are a visitor centre, the Ebenezer Church, where King was baptised, and the King Centre.
- The state of Georgia is a major manufacturer of pecans, tobacco, rosin and cotton. To find out everything you could possibly want to know about the latter, visit the Georgia Cotton Museum in Vienna.
- One of the more secluded attractions in Georgia is CumberlandIsland, the largest and southernmost barrier island. A nature-lover's paradise, the island is home to deer, raccoons, bull alligators and armadillos, while the beaches hold loggerhead turtles, sand pipers and ospreys. But the island isn’t just popular for its wildlife. The 17 miles of beaches that surround Cumberland Island are pure white sand. It was voted one of America’s ten best beaches by the Travel channel in 2005.
- The huge Okefenokee Swamp measures 38 miles by 25 miles and has been described by the UN as a “wetland of international importance”. The surrounding area was made into a wildlife refuge back in 1936 to preserve the unique ecosystem of the swamp. All the activities you’d expect are on offer: a swamp drive, camping, hiking, fishing and canoeing. The area is especially worth visiting when one of the annual events is taking place – the largest is the Okefenokee festival on the second Saturday of every October.
- Savannah is one of the oldest cities in the state, and in America. It was the site for many of the civil war battles. Today, the city is perfectly preserved, with a mix of old buildings in the central historic district and new developments. To see the most of the city, take advantage of the one-hour trolley tours, which are especially fun if you’re travelling with children.
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