Free Ice Cream, Pirate Clues, and a Champagne Sword: Jekyll Island Is Doing Summer Right

You know how every beach resort says it’s perfect for families and couples and groups of friends and that one aunt who just wants to read in peace?

Jekyll Island Club and Ocean Club Resorts are actually pulling it off this summer. And they’re doing it with spy kits, scavenger hunts, and free food for your kids—which, let’s be honest, is really free food for you when they don’t touch the fries.

Let’s start with the math: kids under 12 eat free all summer long. That means hot dogs, chicken tenders, burgers, and even the very serious all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the Grand Dining Room are on the house (as long as a grown-up is footing the bill for themselves). That alone could make you feel like you’re winning at parenting, budgeting, and vacation planning, all before your second cup of beach coffee.

But the real scene-stealer? Mystery on the Marsh. It runs June 29 through July 3 and it’s like if summer camp met a Nancy Drew novel, but with better snacks and a concierge desk.
Here’s what’s going down:

• Every kid gets a spy kit, complete with magnifying glass
• There’s an island-wide scavenger hunt, because what’s vacation without a reason to run around in the sun yelling “I found it!”
• Treasure chest decorating (then filling them with goodies at the concierge desk—yes, actual treasure)
• Doubloons that can be swapped for up to $50 in resort credit (somebody’s buying shrimp tacos)
• Free poolside ice cream, no fine print
• And the whole thing ends with a Diamond Heist Mystery Dinner where your kid gets to interrogate strangers over meatloaf

Grown-ups aren’t left out. There’s a harder version of the scavenger hunt for adults, with real prizes and a drawing for a free night’s stay. Translation: you can still get competitive without stealing your kid’s magnifying glass.

Then there’s the July 4th festivities, which somehow manage to be quaint, festive, and unironically charming all at once. It starts with the Independence Day Bike Parade at 9 a.m., led by the actual Jean Struthers Sears—who sounds like someone you’d want to narrate your vacation memoir. Bring your own bike or rent one from Jekyll Wheels, decorations included. Extra points for streamers, bonus points for costumes, eternal bragging rights if you convince the dog to wear a flag bandana.

That night?

• 5 p.m. Beachside Bash on Beachview Drive (no tickets, no RSVP, just show up)
• Live music, games, a la carte eats, and plenty of room to plant a folding chair and ride out the day
• Fireworks, because of course

Still got energy? Wander over to Rock the Dock at the Wharf Friday and Saturday (July 4 & 5) for seafood, barbecue, live tunes, and local beer that actually tastes good. Noon to 9 p.m. both days, which is code for: come early, stay late, and maybe cancel your dinner plans.

And just when you think the week can’t possibly fit in anything else: champagne sabering on the veranda, Thursday through Saturday at 5 p.m. It’s dramatic. It’s bougie. It’s exactly the kind of flair your vacation needed.

If you’re going, book early—this stuff fills up fast. And pack light. You’ll leave with a spy kit, painted treasure box, and the kind of sun-soaked stories that smell like saltwater and sunscreen.