Plan
Tybee sits eighteen miles east of downtown Savannah at the end of Highway 80 — a straight, low run across open salt marsh with two bridges and no alternative route. That last detail matters more than anything else on this page.
Take President Street east out of downtown, follow Islands Expressway onto Highway 80, and stay on it through Wilmington and Whitemarsh islands. Twenty-five minutes with no traffic, closer to an hour on a July Saturday afternoon. The marsh views on the Lazaretto Creek bridge are the first real hint you're somewhere different.
Savannah/Hilton Head International (SAV) is about forty minutes from the island and has direct service from most eastern hubs. Rent a car at the airport — Tybee has no rideshare depth for the return trip and taxis from town run expensive. Jacksonville and Charleston are both roughly two and a half hours by car.
There is a single way on and off the island. Holiday weekends, the Beach Bum Parade and Pirate Fest all back Highway 80 up for miles, and exceptionally high king tides occasionally put water over the roadway near the marsh. Check the tide and leave a buffer if you have a flight or a dinner reservation in town.
You can walk most of Tybee, and locals move on bikes and street-legal golf carts. The free seasonal shuttle loops Butler Avenue between the lighthouse and the pier every twenty minutes, which means you can park once for the day and forget the car until you leave.