Family Fun: Amelia Island & Nassau County
Amelia Adventures is Amelia Island's premier kayak and paddleboard tour operator, offering five different guided tours through salt marshes, tidal creeks, and barrier island waterways. All experience levels are welcome, and the guides handle equipment, instruction, and route planning. The Egan's Creek tour is especially family-friendly, with calm waters and regular dolphin and bird sightings. They also run kids and teen adventure camps in the summer that combine kayaking, nature education, and confidence-building skills. Book online or call 904-500-TOUR.
This family-owned operation out of Fernandina Beach specializes in guided kayak tours ranging from 2-hour local paddles to 5-hour river excursions and even overnight trips. The Cumberland Island tour is the standout, combining kayaking with a walking tour of the island's wild horses, ruins, and beaches. All tours include complimentary digital photos. Tandem kayaks are available for younger paddlers (ages 12+ for most tours). The guides are known for deep local knowledge of wildlife, tides, and area history.
Departing from Fernandina Harbor Marina, Amelia River Cruises runs narrated sightseeing tours, eco tours, and sunset cruises to Cumberland Island and along the Amelia River. The captains are local history and wildlife experts who make the narration genuinely interesting for both kids and adults. The 1-hour family-friendly sunset cruise is the easiest entry point, running daily from March through November with departure times that shift with the season. The 2.5-hour Cumberland Island tour goes deeper into the area's Civil War history, wild horses, and dolphin sightings. BYOB is welcome on most cruises.
Amelia Adventures runs a daily sunset cruise from Fernandina Beach that heads down the Amelia River past the historic waterfront and shrimp boats, around Fort Clinch, and across Cumberland Sound to Cumberland Island. The route is timed so you catch wild horses grazing on the dunes as the sun drops behind the horizon. The 30-foot Miss Amelia holds up to 28 guests with a shaded deck and plenty of room to spread out. Private charters are also available for smaller groups or special occasions. This is one of the most talked-about family experiences on Amelia Island.
Boneyard Beach is one of the most visually striking spots in Northeast Florida. Three miles of shoreline along Nassau Sound are covered with the salt-washed skeletons of live oak and cedar trees, creating a landscape that looks like another planet. Kids love climbing the driftwood giants. Beyond the beach, the park offers hiking on Blackrock Trail, the paved Timucuan Trail for bikes and strollers, kayak rentals, and picnic pavilions overlooking the water. Entry is $3 per vehicle. Open 8 a.m. until sundown daily.
Adjacent to Big Talbot, Little Talbot Island is the more traditional beach destination with white sand, designated parking, and full facilities. But it is also one of the few Florida state parks that offers hammock campsites, putting you deep in the maritime forest canopy for the night. The hiking trails have surprising elevation changes for flat Northeast Florida. Keep an eye out for white-tailed deer, marsh rabbits, and even bobcats. Bike rentals are available, and a Modi Mat at boardwalk 2 makes the main beach accessible for wheelchairs and strollers.