Can You Drink Alcohol on Tybee Island's Beach?

Yes. Tybee Island is one of the few Georgia beaches where you can drink alcohol on the sand. The city's rule is about the container, not the contents: no glass, no breakable bottles, anywhere on the beach.

That is the whole answer, and it is a pleasant surprise for anyone who has been fined on a beach in another state. The rest of this post covers what stays true, what changes the answer once you leave the sand, and the one part of the rule that is still being discussed.

Why the answer is yes

Tybee's old ban on drinking on the beach dated to 1983. The city council repealed it in December 2012 on a 4–2 vote, as reported by Georgia Public Broadcasting. The amended ordinance also affirms drinking on public streets, sidewalks and parking lots, which is the part people tend to miss.

The current City of Tybee beach rules page shows the same picture. It lists what is prohibited on the beach: smoking, littering, glass, damaging the dunes, and pets. Alcohol is not on that list. What is on it, in the city's words, is "glass or breakable containers, bottles or glass cups" in the public parking lots, sidewalks, walkways and beaches.

The glass rule is the one that matters

Read that last sentence again, because it is wider than most people expect. The glass ban does not stop at the high-tide line. It covers the parking lots you walk across to get to the sand and the sidewalks and walkways in between. A wine bottle in your tote bag is a violation before your feet touch the beach.

Practically, that means:

• Cans work. Beer, hard seltzer and canned cocktails are all fine.
• Pour wine into something else. A plastic cup or an insulated tumbler with a lid does the job, and keeps sand out of the glass you would have been tempted to use.
• Check the cooler before you leave. A stray glass-bottled soda or a jar of anything breakable counts too. The rule is about breakable containers, not about what is in them.
• Pack out what you bring. Littering is on the same prohibited list.

The reason for the rule is obvious if you have ever walked a beach barefoot at dusk. Broken glass in sand is invisible and lasts for years. A ban on it is one of the more sensible things a beach town can enforce.

What changes the answer

Where you are standing. On the sand, the rule is the simple one above. On the street, a sidewalk or a parking lot, the city also limits open containers, and glass is out in every case. The street rules on open containers have been under review by the city council, so read the city's current wording before you plan around them. The beach rule is the settled part.

Fines. Fines apply when the rules are broken. The City of Tybee is the place to check the current amounts.

Special events. Tybee has temporarily tightened rules for busy weekends in the past, so if you are coming for a big event weekend, a quick look at the city's site before you pack is cheap insurance.

Who is staying. Families with kids are a normal part of Tybee, and the Sandcastle Inn welcomes them: the guest who books and checks in must be 21 or older, and anyone younger is welcome as long as a 21+ guest is in the room.

Two other rules that catch people at the same time

You are already reading the beach rules, so two more are worth having in your head.

Dogs are not allowed on any Tybee beach. The City of Tybee's beach rules ban them, service animals excepted. You may read that leashed dogs are welcome after October 1. That is not true. Dogs on leash are fine elsewhere in town, and the Sandcastle Inn itself is pet-friendly, but the sand is off limits.

Parking is metered, and it is enforced every day. If you are carrying a cooler and a chair across town, you will want to know where the car goes. We pulled the specifics together in Tybee Island Parking and Beach Rules: What to Know Before You Go. The short version for guests: every room here comes with free on-site parking, one car per room, and the beach is a five-minute walk, so the car can stay put and the cooler can make the trip on foot.

Where to drink and eat without carrying anything

Not every drink has to be packed in. A beach day with a cooler is one way to do it. Another is to walk the few blocks into the restaurant stretch and sit down. Our dining page lists the places we would send a friend, and things to do covers what is worth doing between the beach and dinner.

If you are still deciding whether to come, the amenities page covers what the inn offers, and special offers has current rates. The Sandcastle Inn is a simple, dog-friendly, good-value inn on Butler Avenue, five minutes on foot from the sand. We are not beachfront. We are close enough that the cooler walk is short and the evening ends in a real bed.

Before you pack the cooler

• Cans and plastic only. No glass, in the lot, on the walkway or on the sand.
• Check the City of Tybee's page for the current open-container wording if you plan to carry a drink anywhere other than the beach itself.
• Keep the dog off the sand.
• Bring a bag for your trash.

Planning your trip? Check availability for your dates.