Looking for a secluded beachfront cabin in the southeastern US.

September 1, 2015 5:42 AM

I'm looking for a secluded beachfront cabin to rent for 2-3 nights in the southeastern US (ideally the Carolinas, but Virginia, Georgia, and even Northern Florida would be a possibility). Essentials are: 1) on a sandy beach with swimmable water, and 2) as secluded from other people as possible. Budget would be less than $300/night.

There are plenty of condos and apartments at your AirBNBs and VRBOs, but I am looking for somewhere my wife and I can go and basically pretend we are the last two humans on Earth, and I'm having a hard time filtering my searches to find those types of places. Wish list would include being on the ocean rather than a lake or other body of water, electricity, a kitchen, and access that does not require a 4WD car, but even those things are negotiable for the right place.

Do you know of a place like this? If not, do you know of websites or articles or real estate agencies that list places like this? Thanks!

posted by Rock Steady to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

When do you want to do this renting? Because Lake Michigan has some of the most uninhabited beaches I've ever been to. Even at high summer, I can walk for miles on the beach and not see another person. The water levels are high right now, though, so some places have less beach than normal.
posted by cecic at 6:05 AM on September 1, 2015

Response by poster: Ah yes, sorry. Probably late spring or early fall - warm enough to go swimming, but not so hot as to make lying on the beach miserable. Timing is negotiable if that makes a difference in terms of seclusion. However, Lake Michigan is too far -- I'm aiming to stay in the southeast US.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:16 AM on September 1, 2015

This will require negotiation on many of your points, but if roughing it a bit is an option, I can't say enough good things about the national seashore at Cumberland Island, GA. There are a few people (and I mean a few!) scattered on the beach right near the camping area but all you have to do is walk for 5 minutes until they look like dots and then you're more likely to see a horse on the beach than another soul. You pack a tent and stuff and a cooler full of steaks and beer and then take a ferry over there; there are 10 or 15 campsites with picnic tables and firepits/grills, and a communal building with cold water and showers and a couple of outlets that people use for phone charging. There are nominal fees for the camping and the ferry. 10 miles of shallow, white sand beach, fairly warm water.

On a re-read, this won't replace the isolated cabin experience because you will see other folks on the way to and from the beach, so it might be a non-starter on that front. It's also a bit rustic. Either way, good luck on your search!
posted by ftm at 6:20 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Have you considered the area around Cedar Key? It's a tiny tiny beachfront town in Northern Florida, connected to the state by a causeway. You could probably find something around there. (Full disclosure: my dad is the police chief there and I spent all the summers of my childhood there.)
posted by Kitteh at 6:22 AM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Cayo Costa on the Gulf coast. Primitive as anything, but isolated, and after the day trippers leave on the 5 PM ferry, you will have miles of beaches to yourself.
posted by garbanzilla at 4:30 PM on September 1, 2015

There are some cabins available on Sapelo Island, Georgia- which is extremely undeveloped and in the price range.
posted by Dr. Grue at 10:33 PM on September 2, 2015