Catalog leader
★ 4.9 (299)1 - 1.5 hoursfrom $55
Historic Downtown Savannah: Guided Segway Tour
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Independent Savannah travel guide
Savannah, GA: Things to Do, Tours and Where to Stay
Twenty-two squares, a working river below the bluff and a beach down one stubborn two-lane road. The trick is giving each one the right amount of day.
Written by Alex H., Travel editor and researcherUpdated September 2026
Savannah's old plan still does most of the planning for you. Walk Bull Street through five squares to Forsyth Park, reserve one house museum along the way, and save River Street for a separate loop below the bluff. Most of what you came to see sits inside that grid.
The city nearly traded part of it for parking. In 1955, seven women bought the Davenport House before it could be demolished, then founded the Historic Savannah Foundation. River warehouses survived too, and container ships still slide past the bars and balconies below Bay Street. Savannah is not a stage set; it is an old plan still doing a modern job.
The edges need more effort. Bonaventure is three miles east. Fort Pulaski and Tybee share the same road and deserve their own day. I use city rules, transit schedules, museum tickets, tour listings and weather records to sort those decisions. No borrowed local swagger, just the useful facts and a three-day plan.
Six numbers worth knowing
The airport, parking, taxes, Tybee and the week that swallows March.
- Airport to downtown
- 10 miles; about 20 minutes by car
- Getting around downtown
- On foot, plus the free DOT shuttle (18 stops, every 10 minutes) and the free Belles Ferry
- Parking
- City garages cap at $14–24 a day, $25 on event days; hotel valet runs $43–60
- Hotel taxes
- About 15% plus $5 a night before any hotel fee
- Tybee Island
- 17.5 road miles on US-80; parking $4 an hour or $25 a day
- Busiest week
- St. Patrick's Day, March 17; the parade is held that day every year
Pick a tour by its job
Orientation, a meal, an evening or the water first. Ratings second.
Ghost tours
Walk, ride, investigate—or have a pint with the dead
Food and drink
Meals on foot, sweets, cocktails and dinner tables
Trolley tours
One clean overview, all-day stops or a comedy show
Boats and water
The working river, coastal dolphins and sunset decks
History tours
The squares, Black history, cemeteries and the Civil War
Browse every tour
The full catalog, compared by the job each trip does
The catalog leaders right now
Ranked by rating weighted for review volume and refreshed September 1, 2026. Commission plays no part in the order.
★ 4.9 (261)1 hourfrom $38
Bonaventure Cemetery Golf Cart Guided Tour
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★ 4.8 (632)3 hoursfrom $97
Historic District Foodie Walking Tour
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★ 4.8 (565)1.5 hoursfrom $59
Savannah for Morons Comedy Trolley Tour
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★ 4.8 (286)6 hoursfrom $74
Bonaventure Cemetery & Wormsloe State Historic Site Tour
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★ 4.9 (136)2 hoursfrom $88
Cocktail Class at American Prohibition Museum
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Want the full breakdown first?
Price, duration, tradeoffs and booking link:
Old Town Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour★4.7 (1,872)Ghosts and Gravestones Tour with Low House Entry★4.3 (1,349)Riverboat Narrated Harbor Sightseeing Cruise★4.3 (1,324)Buffet Dinner Cruise with Live Entertainment★4.2 (1,106)Old Savannah Tours Historic Overview★4.6 (1,001)Sightseeing Lunch Cruise★4.6 (894)
My first-morning pick: Old Town Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour
Its 16-stop loop gives you the map before the brick sidewalks give you sore feet. Ride one full circuit, then get off and walk the squares. The rating above comes from 1,872 catalog reviews, the largest review set on the site.
Now answer the expensive questions
Where to sleep, where to eat and whether you really need the car.
Things to do
The first-trip shortlist with what each place is, what it costs and how it fits two days
Open section →Historic District
The 1733 plan, what stands in each square on the Bull Street walk, and the house museums
Open section →Restaurants
Ten places with dishes and prices from their own menus: Mrs. Wilkes, The Olde Pink House, the oyster bar, the walk-in
Open section →Hotels and areas
Which side of the district to stay on, and what taxes, valet and amenity fees add to the bill
Open section →Tybee Island
The lighthouse, the pier, where to eat, parking and a timed beach day
Open section →Plan the trip
A three-day itinerary with times, what it costs, the airport, and weather by month
Open section →Choose one historic site to go inside
The fort and Wormsloe need a car. The museums, square and old cemetery fit the downtown walk.
Fort Pulaski
The 1862 siege that made brick forts obsolete, the moat and casemates you walk through, $10 admission
Open guide →Wormsloe
The 1890s oak avenue, the 1730s tabby fort at the end of it, and the shuttle included in admission
Open guide →Telfair Museums
The Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, the Academy and the Jepson on one $30 pass
Open guide →American Prohibition Museum
Thirteen galleries ending at a speakeasy: ticket, guided visit or cocktail class
Open guide →Chippewa Square
The Forrest Gump filming side, why the bench is gone, and the 1910 Oglethorpe statue
Open guide →Colonial Park Cemetery
The 1750–1853 burying ground, Button Gwinnett, the arch and the seasonal gate hours
Open guide →The weather and the table both set the schedule
April and October are the mild bets. Summer afternoons run above 90°F and bring the heaviest rain; March 17 brings the parade and the crowds. The month-by-month guide has the actual normals and event dates.
Mrs. Wilkes takes no reservations and serves weekday lunch only. The Olde Pink House is the opposite: dinner in the famous old house, best reserved. Leopold's is the ice-cream line. The restaurant guide tells you which rule belongs to which meal.
Primary sources
Checked September 1, 2026. Schedules, fees and policies can change, so recheck a linked source when the detail will affect your visit.
- National Park Service: Savannah Historic District nomination — 1733 plan; 1966 listing
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation: Savannah squares — 22 of 24 squares
- Historic Savannah Foundation: our story — the 1955 Davenport House rescue
- Savannah's Waterfront: about — the cotton port
- City of Savannah: Forsyth fountain restoration — 1858 fountain
- Savannah/Hilton Head International: surrounding areas — 10 miles; 20 minutes
- Chatham Area Transit: DOT shuttle — free downtown shuttle
- Chatham Area Transit: Savannah Belles Ferry — free ferry
- City of Savannah parking garages — garage rates
- City of Savannah: local and state taxes — 8% hotel/motel tax
- Georgia Department of Revenue: state hotel-motel fee — $5 per night
- City of Tybee Island parking services — coast-day parking
- NOAA monthly normals, Savannah International Airport — monthly averages
- Savannah Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee — March 17
- Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room — the weekday lunch
- Leopold's Ice Cream: about — 1919
Start with one walk and one reservation
Begin with the things-to-do shortlist, which lists each stop with what it is and what it costs. Then put the stops on a schedule with the three-day plan, and book the first morning's tour from the ranked tour catalog. The hotel guide prices the room once the taxes, valet and fees are added.
Disclosure: booking links go to GetYourGuide and may earn this site a commission at no extra cost to you. Commission never changes the rankings; see how Alex chooses.