Things to Do in Savannah

For a first trip, combine one route through the squares, one interior attraction and one evening plan. Add Tybee or an outlying site only when the schedule has room.

By Savannah Visitor GuideUpdated September 2026

The Historic District is the useful starting point because its public squares, museums, restaurants and tour departures sit within the same street plan. River Street is below the bluff, Forsyth Park is south of the National Register district, and Bonaventure, Wormsloe, Fort Pulaski and Tybee require a separate transport decision.

A first-trip shortlist with the tradeoffs shown

Choice	Why put it in the trip	Cost and timing	Constraint
Walk the squares	The ward plan explains central Savannah and connects many sights	Free; allow half a day for one route plus stops	Brick, crossings and weather slow the map pace
Visit one Telfair site	Choose art museums or a capacity-limited historic-house tour	Current $30 adult ticket covers three sites for seven days	Closed Monday; Owens-Thomas entry is first come within capacity
Forsyth Park	Fountain, paths and a natural extension south from the squares	Free; 20–30 minutes for a fountain stop	Events and current construction can change the ordinary route
River Street	Waterfront, ferry access and riverboat departures	Free to walk; cruises and food cost separately	Below Bay Street; use elevator locations to plan the grade
Bonaventure Cemetery	Burial history, monuments and more than 100 acres of cemetery grounds east of downtown	Free, daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m.	Use a map and arrange transport
Fort Pulaski	A masonry fort and National Park Service interpretation	Current $10 for age 16+; allow a substantial half-day	Car-dependent; verify hours and alerts
Tybee Island	The practical ocean-beach day from Savannah	Current parking is $4/hour, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. year-round	US-80 traffic makes a fixed drive-time promise unreliable

Admission, hours and parking facts checked September 1, 2026. Time allowances are editorial planning assumptions and exclude meals, queues and special events.

How to fit the city into two days

On the first day, use Bull Street as the main line through Johnson, Wright and Chippewa squares, then choose one timed interior. Descend to River Street later only if the group is comfortable with the grade or can use one of the public elevators. On the second day, walk the southern squares toward Forsyth Park, then choose a museum, Bonaventure visit or longer guided tour. This split avoids crossing the whole district repeatedly.

Free does not mean schedule-free

The squares, Forsyth Park, River Street and Bonaventure Cemetery have no admission charge. Bonaventure still closes at 5 p.m.; River Street access changes with the bluff and street traffic; Forsyth events can occupy paths or lawns. Put their operating and access conditions into the plan even when no ticket is involved.

Choose a tour for what it changes

A walking history tour adds interpretation to a narrow route. A trolley covers more ground and may allow reboarding. A food tour uses a meal block, while a ghost tour is mainly an evening choice. Downtown riverboats stay on the Savannah River; dolphin and marsh trips can have different docks and transport needs. Compare within one format before using rating or price as the tiebreaker.

Indoor backup for a wet or hot block

Telfair Academy and the Jepson Center share a multi-site ticket, but both currently close Monday. Check the date before treating a museum as the automatic weather backup.

Bookable experiences

Explore Savannah tours by format

Each category image comes from its strongest current listing with a real photo. The catalog below uses current product data; checkout controls final price and availability.