Savannah Travel Tips & Suggestions

Comment by London Luke

Your feet allow you to see Savannah. It's a fantastic place with a huge history. Its squares and beaches are beautiful -- from the small coffee/book shops near the post office to the world famous "Breakfast Club" and the historic area. My biggest mistake was not to buy there fifteen years ago!

Comment by Anonymous

About eighteen months ago, on the way to Florida, I drove into Savannah looking for laundry to do my washing. Driving past the historic and quaint downtown, several blocks up, I found myself the hinkiest and dinkiest laundromat I've ever seen outside of Syria. The brothers were there to greet me. I guess a white woman and a doggie don't come around too often. The grocery door next door with its bulletproof counter sold the cheapest box of detergent I've ever seen. Well, I wish I could have seen a lot more than the laundry, but I was on limited time. But just twenty minutes driving through the historic housing areas and a little more time in the center of town, from an aesthetic point of view, I recommend. Sweet Savannah! Ring a ding ding, baby.

Comment by Anonymous

It does not take two hours to see Savannah! I was there for a whole week and didn't get to do all the things I wanted to. It's so worthwhile to go. I had a fab time and would go again in a heartbeat.

Comment by Anonymous

I've come to the U.S.A. and made many sightings in cities. This one is very good -- it looks much like paradise. The Spanish mosses hanging from the trees are like ghostly arms reaching for your soul. Very nice!

Comment by Andrew L

I grew up in Savannah, helped restore River Street, have lived all over the U.S. on business, and I leave Atlanta now every chance I get to enjoy a real city/community that has all the partying for any age and all the shopping, history, and beauty that planet Earth has to offer. If it had a mountain with snow for skiing, there would be no reason to ever leave. Yes, there's some humidity and bugs, but life isn't for wimpy people. Savannah keeps all their firsts (everything from Jingle Bells to The Girl Scouts) on the down-low though, because change is an evil word there. Yes, it has become touristy, but as long as that money pours into keeping the more than three hundred-year-old city clean and repaired I can tolerate it. Just twelve weeks ago I was fishing and shrimping (only an $8 license for the fish and you can use a cast net). While doing so, a sand shark was thrashing around on one side of the boat while gators were lingering a few yards away. Dolphin were breaching and we caught forty-five fish in two hours and I still have frozen shrimp in the freezer -- nature at it's best! So, for those who love Americana, it's Savannah, GA. One day I'll move back and away from Atlanta. Until then, my visits sustain me -- barely.

Comment by Anonymous

When i first moved to Savannah I really didn't like it much. It was a real shock moving from the big city to a small, lazy Southern town. After my first year of living in the downtown district I realized that Savannah was not your ordinary small town. The underground scene in Savannah is like no other city in America -- it's dark and sinful. As of 2006 I live many miles away from Savannah. I can honestly say that I miss it.

Comment by matt

I stayed there for six months -- what a great place! So much to see and do -- River Street, the squares, and you can drink in the streets. What a place -- you must go!

Comment by Ellie Lyons

It is the prettiest town I know, and underneath lies a spooky charm flavored with Voodoo and lots of old hauntings. Try a ghost trolley tour (bit cheesy at times, but good for stories). A horse drawn tour was also great -- sit up front and the driver may let you drive! I did two nights and am going back for longer next year! Read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the real Savannah!

Comment by Anonymous

If you're planning to visit Savannah and love food and cooking a visit to 700 Kitchen Cooking School is a must! It's a hands-on cooking school with small classes that's housed in the Mansion on Forsyth Park, a very eclectic and luxurious hotel located across from Forsyth Park in the historic district. My girlfriend and I recently attended a class with Chef Darin and loved it! I wasn't sure I would get into it but I knew my girlfriend would be disappointed if I didn't join her. Chef Darin's passion for cooking and ease of explanation made it very easy to get excited about coming home and mixing it up in the kitchen! I can't wait to go back and would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the city -- classes are about three hours in length and cost $90. It's a great way to meet people from other areas and of course you get to enjoy all the amazing food you prepare in the class!

Comment by Ford

Savannah is a great city and should make for a full weekend. Great sights for the days and full array of options for the night.

Comment by Tammy

Tybee beach is fifteen minutes from Savannah -- nice beach with warm water! There's a shuttle that picks up at the visitor's center and some hotels for ten dollars roundtrip.

Comment by Anonymous

I live here and the area in the Historic district may be laid-back and everything, but any other part of Savannah is crime infested (Eastside and West Savannah mostly). So when you're out and about, watch yourself and travel in pairs.

Comment by American Rose

You've got to take the Old Town Trolley Tours and ask for Miss Violet --that woman is a trip. She totally gets into the role in a way I've never seen. Our Girl Scout group was in stitches, and later, when just the adults went back for a second round, Miss Violet was even better! You can tell she takes great care with her costume -- and her character comprises everything from Voodoo priestess to old white Southern eccentric. It's a hoot! Afterwards we all headed down to River Street at Spanky's for the best chicken fingers (with a honey-horseradish dipping sauce) I've ever had in my life. And yeah, lots to see and do.

Comment by Anonymous

I'd have to agree that the original poster gives short shrift to Savannah. It's a city by anyone's definition, and although the historic center is relatively compact, it would take more than two hours just to walk around it. The city is interesting for its carefully laid-out streets interspersed with pleasant squares, many of them with fountains and oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. There are good walking tours just about year-round (I took one in January) and even the corny ghost-tours are worthwhile. There's also an importanct Civil War-era fort nearby (can't remember the name off the top of my head), as well as antebellum manors worth seeing. Finally, the riverfront teems with life in the evening, with decent restaurants and bars. So it's hard to argue there's "nothing to do." Savannah certainly isn't a major destination on the scale of New York or Boston, but it's one of the most pleasant places in the Southeast and should be on any travel itinerary for this area.

Comment by Simon_UK

What a load of rubbish Geordie Racer. Since visiting Savannah, I have found it one of the nicest places I've ever been to. I highly recommend the place. It has a lovely relaxing and laid back way of life. The people are friendly the streets are pretty. I spent a week there and would have stopped there for ever. Highly recommend.

Comment by John

Wow, a month in Savannah?! I spent 3 days and was bored out of my mind. The only reason I would spend more than a couple of hours here is for the woman. It really is a beautiful town, but any dude is going to run out of things to do here in a hurry.

Comment by Anonymous

I go to the Savannah College of Art and Design and I love Savannah. As far as the city goes, it offers ALL the things that older tourists could hope for (boutique shops, b&bs, parks, resturants). But spend a couple days there and you will find that it also offers plenty of activities for the young (or young at heart) travellers. Almost weekly sports games and festivals are held in Forsyth park, a plethora of bars and clubs, Tybee Beach. Worth a visit to see it first hand regardless of your age. Hint for the younger crowd: hit up Pinky Masters bar for local flavor.

Comment by Rick Woods

Living in Savannah as an ex-pat Englishman and photographer who has lived and travelled almost all over the world allI can say is it's an incredible and wonderfful city. The downtown and environs are saturated with hstory not to mention the beauty/ecology of the coast, I feel sorry for the first gentleman's comment-- he needs to get on his feet!

Comment by Mrs. Zhao Xue Rou

This is a great CITY, not a town, how ridiculous! There is no way you could possiblel see it all in 2 hours--the Telfair Art Museum alone would take at least 3 hours alone! The Magnolia Inn B&B is superb, great food and breakfasts. The Pirates House, restored from a pirates bar in the 1730s, is intenationally well-known, and the food is unbelievable--the weekend buffet will have you rolling out of there. You could spend a month shopping at all the antique stores, clothing shops, ethnic stores--the Malls would take hours to walk through. Take a carriage ride through the historic downtown area--highly recommended--and have dinner at one of the gourmet Southern restaurants. The Lady and Son is the bery BEST of it's kind, or Maggies on 37th. We stayed a month and still didn't get to see everything! earlgreyhot@juno.com

Comment by Cheryl Baisden

Savannah is quite old, much older than Atlanta, and very beautiful. Especially in the Historic District, which is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. There are many gorgeous historic homes to visit, four forts (Pulaski and Jackson are the BEST!), a long venue called River Street which is at least 30 years old, full of wonderful restaurants--Savannah is world renown for her Southern cuisine--shopping areas, bars and a sweeping view of the Savannah River. Tybee Island beach is 14 minutes away by car. There are numerous lovely parks and squares, two huge malls for the avid shopper--this is a tourist paradise, whether you are an international traveler or from the US. This city is TOPS on the tourist lists, great food, gorgeous historic sites, biggest cathedral (French Gothic & also historic) in the South East, beach resorts, everything from 6 star hotels to quaint B&Bs -- just GO, you'll LOVE IT!!!

Comment by Geordie Racer

Savannah is a very small town and not a city. You can explore Savannah in under 2 hours. It is a gorgeous place however. There is just nothing to do. If you have a car, then visit, if you're an international traveller and riding by Amtrak/Greyhound, then I don't advise it.

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