Things to do in Savannah
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Savannah
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best all-round window, low 70s to mid 80s F, azaleas peak late March and April, highest prices.
Low 90s F and oppressive humidity with afternoon storms, best beach, softest in-town hotel rates.
Still hot and humid with peak hurricane risk, keep rates refundable and watch forecasts.
The other best window, 60s to 70s F, drier, film festival buzz and oyster season returning.
Mild, quiet and cheapest, January highs around 60 F, December lights and home tours, no beach swimming.
Worst month overall for heat, humidity, storms and hurricane risk.
What's on
- St Patrick's Day Parade 17 March
One of the largest St Patrick's parades in the US, dating to 1824, with dyed green fountains. Go for it or avoid it entirely.
- Savannah Music Festival Usually late March to early April
Serious multi genre festival of roots, jazz, classical and global music in historic venues.
- SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival late April
SCAD chalk art festival in Forsyth Park.
- Savannah Pride October
Pride celebrations in October, in the shoulder season window.
- SCAD Savannah Film Festival 24-31 October in 2026
Largest university led film festival in the US, with awards season premieres in SCAD theatres.
- Holiday Tour of Homes December
Holiday lights and home tours make December the festive winter pick.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Savannah
Savannah Historic District
Walk Bull Street square to square under the live oaks, the essential free way to understand the 1733 grid.
Forsyth Park
Thirty acres anchored by the 1858 fountain, with oak alleys, a fragrant garden and a Saturday farmers market.
Bonaventure Cemetery
Victorian garden cemetery on a river bluff, with moss, azaleas, sculpture and the graves of Mercer and Aiken.
Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
French Gothic twin spires outside and vivid murals, stained glass and a soaring light filled nave inside.
Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters
The one house museum to prioritise, because its intact slave quarters centre enslaved lives in the story.
Pin Point Heritage Museum
Former oyster factory in a Gullah Geechee community, interpreted largely by residents who grew up there.
Telfair Academy
The South's oldest public art museum, home to the Bird Girl statue, on the same ticket as the Jepson Center.
Jepson Center
Contemporary art and family exhibitions across the square from the Telfair Academy, covered by one ticket.
Where to stay in Savannah
Historic District - north (Bay / Broughton / Johnson Square spine)
first trip, all-round base
Walk to the river, City Market, Broughton shopping and most restaurants without a car, on the most lit streets.
Historic District - south / Forsyth Park and the Victorian District
couples, character and calm
Residential Victorian streets around Forsyth Park, prettier mornings and quieter nights, 15 to 20 minutes to the river.
Riverfront / Plant Riverside and Eastern Wharf
views, groups and a resort feel
Newer larger riverfront hotels with rooftops and pools, an easy walk into the district but with weekend noise.
Starland / Thomas Square
repeat visitors and food-first trips
Creative neighbourhood of yards, breweries and cafes at lower prices, but you will rideshare to the historic core.
Tybee Island
beach-first trips only
Cottages and small hotels 25 to 30 minutes from downtown, lovely if the beach is the trip rather than the city.
Midtown / Ardsley Park
drivers, families and longer stays
Leafy residential grid with cheaper chain hotels on Abercorn, honest value if you drive in and garage the car.
Think twice about
- West Savannah - Yamacraw Village, Carver Heights, Cuyler-Brownville and the west MLK / Bay Street corridor
Local coverage places the city's highest violent crime rates here, with little visitor infrastructure. Do not book lodging here.
- Waters Avenue corridor north of Victory Drive and parts of East Savannah / Wheaton Street
Repeatedly named in local safety discussions as areas to avoid, especially at night. A low priced rental here is a location mistake.
- I-95 interchanges, Garden City / Port Wentworth and the Airport-Pooler highway strips
Highway motel rows with nothing walkable, a 20 to 30 minute drive and a parking garage between you and every square.
- On River Street / in City Market itself, if you value sleep
Savannah's drinking strip, with to-go cups, bachelorette groups and bar crowds until late. Stay 2 to 3 blocks south and walk in.
Best restaurants in Savannah
The Grey
Mashama Bailey's port city Southern cooking in a restored Greyhound station, the reservation to build a trip around.
Common Thread
Restored house cooking Georgia farms and fisheries with global technique, the meal visitors call their best.
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room
Weekday only communal boarding house lunch of fried chicken, red rice, collards and biscuits, queue and all.
The Olde Pink House
1770s pink mansion serving she crab soup and fried lobster tails, with a candlelit cellar tavern below.
Elizabeth on 37th
Refined coastal tasting menus in a grand Victorian house since 1981, with a serious wine programme.
Cotton & Rye
Former bank in Thomas Square doing Southern inflected American cooking to a room full of locals.
The Wyld Dock Bar
Marsh edge dockside hangout for whole fish, shrimp and frozen drinks as light goes over the Herb River.
Pizzeria Vittoria Napoletana
Slow fermented wood fired Neapolitan pies at Starland Yard, the best low key group evening in Savannah.
Best bars in Savannah
Alley Cat Lounge
Basement bar for cocktail people, with a deep spirits list and serious bartenders.
Outdoor things to do in Savannah
North Beach
Quieter, local frequented end of Tybee away from the pier strip, best for a proper beach half day.
Tybee Island Light Station and Museum
The 1773 lighthouse at North Beach, climbable for the view over the river mouth and coast.
Savannah Canoe and Kayak
Guided Ebenezer Creek blackwater paddles through cypress and tupelo, plus coastal and sunset trips.
Sea Kayak Georgia
Tybee based guided paddles to Little Tybee, an uninhabited barrier island reachable only by boat.
North Island Surf and Kayak
Little Tybee and Lazaretto Creek paddles timed to the tide, with dolphins, osprey and marsh at eye level.
Savannah Riverboat Cruises
In town river cruise for the Savannah River view and container ship scale, best at sunset, weakest for food.
Wormsloe State Historic Site
A 1.5 mile avenue of over 400 live oaks, plus tabby ruins, a small museum and marsh trails.
Skidaway Island State Park
Flat Lowcountry trails through maritime forest and salt marsh to a boardwalk and observation tower.
Best hotels in Savannah
Perry Lane Hotel
Three buildings near Forsyth with a rooftop pool, Peregrin rooftop bar and bikes to borrow.
The Drayton Hotel
Small, stylish boutique stay on Reynolds Square with a good bar, one of the new boutique options.
Municipal Grand
Opened in 2025 on Broughton, with Municipal Bar already ranked among Georgia's top cocktail bars.
Kimpton Brice Hotel
Courtyard pool on the quieter eastern edge at Washington Square, a reliable upscale chain with character.
Andaz Savannah
At Ellis Square in the centre of everything, the safe upscale pick when independents sell out.
Hotel Bardo
19th century mansion turned urban resort on Forsyth Park, with pool, spa, bars and Saint Bibiana downstairs.
The Gastonian
Classic B and B tier near Forsyth with cooked breakfasts, courtyard gardens and period rooms.
Eliza Thompson House
Historic house inn on Jones Street with cooked breakfasts and courtyard gardens, made for couples trips.
Is Savannah expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $200 a person |
| Splurge | $450 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters: a few days ahead
- Pin Point Heritage Museum: a few days ahead
- Free Savannah Tours: a few days ahead
- Savannah VIP Tour by DTours: weeks ahead
- Mercer-Williams House: a few days ahead
- First African Baptist Church: a few days ahead
- Savannah Canoe and Kayak: a few days ahead
- Sea Kayak Georgia: a few days ahead
- Book hotels first for St Patrick's week, Music Festival, Film Festival and graduation weekends.
- Book The Grey and Common Thread as soon as their windows open, typically about 30 days out, then Olde Pink House and Elizabeth on 37th.
- Plan Pin Point around its Thursday to Saturday hours and kayak trips around the tide. Mrs Wilkes cannot be booked.
Is Savannah safe?
- Never leave anything visible in a parked car, anywhere in Savannah.
- Rideshare door to door after midnight and keep to lit, populated streets.
- Take summer lightning, Tybee rip currents and hurricane season more seriously than street crime.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Savannah travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Eating dinner on River Street, where you pay for the river not the food.
- The Lady & Sons queues, the nonexistent Forrest Gump bench, and Pirate's House as a food destination.
- Generic candy and praline shops as dessert, and trolley plus ghost tour bundles sold on the street.
Getting around Savannah: public transport and more
- Walk the flat grid, about a mile from Bay Street to Forsyth Park.
- Use the free DOT shuttle, the free Savannah Belles ferry and downtown garages rather than hunting meters.
- Rent a car for one day only for Tybee, Wormsloe, Bonaventure, Pin Point, Skidaway and golf.
Who Savannah suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Savannah your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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