From the beautiful trees dripping with spanish moss, to the brick lined streets overlooking the river, it is so easy to fall in love with Savannah. We have been living 8 minutes from downtown, and it has been an absolute dream. I spend every Saturday morning doing my long run through Forsyth park, and then wandering the cute, little farmers market. I have loved the history, the people, and the food. I was asked if I recommend Savannah for a vacation, and YES! There are so many close day trips, and it’s only a couple of hours drive to Charleston as well, so you could take a whole week and visit both amazing cities! Below I’ve organized Savannah into food, things to do/see, and day trips close by.
Parking tip: Savannah is an easy city to drive through and navigate. We never had a problem finding parking. There are parking meters which are around $1 per hour, but on Sundays it’s FREE to park, and on Saturday it’s free for spots south of Liberty St. We had tons of luck finding parking around Forsyth Park. Around the squares they also have a lot of 30 minute parking if you are running quick errands.
WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast/Brunch
Breakfast is hands down my favorite meal of the day. I could eat breakfast food for every single meal. With Lyle’s work schedule, we did a lot more breakfast outings than dinner. SO many breakfast options! When I pick, I try to find places that are unique to that location. I look at the menu to see specialty items, and look at pictures. You can get eggs anywhere, so I try to pick places with either unique food, or a fun location, etc. The only place that I would not recommend that we’ve tried was Goosefeathers Express Cafe. Hard pass. Collins Quarter was rated highly, but I don’t love frou-frou food and pretty lattes, BUT, I will admit, the locations were beautiful, and perfect for a girls brunch!
- Hueys
Pros: right on river street, so easy, accessible location, and amazing variety with healthy options as well. We loved everything! We took my parents when they visited, and went again since we loved it so much. Highly recommend getting an order of the beignets for the table, AND the seafood omelette.
Cons: always a wait. I recommend putting your name in and then walking around river street. They also don’t take reservations ahead of time (at least right now with covid, idk if that will change in the future.)
- Foxy Loxy Cafe
Quick and cute little cafe with outdoor seating. A random assortment of tacos, coffee, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, etc. It’s in a quieter location which we loved and it was so relaxing sitting under the beautiful trees. Loved the churro muffin and cookie dough brownie bar. Lyle got a savory kolache and really liked that. It also offers some vegan options.
- Auspicious Baking Company
pictured:lemon loaf, pop tart, apple gallette, cinnamon rolls
Lyles commentary haha
The best bakery we found in the savannah area (and believe me, I tried them all).
Pros: amazing cinnamon rolls! A rotating variety of treats (you can look on Instagram to see what the new treats are).
Cons: only open 3 days a week (Fri, Sat & Sun). You also have to go early because things do sell out, especially on Friday when people are up early for work. It isn’t in the walkable downtown area. I also feel like its pricier than other bakeries but so worth it! Reminds me of a legit french bakery.
TIP: Go here on Fri, Sat, or Sun and explore the Wormsloe historic site the same day. It is out of the way a bit but these two are right by each other so grab some amazing pastries and then hit up Wormsloe early on to beat the heat and the crowds!
- Treylor Park
pictured: peanut butter & jelly wings & strawberry pancake tacos
The atmosphere is fun and light and they were showing Home Alone in May haha. We got sat at the bar and it was a big brunch/hang out scene. I would recommend this place to anyone who wanted to get a couple drinks and socialize, not really families although it was a mixture of everything. It’s pretty small inside and they did have a unique menu which is what drew me to it in the first place. Lyle really liked what we ordered but I would like to go and try different things next time but overall it was a good time. The Ordinary pub also was like this and had an equally fun menu!
- 700 Drayton Breakfast
I really want to go here for breakfast or brunch but we haven’t made it there yet! It is right outside Forsyth park in a beautiful hotel. Breakfast is from 7-11am and brunch is 11am-2pm. The french toast and cold pressed juices look amazing. They also have a fruit plate and chicken and waffles. Look at both menus because they are slightly different when deciding which you’d prefer! I will update this when we go.
(Maple St Biscuit Company looks amazing too!)
Lunch/Dinner
- Frali Gourmet
Hand. rolled. pasta. YESSSSS. We went here for Lyles birthday and it was so good and a nice change from all the traditional southern food. Fair warning though, once you’ve tried hand made pasta you will never want Olive Garden again! They had big portions and serve it with fresh warm bread as well.
- Olde Pink House
Very pricey but it’s got so much history and is supposedly haunted! Perfect place to celebrate something special or have the classic southern food.
- Pirates House
We didn’t end up eating here but I heard its really great for kids because its pirate themed but it has so much real history too. It’s more of a for the atmosphere kind of restaurant and not the food from what I’ve read but if we lived here longer I would have definitely tried it. I love how so many of the restaurants and buildings have amazing stories and history.
- Leopolds
The line is always long and it’s not cheap but it has been around forever and is worth trying once! They have some really fun flavors!
Others: Pearls Saltwater Grill, Vinnie Van Go Go’s (pizza in the city market), Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room (this is communal dining but the hours just didn’t work for us), Cotton & Rye.
Things to Do/ See
A Ghost Tour
Easily my favorite thing that we did. I LOVED the ghost tour we did in New Orleans so I had some high standards but this one was really good!! There are SO many tours to choose from but after endless research I ended up going with Savannah History & Haunts and it was sooo good! He was so informed and I loved how much history is intertwined. It really is just dark history with some creepy things thrown in so if you aren’t into ghosts and things you will still love this tour. There is just something about walking the squares and beautiful streets at night. TIP: Do the later tour so its completely dark!
Savannah Bananas Game
I know this one can only be done in the summer but this was the best baseball game I have ever been to. Tickets were pretty hard to get so I had to sign up for their emails to get notified for early access. I logged on immediately and the waited for hours and didn’t get any. We logged on for single game tickets and somehow snagged some. I think they were only $20 a piece and they come with unlimited soda, hot dogs, cookies, chips and chicken burgers. The energy was contagious with constant music and the players dancing and doing back flips so you are entertained the whole game.
Walking Tour with Free Tours by Foot
This is the all time best thing to do in a new city for a million reasons. I love to do them first thing in a new city because you have this experienced local guide who knows the city like the back of their hand. You can pick their brain for restaurants, tips…anything. When we start walking around I’ll save little shops or restaurants or spots I want to come back to and explore more. It also helps me get my feel for the layout of the city as well. We learned so much amazing history, got to walk through many of the beautiful squares and hear some spots the locals love. This specific company I love because it’s pay what you feel the tour is worth so its affordable for everyone. We have used this company for multiple cities.
Wander the Beautiful Squares/Jones Street
I feel like these pictures speak for themselves. Just perfect. Jones street is considered one of the most beautiful streets in America and it is supposedly where the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” came from. I felt like every street I walked down just left me speechless though. Besides this street a lot of my favorite homes and these pictures are from the streets around Forsyth park. There are 22 squares and they are all beautiful. Madison was the creepiest at night (do the ghost tour) and honestly if you realized majority of the squares and places in Savannah you are walking over are just burial grounds is a little unnerving.
Explore the cute boutiques/shops (The Paris Market!)
Savannah has some of the cutest shops. You need to visit the Paris market. It has such beautiful things and the store itself has a cute little cafe inside (that sells Auspicious baked goods & drinks & what not) and is decorated like a beautiful museum so you need to at least wander inside. Some cute little boutiques I stumbled upon were Harper (above), Red Clover and Arrowleaf to name just a few. You will stumble upon some of the cutest little shops just wandering around.
Stroll through Forsyth Park
One of my favorite places in all of savannah and I truly feel pictures don’t do it justice (I have a ridiculous amount of videos on my phone that I watch all the time and then tell Lyle I want to live here haha). I would wake up on Saturday mornings and run around the park (it’s about a mile). It is surrounded my beautiful homes and historical buildings and the beautiful trees dripping with the spanish moss make for one of the dreamiest places ever. Afterwards I would wander through the farmers market that happens on Saturdays from 9-1. It’s a great place for a picnic, to walk your dog, to people watch or take pictures in front of the beautiful fountain. I just love everything about it. I also never had problems parking here. They have free parking around the park and I always felt safe there.
Riverboat Cruise
We did the sightseeing riverboat tour one Sunday (they have dinner, sunset and lunch ones as well) and it was a fun way to see the riverwalk. I wouldn’t say this was the best thing but maybe because it was really sunny and hot this day haha and I didn’t want to hang out inside so we stood on the top to see everything and listen to the guide talk about some history of Savannah. You can buy food and drinks on board too. It was about $33 pp so it was a lot for just hearing a lot of information we had heard from other tours but overall I am glad we did it.
Honey Tasting @ Savannah Bee Co
This picture is from the last time we went to Savannah but this little honey shop is so cute! You can sample a huge variety of honey. I happen to loveeee honey and the little jars make the cutest little souvenirs for friends and family or even yourself. Its a fun and different experience that you can’t just have anywhere either.
Bonaventure Cemetery
Bonaventure is labeled as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the United States. It is hauntingly beautiful (but I don’t think it’s a must do) but we drove through it on a beautiful morning and googled some of the stories and people who were buried there and had our own free self tour. Sidenote: we actually toured a cemetery in New Orleans and that was sooo good. You learn about Nicholas Cage burial plot and it was so interesting.
Wormsloe Historic Site
In all honesty, this spot is worth visiting for the tree lined drive alone. It’s $10 pp and there is a person who monitors if you first purchased your ticket before taking pictures. This beautifulll place is open every day from 9am-4:45 every day. If you go in the summer I highly recommend going right at 9 to beat the heat (and the crowds as well). If you skipped the food part above I’ll say it again but if you go here on Fri, Sat or Sun stop at Auspicious Baking Co for some amazing pastries. They are both outside the downtown area by like 15 minutes so you should definitely grab some pastries and then head over to Wormsloe. We visited this spot years ago as well and its just a cool spot with some history to wander around and be out in nature. The trees were the highlight for me though.
Savannah City Market/River Street
River street is so lively/fun/beautiful and you have to walk through it checking out all the restaurants, shops, bars, etc. Theres so much to see and do. This is where you leave for the riverboat cruise, and if you like to drink, there are alcoholic slushies everyone was carrying around and just seemed to be having a good time. Theres also a cool market with crafts and souvenirs from local vendors thats worth checking out also. The Savannah market is just North of here and has a lot of food and shops as well. You have to check out the savannah candy kitchen for some praline samples (my mom loved these) and River Street Sweets for all the candy you could ever dream of haha. We didn’t need a hotel but I would look for one around here because it has tons of food options and even being there at night we always felt safe and saw families out so its pretty touristy. Theres some cool rooftop hotel bars that overlook the river as well.
Tour a historic home
We chose not to do this but when we did our walking tour and ghost tour, they would point out some of the historical homes you can tour! (I’m sure you could also just google it as well…)
Day Trips
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is about and hour and a half from Savannah and is such a cute little island. You can rent bikes and ride around the whole island, theres beautiful beaches (the one above is driftwood beach and it is so unique) cute little shops and some yummy food places. You do have to pay to get on the island. We went for fourth of July so it was a few dollars more but it is only $8 typically because it’s a state park.
Charleston
I am so in love with Charleston and the surrounding area. It is for sure in my top 5 favorite cities in the US (prob top 3). The food is amazing, its beautiful and it seemed just cleaner and more charming than a lot of the cities that it shares some similarities with. I am wanting to do a post on Charleston at some point too! If you can I would visit Charleston and Savannah in the same trip (especially for my Utah friends who are coming to the East coast because they are only a couple hours apart).
Hilton Head & Tybee Island
Both of these beaches are so close to Savannah and make for the perfect day or weekend trip. It varies a bit but from where we live it’s about 45 minutes to Hilton head and 30 minutes to Tybee. Tybee is just a cute and small local island with several food places and shops. You can also go to the historical lighthouse and museum on the island as well. You do have to pay to park and we had a hard time finding parking sometimes so I’d recommend going earlier. You can stop at the Crab Shack for a seafood place the kids will love too (you can feed gators). Hilton head is a lot nicer and bigger but both are worth checking out.
