I live in Savannah and would be glad to answer whatever questions that you have.
Parking - most streets have metered parking, and there are some metered lots on River Street. There are also city parking garages that are very reasonable.
Tours - we did the
Ghost Talk Ghost Walk tour when we first moved here. It wasn't scary by any means, but it was full of interesting Savannah haunted history. I have not really heard any bad things about any of the ghost tours. My friend always takes her visiting family and friends on the
Old Town Trolley tours. There is so much history in Savannah and the trolley tours are a good way to get a lot of info in a short amount of time. I have not taken any of the carriage tours yet. You can book most of the tours online, or they all have offices downtown that you can book at when you get there.
Things to do - what is your family interested in? My oldest is a Civil War buff so we have done a lot of the war sites.
River Street - the candy stores down there are fabulous. Stop in a get a sample of the pralines. There are also several statues by the river - the Olympics statue (Savannah was the site of the yachting events during the 1996 Olympics) and the
Waving Girl statue. River Street itself has a very rich
history.
Savannah History Museum and Roundhouse Railroad Museum - these are nice to drop into for a piece of Savannah history. They are both a work in progress and won't take more than a couple hours to do both. The Roundhouse is one of our favorites since my 5yo is obsessed with trains. The site of the Roundhouse is an old steam engine repair yard. They have kept as many of the old buildings as possible and are in the process of rehabilitating some of the outer buildings. They also restore antique engines and rail cars there. On certain days they will have a quasi train ride around the grounds.
Battlefield Park is also by the Roundhouse, it is a memorial to those who fought in the Battle of Savannah during the Revolutionary War, which was one of the bloodiest battles of the War.
Ft Jackson and Ft Pulaski - Ft Jackson is right outside of downtown and is a smaller fort. It is also run by the Coastal Heritage Society. Ft Pulaski is a National Monument and is between Savannah and Tybee Island. It is a much larger fort. You can walk the outside of it and see where cannon fire damaged the outer walls. There are several different re-enactment events here during the year, and they frequently do cannon firings on the weekends.
Ft McAllister - GA state park, on the other side of the city. This is where General Sherman ended his destructive march to the sea. The Confederate surrender of Ft McAllister saved Savannah from the burning destruction that Sherman's troops did to Atlanta.
Historic homes - downtown Savannah is full of historic homes, and most of them have tours.
Here is a partial list. We have been to the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace and the Owens-Thomas House.
Bonaventure Cemetery - sounds like a weird destination, but it is beautiful. Apparently they also do tours, but I have not personally heard anything about them.
City Market - a neat little area to shop and eat. Vinnie Van Go-Go's has good pizza.
I don't know what time of year you'll be coming, but Tybee Island is close to Savannah and is usually fairly uncrowded. There are also dolphin tours on Tybee - we like Captain Mike's.
Food - there are plenty of good eats around Savannah. If you have a pirate lover, you have to go to
The Pirates House. It was an actual pirate house and there are tunnels under the city from the Pirates House to the river. Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have been inspired by the pirate house when he wrote Treasure Island. During lunch they have a southern style buffet which has always been delicious. They will usually have a pirate on hand who will give tours around the grounds on request. I have never been to Lady and Sons but it is a big tourist place. Most of our favorite places are away from downtown.
Feel free to ask me any more questions you may have!
Loved the Trolly Tour, also.
