Savannah, GA for a day- any budget tips?

[disneybound31]

We are going to Tybee Island, GA for a short beach vacation- we been there once before, but we skipped Savannah. We want to do a trolley tour and eat lunch. Any budget tips and/or not to be missed sights?

We do know that we will get ice cream at Leopold's after a late lunch. That's as far as I got in planning for Savannah, lol!

Thanks so much!

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

we are taking my Girl Scout troop to Savannah in a few weeks :

some fun stuff would be ride the Savannah Belles across the river to the commerce center and back, they are free

Ride the DOT shuttle around the historic district, it's free

walk up and down the Riverfront, it's free

play in the water fountains at Ellis Square, it's free

walk around, shop around, try the City Market, close to Ellis Square

Forthys park is on the south end of the historic district, closer to the Victorian District.

Carriage rides are pretty much $20 for Adult $10 kids 9 and under and they expect 15-20% tip

Andrew Lowes house ( Boy Scouts ) is only $5

Tybee Island lighthouse is $6-8

 

[honeydiane1953]

Go down River Street and get some taffy. Ride a trolley and sight see ... fountains galore and antebellum homes. Look for the statue from the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and they will show u plenty. See bonaventures cemetary and stake out Mercer's home. Take a pic of Paula Deen's restaurant. This is one town u will never be at a loss of what will be next.

 

[MaleficentRN]

Definately do Bonaventures Cemetary. Gorgeous setting and free! The Midnight in the Garden staute is no longer there, though. I love Savannah! Can't wait to go back one day.
Have fun!

 

[dznystar]

Savannah is awesome. A must for us is Spanky's down on RiverStreet. They have the best "fries" called spanky's spuds. Also, stop by and get samples from river street sweets. They're always making pralines and have some to taste. A friend of mine owns Jens & Friends on Bull Street. They have been named best martinis in Savannah for quite some time and also have amazing sandwiches. Environment is warm and friendly. Good people.

 

[tripletots]

Great thread! Great ideas!

We are going to St. Augustine for a week in August renting a condo from Sat. to Sat. Since I'm in no hurry to get home we are going to do an overnight in Savannah. I don't where we are staying yet, but I want to be close to the river or at least within walking distance to places to visit.

Now I get to check out the info on this thread to see which things we want to do.

 

[HMin]

Check out restaurant.com to see if any of the restaurants in Tybee or Savannah on listed on their site. They are running a special for $25 certificates only $2. Sorry, I'm not sure when it ends, but I THINK the promo code is FLAG (there is a restaurant.com thread in this same boards section that can confirm code/expiration date). If you are not familiar with this site, please make sure you read the terms which appear when you click on the dollar amount of the certificate (i.e.- minimum diners, minimum purchase, alcohol included or not, one per party, etc.).

Another site you may want to look at is SavannahMenu.com which offers a VIP card for a price. It has been almost 4 years since we used that, so can't offer any other current information other than they are there if you want to check them out.

Check out the Visitor's Center on MLK to see what type of coupons you may find. We did the trolley tour when we visited, taking note of what we wanted to revisit later to check out further.

What I enjoyed when we visited almost 4 years ago -

Breakfast at Clary's Cafe (original location in/near Historic District)

Lunch at Mrs. Wilke's Boarding House (closed weekends, but if there during the week, really a not to miss)

Some disagree, but we enjoyed a dinner at Lady & Sons. Not only that, we got in without reservations because we said we would eat upstairs (bar area), though they ended up putting us at a window table instead, one floor below.


We didn't do the carriage tour in Savannah, but I felt sorry for the horses because some of those streets are very steep. We saved that type tour for Charleston which was awesome.

The one place I WOULDN'T recommend anyone miss is visiting the Cathedral of St. John The Baptist. It is an absolutely stunning church and shouldn't be passed by without seeing the inside.

While on Tybee we had a late lunch/early dinner at StingRays where we enjoyed the food completely and the service for the most part (they were swamped and the hostess was enough to make me turn around without entering). Personally, I would completely avoid The Crab Shack on Tybee. I've posted reviews on Trip Advisor for both of these restaurants where I also go by HMin. But again, keep in mind that it has been almost 4 years since we visited some of these places. We were there less than 2 years ago, but ended up cutting our stay short so I really can't offer any later input other than Clary's which I still loved!

 

[sjaakie]

we are taking my Girl Scout troop to Savannah in a few weeks :

some fun stuff would be ride the Savannah Belles across the river to the commerce center and back, they are free

Ride the DOT shuttle around the historic district, it's free

walk up and down the Riverfront, it's free

play in the water fountains at Ellis Square, it's free

walk around, shop around, try the City Market, close to Ellis Square

Forthys park is on the south end of the historic district, closer to the Victorian District.

Carriage rides are pretty much $20 for Adult $10 kids 9 and under and they expect 15-20% tip

Andrew Lowes house ( Boy Scouts ) is only $5

Tybee Island lighthouse is $6-8

Fountain was dry due to construction.

 

[HMin]

One other thing I meant to include was to take a drive across the bridge to the area across from the Riverfront (think it is where the convention center is located). The view from the bridge and also viewing the Riverfront from that side offers you a different way of viewing that part of the city.

We didn't do it last trip because it was saved for when we left Savannah to travel to Charleston. Unfortunately the sister and I got into an argument, thus how the saga of our 'Savannah to Charleston via Atlanta' trip happened.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

Thanks for this thread, never thought of it. We stopped at Tybee on the way home last time and it was the best part of our trip. Mid December, empty beach, just played for a couple hours on the beach. I wanted to stop again for longer on any future trips just for the beach, didn't think of other things. Can't wait to go back now!!!

 

[dntd]

We plan on eating at the pirate house but iK if it's any good but it seems to be the going theme of our trip.POC!

 

[dntd]

We plan on eating at the pirate house but iK if it's any good but it seems to be the going theme of our trip.POC!

 

[HMin]

We plan on eating at the pirate house but iK if it's any good but it seems to be the going theme of our trip.POC!

They have mixed reviews on the TA site. Here is a link if you want to check some of them out - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...views-The_Pirates_House-Savannah_Georgia.html

 

[tripletots]

I just checked out the home page for the Pirate's House. I think my kids would like it.

Does anyone know if this is located near the River District?

 

[chimmicat]

I haven eaten at the Pirates House at 20 East Broad street....I and all 5 members of my party enjoyed the food. I also highly recommend Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House at 107 West Jones street. We also had a great pizza at Mellow Mushroom......we passed Paul Deens place but it was not really recommended by folks we spoke too..

Enjoy!!

 

[gk90]

2 thumbs up for Mrs Wilkes! If you;re interested in a trolley tour, the one with the best price is Oglethorpe Trolley.

 

[mskayjay]

Check out restaurant.com to see if any of the restaurants in Tybee or Savannah on listed on their site. They are running a special for $25 certificates only $2. Sorry, I'm not sure when it ends, but I THINK the promo code is FLAG (there is a restaurant.com thread in this same boards section that can confirm code/expiration date). If you are not familiar with this site, please make sure you read the terms which appear when you click on the dollar amount of the certificate (i.e.- minimum diners, minimum purchase, alcohol included or not, one per party, etc.).

Another site you may want to look at is SavannahMenu.com which offers a VIP card for a price. It has been almost 4 years since we used that, so can't offer any other current information other than they are there if you want to check them out.

Check out the Visitor's Center on MLK to see what type of coupons you may find. We did the trolley tour when we visited, taking note of what we wanted to revisit later to check out further.

What I enjoyed when we visited almost 4 years ago -

Breakfast at Clary's Cafe (original location in/near Historic District)

Lunch at Mrs. Wilke's Boarding House (closed weekends, but if there during the week, really a not to miss)

Some disagree, but we enjoyed a dinner at Lady & Sons. Not only that, we got in without reservations because we said we would eat upstairs (bar area), though they ended up putting us at a window table instead, one floor below.


We didn't do the carriage tour in Savannah, but I felt sorry for the horses because some of those streets are very steep. We saved that type tour for Charleston which was awesome.

The one place I WOULDN'T recommend anyone miss is visiting the Cathedral of St. John The Baptist. It is an absolutely stunning church and shouldn't be passed by without seeing the inside.

While on Tybee we had a late lunch/early dinner at StingRays where we enjoyed the food completely and the service for the most part (they were swamped and the hostess was enough to make me turn around without entering). Personally, I would completely avoid The Crab Shack on Tybee. I've posted reviews on Trip Advisor for both of these restaurants where I also go by HMin. But again, keep in mind that it has been almost 4 years since we visited some of these places. We were there less than 2 years ago, but ended up cutting our stay short so I really can't offer any later input other than Clary's which I still loved!

You and I could travel together! We have very similar tastes with the exception of The Crab Shack. We really enjoyed it but for us it was MORE than 4 years ago.

My absolute, cannot stress enough, go and do in Savannah is Mrs. Wilkes. I love Paula to death but her restaurant is just too commercial feeling to me and her outside staff is horrible! Mrs Wilkes feels like going to a southern ladies home for dinner. Food was amazing!!!!!

 

[madcat]

While you are at Tybee make sure you visit "The Breakfast Club" great breakfast, and Moon River Brewing Company is a cool place to hang out as well. If you are a fan of "Ghost Hunters" they visited Moon River when they filmed in Savannah. Yes Mellow Mushroom is good for pizza but so is Vinnie Van Go-Go's. Also let me echo everyone else and say that walk down River Street visit the candy companies (pralines-- yum) and the squares, there is a lot to see there, do be aware when walking the squares at night/ in the evening time though. Savannah is a walking city so bring shoes that you can walk on the cobblestones with ease. I have been on River Street many times in the wrong shoes