What to do in Savannah?

dizneefamily5

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We are planning to be in HHI for Spring Break (april 4-12). We have been to Hilton Head before but never made our way to Savannah. We have three girls (14,13,7) and looking for ideas. How long would we need? We thought about Paula Deen's restaurant but not sure the whole waiting in line, etc. is worth it for us. I'd rather be seeing Savannah than waiting in line :) . Anyone been there and have tips on what we would most enjoy??
 
Pick up the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" (don't just watch the movie, the book has so much more). In addition to being a pretty interesting read, its got a lot of local color that will give you some great ideas of what you want to see.
 
I was not there with children, but we enjoyed a trolley tour of the area. If you are only there for one day, I think this is a good way to see the "not to miss" places.
 
With the grandkids we did the trolly tours, riverboat ride up and down the river. There are tours of the older homes that are eye openers for kids who only know a 2 bath house. Watching the large container ships come in is interesting. We sat river side ate ice cream and watched the ships.
 

We love Savannah.

Walk the Riverfront and don't forget to hit the candy store. Best pralines and penny candy. Amazing!

Old Towne Trolley is great. Make sure you get off and explore some of the side streets and the cemetaries. Forsythe Park is also a not to miss.

Go to the historical museum and checkout Forrest Gump's bench. The movie was filmed in Savannah.

Honestly I don't care for Paula Dean so I wouldn't wait to go to her restaurant.

Enjoy Savannah, it is a beautiful city, people are friendly, just a great place.
 
I was not there with children, but we enjoyed a trolley tour of the area. If you are only there for one day, I think this is a good way to see the "not to miss" places.

I would suggest this too. The tour we took dropped us off for about 1 hour on River Street. This is an area of shops and restaurants that basically line the Savannah River.

http://www.riverstreetsavannah.com/

:)
 
The River Front is a must, not far from there is a restaurant called 'The Pirates House', It is one of the oldest restaurants in the Nation, if not the oldest. They serve Seafood and Steak. There are several rooms, ask to see the origianal one... Very old. We drove from Charleston to Savannah just to eat at Paula Deans, it was really very good. Down home country cooking.
We did the River Dinner Cruise once, it really was good. That was several years ago. I agree with a River Cruise, it is something to see those old homes or Plantations. We have them here, the ones that survived 'Sherman's March to the Sea' are still open for tour here, I don't know about Savannah. If you are driving, stop at the Georgia Welcome Center...you should be able to find out there. Maybe even get some discount coupons.
 
If your girls are in Girl Scouts you may be interested in touring the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low the founder of the girl scouts.
 
The trolley tour is a great overview-look in your tourist info there will be a discount coupon for them. I would also suggest getting a tour guide from AAA or the library-there is so much to see! We loved Savannah! It's an easy drive from HHI and you can park right at the trolley headquarters. Enjoy! :)
 
Well....we have gone there every year since I was child! There's lots to do there! If you love the beach, there's a seaside museum on Tybee Island. It is roughly 15 minutes from Savannah. (I don't know if you are driving there?) You will see Ocean Plaza on your left once you get close to the end of the island. The next road (where the breakfast club is on the left) leads to public parking. The museum is located near the Pier, right behind Tybrisa. You have to get there early, like 7:30-8:00 am to take the scavenger hunt. It's great for kids because it educates them on what creatures are in the ocean. It's pretty fun!

They also have guided kayak tours to the island of Little Tybee Island. That is fun too if you are the adventurous type!

River Street is a must! Don't wait on Paula Deens! The Pirate House is just as good, in my opinion....we've eaten at Paula's a lot, so, trust me on this one! Also, Uncle Bubba's is good too! However, if you are on River Street, and hungry, try Tubby's Tank House. A lot of great food for the money!!! The candy stores are good too, but the best one is near the river boat ticket booth! You can actually sample the pralines, and watch them make them in front of you!

While on River Street, go ahead and take a tour down the river in an authentic Savannah River Boat! (They have murder mysteries at night on these boats....to me, they are a little cheesy and over acted, but, it was fun for my little cousin because they get to go with the characters to different parts of the boat try to figure out who is the murder!)

Also on River Street, they now have The Market....a lot of pretty things, but way overpriced.

If you like ghost stories, (they are not that scary---more history than anything), there are several good walking tours (DONT DO THE ONE IN THE HEARSE....especially with kids).

DONT GO TO THE CRAB SHACK! It is a tourist attraction, especially now that they have the baby alligators to feed! It used to be a great place to eat the low country boil, but, now that they have 10 or 15 cats that like to crawl down the tree branches and onto your table, or brush up on you while you are eating, I have re-named it to the CAT SHACK! I have nothing against cats....I just don't like cat hair in my food!

CAFE LOCO's is WONDERFUL! They have the best buffalo shrimp and fish tacos!

You can also take dolphin tours...there are brochures in hotel lobbies on River Street.

If you are into spas....the Westin across the river from River Street is AWESOME! Pricey...but AWESOME! It is well worth the money!!!

You can also rent bicycles on Tybee and ride the island.

Lots of neat things to do there. And yes, the trolley tours are great too!


ONE MORE THING....After 5:30 pm, you don't have to pay to park on River Street. And, don't forget to feed the parking meters....THEY ARE TICKET WRITING FOOLS THERE! AND DONT SPEED, WHATEVER YOU DO!!!
 
We too are staying HHI this summer and were thinking of visting Savannnah. I am going to look for that book recommended in the earlier post!Thanks for the great tips!
 
If you do nothing else, go eat lunch at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House.

http://www.mrswilkes.com/

This great old south lunch place is served family style and you have to wait in line outside, but it is sooooo worth it. It is also in the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" book.
 
We were just there for Christmas so I'll just add one thing. Take the trolley and take Oglethorpe tour. Its only 10 bucks and its the same tour as the other two and cost a fraction. Seems to good to be true, but it was great!
 
The River Front is a must, not far from there is a restaurant called 'The Pirates House', It is one of the oldest restaurants in the Nation, if not the oldest. They serve Seafood and Steak. There are several rooms, ask to see the origianal one... Very old. We drove from Charleston to Savannah just to eat at Paula Deans, it was really very good. Down home country cooking.
We did the River Dinner Cruise once, it really was good. That was several years ago. I agree with a River Cruise, it is something to see those old homes or Plantations. We have them here, the ones that survived 'Sherman's March to the Sea' are still open for tour here, I don't know about Savannah. If you are driving, stop at the Georgia Welcome Center...you should be able to find out there. Maybe even get some discount coupons.

OMG, I remember going there every year as a kid. We would drive to Fla. to visit my grandparents and we always stopped there for dinner. Haven't driven down in years, but nice to know that the Pirate House is still there. Would love to take my kids someday!
 
I would like to second Mrs. Wilkes. I ate there last summer and the whole family enjoyed the food and experience. River Boat tour is nice and walking the waterfront is nice.
 



















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