Savannah Destination Guide

A City Designed Around Its Own Shade

When James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah in 1733 he planned it as a grid of wards, each built around a public square. Twenty two of those squares survive, and because they were planted with live oaks that now meet overhead and hang with Spanish moss, the effect is of a city that is half architecture and half canopy. You do not walk through Savannah in a straight line. The squares interrupt every street, which slows the whole place down and is precisely why it feels the way it does. Add antebellum houses, a working river port, a serious art college that keeps the city young, and food that has caught up with its neighbors, and Savannah earns more than the afternoon it usually gets.

The planning decision: Savannah alone, or the Lowcountry together

Savannah is compact and two or three nights covers the Historic District well. The stronger trip pairs it with Charleston, two hours up the coast, and treats the two as a Lowcountry week. They look similar on paper and feel entirely different in person: Charleston is grander, wealthier and more formal, Savannah is looser, greener and stranger. Tybee Island, twenty minutes east, adds a beach day. Jekyll and Sea Island, about ninety minutes south, add a coastal resort leg for anyone wanting to finish on the water.

Spring, autumn and one date that changes everything

March through May and September through November are the two windows, mild and comfortable, with spring bringing the azaleas and the best light through the oaks. The exception, and it is a large one, is St. Patrick's Day: Savannah hosts one of the biggest celebrations in the United States, the city fills completely, hotels impose long minimum stays, and the Historic District becomes something else entirely for several days. It is worth attending deliberately and worth avoiding accidentally. June through August is hot and humid inside the Atlantic hurricane season, and winter is mild, quiet and the best value of the year.

Where to base, and how to reach the coast

Stay in the Historic District, ideally within a few squares of Forsyth Park at the southern end or nearer the river at the northern end. River Street itself is touristy and loud and better visited than slept above. The Starland District, further south, is where the newer restaurants and galleries have gone and suits a return visit. Savannah Hilton Head International sits fifteen minutes out with reasonable East Coast connections. The Historic District is entirely walkable, which is the point, and a car is needed only for Tybee or the drive to Charleston.

Stay strategy across restored mansions and one modern arrival

Hotel Bardo on Forsyth Park reopened after a full restoration and is now the most striking property in the city, with a garden and pool that changed the local standard. Perry Lane Hotel is contemporary, art heavy and central with a good rooftop. The Mansion on Forsyth Park occupies a Victorian house with an eccentric collection on the walls. The smaller inns in restored townhouses, of which there are many, give you the courtyard and the creaking staircase version of Savannah. Room sizes vary enormously in the historic conversions, so the category matters more than the brand.

When to begin

Three to four months for most of the year. Spring, the autumn window and any wedding weekend want six months. St. Patrick's Day wants a year, with minimum stays and prepayment as standard. Savannah is also a heavy wedding destination through the spring and autumn, and those parties absorb whole inns on weekends, which is a frequent reason travelers find a small city unexpectedly full.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• The squares walked early with a guide who knows the Oglethorpe plan and the house histories, before the heat and the trolleys.
• Bonaventure Cemetery on the river bluff, which is genuinely beautiful rather than morbid and best in the first hour of light.
• A dining sequence from the Southern institutions to the newer Starland District kitchens, both booked ahead.
• A day on Tybee Island or a boat out through the tidal marshes, which is the landscape the city was built to trade from.

Who this trip suits

Savannah suits couples on a long weekend, photographers and anyone drawn to atmosphere over polish. It suits history and architecture travelers. It suits weddings and celebrations. It works well with older children and less well with toddlers, given the walking. And it suits travelers who want the American South at a lower price and a slower pace than Charleston asks for.

When another plan may fit better

If you want a larger city with more restaurants, museums and shopping, Charleston delivers more per day and is close enough to do both. If you want music and nightlife, New Orleans is the answer. And anyone arriving in mid March without knowing about St. Patrick's Day is in for a considerable surprise.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us your dates and whether Charleston or the coast is part of the plan, and we will set the inn, the guide, the tables and the driving days as one Lowcountry sequence. Our luxury leisure travel planning handles the pairing, and our group travel planning covers weddings and larger parties.