TRAVEL TIPS
Tours
Savannah boasts tours aplenty and offers comfortable prospects of the city’s history, landmarks, and landscapes.
Boat Tours
Savannah Riverboat Cruises has daily departures from docks on River Street. The causeway is mainly commercial, with many deserted warehouses, so it's not a terribly scenic ride, but it is narrated, has a bar, plays Jimmy Buffet, and is a relaxing trip on the river. The one-hour ride costs $21.95 per person, and departure times change seasonally. The Gospel Dinner Cruise has a Southern buffet and a choir to entertain and goes for $44.95.
Contacts
Savannah Riverboat Cruises. 9 E. River St., Savannah, Georgia, 31401. 800/786–6404; www.savannahriverboat.com.
Bus and Trolley Tours
Operating out of City Market, Carriage Tours of Savannah travels the Historic District at a 19th-century clip-clop pace, with coachmen spinning tales and telling ghost stories along the way. A romantic evening tour in a private carriage costs $85 per couple. Regular tours start at a modest $15 per person.
Savannah’s rich African American history can be experienced via the daily departing Freedom Trail Tour. This comprehensive black-history tour visits significant landmarks like the First African Baptist Church, the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, and the slave burial grounds at Laurel Grove Cemetery.
Historic Savannah Carriage Tours specializes in private tours aboard a picturesque European carriage. The romantic Moonlight and Roses Tour includes a dozen roses and a stop at a local martini bar. Private tours cost $95 for two people. Tours open to the public are a little easier on the wallet: $20 per person. Either tour includes a horse-drawn amble through Savannah’s historic streets.
Old Savannah Tours is the city's award-winning company with years of experience and the widest variety of tours. Popular options include the historic hop-on, hop-off trolley tour, the 90-minute Historic Overview, and the ghost tour that includes dinner at Pirates' House. Prices start at $27 per person.
Old Town Trolley Tours has narrated 90-minute tours traversing the Historic District. Trolleys stop at 16 designated stops every 30 minutes daily from 9 to 5 (August to March) or 9 to 6 (April to July). You can hop on and off as you please. The cost is $31, with discounts for purchasing ahead online.
Savannah Movie Tours circuits locations of many Hollywood films shot in the area, with running commentary offering an inside scoop. This same company offers the popular Foody Tours, as well as the Martini Tour, Shopping Tour, and Scary Ghost Tour.
Hearse Ghost Tours may be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. For 15 years these hearses did the job they were intended for; when they were retired, their roofs were removed to make space for eight live bodies cruising around the haunted sites in the Historic District. Count on macabre guides for irreverently funny narration throughout the tour.
Contacts
Carriage Tours of Savannah. Operating out of City Market, Carriage Tours of Savannah travels the Historic District at a 19th-century clip-clop pace, with coachmen spinning tales and telling ghost stories along the way. 912/236–6756; www.carriagetoursofsavannah.com. From $22 per person.
Freedom Trail Tours. 912/232–7477.
Hearse Ghost Tours. 412 E. Duffy St., Historic District, Savannah, Georgia, 31401. 912/695–1578; www.hearseghosttours.com.
Historic Savannah Carriage Tours. 912/443–9333; www.savannahcarriage.com.
Old Savannah Tours. This is the city's award-winning company with years of experience and the widest variety of tours. Popular options include the historic hop-on, hop-off trolley tour, the 90-minute Historic Overview, and the ghost tour that includes dinner at Pirates' House. 800/517–9007; www.oldsavannahtours.com. From $20.
Old Town Trolley Tours. With Old Town Trolley Tours, you'll find 90-minute tours traversing the Historic District. Trolleys stop at 16 designated stops every 30 minutes daily from 9 to 5 (August to March) or 9 to 6 (April to July). You can hop on and off as you please. 855/245–8992; www.trolleytours.com/savannah. From $33.
Savannah Movie Tours. 912/303–7155; www.savannahmovietours.com.
Special-Interest Tours
Personalized Tours of Savannah is a small company offering upscale and intimate tours of the city, with customized themes covering movies filmed in Savannah, the city's amazing architecture, and a highly recommended Jewish-heritage tour. The friendly owner is a longtime Savannah resident, and tours are peppered with plenty of insider knowledge.
Contacts
Personalized Tours of Savannah. 912/234–0014; www.savannahsites.com.
Walking Tours
A Ghost Talk Ghost Walk tour should send chills down your spine during an easygoing 1-mile jaunt through the old colonial city. Tours, lasting 1½ hours, leave from the middle of Reynolds Square, at the John Wesley Memorial at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, weather permitting. The cost is $10 per person.
Savannah Tours by Foot's Creepy Crawl Haunted Pub Tour is a great option for anyone who loves a good ghost story and a visit to local watering holes. Believers say there are so many ghosts in Savannah they're actually divided into subcategories. These charismatic guides specialize in tavern ghosts, and they’ll regale you with tales of secret subbasements, possessed gum-ball machines, and animated water faucets. Tours traditionally depart from the Six Pence Pub at 8 pm. Because this is a cocktail tour, children are not permitted. Routes can vary, so call for departure times and locations; the tour costs $20 and lasts for 2½ hours.
Sixth Sense Savannah was created by Shannon Scott, who leverages his knowledge of lesser-known Savannah ghost stories into one of the spookiest tours in town. Get an insider's perspective of Savannah's poltergeists. Prices start at $25.
Savannah Fun Tours is a unique way to explore the city at your own pace, with a "to-go cup" if you like. The company offers a self-guided scavenger hunt. Solve the puzzle, see the city, and collect a prize at the end.
Contacts
Ghost Talk Ghost Walk Tour. This tour should send chills down your spine during an easygoing 1-mile jaunt through the old colonial city. Tours, lasting 1½ hours, leave from the middle of Reynolds Square, at the John Wesley Memorial at 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm, weather permitting. Reservations are required. 912/233–3896; www.ghosttalkghostwalk.com. From $10.
Creepy Crawl Haunted Pub Tour. This tour is a great option for anyone who loves a good ghost story and a visit to local watering holes. Believers say there are so many ghosts in Savannah they're actually divided into subcategories. These charismatic guides specialize in tavern ghosts, and they’ll regale you with tales of secret sub-basements, possessed gum-ball machines, and animated water faucets. Tours traditionally depart from the Six Pence Pub at 8 pm and last for 2½ hours. 912/238–3843; www.savannahtours.com/creepy-crawl-pub-tour. From $25.
Savannah Tours by Foot. 912/238–3843; www.savannahtours.com.
Sixth Sense Savannah. 866/666–3323; www.sixthsensesavannah.com.
