I have always wanted to go to Savannah, Georgia.  I didn’t actually know anything about Savannah, but I imagined a city full of Southern charm, gorgeous surrounds and gorgeous people.  My gut feelings were right!  We had a fabulous time on our Savannah stopover on our fabulous Deep South road trip.

We initially planned to spend a couple of nights in Savannah, but unfortunately it came down to a choice between Charleston or Savannah.  The guide book and internet searches showed many interesting things to do in Charleston, but barely anything for Savannah.  Savannah sounded more like a lovely place for a stopover to chill in gorgeous surroundings, rather than being packed of attractions.  In the end, we chose Charleston with a Savannah stopover on our way from Charleston to Jacksonville.  This is how we spent our half day Savannah stopover…

Forsyth Park

Hanging out in Forsyth Park

The drive into Savannah was straight forward and we were soon eating a picnic lunch in Forsyth Park.

Forsyth Park is a big 40 acre park in the Savannah Historic District.  It is a beautiful big park.  The weather was great and we had a fabulous time hanging out and eating.  The kids loved looking at the fountain and watching squirrels.

Walking tour

One of many pretty streets we walked along in Savannah

We then went for a big walk.  Savannah is a very lovely place to walk around.  Every couple of blocks, we would hit small green square areas and there are a lot of good looking buildings. The many big old trees complete a very pretty picture.

One of many squares while walking through Savannah

To be honest, to start with I wasn’t very impressed.  It was lovely, don’t get me wrong, but we have just come from Charleston and had only been in New Orleans less than two weeks ago.  To me, Savannah just does not compare.  If I had come here first, it no doubt would have been another place I would have loved.

River Street

River Street, Savannah

This all changed when we arrived at the area surrounding the river.  It is so lovely.

The big, old warehouses that line the river are gorgeous, and there are many cute shops, hotels and restaurants. I would have loved to be staying in one of these hotels and sitting at the River Street cafes drinking wine and eating ice cream (although perhaps not at the same time).  I loved the atmosphere here, especially when we came across a clarinet busker playing jazz.  It added to the vibe, and we gave him some money.

Our verdict?

After this, we walked back to our car at Forsyth park with a different attitude, and I did have a bit of a crush on Savannah.  It is beautiful.

It is not as colourful and didn’t seem as beautiful to me as Charleston, but it has its own charms.   I had read a post about Savannah before we arrived which described it as being romantic.  It is.  I would love to come here for the weekend with just J.

Streets of Savannah

In conclusion, I did love our Savannah stopover. I would have happily spent a night here. I am happy that we didn’t cut out Charleston in favour of Savannah though. I did prefer Charleston, but in an ideal world, you should visit both.

Practical information
We didn’t spend anything except a tip for the busker.  There are free buses around the Historic District, but the area is quite compact.  We did a loop around the Historic District on foot with the kids without a problem.

It was then time to head back to Florida and the historic St Augustine…

What attractions do you recommend in Savannah?