Things to Do in Savannah: The Local's Guide to the Good Stuff

Savannah doesn't make you work hard. You could wander the Historic District with no plan at all and still stumble into something worth remembering. But if you've got two or three days and want the good stuff — the places locals actually send people — here's how we'd build the trip.

Start in the Squares

The Historic District's 22 squares are the city's living room, and Forsyth Park is the biggest draw of them all — 30 acres anchored by the famous 1858 Parisian-style cast iron fountain under a canopy of live oaks. Morning coffee here is a Savannah ritual, and the park hosts a farmers market, walking trails, and a cafe if you want to make a morning of it.

Two blocks north, the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist on Harris Street stops foot traffic — French Gothic revival, 84 stained glass windows, and minor basilica status. Self-guided tours run most days, and there's a gift shop on site.

Get Out on the Water

The Savannah River and the tidal marshes around the city are half of what makes this place what it is. Pick your style:

Dolphin tours: Captain Derek's Dolphin Adventure runs 60–75 minute dolphin cruises out of Tybee on a high-powered dual-engine boat that produces a wake dolphins love to jump and play in — sightings are guaranteed.

Kayak and paddle: Sea Kayak Georgia, a coastal paddling outfitter operating over 25 years, runs half-day and full-day guided sea kayak tours to Little Tybee Island plus SUP tours, led by highly certified guides who specialize in barrier island ecology.

Nature charters: Sundial Charters, led by native naturalist Captain Rene Heidt, runs small-group custom boat charters — beachcombing and shark tooth hunting on uninhabited islands, dolphin watching, crab catching. Bull River Cruises departs from Bull River Marina on Wilmington Island with eco-boat tours through tidal rivers and marshes, sunset cruises, and Ossabaw Island day excursions.

Take a Tour (Yes, Really)

Savannah's tour scene is unusually good, and the guides are a big part of why.

On land: Old Town Trolley Tours runs 90-minute narrated tours with 15 hop-on hop-off stops covering 22 historic squares — it was voted Best Tour Company in Savannah Magazine in 2026 and carries a 100% money-back guarantee. Old Savannah Tours, locally owned since 1979, mixes in costumed historical re-enactors — you might get a visit from Forrest Gump or Juliette Gordon Low mid-tour. Prefer horsepower? Carriage Tours of Savannah, the city's oldest horse-drawn carriage company (45+ years), runs 50-minute daytime history tours and evening ghost rides.

On foot: Savannah Dan Tours is the walking tour people rave about (check its listing for current tour lineup), and Architectural Tours of Savannah, led by SCAD-trained architectural historian Jonathan Stalcup, traces the city's architecture chronologically from 1733 to today in 90 minutes. If you're hungry, Savannah Taste Experience walks you through 5–6 iconic restaurants and specialty shops with dietary accommodations supported — a full meal on your feet.

Ghost Season Never Ends Here

Savannah is routinely called one of America's most haunted cities, and the ghost tour lineup is genuinely deep — historically researched storytelling, not just spooky noise.

Ghost City Tours builds every story from historical research — no fabricated legends — with family-friendly options (Grave Tales), 16+ tours (Beyond Good and Evil, Dead of Night), and a 21+ haunted pub crawl. Sixth Sense, the original Savannah ghost tour company (founded 1995), runs a 2-hour uncensored tour covering real murder, voodoo, and hauntings. Blue Orb, ranked a top ghost tour by Travel Channel, runs a 2-hour adults-only uncensored late-night option. Cobblestone Tours, founded by James Caskey — author of Haunted Savannah — runs candlelit walks that start at haunted pubs like Moon River Brewing.

Want a twist? Hearse Ghost Tours drives you through the haunted streets inside actual converted funeral hearses that served over 15 years in real service — it's been featured on Travel Channel and HGTV. Ghosts & Gravestones runs a 75-minute nighttime "Trolley of the Doomed" with exclusive nighttime access to two haunted historic buildings. And Sorrel Weed House, one of the most active paranormal locations in America (per its own listing, with Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures features to show for it), hands you real ghost-hunting equipment — EMF detectors, thermal cameras — for late-night paranormal investigations. Graveface Museum at Factor's Walk layers true crime, cults, UFOs, and vintage pinball into one oddities museum, with 2.5-hour nighttime paranormal tours.

Prefer your ghosts with a drink in hand? Nightly Spirits — voted Best Ghost Tour by USA Today — combines ghost storytelling with stops at 3–4 haunted bars and taverns on a 2.5-hour pub crawl.

Go a Little Further Out

Wormsloe State Historic Site is the photo you've seen on every Savannah postcard: a 1.5-mile avenue lined with more than 400 live oaks, plus the oldest standing tabby ruins in Savannah and living history programs.

Bonaventure Cemetery — 160 Victorian acres along the Wilmington River, made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — rewards a slow self-guided walk; historical society guided tours are available too.

Fort Pulaski National Monument on Cockspur Island is the 19th-century masonry fort where rifled cannon fire first made brick fortifications obsolete — tours, cannon demonstrations, and hiking and biking trails. Oatland Island Wildlife Center is a 175-acre maritime forest sanctuary with 2+ miles of trails and native Georgia wildlife — cougars, wolves, bison, bobcats. Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, a 51-acre historic USDA plant introduction station, features historic bamboo collections, formal gardens, and pick-your-own berry fields.

If the Weather Turns (or the Kids Get Restless)

The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler is a 90,000-square-foot WWII museum built around a fully restored B-17 Flying Fortress — genuinely worth the drive out of downtown. Royal Cinemas & IMAX in Pooler has one of the largest IMAX screens in the US with luxury recliners. Fun Zone Amusement & Sports Park brings go-karts, two 18-hole mini golf courses, and an arcade. Rainy-day nature fix: the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium, Georgia's first saltwater public aquarium, with touch tanks and a nature trail.

The One-Line Version

• Morning: Forsyth Park + the Cathedral
• Afternoon: Wormsloe, Fort Pulaski, or a dolphin/kayak charter
• Evening: Ghost tour — then a haunted pub crawl if you're not ready for bed
• Rainy day: Mighty Eighth museum + IMAX
• Book first: Water charters and Sorrel Weed investigations fill up on weekends

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