Savannah, Georgia

Known for its historic squares, beautiful architecture, and great food scene, Savannah is a very popular place to visit.

Savannah has numerous beautiful and often pricy hotel options. We stayed at The Bluff Hotel which is part of Hilton. We were only there one night, but it worked well for us. There was a hotel shuttle service that was able to take us and pick us up from dinner. It also was conveniently located to the trolley tour we took the next day.

We only had one night in Savannah, and we used it wisely. We had dinner at the Olde Pink House. Really, the name should be Olde Pink Mansion. It was gorgeous inside! We ended up in the second floor ballroom. The stairs to get to the second floor were very steep, but once we rounded the corner and saw the ballroom, the climb was well worth it. The setting, the food, and the service were all top notch. There was even a performer who would visit the tables and entertain the guests. It was an interesting and special evening that was the perfect start to our trip.

Note: I made reservations many weeks in advance to ensure we were able to dine at the Olde Pink House.

The next day, our main activity was to go on one of the historic trolley rides, Old Savannah Tours. We purchased tickets in advance and got the hop on and off tour. We really enjoyed it and thought it was a great way to see the city without having to fight the traffic and maneuver the narrow streets. Everyone we interacted with was very professional and went out of their way to ensure we had a fantastic experience.

The tour company picked us up from our hotel and took us to the starting point of the tour. The process was very smooth. It was clear that they know exactly what to do to keep things moving efficiently.

When we boarded the trolley, our whole group sat on the right side. In hindsight, we should have split up so some people in our party could get an unobstructed view of the houses and others could see the squares. To have the best view of the squares, sit on the side behind the trolley driver.

The trolley tour took us to visit many of the squares and provided narration throughout to highlight special landmarks we passed. There were many interesting stories, but it was almost too much to remember. I have included some pictures of historic sights, but for fear of getting the landmark and corresponding story wrong, there are no captions!

We had the hop on and off tour, but we never got off. We liked our seats and our tour guide and did not want to risk having to split up if we joined another trolley later. Many people hopped off at the last stop – Savannah City Market. We could not decide quickly enough if we wanted to stop there or not, so we ended up headed back to the drop off point. Within the couple of minutes it took to get there, we decided we did want to go back to City Market. The tour company was very kind and instead of dropping us off at a hotel, they took us back to City Market.

We spent the rest of our time in Savannah eating, shopping, and exploring City Market and the surrounding area. It is one of the top tourist attractions, and I’m so glad we made the decision to visit. We ate outside and enjoyed great weather and people watching. After our time at City Market, the trolley picked us up and returned us to the hotel.