Best things to do in Savannah, including free and rainy-day options

Savannah rewards walking, not ticking off attractions. Two full days covers the Historic District on foot, one house museum, the riverfront and a slow afternoon in Forsyth Park. Add a third day for Tybee Island or a plantation site outside town.

If you have one day: start at one of the northern squares, follow Bull Street south through the squares to Forsyth Park, loop back along the riverfront, and finish with a long lunch or an early dinner. That route is free and hits the sights most visitors come for.

If it rains, swap the walk for the indoor list below — house museums, the railroad museum and food tours all run in wet weather.

Prices are 2026 estimates in US dollars and change often; confirm on the operator's own site before you go. Many house museums sell timed tickets that sell out on spring weekends.

The Historic District is the reason to come, and it is best done on foot. The squares sit in a grid, roughly one every two blocks along Bull Street, each with live oaks, benches and shade. Walking from the northern squares down to Forsyth Park takes about 40 minutes without stopping, but most people spend two to three hours with detours. The fountain in Forsyth Park is the usual photo stop; the park itself is free and open daily.

River Street runs along the water below the bluff, cobbled and busy, with the old cotton warehouses now holding shops and bars. Come in the late afternoon or evening rather than at midday. Climb the stone stairs or take the elevator near City Hall if you are coming from Bay Street.

For one paid interior, pick a single historic house rather than three. They are similar in format — guided or self-guided rooms, period furniture, a garden — and doing more than one in a day blurs together. The same applies to the Telfair Museums sites: choose one or two, not all.

Outside the Historic District, Bonaventure Cemetery is free and worth the short drive for a quiet hour among the oaks and monuments. Tybee Island is the standard beach day trip; it is a small barrier island with a pier, a lighthouse and a long public beach. Wormsloe Historic Site, south of the city, has the oak avenue often photographed, and charges a small entry fee.

If you want a structured plan, a trolley or walking tour on day one gives you the layout, then you can walk the same ground more slowly afterwards. Food tours are the efficient way to eat well in a short visit; see where to eat in Savannah for specific stops.

Savannah can be done cheaply because the main sights are streets and parks. A day of walking the squares, Forsyth Park and the riverfront costs nothing beyond food. Budget roughly US$20–35 per adult for one house museum or a tour, and US$60–100 for a food tour with drinks.

Parking in the Historic District is the hidden cost: garages and metered street parking run several dollars an hour, and hotel parking is often US$25–40 a night. If you are staying downtown, leave the car and walk.

Tybee Island costs only transport if you pack a lunch; a rental car or rideshare for the round trip is the main expense.

Walk early. Savannah is humid from late spring through summer, and the squares have shade but the riverfront does not. Before 10am you get cooler air and emptier streets.

Summer afternoons bring thunderstorms, usually short. Plan an indoor stop for the 2–4pm window and you will lose less time than if you are caught in the open.

Spring weekends are the busiest; book lodging and any timed tickets well ahead. See where to stay in Savannah and the Savannah itinerary for sequencing.

For getting around without a car, the Historic District is fine on foot, but Tybee and the outlying sites are not. Check Savannah public transport before relying on buses.

If you are extending the trip, Jekyll Island and Tybee Island are both coastal options, and the wider Georgia and United States pages cover longer routes.