I’m visiting Savannah next week for 4 days/3 nights and would like to spend a day at the beach walking, reading, swimming and napping. I’m getting bogged down in the available choices and wondered if anyone might have experience doing this or, at the least, be able to help me find my best option.

A. Rent a car, pay to park, rent umbrella and chair on island = $65 + $25 + $40 + gas
B. Tybee Island Shuttle $30 + $40 umbrella and chair rentals
C. Tybee Island Beach Bus (includes umbrella and chair) $102

I like A because I can come and go at times I want, however, I have dinner reservations the night I intend to have my beach day and will need to be back in Savannah by 6:00 to get to The Grey for 7:30. I suppose I could push my reservation back to later to take in the sunset…

B would require a little walking (less than 15 minutes) to get to a designated pick up spot. Rental service includes set up, so that’s easy (same for choice A).

C is just easy, but the day would be much shorter as the beach bus departs for Savannah by about 4pm.

Thoughts? I guess I’m leaning towards B, but feeling indecisive.

It seems like you have done your research on this. We normally drive back and forth from Savannah to Tybee. Once we were camping on Tybee and didn’t want to drive our camper to Savannah so we took an Uber there and back.
So, ride sharing could give you option D. It would give you the freedom to make your on time schedule and would be cheaper than renting a car.
If you want to stick with your original three options, I agree that B would be your best choice,
Have a great time there. Savannah and Tybee are two of our favorite places.

Another option! 😟🤭. I read that catching an Uber on Tybee can be challenging, but appreciate the input. I kind of want to see Bonaventure and am now leaning towards renting the car so I can stop at the cemetery on my way to Tybee. It doesn’t look like much of a detour.

I would do A.

The shuttles have been inconsistent throughout the years and I would not count on an Uber to get me back to Savannah. If there's not an Uber driver already on the island, they would have to drive all the way out from Savannah - and that may not happen if they have enough pings in Savannah. It would be an hour of their time to drive out and pick you up.

Option A guarantees you can get back to Savannah and then you have the flexibility to drive around if you want to see other things. If you aren't aware of Pin Point, check it out. You already have dinner plans but the Wyld Dock Bar Is a really cool place to eat in the marshes.

If you want to stop at Bonaventure, which in my opinion is a worthy stop I vote for option A.
We had no problem getting an Uber on Tybee, but that was a morning ride. It could be difficult in the late afternoon.

Adding = "gas" for Option A will be about a gallon of gas. It's 17 miles between Savannah and Tybee.