s_hart

Hello!
My husband and I are heading to Savannah this Saturday for 5 nights and we are looking for any helpful info we can get! Its a first for both of us and our 1 year wedding anniversary while we are there
I am also pregnant and eating everything!
We are staying at the Jenkins House by Forsyth Park (good area i hope.
okay bring on the advice!

Thanks!
Sarah

Therese

I haven't stayed at this property, and don't recall ever being on this precise corner (though I can see it on google maps). The location is a bit farther out than I'd want to be: not right in the very posh downtown area, and a bit of a hike to the riverfront, but the property certainly looks nice on their link.

It's going to be very, very hot (unless you are very, very lucky), so don't push yourself too much physically.

geribrum

If you haven't already, do read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

dcd

Congrats on the anniversary and the pregnancy. There are lots of good trip reports here on Savannah. Just use the search feature and you'll have tons of great ideas.

5 days is a lot to spend there. TA always has good suggestions for the main attractions: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...h_Georgia.html We did the trolley ride, a ghost tour, and toured some of the homes. Went out to Fort Pulaski and really enjoyed that http://www.nps.gov/fopu/ The piano man in the basement of The Pink House is a hoot.

We went to nearby Beaufort for a day trip and really enjoyed the walking tour given by Jon Sharp: http://www.jonswalkinghistory.com/

Get cracking on your research and you'll have a great time, too!!

Scarlett

Forsyth Park is just sooo beautiful!
Congratulations on the baby and your anniversay ... how wonderful

Try to eat at Garibaldis and the Olde Pink House..bring a sweater, the Old Pink House air-conditions in a big way, which really will feel good at this time of year

Get all the pralines you can eat... on RiverSt at River Street Sweets, behind the Hyatt. They will give you samples, which is nice and smart too, since you can't eat just one ..

Take a tour, buggy ride or whatever and save yourself a lot of walking in the heat and humidity.

Go to Telfair, the nicest little museum !
Go to the book store near Telfair..
E Shaver Booksellers ... I loved that store!

Go to all the art galleries and enjoy the local artists works.

Eat, there is so much good food in Savannah

s_hart

Wow thank you so much for all your wonderful responses! We live in the Bahamas so we are use to heat (even though Im told its a different type of heat) but at least it wont be a huge shock! The lady at the Armstrong properties said its about a 20 min. walk to river street- Maybe we can take a taxi and then walk the strip? I will be at river street sweets all the time and those restaurants look fantastic!
Any suggestions on a day trip to either Tybee Island or Hilton Head?

Thanks again!!
Sarah

TrvlMaven

Day trip to Beaufort, SC. Lovely riverfront shops and great restaurants.

xrae

Tybee Island has two lighthouses you can see, and is closer than Hilton Head. I agree that Beaufort is a nice place to spend the day shopping and exploring the neighborhood. There are some great old houses.

Therese

Tybee Island isn't even a day trip, really, as it's right next door to Savannah. I really liked Fort Pulaski (already mentioned upthread), so if you like history at all it's pretty cool. Tybee is nice but small---until pretty recently it was decidedly downmarket.

The walk to the river is an easy one if the weather isn't brutally hot, so a cab probably isn't necessary unless you're in a "tired" phase of the pregancy.

A very cool day trip would be to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/savannah/index.htm At one time this property was rice plantations, and you drive along the levees that separate the old fields. Fantastic birdwatching and bajillions of alligators.

If you do go to Beaufort, SC be sure to drive out the causeway to Hunting Island. It's a state park and has a very cool ecosystem: http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/pa...park/1019.aspx

Therese

Oh, and I'd skip Hilton Head. An okay place to stay, but I wouldn't visit it on a day trip, as there are many much more interesting islands to visit. Because Hilton Head is fairly large it's been extensively developed, so it's relatively difficult to access any of the island unless you're staying there, and it really just feels like a very long upmarket strip mall.

s_hart

Thank you again for the very helpful info! I think we will skip HHI- what do you think about a day in Charlston?
I was also wondering if anyone had any reccomendations for a restaurant on our annivesary? We have tons of great reccomendations for places to eat in general and soom look amazing- We just want a really special place for our anniversary....
Some places that looked good are
Old Pink House
Il Pasticcio
Sapphire Grill
Garibaldis
We will probably hit some of these up on other nights but we want to ensure a lovely meal on anniversary night!

Foodies bring on the advice!

Therese

Charleston is lovely, and a day trip there would be very nice. The history and architecture are sufficiently different from Savannah's that it's worth it, I think. It really depends on how high your tolerance is for driving---I'm not a big fan of sitting in cars, and when I was pregnant (I, too, just happened to be visiting Savannah when I was pregnant with my first child) it tended to exacerbate acid reflux.

I find the dining scene in Savannah a bit disappointing, all things considered. I hear the Pink House is good these days (it went through a down period). Elizabeth's on 37th was previously my favorite, but Elizabeth Terry is apparently no longer as involved, so somebody else may have more recent info.

You might want to ask over at chowhound.com.

s_hart

Therese,

Thank you so much for all of your helpful insight and information! You are a wonderful poster as you address every question!!!
Thank you!

ken13

I did these areas with my wife back in March. I also am not a big fan of drving too much, so we decided to stay one night in Beaufort, SC on our way to Charleston, SC. Therefore, it was only one hour to Beaufort and then antother hour or so to Charleston, which broke up the trip nicely. It only took 2 hours to get back to the Savannah airport. I also agree that the retaurant scene in Savannah is lacking. The only place we could get consistent recomomendations from the locals was for the Crab Shack on Tybee, which is really only a place to drink beer and pick crabs and shellfish. The restaurants in Beaufort and Charleston seem much better. Plums on the water in Beaufort was excellent. We also did the the wildlife refuge on the way to Beaufort. That was definitely worth the stop as you will see tons of big alligators from the safety of your car.

Ken

starrs

Not enough restaurant choices in Savannah?

Surely you jest!

There are many good places to try. Pink House is, by far, my favorite but there are many others. Not to knock Beaufort, but there's no need to drive there to have restaurant choices. (And my favorite place there is out of town anyway).

Therese

It's not the number of restaurants, but their quality that I find disappointing. And I'm afraid that the problem is due in large part to "The Book" (referenced upthread). Until "The Book" came along Savannah was a sleepy little place with some cool history and lovely scenery and some nice upmarket restaurants and great downmarket seafood restaurants (also known as "shell houses", our favorite being Teeples in Thunderbolt).

Now that Savannah's got a large population of captive, non-repeat diners, the restaurants simply don't have to worry about paying much attention to quality so as to keep their customers returning. Another batch of hungry people will show up in a couple of days.

This problem is by no means confined to Savannah: any area where the diners are predominantly tourists will generally suffer the same fate. Atlanta, for instance, which by and large has fantastic restaurants, has mostly dreadful restaurants downtown, as most of the people who eat there are from out of town.

fosterag

I am a big fan of Paula Dean on the Food Network. She has a restaurant in Savannah called the Lady and Sons. I would probably not recommend for a anniversary or romantic dinner but it might be worth trying. Also Mrs. Wilkes bording house for breakfast. It was awesome, even had lunch there another day. May husband and I are not into the foo-foo pricey restaurants but good home cooking. Also Paula's brother has a place called Bubba's Oyster House. Have never been there.

Scarlett

Didn't Lady & Sons have a fire recently?
I think I might be the only person who kinda gags when I see the way she makes food.. and I grew up in the South !
There are nicer restaurants for an anniversary!

Therese

No, Scarlett, you're not the only one who gags at Paula Dean's cooking. And I'm also from the south.

This sort of food is a caricature of southern cooking, not the real thing (in my opinion, of course, your mileage may vary).

gail

Uncle Bubbas - related to Paula Dean, but different type restaurant - on way to Tybee for good seafood.

For a very informal atmosphere, Crab Shack - also on way to Tybee (do search here - someone else gave good directions). It is really a shack that serves crab and other boiled seafood - you get a huge platter of whatever is in season served at a rough table with hole in the middle thru which you push the shells and trash. Complete with silly gator pond next to the restaurant - really fun.

Do not know how pregnant you are, but be careful walking in Savannah. Between cobblestones and uneven sidewalks rippled with roots of huge trees, footing can be uneven.