We are interested in visiting Savannah on way to Hilton Head. Will the city be crazy still with St Pat's Day (3/17) revelers on the week end of 3/19-3/21? We are from Irish & from Chicago so don't need to celebrate St Pat's in GA ! (Tho it sounds like great fun!) WOuld this be really bad timing to just see the sights of Savannah?

Until a few years ago, St. Patrick's day was celebrated the entire week ahead culminating with a parade on the day. I read somewhere they even die the river green... I'd read/heard that it was wild and crazy, so we'd arrive the day after for a visit and for the tour of homes and gardens.

The city did an amazing job of cleaning up...the day after, there was no evidence of any festivities whatsoever the day before.

It's a fabulous time to visit...generally the azaleas are in fully bloom all over and the weather is splendid.

This year, the tour of homes and gardens does not start until March 25th, so you won't be competing with those visitors for hotel rooms and restaurant reservations.

Disclaimer - I have never personally been to Savannah on 3/17 - but my young adult son lived there for 6 years whihle attending school. Based on his accounts, the only time there is anything going on after exact date of 3/17 is if it falls on a weekend. This year, being mid-week, the festivities will start the weekend before. The big parade is always on the exact date of 3/17.

And it is the fountain in Forsyth Park that they die green - perhaps many years ago it was the Savannah River.

Thank you for the replies... that eases my mind & makes me eager to go! We will go ahead with plans to visit Savannah for 2 nights before heading to HH. Any must see/do's or suggestions for Savannah first timers? We have been to Charleston, so don't need to visit any plantations (if there are any nearby!)

The time is perfect to be in Savannah. I am a native of Savannah, having lived here all my life. The revelry of St. Patrick's is over and the City's downtown is cleaned overnight, seemingly miraculously. The Savannah Music Festival (www.savannahmusicfestival.org) begins March 18, and is a "don't miss" smorgasbard of classic-to-world music for about 3 weeks. Traditionally, about of the festival goers are Savannah's society and music lovers joinging like-minded lovers of the arts arriving for a rich, cultural experience in this very arts-loving town. The St. Patrick's celebration is far more public, in-the-streets and animated, while the SMF activities carry on Savannah's traditions of clustering in historic district venues, such as Golden-era theatres, or grand churches and museums all around downtown Savannah. New things to see are Johnny Mercer's lifesize bronze statue, Ellis Square (a new, entertainment square near City Market), and Forsyth Park's Old Fort (beautifully updated and just opening as a tourist center in January 2010). Great food places are Alligator Soul, Cha Bella, and the Sunday buffet at the Aqua Star (inside the Westin). Leopld's Ice Cream is a "don't miss" for nostalgia, wonderful old fashioned, hometown-family ice cream, and soup-salad-sandwich lunch. To capture the Savannah experience, great lodging is at the historic inns, like Presidents' Quarters Inn (www.presidentsquarters.com), Green Palm Inn (www.greenpalminn.com), or Azalea Inn and Gardens (www.azaleainn.com). A stroll on "the strand" at Tybee Island (Savannah Beach) would be a walk from Second Street to 18th would be relaxing in March. The little town has enough charm to entice Sandra Bullock to have an home on Tybee Island. Actually, I heard recently that it is selectively rented out.