Hi, my friend and I are in our twenties from NY. We are thinking of taking a 4 day vacation to Savannah towards the end of February. We don't like bars and clubs, do like historical tours, walks, etc. We are on a moderate (towards the tighter side) budget. Any help you could give us regarding restaurants we should eat at (pretty much any type of food), hotels we should stay at or areas to look for hotels (safety is important here) and any suggestions about must see or must do things would be very appreciated. also, do we need to rent a car? what kind of public transportation or taxi services exist? thank you so much for all your help
:0) Joanna

I'm not very good at "budget" travel, sorry to say, but here is the biggest and best hint: Wilke's Boarding House for family style lunch and/or breakfast -- lunch is the best deal. I think it is now $8.99 for lunch, $6.99 for breakfast? You probably won't eat again that day, and everything is simply delicious true old family style food -- great ham, the best southern fried chicken and at least 8 or 10 great vegetable dishes.

I'd do without a car. Just make sure you stay in the historic district. If you stay at one of the many chain motels a couple miles away you will be greatly disappointed. Take one of the trolley tours early on in your stay to get the layout. There are many bed and breakfasts, but often they are more expensive than the chain motels like the Days Inn right downtown which has a good location for everything. We got a good internet deal at an almost brand new Courtyard by Marriott where we could walk to everything.

That was good advice Patrick gave. Cars are a nuisance more than anything as parking is at a premium in the historic district and meter maids are everywhere...and vicious! Take a cab in from the airport, and historic district is easily walkable, the entire thing. All you will miss in not having a car is seeing Ft Pulaski, Bonaventure Cemetery (beautiful), and Tybee, as well as my one favorite cheap restaurant, The Crab Shack on Estrill Hammock Rd out near Ft Pulaski. You might rent a car for a day for those 3 things even.

Another good inexpensive restaurant is Lady and Sons. There are some reasonable ones in City Market too. Don't miss Mrs Wilkes, but be forewarned, she is not open on weekends. Just Monday-Friday, breakfast and lunch, no reservations. There will be a line, but don't let that deter you . You will be FULL when you leave, guaranteed.

My husband ran the Hyatt there, right on the river and in a good location for touring. Very safe. The Marriott at the other end of the historic district is fine too. There are also Day Inns, Fairfield Inn etc as well as Patrick's Courtyard...built since we moved so I'm not quite sure where it is. I concur with Patrick too, it is not worth the savings to stay out of town and drive in. You miss the flavor of the town by doing so!!

There are both walking tours and trolley tours of the historic district and after you've oriented yourself with one of these, just stroll the various squares and explore on your own. You are fine after dark around City Market and River St...just be aware that you don't want to be off on quiet streets by yourselves then. Odds are you'd be fine, but why chance it.

Be sure to take in at least one house tour...some of the trolley tours will include one...Davenport House, Green-Meldrim, or my favorite, Owens-Thomas. Must do's are just general touring and ogling the squares and old homes. Don't make the mistake of staying around River St for touring. That's important for a historical perspective...old cotton warehouses there are where Savannah got its start, but the squares and the homes are what makes Savannah a special place and are now the essence of what it is about.

so as long as we stay in the historic district we should be fine? the books say the weather is around 60 in febuary, is that about right?
thank you for your replies.

You should be fine without a car, yes. You should be fine walking around in the day, yes. Outside of River St and City Market, we walked at night rarely and reluctantly, usually driving even the few blocks to friends homes. My health club was only a block a way, yet I still hated to walk it after dark by myself, though I did (hastily gt;). Friends who lived a few blocks away drove to evening classes, despite the hassle of finding parking.

It could easily be 60 in February, but we've (FL) had a colder than normal winter thus far and that may be affecting Savannah weather too. It's just about impossible to tell this far in advance whether or not this pattern will hold. I certainly hope not! Cold snaps in Savannah aren't uncommon though, and temps can drop into chilly 40's and below briefly, so it's best to be prepared for the gamut.

I stayed at the Ballastone on Ogelthorpe but its definitely not budget friendly espesically now. I always thought the Eliza Thompson house had rates for like 109.00 with AAA, but so many of these places have changed hands since I was last there in 97. Oh, The Hamilton Turner house had some rooms that weren't too pricey and they did seem willing to knock off a few bucks for one reason or the other. Damn, I know theres a few others that would be a bargain but I cant remember their names! If you go into one of the Savannah websites youre bound to find them. One was a large brick hotel with a bar in the basement very near the waterfront and very reasonable, also the Planters Inn usually has discounted rooms unless a group has taken it over that week. Also note a lot of the "b&b's" are really just people with big houses trying to pay their taxes
Meaning they may not be that well run since its more of a hobby than a business. I think if theyre part of the innkeepers assoc. theyre likely more legit. Oh, the 1790 is a nice place to eat, but they also have affordable overnight accomodations too. Just be forewarned the 1790 is reputed to be haunted, extremely! people have left in the middle of the night. Anything under 100.00 is cheap for the historic district. I really enjoyed the "Book" tour which takes you to all the sights mentioned in the book. I totally agree about not needing a car, I didn't miss mine. Grayline seemed to offer tours to almost every place I wouldve needed a car for. Good luck!

Just in case you aren't aware, the "book" tour that Jon-Eric mentions relates to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- something you definitely should read before you go if you haven't already.

Hi Joanna,

A friend and I spent a long weekend in Savannah over the MLK weekend last year and had a ball.

If you need a rec for a budget place, I can recommend the Best Western, it was about $70/night and just a block from the historic district. I typed up my notes and even have pictures of our room . . . I'd be happy to send them to you if you want . . . just email me at the above address, leaving out the nospam part.

Have a great time!
Sandy

Go to priceline and bid for a hotel. They Hyatt, as OliveOyl mentioned, it in the very best location. The Hilton is also and I know both of these hotels come up on priceline. Go to biddingfortravel.com before you bid.

I just got back from Savannah and had a pleasant time, however I would recommend at most 2 days because IMHO there isn't much to do. We stayed at the Radisson historic district and really enjoyed it. The rooms were nicely decorated and the beds are equivalent to the Westin "heavenly beds." It was only 89$, give it a try. It is also next to the city market and everything else is within walking distance. In terms of dining, I found the restaurants on River Street to be moderately priced. For cheap eats: vinny van go go's at city market has good prices and good Italian food. There are no chain restaurants however in the city center (no McD's, Wendys, Subway..) so be prepared to spend a little more than usual on food. Enjoy.

You should go to Lady and Son and Ms. Wilkes - both will give yo plenty of Southern Syle food - Hope oyu like that.

Don't miss the cemetary.

Also, the city's transportation system runs a bus 9much cheaper than the tour busses) and yo can pick it up at certain local bus stops - the bus is different than the regular bus so make sure you are at the right stop and on the right bus.