Historic squares, heaping plates and haint blue — some of the fundamental elements of Savannah, Georgia, offer intrigue and earn the city its designation as the “Hostess City of the South.”
With cobblestone streets and live oaks draped in Spanish moss, Savannah blends timeless beauty with lively nightlife districts and one of the busiest ports in the country. It’s brimming with stories to tell and rich, diverse history around every corner, but it’s also home to great shopping and an innovative culinary scene bursting with bold flavors.
This July, 14 tour operators and travel planner readers of The Group Travel Leader experienced some serious Southern hospitality during a four-day familiarization trip. While there, they also got the chance to explore nearby Tybee Island, which teemed with the region’s diverse wildlife. Follow along with the group’s itinerary to learn about the many sides of Savannah waiting to be discovered.
Day 1
• Arrive in Savannah
• Savannah Theatre
• Dinner at The Pirates’ House
• US Ghost Adventures tour
Group travel planners and tour operators flew and drove into Savannah and got settled in at six hotels in the city’s historic district.
That afternoon, they were picked up from their respective hotels and shuttled to the Savannah Theatre to kick off the trip with a lively performance of “Hairspray: The Musical.” The historic theater is the country’s oldest continuously operating theater, dating back to 1818.
After the show, the group headed to The Pirates’ House, the legendary Savannah restaurant notable for its history and its Southern comfort food buffet. They enjoyed fried shrimp, macaroni and cheese, green beans, barbecue and coleslaw and had a bit of fun creating their own pirate names in one of the restaurant’s many private dining spaces.
After dinner, the group took a walking ghost tour of Savannah with a guide from US Ghost Adventures. They walked through the historic downtown district at sunset to hear chilling stories about sites of rumored haunts, from old inns to historic squares.
Day 2
• Historic trolley tour
• Andrew Low House Museum
• Lunch at Bubba Garcia’s Mexican Cantina
• American Prohibition Museum
• First African Baptist Church
• Gospel dinner cruise
The FAM group got an early start on the second day with a historic trolley tour that detailed many facets of the city’s history, from its founding to its most famous figures. Then it was time for a tour of the Andrew Low House Museum, the preserved historic mansion of a Savannah socialite. After a tasty lunch at Bubba Garcia’s Mexican Cantina, a Mexican restaurant just a block from River Street, the group headed to the American Prohibition Museum for a guided tour. They also visited the First African Baptist Church to learn about its inspiring past before enjoying a few hours of free time. The day closed with a gospel dinner cruise on the Savannah River.
Trolley Tour
The telltale orange and green open-air trolleys are easily identifiable as Old Town Trolley Tours, one of the city’s top tour companies for more than 30 years. The group’s open-air tour of Savannah took them around the historic squares the city is famous for and gave a detailed account of its history, from its founding in 1733 by James Oglethorpe to its role in the Civil War. The engaging guide infused trivia and humor throughout the tour, along with fascinating anecdotes about some of Savannah’s most famous residents through the centuries.
Andrew Low House Museum
Found in scenic Lafayette Square, not far from Savannah’s famous Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, the Andrew Low House Museum dates to the 1840s and was once home to Andrew Low’s daughter-in-law, Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the Girl Scouts and is one of Savannah’s most prominent former residents. The group took a guided tour of the home, which is staged to appear as it would have during the 19th century and includes many furnishings from the original owners.
American Prohibition Museum
Savannah’s American Prohibition Museum is the only museum in the country dedicated to the subject of Prohibition. With two floors of interactive exhibits, the museum explores the intersection of the political and social causes at the heart of the Temperance Movement in the early 1900s. The group took a guided tour through the museum to learn about the movement’s key figures and the impact of Prohibition on American life during the early 20th century. In an ironic twist, the group enjoyed a cocktail in the museum’s speakeasy at the end of the tour then perused the museum’s gift shops for souvenirs.
First African Baptist Church
Thought to be home to the oldest continuous African American congregation in the country, First African Baptist Church is a cornerstone of Black history in Savannah. The church was first organized in 1773, and the current sanctuary was built by its congregation and completed in 1859. First African Baptist Church is on the National Register of Historic Places and contains some of its original fixtures, including the baptismal pool, light fixtures, stained-glass windows and the pews in the balcony, which were built by enslaved Africans. The group got the chance to tour the church and learn about its powerful history and its evolving roles in Savannah’s Black community throughout its tenure.
Gospel Dinner Cruise
Savannah Riverboat Cruises treated attendees to an evening of soulful music, down-home cooking and gorgeous views of the Savannah skyline. The group took a gospel dinner cruise on board the Georgia Queen, a paddle-wheel riverboat with four decks and three grand ballrooms, and was serenaded by a lively, local gospel choir as they enjoyed cocktails and a buffet of rich Southern cuisine, from cornbread to fried chicken a famous peach cobbler. After their meal, the group stood on deck to take in the beautiful scenery along the Savannah River.
Day 3
• Tybee Island tour
• Dolphin tour
• Lunch at North Beach Bar and Grill
• Tybee Island Marine Science Center
• Tybee Island lighthouse tour
• Tea tasting at Ashford Tea Company
• Dinner at 45 Bistro
The third day of the FAM began with a trip to Tybee Island to explore the community, which is affectionately nicknamed, “Savannah’s Beach.” The group took a guided shuttle tour of the city led by a local historian before exploring some of the island’s ecology with a dolphin tour and a trip to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center. Following a visit to the Tybee Island lighthouse, the group headed back to Savannah for a class and tasting experience at Ashford Tea Company, during which they sampled refreshing teas and small snacks. After a few hours of free time, the evening ended with a delicious farewell dinner at 45 Bistro, the upscale restaurant in The Marshall House, one of Savannah’s most notable inns on Broughton Street. 45 Bistro is known for its juicy steaks and fresh seafood.
Tybee Island Tour
Owned by former history professor Jacilyn Ledford, Tybee Tour Company is dedicated to educating visitors and locals about Tybee Island. Ledford stepped onto the group’s coach to tell the story of Tybee, from its geography to its rich history. Along the way, she pointed out local landmarks and provided little-known facts that piqued the group’s curiosity about the barrier island less than 20 miles outside of Savannah.
Dolphin Tour
Also located on Tybee Island, Captain Derek’s Dolphin Adventure is a popular excursion operator that takes groups for daytime and sunset dolphin cruises to see dolphins in their natural habitat. The group got the chance to take one of these boat tours along the waterways where the Savannah River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. They saw waterfowl, historic lighthouses and lots of dolphins that came to the surface to feed and even play in the boat’s wake.
Tybee Island Marine Science Center
Dedicated to educating the public and protecting Tybee Island’s marine life and ecosystem, the Tybee Island Marine Science Center was founded in 1990. It moved a new facility on Tybee Island’s North Beach in 2021 and contains classroom space and exhibits about local marine life and conservation. The group learned about some of the island’s endangered marine life, including right whales, before stepping into the center’s West Gallery to see its live animals, from sea turtles to alligators and starfish.
Tybee Island Light Station and Museum
The black and white stripes of the Tybee Island Light Station make it the island’s most easily recognized landmark. The lighthouse has nearly three centuries of history guiding ships into the Savannah River and has played a part in many wars, though the existing structure was commissioned after the Civil War. The group visited the lighthouse museum to learn about the evolution of the light station throughout the island’s history and the generations of lighthouse keepers who looked after it.
Ashford Tea Company
Founded by tea sommelier and entrepreneur Wayne Ashford, Ashford Tea Company is a tea house on East Oglethorpe Avenue that serves homemade tea blends and educates customers about the health benefits of tea. The group enjoyed a tea tasting that showcased several refreshing teas and tisanes paired with light snacks, as well as a lecture on the power of this versatile beverage. The group finished the experience with time for shopping.
Day 4
• Scrub Workshop at Salacia Salts
• National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
• Lunch at Miss Sophie’s Marketplace
• Depart for Home
On the final day of the tour, the travel planners began their day by enjoying a leisurely breakfast in their hotels. They then headed to Salacia Salts, a small business founded and operated by a former student of the Savannah College of Art and Design that creates cosmetic and health products using salts and natural ingredients from around the world. The group participated in a class where they made their own salt or sugar scrub to take home with custom combinations of ingredients and scents. After packing up their skin-care products and perusing Salacia’s shop, the group was bussed to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, a museum in Pooler near the Savannah Airport. A museum tour highlighting its aircraft, artifacts and films was followed by a tasty lunch at the museum café, which featured a buffet stocked with Southern comfort foods. From there, the group said their goodbyes and departed for home with plenty of ideas for return trips.
For more information on this itinerary or to plan your own trip to Savannah, please contact:
Visit Savannah
Anjuli King
912-644-6423
