During a trip to Hilton Head Island, we made a day trip to Savannah, GA.

Summary

  • Drive Time- approximately one hour (one way) from our lodging in Hilton Head to Savannah
  • Kids Ages- 2 1/2 years and 9 months
  • Child Transport- We took our double stroller. There’s a decent amount of foot and road traffic. So I felt better with the kids contained when walking the streets.
  • Time Spent in Town- about 3 hours
  • Itinerary– strolling the Historic District, Forsyth Park, River Street

Parking

When we entered the historic district, we grabbed one of the last spaces left in an open lot on the corner of Bull Street and Liberty Street just before noon on a Saturday. We saw other available lots in town and it looked like you could park on the street as well. We paid about 10 dollars for 4 hours.

After we parked, we headed for Forsyth Park.

Forsyth Park

Without knowing much about Savannah, Forsyth Park is sort of the iconic scene I had in my head. The park along with the live oaks and Spanish moss felt like a dream.

My toddler had some energy to get out so we headed directly to the playground in Forsyth Park which we were so grateful to stumble upon.

There were public restrooms located on the other side of the building next to the playground.

It looked like there was a farmer’s market in another section of the park which we would have loved to check out, but we were getting hungry for lunch so we headed toward River Street.

On the way, we passed through a few historic squares along Bull Street. There were several of these quaint spaces in town.

We enjoyed soaking in the charm of the architecture and strolling by cafes, shops, art galleries, and more along the way.

With cobblestone streets, River Street offered lots of options for lunch and fantastic views of the river, bridges, and boats including the Georgia Queen.

We grabbed a bite to eat outside with a view of the river. The kids loved looking at the boats. I had my first shrimp n grits. Delicious!

At that point, it was getting close to nap time and the kids were getting cranky. So we headed home from there.

Here is a breakdown for reference. It seems Forsyth park is about a mile from River Street.

Additional Sites

Although it may seem like we didn’t accomplish much, we very much enjoyed a few hours in Savannah and felt like we got to experience a lot. We were grateful to be able to park once, visit a playground, stroll the town, grab lunch, and see some sites within walking distance. That’s sort of an ideal day for us.

We visited during the time of Covid, so we tried to stay outside and keep to ourselves. In more normal times, I think we would have definitely considered the Hop-on Hop-off Trolley Tour, the Children’s Museum, and the Georgia State Railroad Museum because my son is very interested in trains. But it seems like there are endless things to do. I’d probably start with the Visit Savannah website for more ideas.

I hope to return someday so we can also check out a ghost tour and Fort Pulaski National Monument along with many more sites.

You can read more about our day trips to Beaufort and Bluffton in South Carolina during our stay in Hilton Head.

As always, I’m sharing what we did to serve as a starting point to help you make your plans for your trip. Leave a comment that may help others or tag me on Instagram @adventureswkelly so I can see or hear about your trip to Savannah, GA.