The top things to do in Savannah, Georgia, are the 22 squares, Forsyth Park, River Street, Bonaventure Cemetery, Wormsloe ($12 for an adult), the Mercer-Williams House, the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace ($15) and Tybee Island. Savannah is about 4 hours and about 250 miles from Atlanta by car. We read each source on 14 October 2026.
How far is Savannah from Atlanta?
Getting there: About 4 hours and about 250 miles by car. The route is I-75 south to Macon, then I-16 east to Savannah (Enterprise, Atlanta to Savannah road trip page, read 14 Oct 2026). Enterprise is a car rental company, not an official source, and the leg distances on its page add up to more than 250 miles. We found no official mileage
Getting there: By air: Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), 400 Airways Avenue, lists nonstop Delta flights to Atlanta (airport, nonstop destinations page, read 14 Oct 2026). We did not check flight times or fares
Visit Savannah says the airport is 15 miles from the Historic District. Its getting here page has no date, and we did not check any bus or train timetable to Savannah.
What Savannah is known for
Its historic center. Wikipedia says Savannah has 22 squares, laid out on James Oglethorpe's original plan, and that the downtown is one of the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the US. Visit Savannah's home page also says 22. Another Visit Savannah article counts 23, because it adds Yamacraw Square. We could not find a City of Savannah page with a count.
The sights, with address, hours and price
The squares
Visit Savannah names Chatham, Chippewa, Columbia, Crawford, Ellis, Franklin, Greene, Johnson, Lafayette, Madison, Monterey, Oglethorpe, Orleans, Pulaski, Reynolds, Taylor, Telfair, Troup, Warren, Washington, Whitefield, Wright and Yamacraw. The squares are public parks. We found no entry fee or hours for them.
Forsyth Park
Note: The City of Savannah says the park began in the 1840s as a 10 acre plot and is now 30 acres. The fountain at the north end dates to 1858. The page gives no hours or rules. It mentions a fountain restoration, and we could not tell whether that work is finished (City of Savannah, Forsyth Park page, read 14 Oct 2026, page undated)
Visit Savannah says the park runs from Gaston Street on the north to Park Avenue on the south.
River Street
River Street runs along the Savannah River. Visit Savannah and the City of Savannah's tour guide manual both say its cobblestones came from ballast, the stone that ships carried and left behind. Each shop and bar sets its own hours. The cobblestones are uneven, so wear flat shoes. That tip is ours.
Bonaventure Cemetery
Address: 330 Bonaventure Road, Savannah, GA 31404 (City of Savannah, Bonaventure Cemetery page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Open to the public daily, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (same page). The Bonaventure Historical Society's visitor center is open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and the Society says it now opens most weekdays too (Society home page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Price: Entry fee: not confirmed. Neither the city nor the Society lists a fee, but neither says entry is free. The Society runs a free tour on the second weekend of each month, one a day at 1:00 p.m., a time it set from 1 July 2026 (Society home page)
The City of Savannah owns and runs the cemetery. It is a working cemetery, so keep your voice down near any service.
Wormsloe State Historic Site
Address: 7601 Skidaway Road, Savannah, GA 31406. Phone 912-353-3023 (Georgia State Parks, Wormsloe page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Daily, 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day (same page)
Price: Adult (18 to 61) $12, senior (62 and over) $9, youth (6 to 17) $5.75, child under 6 $3.25, all plus tax. Group rates for 15 or more with notice (same page)
Mercer-Williams House Museum
Address: 429 Bull Street, Savannah, GA. The entrance is behind the main house at 430 Whitaker Street (Mercer Williams House Museum website, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., first tour 10:30 a.m., last tour 4:10 p.m. Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., first tour 12:00 noon, last tour 4:00 p.m. Tours run about every 20 to 40 minutes (same site)
Price: Not listed on the site. Call (912) 238-0208 for prices
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
Address: 10 East Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, GA 31401. Phone 912-233-4501 (Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, hours and admission page, read 14 Oct 2026)
Hours: Open 7 days a week, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with limited tour hours on Wednesdays. Closed for the St. Patrick's Day Parade, Easter, the day before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and 24 to 27 August (same page)
Price: Guided tour: adult $15. Senior, military, or student aged 5 to 21: $12. Registered Girl Scouts $10. Children 4 and under free (same page)
The house is owned and run by Girl Scouts of the USA.
Tybee Island
Tybee Island is a barrier island about 18 miles east of Savannah, says Wikipedia. Its east shore is a sandy beach, and the Tybee Island Light Station stands there. We found no Tybee page with the distance or drive time from Savannah.
Price: Public parking is $4 an hour, paid in the Park TYB app or at a kiosk. The city no longer takes cash or coins. A day parking pass is $25, bought online ahead (City of Tybee Island, Parking Services page, read 14 Oct 2026). The city's Know Before You Go page says parking is enforced 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Getting around Savannah
Visit Savannah says the Historic District is walkable and many streets are one way. The free dot shuttle covers most of the sights.
Getting there: The dot is free, run by Chatham Area Transit with funding from the City of Savannah. It has two loops, Forsyth and Downtown, and comes every 10 minutes at 18 stops in the Historic District. Hours: Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., weekends 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., some holidays 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. No service on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's Day (Chatham Area Transit, dot shuttle page, read 14 Oct 2026). The dot's own site, connectonthedot.com, lists 20 stops, weekday service from 7:30 a.m. and weekend service to 6:30 p.m., so check there before you rely on the times
Drinking outdoors in the Historic District
Wikipedia says Georgia has no statewide open container law, so the rule in Savannah is a city ordinance. We read the City of Savannah's 2017 ordinance that changed Section 6-1214, in force from 1 January 2018.
Note: Inside the set area, a licensed seller may sell one drink per person in a paper or plastic cup for you to take out. No can, bottle or glass. A drink may not be over 16 fluid ounces, and you may not hold an open container over 16 fluid ounces on streets, sidewalks, parks, squares or other public places in that area. The area runs from the city limits on the north to Jones Street on the south, and from West Boundary Street and the Talmadge Bridge on the west to the railroad track on the east, plus the city's part of Hutchinson Island (City of Savannah, to-go cup ordinance of 28 Sep 2017, Section 6-1214(b), read 14 Oct 2026)
We could not read the current code. WTOC reported in 2020 and again in May 2024 that the city was looking at a wider to-go cup area, and we could not confirm what was decided. Ask the city or the seller about the current boundary before you rely on it.
Is Savannah safe?
We found no Savannah Police page with current figures, so we give no rating. The best source we found is a December 2025 WTOC report on a newsletter from the Tourism Leadership Council, a local group that used police data. It said crime reports in the downtown Northwest Beat, which includes City Market and Forsyth Park, were down 6% from 2024. It said the southeast part of the Historic District was up 9% from 2024, mostly property crime. The same report covered an attack on a jogger in Forsyth Park on 10 December 2025, which the group called isolated, and said police added patrols. A group that promotes tourism wrote the newsletter, so weigh it that way.
Our own advice: keep valuables out of sight in a parked car, and use a ride after dark.
Where to stay in Savannah
We did not check any hotel's rate or room list, so we give no prices.
| Area | What it is near |
|---|---|
| Historic District | The squares, River Street, the dot shuttle, the Mercer-Williams House and the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace |
| Victorian District | Forsyth Park, just to the north. Mostly homes |
| Tybee Island | The beach and the lighthouse, about 18 miles east of Savannah |
The Historic District suits a first visit, because most sights are close together and the dot stops there. Wikipedia says the Victorian District lies south of the Historic District and was built mainly between 1870 and 1910. Tybee suits a beach trip, but you will need a car or another ride to reach the Historic District, and parking on Tybee is $4 an hour.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 14 October 2026: Visit Savannah (home page, getting here page and squares article), the City of Savannah's 2017 to-go cup ordinance and its Forsyth Park and Bonaventure Cemetery pages, Chatham Area Transit's dot shuttle page, connectonthedot.com, the Bonaventure Historical Society home page, Georgia State Parks' Wormsloe page, the Mercer Williams House Museum site, the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace hours and admission page, the City of Tybee Island's Parking Services and Know Before You Go pages, the Savannah airport's nonstop destinations page, Enterprise's Atlanta to Savannah road trip page, WTOC's report of 18 December 2025, and Wikipedia's entries for Savannah, Tybee Island and the Victorian District.
Not confirmed: an official driving distance from Atlanta, the Tybee drive time, whether Bonaventure charges entry, Mercer-Williams ticket prices, the current to-go cup boundary, the Forsyth Park fountain work, a city count of the squares (sources say 22 or 23), and any hotel rate. Prices and hours change, so check the operator's page for your date. We did not visit Savannah for this page.
