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Savannah, Georgia (GA) is a gorgeous city. It might be done to death by bloggers, but there’s a reason for it. Between its beautiful Historic District, its warm beaches, its chilling ghost stories, its walkability, and so much more, I’d highly recommend it. Maybe not so much in the summer, but any other time of year, definitely. There’s a wealth of history, displayed in its numerous museums. And it’s a very artsy city, proud of its aesthetic. Everywhere you go, you’ll find mature oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, colonial and other vintage architecture, and fashionably dressed millennials strolling around or hanging out in cute cafes.

My family and I made the trip this summer. For your mental image, we drove, stayed in a camper, and had three kids under the age of five with us. Side note, summer is NOT an ideal time to go to Savannah. Or Georgia. Or the American South. But it was the only season we had before I went back to the UK. Three miserable and tired toddlers plus three tired and sweltering adults trying to pacify everyone on a trip we hadn’t planned anything for was an experience to say the least. I don’t regret any of it, though (okay, maybe one thing).

So what does one do on a weekend in Savannah when they have anxiety, phobias, and/or toddlers with them? I’m so glad you asked.

(Side note: nothing in this post is sponsored. I’m still not that cool yet.)

Climate

Savannah is a coastal city in Georgia, U.S.A., right next to the border with South Carolina. For those not super familiar with American geography, it’s in the southeast, or in the Deep South. The Deep South, in my understanding, is the term for the Southeastern U.S. where the climate is hot and humid. (I know there’s bound to be history behind the term, too, but for our purposes, it’s a matter of climate.) There is no winter in Georgia. If there is, people absolutely lose their minds. Schools and businesses will shut down at the threat of snow in the south.

Spring means pollen season. During my time in Georgia, I’ve seen roads so covered in yellow pollen that you can’t see the lines between the lanes. Not to mention that you have to use a towel or something to open your car door so you don’t get pollen all over your hands. Allergies run rampant in the spring and fall. And the summers are miserable. I think it’s about the same temperatures as the Middle East, and it’s humid, which makes it feel so much worse.

If you’re going to visit Savannah (or anywhere in the Deep South) make sure you pack light clothes. Tank tops or T-shirts, shorts or capris, light colors, cotton and linen if you can, lots of sunscreen… If you’re pale and willing to brave the heat, a linen long sleeve shirt can help protect you from the sun without speeding up the process of you melting into a puddle of sweat. It’s gross, but it’s honest. If you have bigger thighs, I’d suggest thin capris instead of shorts in Savannah. You’ll walk a lot more there than in most of the state, and I speak from experience when I say you’d be in pain by the end of the first day.

You’re going to be sweating through anything you wear, so it’s up to you whether to look nice or be comfortable(ish). Drink LOTS of water and drinks with electrolytes, dress light, apply sunscreen frequently, and make sure to get out of the heat periodically. It’s actually considered abuse/neglect in Georgia to not have AC in a home, so there’s no reason for you to not find anything. Overheating and dehydration can make you very sick or very dead. Please take care of yourselves in this region. (I mean, take care of yourselves anyway, but please don’t die on your trip.)

How nice is it, really?

On our trip, my family explored the Historic District and Tybee Island. Both are beautiful. They’re willing to own their aesthetics, too. I described Savannah’s earlier, and Tybee Island is your cliché beach town, and it makes it work. I haven’t seen many other American cities as beautiful as Savannah. Had the climate been reasonable, I could’ve easily explored and taken it all in all day for so much longer than we stayed.

Beautiful, isn’t it? Can you imagine yourself enjoying a pastry as you stroll through the old streets? Maybe indulging in a Southern meal in a restaurant with a view of the city’s long history both inside and out? Granted, you may be doing the first one while being eaten alive by mosquitos and sweating out all the water you take in. But beauty is pain, right? (Please note the extreme sarcasm in that ‘question’.)

What is there to do?

So much! Personally, I like to just wander aimlessly and get a feel for the city. In the tourist areas but not of them, you know? There’s also an abundance of museums. The main types are historic, antique, and art museums. Several museums are old manors or plantations. With Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil being such a popular book set in Savannah, you know there’s stuff about that. The house itself is a museum now, though it focuses on the antiques and home itself instead of the murder story. Because we had a bunch of tired toddlers and it was so hot, we didn’t get a chance to visit any of them. If you’ve ever been, let me know how it was!

Another activity that seems highly recommended is a food tour. There are plenty of options in Savannah, and they’ll give you a great opportunity to try out great Southern food (i.e., bring your appetite).

There are a variety of historic churches to check out. Additionally, Congregation Mickveh Israel has some of the oldest Torahs in the U.S., at least one of which was brought here during the Holocaust. It’s closed on weekends, though, so I wasn’t able to do a tour. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the churches are closed for tours on weekends, too.

Here are some highlights and recommendations from my weekend in Savannah.

Forsyth Park

Every blog I looked at about Savannah recommended starting in Forsyth Park. If I’m honest, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Maybe that’s because I didn’t go in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom? I dunno. I can’t suggest you make Forsyth Park a priority, but if you have time or are in the area, then stop there! It’s still pretty. On weekends, there’s even a farmer’s market, though, avoid it if you don’t do well in crowds. I avoided the sidewalk going down the center of the park to avoid the market, and there were still a lot of other people because others were doing it, too. But if you’re traveling with kids, there are playgrounds for them to have a little fun before moving on.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

This cathedral is absolutely beautiful, especially on the inside. My dad commented that he wouldn’t have imagined a church like that in the U.S. so much as in a movie with a European setting (I’m paraphrasing a little). It doesn’t take long to look inside, and while a small donation is appreciated to tour it, you don’t technically have to pay.

River Street

A walk along the river offers a relieving breeze to combat the brutal heat. River Street might not have much shade in some parts, but the breeze and the cute shops along the old stone street are worth it.

Tybee Island: Beach, Lighthouse, and Museum

A bit of a drive from Savannah will get you to Tybee Island. An adorable beach town, it’s a great place to slow down and just have fun. Unless you’re terrified of heights like I am, or you don’t like the ocean… If you plan to go to the beach, go in the morning. It gets crazy busy and horrendously hot pretty fast. Good luck finding parking in the afternoon. My family had an amazing morning there collecting shells, jumping in the refreshing water every time a wave came (babies love jumping, so why not?), and just relaxing in the shade of our rented umbrellas. So many families were boogie boarding, and plenty of older adults were sunbathing.

Now, I said earlier that there was only one thing I regretted from the trip. That one thing was the Tybee Island Lighthouse. DO. NOT. GO. IF. YOU. ARE. AFRAID. OF. HEIGHTS. I thought I would be okay. The staff worker told us there were four platforms before we’d reach the top where the balcony was. That was NOT true. There were six platforms, then the top.

I’d offered to help carry my one-year-old sister while my toddler/kid brother climbed up in front of me and my mom held the other baby. It was a terrifying spiral staircase with nothing in the middle to keep you from falling the whole way back down. I don’t think I even made it three steps before I freaked out and realized I couldn’t hold my sister. And walking behind my brother, I was paranoid and terrified that he would misstep and fall. The steps had ridges along them, probably to provide grip, but every time my foot felt one, I panicked thinking I had stepped too far and landed on the edge of the step, because there was a gap between each of them.

It was boiling in the staircase, so every landing we would stop, use the papers we’d been given to fan off, and let people go past on their way down. Oh yeah, if you have to pass, people going up have to walk on the inside, where there’s no railing or anything else to hold onto.

We finally made it. My dad didn’t last long on the balcony before coming back in. My sister kept sticking her arms through the bars on the railing, and my mom got some pictures and a video. I know all of this from word of mouth. I was too busy crouching down, facing the wall and trying not to cry or hyperventilate with the other acrophobes who couldn’t bring themselves to go outside either.

Going back down was so much worse. My toddler brother became terrified of the staircase he’d confidently climbed up minutes earlier. My mom carried down two babies so my dad could carry him. I got to the door to the stairs and couldn’t hold back my terror anymore. My mom later admitted that she’d wondered what we would’ve done because she didn’t expect me to be able to go down. I only did because I’d be stuck at the top otherwise. My dad gave me a pep talk each section of the stairs, I had time to breathe at every platform, and I was given patience. If you aren’t afraid of heights, please offer that kind of help to anyone who does. It helps so much, and it makes us feel better than when/if you get impatient because we’re too scared to go fast.

We made it down, and my parents and siblings explored the little museum on the same property (your ticket to the lighthouse gets you access to both) while I sat down and tried to stop shaking and crying. So unless you’re confident with heights, don’t do this. There is no way to make it better.

Cemeteries

Creepy fact: as many cemeteries as you’ll find in Savannah, you won’t find them all. That’s because Savannah is literally built on the dead. The original land Savannah was first built on was a Native American burial ground. Then several wars, multiple yellow fever epidemics, etc. led to more people being buried. Cemeteries expanded, then shrank back down when space was needed to build roads and buildings. The bodies were never moved, only the markers. In some parts, the sidewalks will have dips where the bricks laid for the sidewalk crushed caskets underneath and sank. Fun to think about, right? The one square mile Historic District of Savannah is built on THOUSANDS of bodies. So if you don’t like the idea of shopping for souvenirs or eating lunch overtop someone’s final resting place, Savannah is not the place for you.

In addition to all the hidden/secret cemeteries, there are numerous official cemeteries, too. They’re actually beautiful. Bonaventure Cemetery is a famous one. It’s huge, and it was once known to have the Bird Girl Statue from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but that’s been moved to the Telfair Academy. Another notable one is the Colonial Park Cemetery. In addition to other rumored uses, it used to be used as a dueling ground. During the American Civil War, Union soldiers occupying Savannah used some of the crypts (mausoleums?) as shelters, moving the bodies and heating the bricks to protect themselves from the cold. They also changed some of the tombstones. At least one man wouldn’t have even died yet, others lived for hundreds of years, and one woman had over a hundred children according to the Union soldiers.

Ghost Tours

On a similar note, Savannah has a plethora of ghost tours. Walking tours, haunted pub crawls, hearse tours, carriage tours… You name it, Savannah probably offers a haunted version of it. My mom and I did a tour with Ghost City Tours. It was certainly an adventure.

Now, I’ve heard arguments that Christians shouldn’t do stuff like this because it invites fear into their lives. I also know that when you have anxiety and have never been able to handle ghost stories, this kind of thing is a stupid idea. So naturally, I, a Christian woman with anxiety who has never been able to handle ghost stories, decided to do it. I did at least go with an earlier family one instead of the dead of night, most morbid and terrifying one they offered. I’d had my heart set on the late night one.

When the group met, it was decent weather. For once, it wasn’t too hot or humid, and there was even a breeze. But when we got to the first stop, the sky darkened. Everything became eerie and gloomy as dark clouds filled the sky. Wind whistled and shook the trees, adding to the mood. Then the rain started, a cold rain that lasted all night. I kept squeezing out my soaked shirt, most people left, my glasses were too wet to see with, and I was sick with a cold by morning. My mom had to get plastic bags to protect our phones from the torrential downpour. Lighting flashed, turning the entire sky a ghostly, brilliant purple. Thunder started as a low snarl and became a fearsome growl as the storm grew closer.

In other words, I’d recommend a tour as long as you check the weather first. Despite the weather, it was a lot of fun. I learned some cool stories about Savannah’s history that really weren’t that creepy.

Closing Tips

Savannah is worth going to, but to make sure you get the most out of your trip, here are a few suggestions for you:

• Check the weather before you go anywhere.
• HYDRATE. SUNSCREEN. SHADE. AC. ELECTROLYTES. Whatever you have to do to not die of heat or dehydration. I am fully aware that I am being a little dramatic, but I’m really not messing around. It’s easy to not take it seriously until you’re sick or too exhausted to do anything.
• Unless you’re camping in the area, stay in the city, in whatever part you want to see. It’s easier to walk than to drive within the city. Parking is limited, and during weekdays, you have to pay for it (not weekends, though!).
• Don’t waste your time and money on Tybee Lighthouse and the museum there if you’re afraid of heights. Save yourself. If you aren’t afraid of heights, then please be gracious to those who are. We don’t want to be there any more than you don’t want us to be.
• This isn’t really a tip, but Southern hospitality isn’t dead! People are nice and will help you out if you need it. It’s easy to socialize and strike up conversations with strangers in the South. It’s the polar opposite of my experience in the UK. It’s rude to not socialize or nod/say hi when passing people on the street.
• While we’re on the topic of Southerners, “Bless your heart” isn’t usually nice. Depends on context. It’s too hard to explain. “Bless him/her” is usually nicer or more sympathetic. This didn’t come up too much in Savannah, but just in case…
• Don’t assume things will be open in the mornings or on weekends. The South runs at a slower pace, and Savannah’s in the Bible Belt.
• Portion sizes might be bigger unless you’re at a hip café or something. It’s the South. You will be well fed.
• Don’t go in the summer. Please. The spring has lovely flowers everywhere, so maybe go then?
• Bug spray doesn’t actually work, but try it anyway. You will be eaten alive and itch for forever.
• Stretch. If you aren’t used to walking everywhere, you might hurt.
• Dress in cool, light clothes to avoid overheating. Hats are tricky because they offer shade but trap heat.
• Know who you’re traveling with and set expectations accordingly.