Savannah, Georgia, is so unlike any other city in the United States that visitors are often mesmerized, enchanted, and ready to start planning their next trip back within their first hour of exploring the city’s historic downtown. With so much to do, so much history to discover, and a seemingly endless number of beautiful squares and charming architecture to take in, most people often miss many of the most well-known sites, landmarks, and activities on their first trip. And with Savannah being in the south, summer days exploring the city can often be cut short due to the heat and humidity. I’ve personally fallen into both of these categories, but I discovered a game-changer during my last day-trip to Savannah: Old Town Trolley Tours.
So, what’s so special about Old Town Trolley Tours? This experience allows you to enjoy a guided tour of Savannah’s famous, and not-as-famous (but still incredibly fascinating) landmarks aboard an open-air trolley. Visitors of all ages have unlimited re-boarding at any of the 15 stops throughout the city, allowing you and your family to hop on and hop off wherever and whenever you’d like!
A New Way to Day-Trip
With Savannah being so close to Hilton Head Island, day-trips to the Hostess City of the South are popular with both locals and visitors. The drive is pleasant and typically lasts between 50 minutes to an hour, depending on whether you go on 95 or through the charming town of Bluffton, SC. There’s even a cruise from Harbour Town to River Street if you’re truly wanting the full Lowcountry experience! So, with that being said, a trip to Savannah during your time on Hilton Head is highly encouraged! Old Town Trolley Tours makes spending a day in Savannah a breeze, taking care of logistics and details like where to park, where to eat, and where to go!
The Trolley Tour Experience
First off, I’d recommend purchasing your tickets ahead of time. We chose the 1-Day Old Town Trolley Tour, but there is a 2-Day option as well as many different specialty-themed tours available. There are multiple options for parking, the first being at the Old Town Trolley Welcome Center’s lot just off of Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, as well as within the Savannah Visitor Center’s parking lot that’s just across the street. The first lot mentioned is where we parked; it was convenient, easy to find, and completely free! It is significantly smaller, so if you do want free parking and to get the most out of your day, arrive earlier rather than later! There was a ticket stand that accepted our tickets and gave us our map in that specific parking lot, but the very first stop on the tour is a short walk across the street.
Joining a tour is as easy as showing your ticket and hopping right on! Our first driver was incredibly welcoming and gave us an overview of what to expect for the day. And, I think it should be said that at this specific stop, there was always a trolley to board, as many of them overlapped each other. The tours touch on major landmarks that the trolley will pass, and cover as much history as they can fit in the drive from the founding of Savannah by James Oglethorpe, all the way until recent history, and where your favorite movies were filmed.
We decided to ride through for a full tour, just so we could get the whole spiel from one driver—every guide shares the same information, but they all have different facts and even jokes to make, so it keeps the experience fun and fresh! At least, that was the plan before turning onto River Street and seeing all of the great restaurants before deciding it was officially lunchtime! And, with the help of the trolley’s map in addition to exclusive coupons for us to use, we stopped for a bite to eat and explored the new Plant Riverside District, before hopping aboard the next trolley at Stop Eleven.
Local Landmarks
As the tour goes on, you’ll find yourself saying, “We definitely have to stop there!” For us, it was as early as Stop 3 at Franklin Square. As you ride around the green city square, you’ll pass by the historic First African Baptist Church, and drive past a lively area filled with restaurants, shops, bars, art galleries, and see Savannah’s very own McDonald’s walk-up “drive-through” window. On the tour, you’ll pass by a lot of the city’s squares, like Telfair Square, Orleans Square, Johnson Square, Chippewa Square, and many more! And speaking of Chippewa Square, if you’re a fan of the movie, Forrest Gump, your driver will more than likely share fun facts about where exactly the movie was filmed as well as where the famous bench is currently located.
Halfway through the tour, you’ll make a complete loop around Forsyth Park, where the city’s iconic fountain can be seen. I’d love to share all of the interesting facts we learned about the Forsyth Park fountain alone–and believe me, there were many–but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you before you get the chance to take the tour yourself! I will say this, though, we were shocked to learn where the fountain was actually ordered from!
Your trolley will cut back through downtown towards River Street, where there are two convenient stops to disembark and reboard. I will say, since we started the tour around 9 am, this was a great time to have lunch and stretch our legs. Walk along the Savannah’s waterfront to shop, listen to live music, stop for a drink, and more. There’s also some great candy shops if you have a major sweet tooth like we do! Wait for the next trolley to hop back on and continue your tour to see more landmarks like the uber-haunted Colonial Park Cemetery, the Davenport House Museum, the Juliette Gordon Low Museum, and more.
