Savannah city waterfront and skyline

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Savannah, USA
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Worth seeing

Forsyth Park, Savannah

Forsyth Park

Forsyth Park adds outdoor time to a Savannah stay, with open space, views or waterfront breathing room between denser city sights.

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River Street Savannah, Savannah

River Street Savannah

River Street Savannah adds outdoor time to a Savannah stay, with open space, views or waterfront breathing room between denser city sights.

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Historic District Savannah, Savannah

Historic District Savannah

Historic District Savannah is a named stop in Savannah worth keeping on the route when it fits the day's transport, timing and neighborhood plan.

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Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery is a named stop in Savannah worth keeping on the route when it fits the day's transport, timing and neighborhood plan.

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City Market Savannah, Savannah

City Market Savannah

City Market Savannah gives Savannah a concrete street-life stop, with food, everyday shopping and local movement that helps visitors read the city.

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Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Savannah

Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist anchors the historic and ceremonial side of Savannah, making it a practical stop for architecture, local memory and orientation.

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Stay overview

Start with City centre for the easiest first Savannah stay, then compare Old Town and Waterfront when price, nightlife, quieter evenings or transfer timing matter more than being beside every major sight.

Hotels & areas

Savannah hotel choice is mostly about repeat journeys: use City centre for sightseeing, Old Town for a different local base, and Waterfront or Airport area when views, parking, airport timing or longer stays matter.

City centre

City centre is the most practical first base in Savannah, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.

Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel options

Old Town

Old Town is the most practical first base in Savannah, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.

Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel options

Waterfront

Waterfront suits travellers who want views, evening walks and a calmer base while still keeping central Savannah reachable.

Best for: views, quieter evenings, walksSee hotel options

Airport area

Airport area works mainly for early departures, late arrivals or car pickup, not for a first Savannah sightseeing base.

Best for: early flights, late arrivals, car pickupSee hotel options
See hotel options in Savannah, USA

Flights & airports

Savannah Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) arrival plan

  • Savannah Hilton Head International Airport (SAV)About 11 km from the centre

    Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.

  • Hilton Head Airport (HHH)About 41 km from the centre

    Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.

See hotels near the airport

Rental cars

Savannah day-trip car use

Do not rent a car for central Savannah unless parking and traffic are part of the plan; use one mainly for regional day trips.

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Travel tips

Best base

Choose City centre for a first stay because it keeps main sights, restaurants and practical local movement close.

Airport timing

Leave extra time for Savannah International Airport, especially for early flights, late arrivals, traffic or unfamiliar transfer routes.

Local movement

Plan each day in clusters around Savannah and Savannah so transfers do not consume the best sightseeing hours.

Day trips

Keep one flexible slot for nearby routes from Savannah, checking weather, transport and opening hours before committing.

Nearby ideas

Beach · about 35 min · car east on US-80

Tybee Island

A three-mile Atlantic beach with a 1736 lighthouse you can climb for the river view.

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Heritage · about 25 min · car south-east on Skidaway Road

Wormsloe Historic Site

A mile-and-a-half avenue of 400 live oaks leading to Georgia's oldest standing structure.

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Town · about 1 h · car north-east on US-17 into South Carolina

Beaufort

Antebellum houses on a tidal river, with Gullah heritage on the sea islands beyond.

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City history

On February 12, 1733, General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne landed at Yamacraw Bluff and were greeted by Tomochichi, the Yamacraws, and Indian traders John and Mary Musgrove.
In 1751, Savannah and the rest of Georgia became a Royal Colony, with Savannah as its capital.
British troops took the city in 1778, and the following year, a combined force of American and French soldiers, including Haitians, failed to rout the British at the Siege of Savannah.
The British did not leave the city until July 1782.
In December 1804 the state legislature declared Milledgeville the new capital of Georgia.
On December 21, 1864, local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to save Savannah from destruction, and Union troops marched into the city at dawn.
Savannah was named after the Savannah River, which probably derives from variant names for the Shawnee, a Native American people who migrated to the river in the 1680s.
The city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia were founded on that date.
By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had become the southernmost commercial port in the Thirteen Colonies.
Savannah, a prosperous seaport throughout the nineteenth century, was the Confederacy's sixth most populous city and the prime objective of Major General William T.
The Shawnee destroyed another Native people, the Westo, and occupied their lands at the head of the Savannah River's navigation on the fall line, near present-day Augusta, Georgia.
These Shawnee, whose Native name was Ša·wano·ki (literally, "southerners"), were known by several local variants, including Shawano, Savano, Savana and Savannah.