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The best Savannah itinerary for a weekend is two nights and one loose plan. Spend Friday evening on River Street, Saturday on the squares, Forsyth Park and a cemetery, and Sunday on one half-day outside the district. The Historic District is flat and compact, so you can park once and leave the car alone. Every price and hour below was read on the operator’s own page on October 3, 2026.
We have done long weekends in old cities with a carry-on and a plan, and with nieces and nephews along. I would bring shoes you can walk bricks in, because the cobbles and the heaved sidewalks under the oaks are harder on feet than they look. Our carry-on-only packing list covers the bag; the plan is below.
2 day Savannah itinerary
Two nights covers the district, one cemetery and one trip out to the coast. A third night lets you slow down or add a second outing. This table is the skeleton, and the sections after it fill in each block.
| Day | Area | Plan | Getting around | Cost as the page lists it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday evening | River Street | Park, drop bags, walk the waterfront | City garage, flat evening rate | $5 or $10 flat, 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. |
| Saturday morning | Squares and Forsyth Park | A loose loop of five or six squares | On foot, free DOT shuttle | Free |
| Saturday afternoon | Bonaventure Cemetery | Oaks, old stones, a slow loop | Short drive | No admission fee |
| Saturday evening | Historic District | Dinner, or a guided evening walk | On foot | Tour prices vary |
| Sunday | Tybee Island | Lighthouse and beach | Drive | Lighthouse $14 adult; parking $4 an hour |
Friday night in Savannah
Park once and leave the car until you go home. The city runs six garages, and its garage page on the date checked listed a flat evening rate from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays: $5 at the Bryan Street, Liberty Street, Robinson and State Street garages, and $10 at Eastern Wharf and Whitaker Street. Weekends use the same split, $5 or $10 for the day, and special events are $25 at every garage.
Meters are the other option. The city’s meter page lists enforcement north of Liberty Street Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and south of it Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Zone 1 is $2.50 an hour and Zone 2 is $1.50, paid through the Park Savannah app. Neither window includes Sunday.
River Street is the waterfront strip below the bluff, paved in cobbles and old brick. Heels and wheeled bags are the two things that surface punishes. Walk it once in the evening, find a table, and call it a night by a sensible hour.
A River Street waterfront site describes the to-go drink rule as a plastic or aluminum cup of up to 16 ounces, no bottles or cans, for guests 21 and older, inside a zone that runs from Hutchinson Island to the south end of Forsyth Park. Treat that as a guide and follow the posted signs and your server.
1 day Savannah itinerary
Saturday is the squares. Start while the day is cool. The visitor bureau’s site counts 22 park squares in the Historic Landmark District, and you do not need all of them. Five or six in a loose loop, a block or two apart, is plenty.
Every square is a small green with benches, an oak canopy and a monument or fountain in the middle, ringed by townhouses. The pattern repeats, so you can stop wherever one looks good. Sit for ten minutes, then pick the next block.
Forsyth Park is the big one, at the south end of the district, with the white fountain at the center. Bring a coffee and sit for twenty minutes. If your feet have had enough, the free DOT Express Shuttle runs two routes, Downtown and Forsyth Park, with 20 stops, every 15 to 20 minutes, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, according to the operator’s page. Holiday hours are shorter, and there is no service on Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day.
Bonaventure Cemetery
Bonaventure is the Saturday afternoon. The city lists it open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Bonaventure Historical Society says there is no admission fee. It is a working cemetery on about 100 acres, so walk quietly and leave the stones as you find them.
The draw is the oaks. Spanish moss hangs from the branches over the roads. The society publishes a mobile app for a self-guided loop, and it says free guided tours run the weekend of the second Sunday of each month. Bring bug spray, because the society warns about sand gnats most of the year, and carry water from the warmer months on.
If it rains, swap in the SCAD Museum of Art. Its page lists general admission at $10, closed Tuesdays, open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Are Savannah ghost tours worth it?
They are worth it as an evening out, and not as your history lesson. A ghost tour is a guided walk through the squares after dark, and the stories are entertainment. The cooler air is a good reason to be outside after dark.
The case against is thin history, uneven guides and big groups. If you only book one walk, I would book a daytime history tour first. Then add a ghost tour on Saturday evening only if you still have the legs, and reserve it ahead.
Savannah and Tybee Island itinerary
Sunday is the half-day out, and Tybee Island is the easy pick. The Tybee Island Light Station opens at 9 a.m. and sells its last tickets at 4:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays, with adults at $14 and seniors 62 and older and children 6 to 17 at $12. Children 5 and under are free. The page also says no backpacks of any size are allowed on the grounds, so a small bag is the better choice.
Parking is the part to plan. The City of Tybee Island charges $4 an hour or $25 for the day, enforced citywide from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., year-round, weekends included. You pay with the Park TYB app, ParkMobile or a kiosk, and the city no longer takes cash or coins. I would load the app before you arrive.
Do the lighthouse first, while you have the energy, then spend the rest of the time on the sand.
Savannah itinerary with kids
The plan holds up with young travelers if you swap Sunday for one of two outings. Fort Pulaski is the history stop. The park charges $10 per person for ages 16 and up, good for seven days, and children under 16 are free. It takes cards only. Its main page links a shoreline closure FAQ, so read that and the alerts page before you go.
Wormsloe is the quiet one. The state site lists 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, with adults 18 to 61 at $12, seniors at $9, youth 6 to 17 at $5.75 and children under 6 at $3.25, before tax. Small kids get in free elsewhere: the SCAD museum waives children under 14, and the lighthouse waives those 5 and under.
Savannah free things to do
The best of the district costs nothing. The squares, Forsyth Park, River Street and Bonaventure are all free to walk, and the DOT Express Shuttle between them is free as well. What you pay for is parking and the Sunday outing.
That makes this a cheap weekend to plan around. Budget for the garage, one tour and one ticketed stop, and spend the savings on dinner.
What to pack for Savannah
Pack for walking, bugs and heat. That means flat shoes with a grip, a small day bag, bug spray, a refillable bottle and a thin rain layer. Packing cubes keep a two-night carry-on sorted, and our guide to the best packing cubes for carry-on covers the picks. If you fly in, our TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and CLEAR comparison may save you a line.
Summer is the hard season. The National Weather Service Charleston office, which covers Savannah, posts heat forecast pages that track heat index at 100, 108 and 113 degrees. I would carry more water than feels sensible and do the squares before 10 a.m.
How many days do you need in Savannah?
Two nights and three days covers the Historic District, a cemetery and a half-day out. Add a night if you want a slow second day or a second outing. One day is enough for the squares and Forsyth Park, but you will skip the coast.
Is Savannah walkable?
Yes. The Historic District is flat and compact, and most stops are a few blocks apart. The pavement is uneven, with brick, cobbles and roots lifting the sidewalks, so wear shoes you trust.
How much is parking in Savannah?
City garages charge a flat $5 or $10 on Friday evening and weekends, per the city’s garage page on October 3, 2026. Meters run $1.50 to $2.50 an hour in the enforced zones.
When is hurricane season in Savannah?
The Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30, according to the National Hurricane Center, with the peak on September 10. A fall weekend is still inside the window, so check the forecast the week before.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Published October 15, 2026.
Photo credits: (1) featured, White fountain in Forsyth Park, Savannah… — Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (2) Brick and cobbled River Street in Savannah… — Aude, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (3) Monterey Square in Savannah's Historic… — Jeff Gunn from Atlanta, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (4) Gateway entrance to Bonaventure Cemetery in… — Myotus, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; (5) Tybee Island Lighthouse on Tybee Island… — Brooke Novak from Atlanta, Georgia (midtown/westside), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.