Oh Savannah! This gem of a city is approximately a 5-hour drive from Raleigh. We planned this trip fairly last minute as a way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, which also happens to be a couple of days before the 4th of July! In the dead of summer it was humid and hot, but we had an amazing experience nonetheless. While there is a ton to do, one of my favorite things in Savannah is simply getting lost in those streets lined with canopies of Spanish Moss, the unique architecture,and extensive history.
As a family destination, Savannah offers quite a bit of leisure family-fun and I highly recommend it! A few things to mention: our kids were 4 and 6 at the time of our trip. We stayed in a name-brand hotel about 15 minutes from the Historic District and used public transportation from the hotel (kids ride free!) to avoid the hassles and fees associated with parking. We also made a stop at Publix nearby and loaded up on granola bars, snack packs, bananas and sandwich stuff to fuel up on our adventures and save on eating out.
We hope you'll enjoy Savannah as much as we did!
 | Take a ride on the Savannah Belles Ferry At the Riverwalk, you can hop on this FREE ferry boat! It’s a pretty quick ride but long enough to take in the sweeping views of the harbor and the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. We hopped on the ferry at the City Hall landing, took it across the river to Hutchinson Island and from there we ended at the Waving Girl landing where we were able to walk the length of the riverfront shops back to where we started out. |
 | Sample tasty treats along the Riverwalk Many of the specialty shops along the Riverwalk offer free samples. We especially enjoyed The Peanut Shop and The Savannah Bee Company for local honey! In places like this we like to give the kids a small amount to spend, around $3, to pick a small treat for themselves! |
 | Explore City Market, the Historic District and the Squares |
 | Play at Forsyth Park |
 | Create and unwind at Henny Penny Not included in this guide is a detailed breakdown of all the amazing coffee shops we tried out on our journey, and let me tell you, there were A LOT. As part of our anniversary fun, hubby and I stopped into almost every coffee shop we came across and tried at least one thing off the menu, but that’s another article for another day. However, this one shop in particular, a combination children’s art space and coffee house, definitely deserves its own shout out. Walking distance from Forsyth Park, we spent the rest of the morning at Henny Penny sipping on cold brew while the kids created masterpieces ($5 studio fee per child). |
 | Make a splash at Tybee Island & Tybee Island Marine Science Center Tybee Island is about a 30 minute drive from Savannah city center. This was our final stop of the weekend! The Marine Science Center is fairly tiny but for $5 per person (ages 4 and under are free) it was a nice way to spend some time in an educational environment. They also offer several programs and opportunities to see the animals being fed. My kids go crazy over anything marine-life or animal oriented, and it’s always a plus when there is a docent or volunteer to answer their endless questions. After the Science Center the kids couldn’t resist jumping in the ocean as a farewell to our family adventure. |
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