I'm back today to continue with my recap of my recent trip to Charleston and Savannah! If you missed my Charleston recap, you can read it here! I also have another in-depth recap of our last trip to Savannah, which is also one of my most popular posts (thanks, guys!) so be sure to check that one out too because that one also has a bunch of great recommendations.
I compare Charleston and Savannah a lot in my head because they are somewhat similar as far as things to do and I enjoy each of them equally, but after visiting both back to back, I noticed the differences more easily. While they're both relatively young cities as far as average resident age, Savannah feels the slightest bit more upbeat and lively compared to Charleston which is a bit more laid back and relaxing. They both have schools (SCAD and College of Charleston), but the art influence in Savannah gives it a bit more of a modern feel than Charleston, although they are both old cities rich in history.
I mentioned in my Charleston post that Charleston was MUCH busier this time around than the past two times we've visited. I was nervous that that would be the case for Savannah as well since the last time we visited was in February, but I would say the crowds were relatively comparable this time to the last time we were there, which was nice. We made reservations for one dinner ahead of time, but other than that we were able to walk right into most places, which was a pleasant surprise - I think the longest we ever had to wait was 20 minutes for brunch one day.
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| This picture is from my previous Savannah trip recap, but I wanted to include it because I didn't get any great photos of the hotel this time. |
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the River Street Inn, which is the same place we stayed the last time we visited Savannah. We loved it so much that we just had to come back! It's right on River Street with beautiful views of the Savannah River, and it's in a great location to walk to pretty much anywhere you want to go in the downtown area in 20 minutes or less.
The way the hotel is seated, the lobby is on the fourth floor which is at ground level when you're coming in from Bay Street, and then from the other side of the hotel you can come out onto River Street from the first level. Between the first and fourth floors, there is a stunning atrium with staircases between the floors. We got a room on the fifth floor (the top floor) which we were originally excited about but then realized the most convenient way to get there was via elevator (the atrium stairs don't reach the fifth floor), which took a really long time to get up and down, so we ended up asking for a different room and got one on the third floor which was a lot easier. Because of the stairs/elevator situation, I would recommend asking for a room that isn't on the fifth floor if you stay there. The only disappointing thing about our new room was that it didn't have a balcony like our room did the last time we stayed (our fifth floor room didn't have one either), but it still had amazing views of the river!
Saturday
We got to Savannah around 4:00 and got all checked into our hotel and then went to find parking. One of our favorite amenities of the River Street Inn is that they host a daily complimentary happy hour, so we headed there once we got settled. You can't miss the happy hour if you stay there - it's really nice and they have tons of different drink options and appetizers and it's a wonderful way to begin your stay. The best part though might be the bartender, Val. She is SUCH a character and the most energetic ray of sunshine. We remembered her from the last time we stayed, and were so glad to see her again. The Kentucky Derby was going on while we were at the happy hour, and she got everyone involved and made sure everyone bet on at least one horse. 😂 I ordered champagne and she just gave me the whole bottle! No one leaves happy hour a stranger!
After hotel happy hour, we headed to rooftop bar at The Grove, which is where we kicked off our last trip to Savannah as well. The last time we went I'm not sure that I knew they had a rooftop (and it may not have been open at the time), but my friend who used to live in Savannah said it was a must-visit because they have great fries and popsicle cocktails. Don't have to tell me twice! Kenny was able to snag us the best seats in the house on a couch right as a live musician was starting to play, and we had the best time.
After The Grove, we headed across the street to the Tree House which is exactly what we did on our first night the last time we were in Savannah. The Tree House is a bar on the upper level of a building in the City Market, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it - there were not many COVID precautions being taken there. Kenny and I are both vaccinated so we weren't *too* stressed about it (although I'll admit it was a bit surreal to be there), but keep that in mind if you're even a little cautious about crowds.
After our little night out, we headed back to our hotel to get to bed!
Sunday
On Sunday I had one thing on my mind: brunch! I was dying to hit up Little Duck Diner after seeing Kate Padgitt recommend it, so after we got ready for the day we headed there. It is absolutely SO darling inside - it's a vintage-inspired diner with a modern twist. I got the lavender bubble bath bellini which was so good and came complete with a miniature rubber ducky (who came home with me, obviously). We ordered the fried risotto as an appetizer which was SO good and we definitely could've had another order. I got the avocado toast as I often do when available, and Kenny got a breakfast platter, both of which we enjoyed!
After brunch we headed over to Broughton Street, which is where most of the shopping is downtown. I would compare it to King Street in Charleston, just slightly less high-end. There are so many beautiful boutiques and unique, locally owned shops, along with tons of cafés and restaurants.
We went to one of my favorite spots from last time, Capital Bee Co., and found a really beautiful Appalachian Trail puzzle that I plan to give my dad for Father's Day. Kenny was excited to New York Boutique, which is his favorite shoe store he's ever visited. When we got there we talked to one of the owners and were so sad to find out that that weekend was their LAST weekend open as a "mom and pop" store before they're forced to transition to a franchise because brands like Nike and Adidas don't want to supply stock to smaller stores anymore. Such a bummer, because they told us they have been in operation as a family-owned business for 45 years! We also stopped at Planet Fun, which is a really cute comic book and toy store. They have a bunch of vintage toys and video games, and it feels kind of like a pop culture museum as well as a store. Kenny picked up a nostalgic action figure while we were there. 😂 I also made sure to make a stop at Nourish, which was another recommendation from my friend who used to live in Savannah that I had gone to last time we visited. They sell tons of homemade, eco-friendly bath and spa products. My favorite are the shower steamers, which you can order online!
Once we had pretty much conquered all of Broughton, we made a stop at Paris Market which is one of our FAVORITE places in Savannah (we visited three times in two days lat time we were in town!) It's an absolutely charming little mercantile that sells unique gifts, jewelry, bath and body supplies, children's products, home decor, and pretty much anything else you could want. On top of all that, they have a gorgeous café that serves fresh baked goods, macarons, coffees, and cocktails. Kenny got a chocolate espresso scone, and I got a couple of macarons (fabulous, by the way - plain vanilla is always my favorite) and a raspberry lemon spritz cocktail (also fabulous).
After getting done shopping on Broughton Street, we made a last-minute decision to take a river cruise on the Georgia Queen, which is a large riverboat that operates for sightseeing tours and dinner cruises. I'm so glad we decided to do that, because it was so much fun and our feet needed a rest after walking everywhere over the previous few days. The boat has four decks that are "general admission" so you can sit wherever you want. We sat on the top deck which is open-air and provides the best views. They serve food and drinks which was nice, I got a frozen daquiri and Kenny got some Coke and a frozen lemonade, and we shared some fries that were really good. The tour guide for the cruise was informative and funny, and I was glad to get in some good Savannah history during our trip. The cruise was about 90 minutes and we really enjoyed it. We sat behind another couple that was really nice and we enjoyed talking to them! It was the guy's birthday and we ended up running back into them later that night. 😂
After our cruise, we walked River Street which a bit more of a touristy area and has a good number of shops and restaurants. In lieu of an official dinner, we decided to hit a couple of rooftops. There are a lot of rooftop bars on the river, many of which are located above hotels but have their own private entrances. We had seen a bunch of them and heard their music from the riverboat cruise and they all looked like so much fun. We stopped first at Electric Moon, which is a newer one. I ordered the "luminescence" cocktail which was gin-based and a cool light up ice cube! Kenny and I also split a mushroom quesadilla that was DELICIOUS, we probably could've had two more. We got a good seat right over the river which was beautiful and there were definitely a lot of people there, but it felt a little dead to us for some reason! I'm sure it's more fun after dark (it was also a little gloomy while we were there), but we wanted to check out a couple more spots, so we didn't stick around.
After Electric Moon, we headed down to our next stop: Myrtle and Rose. It ended up being one of my favorite places we went on the trip, so I highly recommend stopping by when you're in Savannah! It is SO beautifully designed, and they call it a "rooftop garden," which is so chic. I wish I had taken better photos, but there are some beautiful pictures on their site that you've gotta see. They have a bar and some tables that are covered, but for the most part it's open-air. They have plenty of spots to sit between couches and high-top tables, and beautiful greenery everywhere. They had olive trees with baby olives, and lime trees with real limes! (I'm not gonna lie, I stole a lime. 😂 After we got home I cut into it not knowing if it was even an edible lime or more of an ornamental, but OMG I swear to you it was the best lime I've ever had. I used it in a St. Germain and Empress G&T, so it was not stolen in vain.)
We ordered a cheese board that was beautiful (and tasty, of course), and I ordered the "porch crusher" cocktail that was a lovely spritz made with Lillet Blanc, St. Germain, and tonic.
Another rooftop bar we didn't make it to this time but went to last year and loved is Topdeck, on the roof of the Cotton Sail Hotel. I recommend the truffle pretzel and the midnight sail cocktail! A couple of other rooftops that we didn't make it to but come highly recommended are Rocks on the River and The Lost Square (which has a full menu of Mean Girls-inspired drinks!)
We had scheduled a ghost tour for Sunday night, so once we'd had our fill of rooftops, we headed back to the hotel to change clothes. We booked the adults-only Spirits and Scoundrels ghost tour through Haunted Savannah which was a lot of fun! It is a walking tour and there were only six people (and a dog!) on the tour the night we went, which made it easier to hear the guide and navigate. Our tour guide was Brenna and she was so precious. She's a Savannah native who has also performed opera and guided ghost tours in Roanoke (where Kenny is from) and Lexington, Virginia (which is basically Kenny's and my second home), so that was really cool to learn! The tour was about two hours long and stopped at a handful of historic homes where our guide told us stories of the houses' sordid pasts and creepy things that occur there to this day. She showed us some photos that people have taken on previous tours that serve as pretty serious evidence that the houses are, in fact, haunted (as long as they're real, that is 😂).
Last time we visited Savannah we did a hearse ghost tour, which was such a cool experience. If I could only choose between one of the ghost tours we've done, I'd probably do the hearse tour because you cover more ground on that. We also got to get out a couple of times, and the guide offered to stop for us to grab cocktails at one point. 😂
After our ghost tour it was midnight, so we headed back to the hotel to go to bed!
Monday
Monday was our last full day in Savannah, and I think it was our favorite day of our entire trip! In the morning we got ready and headed to brunch at Collins Quarter, which we had also gone to on our last trip and HAD to go back. (They've since opened another location in Forsyth Park in addition to their original downtown location.) It was busy there, but they had plenty of outdoor tables so we got seated right away. Our server's name was Carolina and she was such a character and had a great sense of humor, we loved her. I got the cold brew and the granola bowl and Kenny got the bananas foster french toast, all of which were wonderfully satisfying.
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| Swimsuit | Sunglasses | Hat |
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| Linen cover up |
We had planned on going to Tybee Island for a beach day on Monday, and we lucked out because the weather was perfect! It was the hottest, sunniest day of our trip, so we couldn't have asked for a better beach day. We forgot to bring beach towels and we also didn't have chairs or anything, so we balled out at one of the beach shops and got everything we needed, that's where Kenny's flamingo shirt he's wearing is from. 😂
We had the BEST time at Tybee Island! It's about 30 minutes outside of Savannah, and a great place to spend a day if you're staying in Savannah (or even travel to exclusively). There's plenty of parking by the pier, so that's where we went. It reminds me of the Outer Banks, but smaller and less commercial. We'll definitely go back for at least one day next time we're in Savannah! The beach is beautiful and they have a pier that's free to walk on, and they also serve food.
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| Don't mind the guy in the background's face, he was watching a game on TV. 😂 |
Before we left the beach, we got talking with a woman who told us that she and her husband visit Tybee 4-5 times a year from Ohio, and she gave us some local restaurant recommendations. One in particular that she mentioned, Huc-A-Poo's, really stuck our fancy in that moment because she told us that it's right on the way back to Savannah and they have extra large pizza slices with anything you wanted for $5. It was about 4:30 and we were getting hungry but had a dinner reservation at 8:00 and we didn't want to eat a huge meal, so we were totally sold on pizza.
We absolutely LOVED it at Huc-A-Poo's! It has the coolest vibe that makes you feel like a local, and the food is cheap and good. There were tons of people there despite it being a little early for dinner (and a Monday), so I'm sure it's a poppin' place. There was also a series of cute little shops across from the restaurant that looked like colorful little beach cottages that mermaids would live in, I would love to check those out next time we're there (because we WILL be back!)
After the beach, we got cleaned up for dinner (after stopping by the hotel happy hour one last time!) We had reservations at The Olde Pink House to round out our trip, which we went to last time we were in town and absolutely loved. It's a fine dining restaurant set in a historic home and it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It's right in the middle of downtown off of Reynolds Square, but it feels tucked away.
At dinner, Kenny ordered the mac and cheese jalapeno poppers as an appetizer which sounded unfancy, but they were SO well done. They also serve yummy homemade rolls and cornbread muffins. For dinner, we both ordered the caramelized vidalia onion and sweet potato ravioli, and I got a really nice Cabernet Sauvignon that our server recommended. (They also had a key lime pie with pecan sandie crust on the menu that we didn't get, but I recreated when we got home and it was the best key lime pie I've ever had. 😋) After dinner, we went on one last walk around downtown before going back to our hotel for our final night.
On Tuesday morning, it was back to Virginia! We got checked out of the hotel and stopped for gas once we got slightly out of downtown. There's a super popular ice cream shop on Broughton Street called Leopold's that always had a LONG line outside whenever we passed by, so we were never bothered about going. The gas station we stopped at on our way out had a dedicated little freezer full of Leopold's products, so we figured that was our best bet at getting to try some (for breakfast, apparently?) We got an oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich and OMG it was so good!! After our breakfast of champions, we hit the road back home after such a fun trip to two of our very favorite cities!
As expected, we had the best time in Savannah (and Charleston!) and already cannot wait to go back! I hope you enjoyed my travel diaries (read the Charleston one here), let me know if you check out some of the places we visited! I got really good feedback from a few friends who have visited Savannah and referenced my last travel guide, so I have a feeling you'll love all of the places that Kenny and I loved, too.
xoxx, Laura
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