Free Things to Do in Savannah GA

Want to travel but on a budget? Here’s a tip: you don’t have to pay big prices to visit a certain city! Here are free things to do in Savannah GA to help you with planning your trip.

Savannah is one of the best places to have a quick weekend getaway without spending a lot of money. A lot of the attractions can be visited for free or cheap!

Other Savannah Posts:

• Savannah St Patrick’s Day Survival Guide

Free Parking in Savannah GA

Did you know you could get free parking after 5PM on weekends south of Liberty Street? That’s a few blocks south of downtown, so good if you’re just on a day trip and want to save a few dollars.

North of Liberty Street, street parking is free after 5pm on Saturdays. We skipped the valet parking and did this option when we stayed using our annual free night at the Kimpton Brice Hotel.

Other options for free parking? If you have status in certain hotels, like Globalist at the Hyatt Regency and you booked on points, you can get valet parking for free. The Hyatt Regency is our favorite hotel in Savannah given its location and the perks we can get staying there.

Free Things to do in Savannah

Here’s a list of the free things to do in Savannah. As I mentioned: who needs to pay big bucks for travel when you can get stuff for free?

Walk around Savannah’s Squares

Grab a map or use Google Maps and do a scavenger hunt of sorts along Savannah’s squares. They’re all outdoors and a lot of the squares have sculptures and various histories that make them unique.

We wouldn’t recommend that you try and visit all the squares on one visit since it is a lot of walking along different blocks and it takes time to actually stop, take photos, and you may even see other things along the way that you want to see.

My favorite square is Johnson Square – with its fountain and obelisk. There’s also a sundial located in the back of the square.

Do you recommend a particular route to see all the squares?

I personally don’t have a recommended route on which squares to see first and a particular sequence. When we first visited, we just went on a generic direction and ticked them off as we go along.

Whenever we visit, we just start visiting squares that are closest to where we parked or the hotel we are staying in overnight. You won’t likely get lost since downtown is designed on a grid.

We would not recommend visiting the squares during St Patrick’s Day Parades though, as some of them get really busy and messy!

See the Fountain at Forsyth Park

Forsyth Park is a quiet park located south of downtown. It is a bit of a long walk from the river, but it is worth it. The fountain area is so picturesque and you can take lots of photos there.

During St Patrick’s Day celebrations, they dye the fountain water green!

There’s lots of trees lining the park, and is a great way to just chill out and be in peaceful surroundings. Even during St Patrick’s Day celebrations, we found solace in this park, except near the fountain area, where there are loads of tourists congregating.

Window shop in City Market and Broughton Street

If shopping is your thing, then why not spend a few hours strolling around Broughton Street? That is the main shopping drag of Savannah, and there’s almost no chain stores or restaurants there.

We loved looking at the collectible stores – you know, the stores that sell toys, board games, and other knick-knacks. You can also get home goods from the Paris Market, while Savannah Bee also has a store on Broughton Street. If you like art supplies, then a stop at Blick’s is great, perfect for those looking for supplies that help you create masterpieces.

Two blocks from Broughton Street, you’ll see City Market. It’s not that big, but there’s a few galleries located there. Our favorite stores in City Market include Byrd’s Cookies – try their cookie coolers, they’re simply the best. Another favorite is Spartina 449, which is a women’s store focusing on clothes & accessories, headquartered in Daufuskie Island.

There’s a small craft brewery that offers tasting tours, a prohibition museum, and other fun stuff in City Market, most of them involve spending money. Great photo opportunities await in the central area where there are statues and benches to hang out.

Stroll Down River Street

River Street is a cobblestoned street closest to the Savannah River. It is lined with shops, restaurants, and sculptures throughout its entire length. This street is undoubtedly our favorite place to visit whenever we go. The food options are amazing, there’s plenty of shops to browse in and maybe get a souvenir, and photo ops aplenty.

The newest area of River Street is the Riverside District. What looks like an old industrial plant has been changed into an upscale hotel and with it, upscale shops and fountains galore. When we visited during the holiday season, there was even Christmas markets by the riverfront in this area!

One can have a great view of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge from the Riverside District area, which connects Savannah to Hutchinson Island.

See the waving girl statue, as well as so many other sculptures and structures that make for good photo ops along the way. Walking down River Street is our absolute favorite free thing to do in Savannah.

Watch cargo ships on the Savannah River

This is an unexpected attraction for us. On one of our visits, we happened to look out and there was a huge cargo ship passing by the river. Apparently these cargo ships pass by regularly as the way to the port is directly through Savannah River by way of downtown.

These ships are really huge – they are enough to make you crane your neck. If staying in a hotel by the riverfront in one of the higher floors, you’ll probably see more of these ships in action. They do pass by quickly, so get closer to the river and take the photos or video whenever you can.

Ride the Savannah Belles Ferry

Want to check out Hutchinson Island? Hop on to the Savannah Belles Ferry and it will drop you off the other side of the river. No need to drive! Best of all, the ferry is completely free of charge!

If staying at the Westin, this will be your main transport from the island and Savannah proper. Bad news is the ferry only runs until 10PM, so booking a ghost tour that departs in the evening, your option may be to get a taxi or drive on the way back.

There’s really nothing much to do in Hutchinson Island but the Westin Resort and Spa. It is a wonderful hotel with golf and spa amenities as we’ve mentioned in our weekend in Savannah post.

The ferry is a great way to sightsee Savannah from the water without having to spend a lot of money.

Walk the entire length of Bay Street

Bay Street is the street before River Street. There are a few squares fronting Bay Street, and a lot of restaurants and stores as well. The most notable part of the street is the City Hall and the Hyatt Regency (amazing hotel by the way). In front of the Hyatt Regency is a small park that’s also amazing.

Our favorite place to visit in Bay Street is Books on Bay and The Cork House. Great stores to visit!

Go on a Free Tour

Savannah is one of the few places that offers free walking tours. Rather than paying the $30+ for a ghost tour that’s also a walking tour, this is a good alternative. However, this tour is done on the daytime but they will most probably visit the same squares and sights, except with less embellished stories.

While free tours are technically not 100% free, there is no set price for a tour. You pay what you think the tour is worth, so at the very least, please tip your guide! They’re there to make a living as well.

Get Free Entrance to Museums

So certain museums have free museum days, but if you have a Bank of America card, then every first weekend of the month, you can get access to a few museums in Savannah.

Here’s a list that’s included (as of 2021):

• SCAD Museum of Art
• Old Fort Jackson
• Savannah Children’s Museum
• Georgia State Railroad Museum
• Savannah History Museum

The free entrance days help save you money on your entry fees, especially if you are planning to visit multiple museums at once. We already visited most of the list above and actually paid entrance fees for it (gasp).

If both of you have a BoA debit or credit card then that’s 2 free entrance tickets, which adds to your overall travel savings.

Alternatively, you can check Groupon for discounted activities and museum entrance fees. We got a discounted entrance ticket to the Davenport House Museum using Groupon!

Walk around Bonaventure and other cemeteries

Savannah is a city that’s one big cemetery. The whole city is a necropolis, built on top of graves, a part of the Colonial Park Cemetery, which runs through downtown.

If you walk through Colonial Park Cemetery (circa 1780s), you’ll probably think, that’s it? There’s not a lot of graves in here. But look at the tiles outside the cemetery and it is a nod to the other graves that are now underneath the streets you’re walking or driving around in.

Bonaventure Cemetery is really pretty, the cemetery has a lot of interesting tombstones, the most famous being Bird Girl, which is now in the separate museum in Savannah, given its popularity.

Another popular site to visit in little Gracie’s tomb. The sculpture in her tomb is made from her actual likeness, and is a great site to see.

Bonaventure doesn’t charge anyone to go in, but if you need more context and need a map, you probably need to join a group tour or pay extra for a map to navigate around the cemetery.

Historic cemeteries are really cool to see, and I would always recommend visiting one whenever you go to a new destination and they’re open to the public.

Watch the St Patrick’s Day Parade

Every year, Savannah hosts a big St Patrick’s Day party, regardless if its a weekend or not. Savannah has the second biggest St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the United States, and we even wrote a post about surviving Savannah’s St Patrick’s Day.

The downside is trying to find parking or accommodation during the festivities. Parking is exorbitant, restaurants are extremely busy, and public toilets are hard to come by. However, the parade is completely free to enjoy and from start to finish takes more than 2 hours!

There’s also a few other free activities to do during the St. Patrick’s Day festivities, but that’s only if you can handle the drunken crowds of people.

Swim in Tybee Beach

Tybee Island is a short drive from Downtown Savannah and is the closest beach in the area. Street parking is free but on certain weekends can be a nightmare to find parking.

Swimming in Tybee is free, as is walking around the beach, but we’ve only been on a blustery winter day when it’s not that suitable for swimming.

Nevertheless, the option is there for swimming in Tybee Beach as one of the free things to do in Savannah.

Any other free things to do in Savannah?

Did I manage to cover most free things to do in Savannah? If I missed out on anything, please feel free to leave ideas in the comments below. All the above tips are what we’ve personally done, and we might not have covered everything possible.

Have you been to Savannah Georgia?