Savannah, Georgia will likely hold a special place in my heart forever because it was the destination for our first-ever trip as a family of four!
Why did we pick Savannah? A few reasons:
- It’s a mere 2ish hours away from Chicago by plane, and we were nervous about how the kids’ first flight would go, so something short was appealing.
- It sounded like it could be well-explored without messing with a rental car or lots of cab rides.
- Everyone that had gone before told us how much fun it was!
I’m happy to report that all those things turned out to be true (well, if you don’t count the four-hour weather delay before that short little flight, BUT that’s a story for another day!). Check out the list of our top activities below, and how we liked each of them:
1. Forsyth Park
Forsyth Park was our first stop on our first day in Savannah and it was a perfect way for our little ones to burn off some energy! The park has two nice playgrounds, and we happened to visit on a day that there was a festival going on, which meant that there were little booths and activities all over, including a bouncy house (Dylan was a big fan!)
After that, we wandered around and people-watched a bit before checking out the famous fountain and heading out. It was a good way to get started with the city and let the kids play.
2. Bar/Restaurants with Patio
Let’s be real; traveling with kids ain’t always easy. Sometimes Mom and Dad just want a nice, cold drink to remind them that they’re on a vacation. When we could, we pulled our crew up onto the patio of a bar or restaurant to enjoy some music and a beer.
This worked well if one or both kids fell asleep in the stroller. If not, we busted out a new little activity to make it fun for the littles too!
Note: most spots in Savannah will let you take a drink to-go in a plastic cup, so if you and your crew need to make a quick exit (hello, tantrums), your drink can come with you!
3. Eat at Zunzi’s
On that note, we really liked trying Zunzi’s! We visited a friend of my husband’s while we were in town and he recommended Zunzi’s, which had a spacious patio, DELICIOUS South African inspired food, and a frosé that blew my mind.
4. Jepson Center
The Jepson Center is an art museum that includes an interactive children’s area, called the Artzeum. Our kids, especially the 3-year-old, had a LOT of fun here. There were a bunch of stations that gave kids opportunities to play creatively while learning about art.
We also walked through the art exhibits. While it’s smaller than I’m used to, as someone spoiled by the Art Institute of Chicago, it was still fun and we enjoyed checking out the art.
I will say that we didn’t get the biggest bang for our buck here. Tickets for the Jepson Center also grant you entry to the other Telfair Museums – the Telfair Academy and the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters – but we didn’t end up visiting either one. I’d suggest paying for the Artzeum if you have time to see the other sites as well.
5. Savannah Belles Ferry
The Savannah Belles Ferry is a water taxi that makes only 3 different stops on the river. This was PERFECT for us and our toddlers. We had considered going on one of the boat tours available, but we wondered if the price would be worth it for all of us, and if it would hold the kids’ attention. The short trip provided by the ferry was just enough for our little ones to experience the magic of a boat trip.
6. JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District
Uh, a hotel on the list? Yes, for the most unexpected reason. This hotel has an exhibit that showcases a chrome-dipped dinosaur fossil, along with a bunch of geodes and other prehistoric goodies.
It’s free to check out, and was a great way to get a break from the Georgia heat!
7. Peregrin Rooftop Lounge
Peregrin, the rooftop of the Perry Lane Hotel, does not have an age limit during the day, making it a cool spot to grab a drink or snack and enjoy views of the city. There’s not a ton for kids to do here, but if yours are like ours, they’ll enjoy goofing around on the fake turf for a little bit.
8. Try Some Fried Green Tomatoes
My pre-vacation research told me that we HAD to try fried green tomatoes while in Savannah. We decided to get them at Huey’s On The River, and YUM.
9. City Market
I actually wish we had spent more time popping into the cute shops at the City Market! But we enjoyed the time we did spend there. There’s a toy store we couldn’t resist, and a shop full of dog treats where we selected a couple for the puppies of friends we were visiting in town.
One night, we just grabbed a to-go cup of wine from the wine shop and let the kids run around while we listened to the music spilling out of one of the bars. It was awesomely relaxing for us and fun for the kids!
10. Savannah’s Candy Kitchen / Byrd’s Cookies
Sometimes you just must embrace the sugar. Savannah’s Candy Kitchen was a fun stop for me – I felt a wave of nostalgia as I saw so many of my childhood favorite candies there. And my kids were happy to leave with a little bag of candy of course.
We came across a few locations of Byrd’s Cookies while in Savannah. I’ll be honest, they weren’t my favorite cookies ever, but they are pretty perfectly toddler-sized, and you can mix up your selections of cookies into one box, to create just the right variety for you, which is nice!
11. Walk Along River Street
And now for the simplest thing on our list, which was one of our favorites. We spent a lot of time just walking along the waterfront – partially because there’s so many cute shops and restaurants to pop into, and partially because it’s just a nice relaxing vibe and our kids loved watching the people and boats!
Overall Thoughts
We loved our first family trip! As expected, going anywhere with two toddlers definitely had its challenges, but we were SO happy to get away together and really enjoyed Savannah. I think we’d like to come back in the future and try out other things that we couldn’t hit this time around (like ghost tours!)
