Solo in Savannah

I found myself in beautiful Savannah for a few days and decided to make the most of it, even though I was flying solo on this trip. I parked my car for three days and walked, trolleyed, and pedi-cabbed all over the historic district. I covered a lot of ground but still just barely scratched the surface on all the great things to do in Savannah. I found the area to be extremely easy to navigate and felt pretty safe on my own. Listed below are 20 things I did and would highly recommend for solo travelers.

1. Take one of the many trolley tours. Most tours are about 90 minutes long. Stay on for the entire tour the first time & familiarize yourself with the three square miles that make up the historic district. Then hop on and off to see the things that interest you.

2. Check out a food tour. It's a great way to sample small bites at several different places. I did the "Savor Savannah" tour with Savvy Savannah and it was fantastic! It was a walking tour and as we walked between restaurants, our guide also gave us historical tidbits & ghost stories about some of the places we saw.

Shrimp & Grits from Café at City Market

Fish & Chips from Molly MacPherson's

Bruschetta with fresh mozzarella from Corleone's

Pulled pork from Angel's BBQ

Fried Green Tomato from Vic's on the River

3. Explore River Street.

4. Have dinner at The Olde Pink House. I sat at the bar downstairs in the very cool and very dark Planters Tavern and ordered a Pink Lady to drink & the Habersham Platter...a small plates sampler of shrimp & grits, scallops & greens, and crab cake & fried green tomato salad. Everything was excellent. I have to add that the two bartenders were some of the nicest I have ever met.

5. See the Juliette Gordon Low house. As a former Girl Scout, this was a must-see for me.

6. Go on a ghost tour. I went on two...Ghosts & Gravestones and The Blue Orb Zombie tour.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Ghosts & Gravestones more. The tour consisted of riding in a trolley listening to stories of haunted places on the route. We also entered a haunted warehouse & walked around using hand-held EMP devices. There were also infrared cameras & monitors set up so you could see some of the "activity." Our last stop was an old chandlery on River Street for an entertaining ghost story.

Can you see the orbs?

I did a little research after returning home and was greatly disappointed to learn that most orbs are just dust particles in the air : (

The Blue Orb Zombie tour consisted of two hours of walking and standing in front of haunted places while listening to ghost stories. The guide seemed well versed in the facts and he was a great storyteller. He even had pictures and video of some of the ghosts in his stories which was chilling.

Some of the creepy homes...

7. Eat at The Pirates' House. Be sure to ask for a "pirate" and you'll get a haunted tour of the place.

8. See beautiful Forsyth Park.

9. Go to Bonaventure Cemetery. Dash Tours picked me up at my hotel & then gave a guided tour of the cemetery and its more notable residents. It was hauntingly beautiful and filled with lovely statues framed by Spanish moss & centuries-old live oaks.

10. Have an ice cream at Leopold's.

11. Check out City Market.

12. Try a sandwich from Zunzi's. This is the Conquistador.

13. See the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

14. Go on a martini tour.

15. Just walk around and enjoy all the beautiful scenery.

16. Explore one, if not all, of the 22 squares that are all over the historic district. Each one is different and has it's own personality. Plus, they are what make Savannah so unique and walkable.

On my last day, I ventured outside of Savannah and headed to Tybee Island. I was too close to miss a few hours at the beach.

17. Explore Fort Pulaski. The fort is not actually on the island but you'll pass it on the way there. A $5 dollar entrance fee gives you access for a week and, besides the fort, there are many great walking trails to explore.

18. Eat at The Crab Shack. There's nothing like sitting on the water with a plate of raw oysters and a cold beer! I also had the deviled crabs with key lime pie for dessert. That was probably the best pie I've ever eaten...the crust was absolute perfection.

My view for lunch...

19. See the Tybee Lighthouse.

20. Relax on North Beach where the dolphins are plentiful but not the crowds.