Savannah – Georgia’s First City

Savannah – Georgia’s First City
by Linda Dolecki

Since my son has moved to Savannah, Georgia I feel lucky to be able to travel to such a historic place to visit and able to share my travel enthusiasm with you. There is no other city quite like Georgia’s first city, Savannah. Located in the heart of Coastal Georgia’s Low country, Savannah is a city of rare natural beauty of azaleas in bloom and oaks draped with Spanish moss.

These landscapes have been enhanced by two centuries of manmade splendor, from her distinctive park-like squares and cobblestone streets to the magnificent architecture of her restored homes and churches. Savannah was founded in 1733 and today attracts nearly seven million visitors every year. Savannah has lots of tours to offer so we decided to take the Old Town Trolley Tour so we could see and learn as much as we could in a short time. All we needed to do was relax as our professional and talented conductors share Savannah’s history and sights on our comprehensive tour. We got to enjoy the on/off privileges to shop, sightseeing, or dine at 16 convenient stops. We could pick up on the tour all day because there was always another trolley every 15 minutes. There is also Ghost and Graveyard tours for the evening that I hope to do on my next visit. During our tour we stopped at beautifully structured churches, saw where Forrest Gump sat on his park bench to tell his story and toured old homes ( just to mention a few). It’s possible to spend days simply strolling the nation’s largest Landmark Historic District, but with so much more to see, you might opt from other transportation. Besides Trolley Tours, you can choose Horse Drawn Carriage Tours or Savannah Belles Ferry.

After a full day sightseeing Historic Savannah we wanted to experience the Beaches. So the next day we ventured not to far from Savannah to an island called Tybee Island.

Tybee means “salt” to Native Americans, but the name of this low-key seaside resort now brings to mind words such as “sun”, “surf” and “fun”. It’s located only 18 miles east of Savannah and has 3 mile long beached that’s backed by sea oat-coved sand dunes and is perfect for sunbathing, people-watching and frolicking in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The island’s south-end pier and pavilion is a splendid venue for strolling above the ocean, people watching and fishing.

Other than just the beautiful beach, Tybee also offers history such as Fort Screven, The Tybee Island Lighthouse and Fort Pulaski National Monument which is just west of the island on Hwy 80. Tybee is complete with a full range of restaurants, modern hotels, condos and quaint inns and cottages.

Savannah Cottage It’s an atmosphere considerably more laid-back than that of glitzier, larger beach towns to the north and south. We plan someday to rent a beach house for a week just to relax and enjoy the wonderful southern hospitality.

This has been a trip to remember and hopefully many more to come.

About Linda Dolecki

Linda Dolecki joined the Classic Travel team in October 2009 with over 36 years of experience. She has extensive travel experience ranging from the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. She loves working with groups and has escorted all kinds of groups from large families to independent clubs with great success. Travel has been her life and she would love to share all her stories with you.