3 Days in Romantic Savannah

Take a romantic stroll past the famous fountain in Forsyth Park — The very romantic Forsyth Park

Recently, my husband Travis and I were able to sneak off on a romantic 3 day getaway to Savannah. Savannah is so lush and beautiful. The Spanish moss hanging from all the trees just puts you in the mood for romance. We had a wonderful time exploring this romantic locale together.

Day 1 in Romantic Savannah

We caught an early flight to Savannah from Ft. Wayne, IN (connecting in Atlanta), and arrived at 10:30am. The Savannah/Hilton Head airport is lovely and very easy to navigate. In fact, it was rated the top airport in 2020 in the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ choice awards. We hopped in a cab from the cab line and settled in for the 20 minute ride to historic downtown Savannah. We were staying at the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District . Once upon a time, the building housed a power plant. Now, it is a beautiful hotel with restaurants, bars, and a museum-like lobby has given the old historic building new life. It is really gorgeous.

JW Marriott Plant Riverside District Lobby from above

I would definitely recommend staying along the riverfront if you are visiting Savannah. It is within walking distance of everything. It is a beautiful area with many hotels, bars, and restaurants just steps away. Other hotel options close by are The Bohemian, The Cotton Sail, or The Alida. There is another hotel on the riverfront, the Hyatt, which the locals call “the ugly Hyatt”. I gathered that Savannahians were not happy that the Hyatt didn’t try to fit in with the historical buildings along the riverfront! I found it hilarious when they referred to it as “the ugly Hyatt”.

Exploring Savannah

Once we were settled into our room, we were pretty hungry after an early morning and travelling, so we just headed right out the door of our hotel and found a little outdoor restaurant right along the river. It was called District Seafood, and there was another little outdoor pavilion right next to it called District Smokehouse. I was looking forward to some seafood with Southern cooking flair so we went the District Seafood route. I had the fish and chips with old bay fries, Trav went for the seafood gumbo. The best part was getting to watch the big cargo ships coming in and out of the port.

Friday afternoon, we decided to walk around the historic downtown and get our bearings in Savannah. One of the first things I noticed was how green and lush it was. It definitely contributes to the romantic vibe of the city. It was amazing to me that the founder of Savannah, James Oglethorpe, had the amazing foresight to plan the city with the beautiful, garden-like squares every couple of blocks. There were originally 24 squares, and 22 gorgeous squares till remain. We also walked down Jones Street, said to be one of the most beautiful streets in America. Some say that this street is where the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses” comes from.

Cocktails and Dinner

After doing a lot of walking, we found that we were quite thirsty, so we wandered into a bar called The Ordinary Pub. After a refreshing Georgia Peach Mule (on special that day), we began the trek back to the riverfront. We strolled along the riverfront back to the JW Marriott, and we decided to check out one of the rooftop bars. We headed up to Myrtle and Rose rooftop garden, in the Three Muses building of the hotel. The garden on the roof was so pretty, and the view of the river was lovely. It was nice to relax for a bit after a long day of traveling and walking. I had their specialty, The Ginger Lily a Lillet Spritz Bliss).

We concluded our first romantic day in Savannah with dinner at Jazz’d Tapas Bar. Jazz’d has “Americanized” tapas. They also have live music two nights a week. Travis and I each chose a couple of small plates to share. My choices were Crab Stew (always a favorite of mine- this did not disappoint!), and shrimp and grits. Trav chose glazed calamari (yum!), buffalo chicken flatbread, and blackened salmon. The food was pretty good, the service was great, I would say the only downside was that it is located in the basement of a building. I did notice that a lot of the bars and restaurants are located in the basements though. Maybe it was cooler back in the day? We also noticed pretty quickly that prices are very reasonable in Savannah, we didn’t have any outrageously priced dinners which was awesome!

Day 2 in Romantic Savannah

Our second day began with a romantic stroll to have brunch. We landed at The Collins Quarter. You must have brunch here if you visit Savannah. There are two locations, one in Forsythe Park, and one on the corner of Bull Street and Oglethorpe Ave. We went to the Bull Street location. There is indoor and outdoor seating. We chose outdoors, so we could soak up as much sun as possible before heading back to drab Indiana in November. However, the interior was gorgeous as well.

I had the Bananas Foster French toast. Oh. My. Gosh. Was it delicious! I had also read in my research for the trip that they had a drink that was a must to try- a lavender spice mocha. It was good, I’m glad I tried it, but the French toast deserves rave reviews. If you aren’t the sweet breakfast type, Trav had the Swine Time Beni that looked pretty delicious as well.

Trolley Tour

We spent our day touring Savannah on the Old Savannah Trolley Tour. I highly recommend this tour company. It was a great way to see historic Savannah, and hear all about it from the amazing guides, without having to walk miles and miles. The trolley stops at 16 spots, at which point you can choose to hop off and explore for a while, or continue on the trolley. The trolleys come around about every 10 minutes for you to hop back on again. You can ride from 9am to 5 pm. Their motto is “We bring Savannah’s History to Life”, which is what I loved about this tour! Many of the guides where dressed in costumes, and at different parts of the ride a historical figure would randomly hop on the trolley and tell you a bit of Savannah lore, and then hop off again. The cost is $35 per person, worth every penny for all the knowledge I gained about Savannah’s history!

Savannah Sights

Not only did we learn a lot about the history and architecture of Savannah, we saw so many beautiful sites! We saw churches such as Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (you can go in and see the gorgeous sanctuary) and the First African Baptist Church, which is the oldest continuous black church in North America and the place where Martin Luther King first gave his “I have a dream” speech. We saw famous homes like the Armstrong house and the Mercer House of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame. We saw the famous The Pirate’s House with it’s haint blue shutters and the Savannah Cotton Exchange building, which we learned is slowly sinking and Savannahians are going to have to do something soon to save it. Needless to say we had an amazing time and just fell in love with Savannah.

Haunted Pub Crawl

That night, we took a haunted pub crawl tour. This is a walking tour, with a guide that tells you about some of the most haunted spots in Savannah. Visit four haunted local pubs during the two hour excursion. The cost for the tour is $30. I enjoyed this tour, it was as advertised. However, after visiting four pubs I can’t really tell you much about the ghosts of Savannah, which was my own fault. In hindsight, I would probably choose a haunted tour from the same company that we took the trolley tour. Something like the Grave Encounters Ghost Tour.

Day 3 in Romantic Savannah

On our third day in Savannah, we headed across the famous Talmadge Memorial Bridge to play golf at The Club at Savannah Harbor.

Yes, you are reading that sign right. While I didn’t see any snakes, I saw plenty of alligators. We also saw some beautiful birds. Golf courses are great for spotting wildlife.

This little beauty was sitting right by my tee box. Having an alligator ten yards away when I’m teeing off did not stop Jess “ice veins” Elliott from hitting a bomb though. I did ask Travis to warn me though if the alligator made any aggressive moves.

The course was fun. It was not too challenging for a couple of amateurs like Travis and me. We had a really good time and it gave us something different to do after walking around the historic district the last couple of days. I would say for the cost, I would have expected it to be more pristine. However, it did appear to be in a low lying area, so I’m sure it is sometimes under water. For the two of us to play 18 holes and rent clubs it was $375. To me, that seemed high for the condition of the course.

Cocktails

After changing for dinner, we headed up to the roof top bar on top of our hotel called the Electric Moon Skytop Lounge. This was an interesting place for people that are of a certain age, like us. The seating outside was like what you would see in classrooms for kids that have ADD and can’t sit still. There were some seats that spin or wobble around. There was a slide that you could slide down from the second floor to the first floor. It was a Sunday night, and people were having a good time to say the least! We felt a little out of our element, but it was good people watching for sure!

The Most Romantic Restaurant in Savannah

Dinner reservations were at 17hundred90 Restaurant. It is in an inn that has been voted Savannah’s most haunted. So you know it’s already in my wheel house! 🙂 This place was so beautiful. I have a deep love for old buildings. Buildings just aren’t made like they used to be! The food was fantastic as well. The lobster pasta was delicious and paired well with a glass of Chardonnay. This was definitely one of my favorite restaurants we visited in Savannah. The ambiance was just perfect. If you are looking for a romantic dinner in Savannah, this is your place.

As for the ghosts or 17hundred90, there are three. Anna is the most well known, and guests that stay in room 204 frequently report things being moved mysteriously from one place to another. A boy named Thaddeus is sometimes seen on the ground floor and in the tavern and leaves shiny pennies lying around on the tables. Finally, there is a less friendly spirit in the kitchen. Read all about the ghosts of 17hundred90 here.

Speaking of ghosts… Travis took this picture of me studying the menu. Notice anything strange in the picture? That funny guy doctored it up and tried to tell me Thaddeus was in the picture. He’s real tricky, that one.

Savannah was everything I had hoped for and more. There are so many reasons you should visit Savannah. It was definitely a romantic place to get away with your sweetheart. In addition, Savannah has so much history, art, and architecture. Finally, there is the beauty of the squares that makes Savannah such a unique city. There is so much to see in Savannah- I can’t wait to go back again.

A final note

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: You will see this book for sale everywhere in Savannah, and probably hear about it on tours, too. It is a bestseller by John Berendt that takes place in Savannah and is a true story about an infamous murder that took place in the Mercer House. I read the book after we returned home, and I loved being able to picture all the locations the author was describing. Some people might prefer to read it before, so they can be sure to visit some of the locations described in the book. Either way, I highly recommend reading it- it’s a great book! I plan to watch the movie soon as well!

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Want to know more about how I planned this trip? Read Plan a Perfect trip in 5 Easy Steps!