Amy and I are huge fans of self-guided city walking tours. We get to see the sites at our own pace and Ty and Buster get training and exercise en route. We’ve done walking tours many times, but the historic district in pet friendly Savannah is one of our favorites. Think Philadelphia Society Hill meets New Orleans French Quarter, and you get the picture.

Sniffing Around

In February 1733, General James Oglethorpe and his settlers founded the city of Savannah and the 13th colony, Georgia. Yep, Georgia was the last one in. Savannah’s downtown area, which  includes the Historic District, the Victorian Historic District, and 22 parks/squares, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the US.

What We Did

We picked up a trolley map of the city at the Visitors Center on the corner of Boundary and Ogelthorpe. And then we simply walked the highlighted street path taken by the tourist trolleys. All of it. With Ty and Buster. We meandered through 13 of the 22 squares, Forsyth Park, Colonial Park Cemetery, and the riverfront area.

To us, the most striking features of the historic district were the many open, pet friendly green spaces and the streets lined with live oaks, Spanish moss dangling from the expansive branches. Then, of course, there is the fine architecture of the Antebellum- and Victorian-period homes. We watched while several wedding parties were being set up in the different squares, feeling like invited guests ourselves.

The riverfront is small and was somewhat disappointing. While it was easy to imagine the bustling commercial and hospitality businesses that once supported the colonial port’s operations, the storefronts there now sell tacky souvenirs and tourist food. And we didn’t do the riverboat ride since it was not pet friendly.

Sandwiched between the historic district and the riverfront is the thoroughfare bordered by Broughton and Bay Streets. Savannah’s hotels, retail stores, and restaurants populate this area, including the pedestrian-only City Market on Congress Street. There, we ate at Vinnie Van GoGo’s, a local institution serving up fantastic pizza.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Savannah Oaks RV Resort on Fort Argyle Road. Because we left Savannah so late, we got one of the last sites available. Note: We only make reservations the day of our stay. This gives us maximum flexibility, but sometimes leaves us with a less than desirable RV site. This was one of those times. We struggled to level our Winnebago in the twilight and, ultimately, called it close enough. On the upside, there was a small fenced-in area for dog play.

Next time

This was our first time in pet friendly Savannah. We spent about 5-6 hours taking in the sites and really felt we saw everything we wanted to see. That said, the historic area is so beautiful and so pet friendly … we would not hesitate one second to simply repeat the whole experience. Including the pizza!