Savannah Getaway for the Best Girls’ Vacation

Finding the perfect place to travel to for my birthday has become a tradition. And this year, we experienced just how charming historic Savannah is.

Planning this Savannah trip was very unlike me. I typically find a place, book it and go. I do no homework or research. Ok, I might find out if there’s a bubbly bar or wine bar, but that’s about it.

But for this trip, I did ALL the research. Starting with downtown Savannah, hunted down the best places for happy hour, the rooftop bar scene, and many other must-do things. I had an entire page on my notes app dedicated to this Savannah trip.

Where to Stay in Savannah

As I was trying to navigate where to stay, I knew we needed to be walking distance to everything because I wasn’t planning on renting a car. So, it seemed like Savannah historic district was the place to be and now having been there, the ideal location would have been a bit closer to the Savannah River. It seemed like everything we did, with the exception of a few things were near the Savannah River.

I did look at staying in a historic hotel, in fact I looked at many, but since there were three of us going, I wanted a little more space, so I opted for a VRBO that was super cute and in a good location. It was just us girls, but dogs are very welcome in Savannah as there are so many pet-friendly accommodations, including the VRBO we rented.

Must-do Things

Wandering around Savannah’s historic district never got old. The houses, historic mansions and historic buildings were just so cool to look at. And what we loved most was being able to grab a to-go glass of bubbly and wander around since it’s completely legal there. And you know I found all the bubbly in Savannah.

Forsyth Park was on my list of things I had to do and see, but honestly I am not really sure why except that it was in every single blog I read. Yes, it’s a beautiful park and I just wish we were there on a Saturday because that’s the day of their Farmer’s Market. The day we were there, they were setting up for a half marathon which would be so awesome to do. And we wandered around, bubbly in hand, visited with a few vendors scattered about and continued on with our day.

Forsyth Park would be a great place for a picnic or to let your little ones burn off some energy.

Not in downtown Savannah at all, but trust me, you’ll want to take a day and go to Tybee Island. This is probably the only time I wish we had a car so we could explore more. But since it was early afternoon and not even 70 degrees, we just enjoyed the sun and crashing waves.

We rented chairs from North Beach Chair Rental so we went to the exact spot they told us. Having chair rental was key since we were just visiting and our VRBO didn’t have any for us to use. There was a restaurant right there where you could also get drinks and bathrooms as well.

Now, you know I brought a bottle of bubbly to the beach, but because there’s a hefty fine for glass, we transferred that bubbly to an empty water bottle and brought it with us. And it was still just as good!

We did see the Tybee Island Light Station, but didn’t go explore it mainly because of timing. Like I said, I wish we had more time to explore and play in this area.

If you love the movie Forrest Gump, you’re going to want to visit Chippewa Square. Just don’t be surprised when you never find the bench that Forrest Gump sat on. We walked in circles looking for that bench and it wasn’t until I was eavesdropping on a tour that I learned there was never a bench there. In fact, that bus stop doesn’t even exist in real life, just in the movies. But it was still a cool park to visit.

On the day we arrived, it was pouring rain, but we didn’t let that stop us from wandering around downtown Savannah. We may have taken an extra Lyft or two, but we were certainly getting out and about. I was glad I had researched the Prohibition Museum because it was a perfect rainy day activity.

Of course, I was fascinated by the Prohibition Museum since I love my bubbly cocktails and we all learned a few things and got to experience some new cocktails. The museum exits you through a Speakeasy (that is also open in the evening) and with the purchase of your ticket, you do get a cocktail.

Our favorite evening entertainment was Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos. I love a dueling piano bar and this one did not disappoint. We got there around 9pm on Friday and it was packed. So I would recommend getting there early if you want a table especially if you have a big group.

Apparently, Savannah is they most haunted city and even though I do love some true crime, we didn’t do a ghost tour and just walked by Bonaventure Cemetery, nothing more than that.

Our Favorite Eats

We stumbled upon Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room kind of by accident. We were headed there, not really knowing what type of restaurant it was, but it was the day we arrived and was raining, so we found the closest place with the best reviews and walked that way. We were confused by the line (because we didn’t do any homework on this place) and thought we somehow joined a tour. Not at all.

The line is very typical. And we learned it was a lot shorter than usual because of the rain. Now this may sound crazy, but standing in the line in the rain was quite entertaining. Mrs. Wilkes’ niece’s whole job is to entertain and educate those in line. We learned all about the history of Mrs. Wilkes and how Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room came to be.

The only choice you will have to make once you’re in and seated at a table of 8 with a bunch of strangers is sweet tea, unsweetened tea or water. And after you feel like you’re going to need to be rolled out of there, you have one more decision to make: banana pudding or peach cobbler.

You must go to Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room and experience the best southern hospitality. Still family run to this day and they were genuinely interested where we were visiting from and what we were up to.

Collins Quarter was our favorite breakfast place and where we started my birthday. Our server was amazing and after he learned it was my birthday, he brought us a round of birthday bubbly to cheers with.

I enjoyed a bubbly cocktail with my breakfast that was absolutely delicious. Honestly, we all loved our breakfast so much we were so happy to start our final day off here.

Bubbly in Savannah

First of all, you have to go visit Bar Bubbly. It’s so cute with great bubbly cocktails and a huge bubbly list of splits as well as bottles. You don’t need a reservation, but if you have a big group, you might want to call ahead to make sure you have a great space to celebrate.

Have you ever experienced a bubbly tower? Well, I hadn’t either until we found Top Deck rooftop bar. It was supposed to be a mimosa tower, but if you have been a part of this Bubbly Side community for a while, you know I hate orange juice. So we convinced them to not add the juice and to bring the juice separately. It was so much fun.

And since I LOVE a rooftop bar, especially one with great views that overlooks water, we drank a glass of bubbly at every one we saw. There is no shortage of rooftops along the Savannah River.

We also found the Georgia Tasting Room across from the Prohibition Museum. Unfortunately, we were there too late and couldn’t do a tasting, but we did get a couple wine slushies and bought a bottle of bubbly to take home (which is the bottle we brought to the beach).

Savannah Regrets

There are so many items on the list that didn’t get checked off, but that just means we’ll need to plan another trip. One of my biggest regrets is that we didn’t do the trolley tours. That would have been a great way to learn even more about downtown Savannah and the Savannah historic district.

I also wish I had researched more places to eat a little better because we could not get into the Olde Pink House for any time during our visit.

I also wish we had one more day. Every blog I read said that 3 days/nights was plenty. And we landed early Wednesday morning and left early Saturday morning, but could have used at least one if not two more days.

Where will you be celebrating your next birthday?

If you’re looking for ideas on where to travel for your next bubbly adventure, we document all of our favorite places to visit and, of course, enjoy a bottle or two of bubbly. Check them out here.