Savannah Tours: Best Trolley, Ghost, Riverboat and Food Tours (2026)

Last updated: October 3, 2026. Tour prices were checked in October 2026 and can change, so confirm rates when you book.

Savannah looks like a storybook, and a good tour helps you read it. The city packs 270-plus years of history into one walkable grid of squares, churches, and riverfront streets.

You can ride it, walk it, sail it, or eat your way through it.

This guide compares the main Savannah tours by type, with prices and ride times for each. Pair your pick with the best things to do in Savannah to fill the rest of your trip.

Trolley Tours

Old Town Trolley Tours: Hop-On Hop-Off Day Pass

Old Town Trolley runs the city’s best-known sightseeing loop. You buy a day pass, ride the full loop, and hop off at any stop that catches your eye.

Conductors narrate live the whole way, mixing real history with local trivia and corny jokes. The route links almost every sight a first visit should cover.

• Covers: 15 stops, including Forsyth Park, City Market, River Street, and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
• Ride time: about 90 minutes per loop, with trolleys every 20 minutes or so from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Price: about $45 to $50 per adult for 1 day, about $85 for 2 days, and kids 3 and under ride free
• Best for: first-time visitors and anyone who wants transport and a tour in one ticket

The 2-day pass must run on back-to-back days. Start early on day one to get your money’s worth.

Old Savannah Tours: Historic Overview Tour

Old Savannah Tours is the locally owned rival. Its Historic Overview is a non-stop narrated ride, so the trolley keeps moving instead of loading and unloading.

The open-air trolleys give you clear views and good photos, and guides cover 270-plus years of history.

• Covers: the Historic District’s squares, mansions, churches, and riverfront in one loop
• Ride time: about 75 to 90 minutes, with no hop-off stops
• Price: about $35 per adult
• Best for: short trips, cruise-style sightseeing, and travelers who want the overview without the all-day commitment

Tours leave from the company’s welcome center on West Boundary Street. Pick this one if your time is tight, and the hop-on hop-off pass if you want to explore stops on foot.

At night, the same company runs the Ghost Town Trolley, a 90-minute ride-and-walk ghost tour from $38, with a stop inside the Savannah Pirates and Treasure Museum.

Historic Walking Tours

Genteel and Bard: Savannah History Tour

Genteel and Bard runs one of the city’s best-reviewed history walks. Headsets carry the guide’s narration, so you hear every word without crowding around.

The route starts near Bull Street and ends by the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Along the way you get the founding story, the cotton money, the fires, and the preservation fight that saved downtown. Groups stay small.

• Covers: core Historic District squares, historic homes, churches, and monuments
• Duration: about 2 hours, with morning and afternoon departures
• Price: about $35 per adult
• Best for: history fans who want depth, detail, and a small group

Wear shoes you trust, since the group stands often while the guide talks.

Ghost Tours

Savannah calls itself America’s most haunted city, and dozens of ghost tours run every night. You can walk, ride a trolley, or tour the dark streets in a real hearse.

Ghost City Tours: Grave Tales Walking Tour

Ghost City Tours built its name on variety. It runs family walks early in the evening and adults-only tours later at night. The Grave Tales Tour is the family flagship.

Guides lean on real history first and ghost stories second. Kids get the eerie tales without graphic details, so parents can relax. Dogs can even tag along.

• Covers: haunted squares, cemeteries, and historic homes in the Historic District
• Duration: 90 minutes, departing at 7, 8, and 9 p.m. on most nights
• Price: about $30 for ages 12 and up, $15 for kids 6 to 11, and free for ages 5 and under
• Best for: families and first ghost tour guests

Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Tour

Old Town Trolley runs the night shift with Ghosts and Gravestones. Costumed Ghost Hosts drive a black trolley through the dark district, tell the city’s grimmest stories, and take you inside two haunted venues after hours.

• Covers: old cemeteries, antebellum mansions, and battle sites near River Street
• Duration: 80 minutes, fully narrated
• Price: from $38 per person
• Best for: ghost fans who would rather ride than walk

You must reserve online in advance, because weekend seats go fast.

Hearse Ghost Tours

Only one Savannah tour picks you up in a real hearse. Converted hearses, each holding just eight guests, roll through the Historic District nightly. Every driver runs a personal route, so no two cars hear the same tour.

• Covers: haunted homes, squares, and cemeteries across the Historic District
• Ride time: about 60 to 75 minutes
• Booking: reservations are required, and you book by phone
• Best for: small groups, couples, and anyone who wants the quirkiest ride in town

Weekend nights sell out, so call ahead and note the pickup spot when you book.

Carriage Tours

A horse-drawn carriage fits Savannah’s pace perfectly, and your driver narrates while the city slows down. Most carriages board near City Market.

Public and Private Carriage Rides

Two established companies run most rides: Carriage Tours of Savannah, the city’s first carriage operator, and Savannah Carriage Tours. Both board near Jefferson and West St. Julian streets.

Public rides run all day on a loop of the Historic District. Private carriages give you the whole bench and room to shape the route with your driver. Evening ghost story rides roll out after dinner.

• Covers: historic homes, squares, and landmarks across the Historic District
• Ride time: about 40 to 50 minutes
• Price: about $22 to $35 per adult for a public seat, less for kids, and private carriages start around $115 to $160 for two
• Best for: couples, families with young kids, and anyone short on time

Riverboat Cruises

The 90-Minute Sightseeing Cruise

The daytime sightseeing cruise is the core product. The captain narrates the whole trip, pointing out the working port, the riverfront warehouses, and the container ships sliding past.

The boat cruises downriver toward Old Fort Jackson before turning back. You get skyline photos you cannot take from land, plus a top-deck bar and grille. The two boats carry up to 1,000 and 600 guests, and boarding opens early.

• Covers: the historic riverfront, the Port of Savannah, and Old Fort Jackson from the water
• Duration: 90 minutes, with afternoon departures most days
• Price: about $42 per adult
• Best for: families, photographers, and tired walkers

Sunset, Dinner, and Brunch Cruises

Evening sailings trade narration for atmosphere. The 2-hour sunset cruise adds live entertainment and open decks, at about $55 to $60 per adult.

Dinner cruises pair the ride with a Southern buffet and music. The 90-minute Sunday brunch cruise, around $77 per adult, serves shrimp and grits, fried chicken, and ham at a slower pace.

Food Tours

Savannah eats well, and a food tour solves the hardest choice: where first. Guides string tastings into one walk, so you sample the classics without booking six meals. Use our guide to the best restaurants in Savannah for dinners afterward.

Savannah Taste Experience: First Squares Food Tour

Savannah Taste Experience runs the city’s best-known food walks. The First Squares Food Tour visits six eateries around the original squares, from a British bakery to a quiet spot known for shrimp and grits.

Groups cap at 14 guests, and the tastings add up to a full lunch. The walk ends at the company’s marketplace on West Broughton Street, where you can buy the flavors you tried.

• Covers: six tasting stops around the historic squares, plus City Market and the riverfront
• Duration: about 3 hours
• Price: about $80 per person
• Best for: food lovers and first-time visitors who want a tasty city intro

A sibling tour, the Southern and Secret Food Tour, heads off the beaten path to six more spots. Its stops include Leopold’s Ice Cream, a Savannah tradition for more than 100 years.

Flavors Food Tours runs a smaller, pricier dinner tour: about 3.5 hours, groups of 10 or fewer, from about $125 with a cocktail included. It builds on Lowcountry staples like she crab soup, shrimp and grits, and fried green tomatoes.

Savannah Taste Experience also runs Walktails, a 21-and-over bar tour of 2 to 2.5 hours for about $97 per person. Eat a light breakfast before any food tour, since the tastings replace a meal.

Black History and Gullah-Geechee Tours

These tours go deeper, into the story of the enslaved Africans who built Savannah and the Gullah-Geechee culture their descendants kept alive.

Underground Tours of Savannah: Slaves in the City

Patt Gunn founded Underground Tours of Savannah in 2017 to tell this history plainly. She is Sistah Patt, a Gullah-Geechee master storyteller. Her walk starts at the African American Monument on River Street.

The route follows the path enslaved Africans once walked, from the river to holding spaces below Bay Street and Johnson Square, where people were sold.

• Covers: River Street, Factors Walk, Bay Street, Johnson Square, and sites most tours pass without a word
• Duration: about 90 minutes
• Booking: groups stay small at around 10 guests, so reserve in advance. The route crosses cobblestones and brick alleys, which can be tough with limited mobility
• Best for: travelers who want the full, honest story of Savannah

Pin Point Heritage Museum and Gullah-Geechee Day Tours

Pin Point is a small Gullah-Geechee community south of downtown, founded by formerly enslaved people. Its heritage museum sits inside a former oyster factory and tells the community’s story through exhibits, film, and local guides.

Gray Line sells a Gullah-Geechee history tour with downtown pickup, pairing the museum with Black heritage sites like First African Baptist Church. Longer day tours add Wormsloe Historic Site.

• Covers: Pin Point Heritage Museum, First African Baptist Church, and other Black heritage sites
• Duration: half a day for the museum tour, about 6.5 hours for Wormsloe combo days
• Best for: culture and history travelers with a free half or full day

The museum keeps limited hours, so check the schedule before you go. It also pairs well with Wormsloe on your own, and both fit neatly into the best day trips from Savannah.

Tour Combos and Passes

Combo tickets bundle a trolley ride, a river cruise, and sometimes a museum. They cost less than booking each part alone.

• Maritime Package: Old Town Trolley day pass plus a riverboat sightseeing cruise, sold through Historic Tours of America, with the American Prohibition Museum in the mix
• Land and Sea Combo: Gray Line pairs a 90-minute trolley history tour with the 90-minute riverboat cruise, with adults starting around $50 and pickup at select Historic District hotels

One catch: the trolley and cruise run on fixed schedules, so a time gap often sits between them. Plan a River Street lunch in the break. Booking direct online can also trim a few dollars.

How to Choose the Right Savannah Tour

• First trip to Savannah: start with a trolley day pass, then add a ghost tour at night. Our Savannah guide for first-time visitors shows how the pieces fit together.
• One day only: take the non-stop overview trolley or a morning history walk, then finish with the sunset cruise.
• A full weekend: spread it out. Trolley on day one, food tour on day two, ghosts after dark. This pacing suits a weekend in Savannah.
• Traveling with kids: the trolley, the riverboat, and the Grave Tales ghost walk all welcome children, and under-5s join several tours free.
• Tight budget: a walking tour or public carriage ride gives a guided hour for the least money, balanced with the free things to do in Savannah.
• Limited mobility: choose the trolley or the riverboat. Cobblestones and long standing stretches make some walks hard work.

Booking Tips

A little planning saves money and stress, especially in the busy spring and fall seasons, when popular tours sell out days ahead.

• Book small tours early: food tours cap at 10 to 14 guests, the hearse holds 8, and Underground Tours takes about 10. Private carriages also book out about 48 hours ahead in busy season.
• Start trolley passes early: a day pass bought at 9 a.m. carries you all day. Bought at 4 p.m., it buys one loop. A 2-day pass beats two single days.
• Carry cash for tips: most listings exclude gratuities, and a few dollars per person is the norm.
• Dress for open air: bring a layer in winter and water in summer.
• Budget the whole day: tours are one line item among many. Our breakdown of the cost of a trip to Savannah helps you place them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Savannah tour for first-time visitors?

The Old Town Trolley hop-on hop-off day pass wins for most first trips. It covers 15 stops in about 90 minutes per loop and doubles as transport all day. Ride one full loop first, then hop off at the stops you liked.

How much do tours in Savannah cost?

Most guided tours land between $30 and $50 per adult. Walking and ghost tours sit near $30 to $38, and trolley day passes run about $45 to $50. Food tours cost the most, at $80 to $125.

Do I need to book Savannah tours in advance?

Book ghost tours, food tours, and small-group walks ahead, especially on weekends. Several cap groups at 8 to 14 guests, and Ghosts and Gravestones requires online reservations. Trolley passes and sightseeing cruises are easier to buy on the day.

Are Savannah tours good for kids?

Yes. The trolley lets kids ride and look, the riverboat gives them a huge boat to explore. For ghosts, pick the Grave Tales walk, which stays spooky but not graphic and lets ages 5 and under join free.

Can you drink alcohol on a Savannah tour?

Often, yes. Savannah allows open drinks in plastic cups within the Historic District, a rule locals call the to-go cup, and Ghost City Tours lets you bring one along. The riverboat sells drinks on board, and Walktails is a 21-plus bar tour.

How long do most Savannah tours last?

Most tours run 90 minutes to 2 hours. Carriage rides are the shortest at about 40 to 50 minutes, and food tours stretch to about 3 hours. Gullah-Geechee day tours to Pin Point and Wormsloe take half a day or more.

Whichever you pick, take it early in your trip. A good guide hands you a mental map, and every square makes more sense after that.