<p>After we drop S off for second year at U of South Carolina,Aug 18th we would like to continue on for a few days R&R. Last year we went to Charleston and the beach. We’ve been to Hilton Head twice previously,so aren’t interested in that again…
I know its a hot time of year,but its our only chance (we’re from NY).
Any reccs on places to stay/dine?
How feasible is a day at the beach (say Tybee) or should we plan an actual beach stay (I love the beach…and especially harder sand Southern beaches)
I dont want to go further south or further north…unless theres an interesting city/beach combo not much driving distance further from Columbia SC.
We are leaving the car we drive down from NY in with S and will be renting a car and flying home from Savannah (or at least thats the plan right now)
Thanks for any help!!!</p>
<p>Have you ever seen Paula Deen on the Food Network? She is from Savannah and has a restaurant there called the Lady and Sons. It’s open for lunch and dinner. There is a website with yummy menus/prices. <a href=“http://www.theladyandsons.com%5B/url%5D”>www.theladyandsons.com</a></p>
<p>Tybee Island seems like an easy day trip.
Try <a href=“http://www.tybeevisit.com%5B/url%5D”>www.tybeevisit.com</a></p>
<p>Spent a couple of days in Savannah this spring–had not been there in about ten years and had been in Charleston recently. Did not go to the beach but I think it would have been perfecdtly feasible if weather had been hot–we also had a car so transportation not an issue.</p>
<p>Re Savannah:</p>
<p>We really liked the Westin Savannah Harbor–it is on an island, not in the city itsself, but water taxi is free and very quick adn takes you to the hart of the waterfront area. Had stayed at the Hyatt years ago but it did not seem as appealing this time. There are a lot of chain hotels right near the waterfront so you could probably go on line and check availability via orbitz or similar site. If you have not been to Savannah before take one of the trolley tours to get oriented. We took a non-themed on-and-off one and walked between several stops and had a wonderful time (but this was not hot weather, so that could be an issue for you.)</p>
<p>The Chart House is excellent–a chain, but very good food and thsi one is in a great old warehouse right on the water. (Enormous lines at Paula Deen’s place–Lady and Sons–made eating there not an option.) We had a good but not as good as expected meal at one of the restaurants in themarket area too, whose name escapes but which is well known. Had budget, timingm and possibly wardrobe permitted we would have gone to Elizabeth’s on 37th.</p>
<p>Savannah’s many squares are amazing and were much cleaner and less filled with homeless people this time than they were on our last visit. The historic architecture in general and house museums in particular are well worth visiting–not sure I’d give them up for a day at the beach no matter waht the weather, but I am not a beach person.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Charleston is more varied and I prefer it for various reasons, but Savannah is lovely and makes a nice getaway too.</p>
<p>I went to Savannah with some friends last summer, and we also tried to do Paula Deen’s restaurant–my friend was all set to break 5 years of vegetarianism for some Southern fried chicken–but the lines were down the block. Lady and Sons’ doesn’t take reservations over the phone. From what we gathered, a line forms before they open, and they start taking reservations from the people in line, so ten minutes after they open, they are booked all day. We’re going to try again this year, camp out if we have to…</p>
<p>We also did a haunted trolley tour of Savannah; I don’t know if that’s your kind of thing. They’re just like the regular ones, but about Savannah’s haunted past and such. The one we did was called “Ghosts and Graveyards.” It’s a bit goofy–all the staff are in costumes and character–but it was a lot of fun, and it was my favorite part of the trip.</p>
<p>Also in Savannah is the Flannery O’Connor museum, housed in the house in which she was born. I only found out about it a few weeks ago, but I definitely want to do it this summer.</p>
<p>Is the Pirate’s House restaurant still there? We loved their calorie free desserts and their Rain Forest bar upstairs. :)</p>
<p>You have to get to Lady and Sons about 3-3:15 or so to get reservations. They start taking them at 4. We went last year while we were at Hilton Head and it wasn’t bad. We got in line at 3:20 or so and got seated at 6:30.
Keep in mind that once you have your reservations you don’t have to just stand there, you can go do things, you just need to be back at your reservation time.</p>
<p>If you want something a little less crowded, Spanky’s down on the river has amazing chicken fingers.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for the suggestions.
we may have to change the plans and just do the drop off and fly home,my elderly mother took a fall Wed night and wound up in the ER. No broken bones but some stitches, and the “care schedule” may preclude me being away more than the few days of the actual move in time.
But…my fingers are crossed…</p>
<p>I visited Savannah about 15 years ago, which seems like such a long time ago but I remember it very well. My daughter was about 3, and we went to Tybee Island several times (my husband was at a conference). It was a nice beach (or was then). This is all old, I realize, but there were a lot of stores/hotels/etc. by the river, which made the river walk very nice. The squares downtown are also nice. If I could, I’d visit again.</p>
<p>Are there any nice Bed and Breakfast’s in town? I have always wanted to go to Savannah. It sounds like it has many similarities to Charleston, which I love.</p>
<p>I’ve stayed at the Hamilton-Turner Inn - in a quieter section of the historic district. It was very nice, had great breakfasts and a few resident ghosts (which another guest encountered during our stay).</p>
<p>Try to find a Historic House tour–or a garden tour. <a href=“http://www.savannahwalks.com/[/url]”>http://www.savannahwalks.com/</a></p>
<p>Splurge on a historic inn… <a href=“http://www.gastonian.com/gardens.html[/url]”>http://www.gastonian.com/gardens.html</a></p>
<p>Visit Cumberland Island <a href=“http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/USNP/gacumisl/cumberland.html[/url]”>http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/USNP/gacumisl/cumberland.html</a></p>
<p>Stay on Sea Island <a href=“http://www.seaisland.com/[/url]”>http://www.seaisland.com/</a></p>
<p>I am from Savannah. I would suggest staying at a Bed and Breakfast, if visiting and staying in the Historic Area. When we put up people that are visiting us professionally, we reccommend B&B’s. The Marshall House is not a B&B, but is a restored hotel that is very nice and has a great restaurant. The Ballastone Inn is very nice, the Foley House, Forsyth Park Inn and Olde Harbor Inn. I have known people who have stayed at all of those places and been very happy. The Olde Harbor Inn is also not a B&B, but it is on River Street (you enter it from the other side and up a level).</p>
<p>Ah, Lady and Sons, we used to go there before she was on TV. It was really great and she was always there. She would come out while we waited in line (even then!) and give us cheese biscuits. The locals do not go there anymore. The lines are terrible. I understand that you have to make reservations for lunch by 8:15 am, haven’t heard for dinner. They did have great fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, etc, but I hear that it is not as good since they all have TV shows and aren’t there all the time. I also would not recommend the Pirate’s House. It is very much a tourist trap. The last time we ate there (about a year ago - someone else paid) it was really not very good. It has changed hands and is no longer owned by the family that owned it for years. To be continued …</p>
<p>I would recommend Spanky’s on River Street for chicken fingers, hamburgers, etc. There is also a Spanky’s at the beach. Skyler’s which is located in the East Bay Inn is great for lunch and dinner. Il Pasticio (sp?) is great for dinner. We really have a lot of great local restaurants down town and at the beach.</p>
<p>Tybee is very much a doable drive from downtown. However, realize that it is called the “Redneck Riviera” for a reason. There is also a historic fort at the beach, a small museum and a light house.</p>
<p>There are many historic homes to tour in Savannah and the Savannah History Museum is right next to the RoundHouse which is in the process of being restored and was part of the old train station. (The History Museum is actually in the old train station.) </p>
<p>CathyMee, I hope your mother is OK and you will be able to visit.</p>
<p>thatmom
Im really going to try.
do you think I can count on making a last minute decision re:reservations for that time period?
thanks for the additional info everyone.
is it worth staying in town as opposed to a night at the beach?as far as “red neck riviera”…the more casual and funkier the beach town the more I like it for some reason LOL.</p>
<p>I would think that you could make a list minute reservation. Even if you can’t get into one of the B&B’s, you could get into one of the chains. I actually work in downtown and I have not seen that many tourists this week. As long as there is not a major convention scheduled you should be all right. </p>
<p>I would definetly stay downtown and drive to the beach (about 30 minutes), prices are really really high at the beach in the summer - as opposed to just being really high downtown.</p>
<p>lol, then you will really like our beach. I understand that several really good restaurants have opened at Tybee recently. Tybee is also really, really small. There is just the typical tourist shopping on Tybee, but not anything else - as a matter of fact they just got their first full service bank last week.</p>
<p>I just got back from Savannah, and have a trip report on SCAD over at the Arts Majors forum, here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=368929[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=368929</a>. When I was setting up the trip, the B&Bs were a bit pricy, and it was very rare to find one with two beds in the room (I was traveling with my daughter, and she is way too thrashy a sleeper to share a bed with). We rented a lovely condo in the historic district that I found through <a href=“http://www.savannahgetaways.net/[/url]”>http://www.savannahgetaways.net/</a>. It had a full kitchen, plus washer/dryer, was very well set up, and perfectly located. The hotels are generally down by river at the north end of the historic district, so Forsythe Park is a bit of a hike from them.</p>
<p>We had a good dinner at the Shrimp Factory on River St., and Firefly Cafe on Troup Sq. was a charming neighborhood restaurant we enjoyed. I overheard someone at an Internet cafe explaining that you could go to Lady & Sons for lunch and get it “to go”, which got you a container and immediate access to the buffet, and you could then eat in a square or down by the river – or your air conditioned hotel room!</p>
<p>The weather was brutal (we’re from the Seattle area), but we just paced ourselves and languidly strolled on the shady side of the street as much as possible. My daughter didn’t want to go to Tybee, but I did see an ad in a tourist brochure for a car rental place that would pick you up to get the car and drop you off after you were done. And an older brochure in the condo had an ad for a Tybee shuttle bus – don’t know if that is still in business, but a good hotel concierge should know.</p>
<p>Do go to the Telfair Museum and its sister museum across the square, the Jeppson Center for the Arts, which has contemporary artists.</p>
<p>I hope your mom is better, and you can squeeze in some vacation time!</p>
<p>I forgot to add that for a true southern food experience I wholeheartely reccomend Mrs. Wilkes on Jones Street. It started as a rooming house years and years ago and she served food to the residents and whoever walked in. It grew by word of mouth. You have to stand in line and get seated as groups leave. You are seated by table (which seats about 10-20). Food is served family style. You get what they are serving that day, but there are usually three meats, lots of veggies and desert, wonderful biscuits and iced tea. Truly a great eating experience.</p>
<p>Mrs. Wilkes died a few years ago, but her grandchildren decided to keep running the restaurant. They are only open for lunch. I don’t know if it is still cash only or not.</p>
<p>I have to say, that while Mrs. Wilkes’ sounds like a great place to try sometime, the idea of, say, pot roast, fried chicken, and BBQ, plus mashed potatoes, greens, stewed corn, butter beans, candied yams, etc, etc. etc, for lunch, in the dead of summer, did not appeal. But should we be back when the temperature is below 80, I’ll definitely go!</p>
<p>I’ve been to Mrs Wilkes and loved it.</p>
<p>cathymee,
You’ve got a lot of good info here. I haven’t been to Savannah and Tybee in a while (and yes-- Tybee is an easy drive from Savannah) but I do remember a good freestanding, wood constructed seafood restaurant that was on the road on the way to Tybee. It was on a river tributary, on the right as you are driving to Tybee. I am going nuts trying to find it on the web as I cant recall the name or the town. So far not having great luck. You can also check <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com%5B/url%5D”>www.tripadvisor.com</a> for recommendations in Savannah and Tybee.</p>
<p>BTW Thatmom, I thought Panama City got the “honor” of being called the “Redneck Riviera”. When I was at Tybee, many moons ago, it was like stepping back in time. Parts of it reminded me of the old cottages on Cape Cod when I was spending summers there in the 60’s . Parts of Tybee were, well, a littel chintzy. But this can be a nice change form overbuilt beaches.</p>
<p>Cathymee, do stop at the lighthouse. thats fun.</p>