Enjoying Savannah GA on a Budget

Happy New Year 2025 - I'm thrilled you're here! If you follow me on Facebook, you know I spent my vacation in Georgia just before and up to Christmas. The holidays have always been somewhat challenging for me, so while I recognize them, I make an effort to keep busy with activities unrelated to Christmas to prevent my mind from wandering. There's no better way to stay distracted than thrifting and vacation!

Since the 1990s, when I first watched the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," based on the book of the same name, Savannah has been on my list of places to visit. December seemed like the perfect time to make it happen. I had a few days off for the holiday from my day job, and using my leftover vacation days from 2024 gave me a nice little break. I can hardly believe it myself, but I managed to plan our entire vacation—from booking our accommodations to planning our itinerary—all in less than a week before our actual trip! Follow along, because we did more than just thrifting; we played tourists, saw some sights, and lived like locals, all on a modest budget, which I'll break down for you.

Hotel prices in the historic district for the same dates. Our entire one bedroom apt beat them all!

Getting there was easy since neither Mr. Thrifty nor I like flying, so we drove from PA to Georgia, splitting the drive with an overnight stay in Richmond, VA on the way down, and Rocky Mount, NC on the way back. We started with a full tank of gas and packed enough food and drinks in our cooler to avoid buying meals on the way down. In Richmond, we arrived after dark, went to bed, and woke up before daylight to continue our journey. From what little I saw in the dark, it seems like a city I'd like to revisit. We booked an affordable Airbnb in a residential neighborhood, offering a private room and bath, kitchen access, and street parking. It was clean, comfortable, and cost-effective. The total cost, including Airbnb fees, was $72.58—cheaper than the least expensive motel in Richmond!

Having never been to Savannah, I was eager to immerse myself in the local culture and history of this charming town. I sought a genuine local experience, so I searched Airbnb for entire apartments in the SW Historic District, and my choice exceeded our expectations! Our temporary home, built in 1838, was a one-bedroom apartment spanning over 1,000 square feet. It was truly beautiful, featuring spacious rooms, doors twice my height, and two original fireplaces. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal for enjoying our time on the furnished balcony. The kitchen, though small, was functional with a cooktop, microwave, and dishwasher. My only complaint was the tiny refrigerator, which required us to be careful with our grocery shopping. The total cost for five days and four nights in this lovely home was $688.83, including fees. It also came with our own designated parking space, a significant advantage since all street parking is metered. Hotels in the same area for the same duration were more expensive for a single room, so I believe we found a fantastic deal!

This was HALF of the bedroom of our rental to give you an idea of size. That's a king size bed and massive fireplace. On the other side of the room was a tall dresser, TV, chest, and vanity.

To maximize our trip, I loosely planned an itinerary for each day. I believe this approach ensures we make the most of our trip by avoiding unnecessary backtracking and optimizing our time in each area we wished to explore. I included some free time for thrifting, though surprisingly, that wasn't the main focus of this trip. I discovered a riverboat offering meals and sightseeing, so I booked lunch, which was more affordable than dinner and included the narrated sightseeing. It featured a southern buffet, all you can eat, and it was quite impressive; honestly, it was likely the same menu they serve for dinner at a higher price! This was intended to be our only meal "out," but we ended up dining in Tybee Island as well.

Riverbook lunch Menu Riverboat decorated for the holiday

Views from our block

This was our itinerary, which we pretty much stuck to:

Thursday: work half day, drive and stay in Richmond, VA

Friday: arrive mid-afternoon, grocery shopping, unpack, ghost tour at 9 pm

Saturday: explore the town on foot, horse carriage tour at 11 am, Christmas market by the river, Forsyth Park & outdoor flea market, early evening trip to the bins & Goodwill

Sunday: Keller's flea market, Bonaventure cemetery tour, lunch & explore Tybee Island

Monday: explore the neighborhood squares, visit riverfront shops, lunch on the Riverboat, thrift shopping

Tuesday: pack up, drive and stay in Rocky Mount, NC, thrift shopping in that town

Wednesday (Christmas): complete drive home

Can you believe a convenience store sells all this plus amazing food? That's Parker's for you!

To save money on food expenses, we visited the local Kroger, but to our surprise, they didn't have any heat-and-eat meals. So, I was thrilled to find that our favorite Florida grocery store, Publix, had a location in Savannah. Their heat-and-eat meals, salads, and sandwiches are not only affordable but also delicious! We also discovered a unique convenience store called Parker's, just a short walk from our apartment, offering a 24-hour hot bar and refrigerated heat-and-eat meals. They offered so much more than your average convenience store, with a beautiful display of seasonal and home items (see pictures). Since we were traveling during Christmas week, many items were deeply discounted! Mr. Thrifty refuses to drink homemade coffee, so we visited Parker's multiple times a day for his coffee fix, spending a small fortune on hot coffee alone! I brought my own homemade iced coffee, and since we brought our own bottled water, coffee was our only beverage expense. Here's an idea of our food costs between Parker's and Publix:

Breakfast $15

$5 or less x 3 days (I brought 2 breakfast burritos from home and our stay in Rocky Mount included breakfast.) Mr Thrifty does not eat breakfast.

Lunch $48

$8 or less each person x 3 days (we packed for our travel days and had lunch on the boat one day)

Dinner $67.52

$12 or less x 2 days each (we packed for the drive Thursday, ate lunch at a restaurant on Tybee Island one day, and the day of our riverboat cruise we didn't eat dinner since it was a late lunch

✨For our travel days on the road, I prepared and packed wraps and sandwiches, granola bars, cheese, chips, and other convenient snacks. We froze several bottles of water, which served as ice for our cooler and provided more room for food since we didn't need to use ice.

Views from Tybee Island

Our time in Tybee Island was wonderful, despite the chilly weather. It's a charming beach town with a strong sense of community. The cottages are adorable and vibrant, and the beach is pristine and untouched. Parking in local lots typically requires a fee, even at the science center, but we were fortunate as fees were waived that week for the holiday. Despite the cold, we enjoyed a brisk walk on the beach, collecting shells and searching for shark teeth. The science center was small and more suited for children, but the staff was enthusiastic about the animals and very knowledgeable. I got to hold a live starfish, which absolutely made my day! For dinner, we dined at Treylor Park, which had the most charming interior and exterior, and the food was delicious—take a look at that sign!

More views from this beautiful city, including the Mercer House from the movie.

On our return trip, we stayed at the Marriott Residence Suites for $76.20. They allowed us to check in a few hours early, and we had a full efficiency apartment with a complete kitchen, enabling us to refreeze more water. The stay also included a complimentary hot breakfast buffet. Since I brought thermoses, Mr. Thrifty could enjoy plenty of coffee to go, making our coffee budget zero that day! Arriving early on Christmas Eve, we practically had the hotel to ourselves, allowing us to do some thrifting and spend a few relaxing hours by their outdoor gas firepit.

Gas

We began our trip with a full tank and refueled once each drive day, totaling four fill-ups, and returned with a full tank✨. Given that the average gas price in PA was over $3.29 per gallon, and our refuels were approximately $2.69 per gallon, we saved $0.60 per gallon, amounting to a total savings of $43.20 for the 72 gallons we used.

After arriving in Savannah, we seldom used a car; we either walked to our destinations or took the FREE dot express shuttle, conveniently located just around the corner from our apartment, covering most of the must-visit areas in Savannah.

We seldom, if ever, purchase souvenirs from our trips, because we thrift, and to me, those acquisitions—whether clothing or a distinctive decor piece—always bring back memories of the places I've visited.

Excursions:

Ghost tour: normally $30/pp, found a groupon and purchased in advance during right before Xmas sale for $23 for 2 people

Horse drawn carriage ride: $83.62

Riverboat tour w/lunch: $120 total

Cemetery Tour in an enclosed golf cart $59.92 total (after $2 per person coupon in a local guide)

Science center $24 total

✨I am also signed up for Rakuten, so I'm getting cash back for the ghost tour, and also from Belco Community Credit Union for using my Visa card for EVERYTHING! If you'd like to save for yourself, click on the hyperlinks above.

In hindsight, we could spent less. The carriage ride, although a great way to see the city, basically repeated a lot of the same history the ghost tour presented. It was unseasonably cold during our visit, so we opted for the enclosed golf cart tour, but walking tours were less expensive. You could also purchase a map at the cemetery and do a self-guided tour. While the science center was interesting, without children, it was more of a way to kill time, as I had planned on renting bikes had the weather cooperated. The groupon ghost tour and a visit to Bonaventure Cemetery are highly recommended activities! I also recommend the 10, 000 step walk around Savannah, as you'll get to see Forsyth Park, beautiful historic homes, and many of the infamous squares.

If you like to venture on your own to see all the landmarks without a paid tour, check out the self guided tour of Savannah and this handy best selling, illustrated map of Savannah here.

Views from Bonaventure

Here's a breakdown of the costs

for our ENTIRE trip

I cherished our time in Savannah, which I fondly refer to as the Brooklyn of the South, and felt sad to leave. The cemetery and ghost tours were fascinating, rich with local history and legends. I recognized many scenes from the movie and was completely amazed by the stunning homes. I discovered that Tybee Island hosts a town-wide yard sale, so I'm already planning my return—on a budget, naturally!

🛒 Shop my travel essentials:

cooler: https://amzn.to/4a5jGLA

thermos: https://amzn.to/3C3YZmv

thrifting bag:https://amzn.to/420hdQt

small lunch bag:https://amzn.to/41YQWlw

Makeup/personal care storage:https://amzn.to/41YR2to

personal care travel pack:https://amzn.to/4a2vu1c

oversize laundry bag: https://amzn.to/4gZzIc8

Backpack purse w/ built in USB: https://amzn.to/3DF2Pmx

If you'd like to know what thrifting in Savannah is like, be sure to subscribe, as a blog post will be coming in the near future! Have you visited Savannah? Is there something we missed? Comment below 👇 as we are definitely making a return trip!

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