There’s no mistaking Savannah’s orange and green trolleys.
A daytime fleet of roughly 50 vehicles carries 400,000 passengers per year to 15 stops around the city. You can’t miss them!
What a lot of people don’t know, says General Manager Garry Patrick, is that Old Town Trolley Tours Savannah is owned by the country’s largest privately held tour company, Historic Tours of America. “So not only are we deeply invested in Savannah’s history, we also have a vested interest in being part of a larger tapestry of nationwide storytelling. Our trolleys take people to treasured heritage landmarks in cities like Boston, Key West, Nashville, San Diego, St. Augustine and Washington D.C. When they arrive in Savannah, visitors have had great service in other cities and they know what they’re going to get.”
In general, that’s 90-minute tours fully narrated by 100% live, well-trained, highly entertaining guides. In Savannah, it’s three core offerings that help tell the story of the city: the daytime trolley tour, the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour, and the tour of the American Prohibition Museum. The perennially popular daytime trolley tour allows for unlimited hopping on and off all day long among more than 100 iconic area sites. Trolleys depart every 30 minutes, making it an excellent way to get around.
The Ghosts and Gravestones tour, says Patrick, “is the premiere nightly event in Savannah.”
100,000 people opt to see the city’s spookier side every year, listening to stories you won’t hear during the day and experiencing famously haunted locales like the Andrew Low House. “It’s such a different experience at night!”
Finally, there’s the Prohibition Museum.
It showcases why Savannah became the “Bootleg Spigot of the South” Zagat called their onsite Speakeasy, Congress Street Up, “One of the Hottest Bars in Savannah”. Patrick nods. “It’s the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to the Prohibition Era. It’s like a walk back in time. The bar staff are in tuxedos, the cocktails and musical entertainment are authentic to the period, it’s fascinating.”
No matter which tour you choose, you’re in good hands. Old Town Trolley has over 8,000 reviews on TripAdvisor. Travelers’ Choice gave them a badge again in 2022. “It’s a great product, and the best way to see the city,” says Patrick. Luckily for locals, the company also offers a hometown pass (www.hometownpass.com) for free travel along with visiting friends and relatives. “We’ve been in Savannah for more than 25 years now and we employ over 200 people. We’re one big family and we love entertaining guests!”
By Dani Ray
Old Town Trolley Tours
234 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.
(912) 525-1367
www.trolleytours.com/savannah/tickets