Take a little entertainment, toss in a whole lot of history and add the best sights and stories Savannah has to offer and you’ve got Wise Guys Tours.
“You don’t make history if you’re boring,” says Wise Guys owner/operator Wayne Brantley. And he should know. Brantley spent 30 years teaching history and coaching football. Then, he found his second calling, sharing the stories that make Savannah come alive.
“It’s the rascals that stand out and help make our history,” he says. “We like to share their stories, show you where they lived and where their stories happened.”
Brantley and his team of more than half a dozen specialized tour guides have been in operation full-time since mid-2022, although the tours started well before that. It’s the hidden gems in Savannah’s history that set Wise Guys Tours apart from other sightseeing tours.
On the Bonaventure Golf Cart and Walking Tours, you’ll learn about the German immigrant and sculptor whose work wasn’t appreciated in Philadelphia, but who found his niche in Savannah carving funerary work, with more than 70 pieces in Bonaventure Cemetery and throughout the city.
You’ll see the grave of the six-year-old girl whose passing put all of Savannah in mourning and where nearly 150 years later visitors still leave small gifts, and see the monument to the beautiful high-society bride buried in her wedding dress two weeks before she was to marry.
If you join the Downtown walking tour you’ll visit Savannah’s Squares, such as Reynolds Square. There, you will learn of the tumultuous life of John Wesley whose teachings became the foundation for the Wesleyan and Methodist Churches and why the famed Olde Pink House restaurant and tavern earned and kept earning its rose moniker.
“Preachers and scoundrels, in Savannah we love them all,” says Brantley.
That’s not all, Wise Guys Tours also features Downtown Ghost and Civil War Walking Tours. The skilled guides can even craft specialty tours for larger groups, family reunions, school field trips and more.
“We love what we’re doing,” says Brantley. “If you’re interested in the real history and the most entertaining stories in Savannah, Wise Guys Tours is here for you.”
By Reneé LaSalle
Wise Guys Tours
(912) 312-8014
WiseGuysTours@Gmail.com
www.wiseguystours.com
