We are thinking of travel from Chicago to Savanah, GA. this summer. Would like to tour historic homes, etc. Does anyone have suggestions for a travel itenerary?
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Savanah is a wonderful place to visit. I suggest you take a bus tour when you get there.We found a number of places we wanted to explore further.Also write the chamber of commerce for tourist info and use Google as well. If you have time St Simons Is. is lovely.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
There is really only one itinerary available nowadays and that is Chicago to Washington on the Capitol Limited, thence Silver Meteor to Savannah. In shorthand, that is CHI-30-WAS-97-SAV. Prior to the discontinuance (whoops; indefinite annullment) of the Jacksonville-New Orleans train, it was possible to make a circle trip of it, but now the only option you have is reverse route.
I should acknowledge there is an alternate that could be used Eastward and that is three days a week the Cardinal to Charlottesville, bus to Richmond, thence Silver Meteor to Savannah. Unless you are into collecting mileage as are some folk here, I don't think you would wish to consider such.
Lastly, I hope you are planning to use Sleeper for this trip. Coach would simply be an endurance contest; but then others here hold a contrary opinion.
Posted by notelvis (Member # 3071) on :
There are possibilities for 'playing' with this but Mr. Norman has cited the most direct and best option.
Personally, I'd be tempted to ride the Cardinal to Charlottesville, VA, bus connection to Richmond and 97 south from there.....just for something different.
Posted by palmland (Member # 4344) on :
Certainly the ideas mentioned above are the most direct way to visit Savannah, but as Notelvis indicated you may want to consider a couple alternatives if you have the time.
If you take the Capitol, a stopover in Washington might be fun and a chance to see all the sights. Then I would suggest business class on the Palmetto to Charleston, SC. While not that scenic, the Palmetto would give you the opportunity to get a glimpse of the rural south and business class is quite comfortable. I mention Charleston as it is even more of destination city than Savannah (which is a great town too). You may want to rent a car there to tour the many plantations along the Ashley river before heading to Savannah - either via car or short evening trip on the Palmetto.
Posted by Cozyharbor (Member # 4868) on :
I second the suggestion made to try and get to Charleston. I've been to both Savannah and Charleston and think Charleston is prettier and has alot more to offer. In fact the possibilities are endless on ways to spend time in the area.
There are all the plantations; the beautiful city itself with all the historic homes, antique shops, restaurants, harborfront park, not to mention the countless barrier islands with beautiful beaches and scenery only minutes away.
I also agree that if possible renting a car in order to see all of the above is a good idea. I imagine trying to organize and find out about different bus routes could be difficult, knowing the area.
Last but not least, corny and touristy as it sounds, take one of the horse drawn carriage tours. The guides are wonderful and really give you a feel for the history and ambience of this beautiful city, plus you get the lay of the land for the future.
That being said, Savannah and St. Simon Island are nice too. But if I had to choose between the two, Charleston would win hands down!
Good luck.
Cozyharbor
Posted by HopefulRailUser (Member # 4513) on :
I have been to Savannah in August. Pace yourself, the heat and humidity will get you. It is indeed a beautiful city to visit.
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
I agree with all that's said about Charleston. It is one of my favorite cities. Be advised the heat and humidity can be pretty bad in the summer. We have taken the carriage tour twice as there are 8 different routes. Also there are several Gullah tours leaving from the visitor center. That is extremely fascinating. Our guide/driver has a beautiful voice and he sang selections from Porgy and Bess to us while touring. We usually drove but last time took the Palmetto from DC. Businesss class was very nice, Fort Sumpter is in Charleston harbor and the boat trip out to the fort is great.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
If Charleston is to be a consideration, The New York Times had a "piece" on such this past Sunday:
Unfortunately, if one scrolls down to Visitor Information, guess who "didn't make the cut".
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
Mr. Norman, after reading the article I had the feeling that it left something to be desired in terms of what to see and some restaurants. Did you get that feeling as well?
Posted by sojourner (Member # 3134) on :
I made a long post on the thread "Capital or Cardinal" about things to do and see in Savannah.
I prefer Charleston over Savannah because the food is better. Not that I found Savannah's bad at all, but I've had some of the best food I've ever had in my life in Charleston. Charleston is prettier too, but Savannah has a "work in progress" feel that I also like.
Really I like both quite well. And they are not too far apart from each other; one could easily see both. The one thing I didn't like in either was the location of the Amtrak station--annoyingly far out of downtown/old town in both places!
Posted by train lady (Member # 3920) on :
and the station in Charleston is the pits. I think it's one of the worst I have seen.