I just returned from an 8 day road trip from the Tampa Bay area of Florida to Savannah, Georgia. This trip was high on my "bucket list" and didn't disappoint me.
I had read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a true story of the author's experiences in the town, I think in the 1980s. The book came out in about 1993. There was also a movie a few years later, but I haven't watched it.
I wanted to visit the "murder house" and I did. They have daily tours in that beautiful mansion on Monterey Square. I guess I felt like I was sort of reliving that book. The author also went to Bonaventure cemetery with a lady who brought martinis in silver goblets. They drank on a bench in the cemetery which was the poet Claude Aiken's gravestone! He wanted it in the shape of a bench so people could sit and sip a martini there. We did that.
We had a motel near City Market and spent time there at restaurants and listening to live music outdoors in the evening. The fare free DOT bus leaves from that area, too, and we often used it. The free buses, however, only go in one direction, so you might have to ride most of the circuit to get to a certain place even if it's rather close to your hotel. Well, we weren't in a hurry so it worked out well.
Walking around the historic area is easier than it looks on the map, too, because the streets are very close together.
We took a tour from Old Savannah Tours which was really good. First we did the complete tour and later did the hop off, hop on thing to visit some areas.
Our tour bus's first stop was at the square where Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump sat on a bench and told his story to people at the bus stop. That bench is no longer there. It was a prop, but one like it is in the Savannah History Museum. As we were leaving that stop, a young man dressed as Forrest hopped onto our bus and talked briefly to the tourists. He was carrying an old style suitcase, as Tom Hanks did. He got off quickly because he said he saw Lieutenant Dan nearby. I never learned if he had been hired by the bus company or what the story was, but it was a fun experience. I got a couple of pics of him, too.
It was a fun trip and if you have read "the book", as they refer to it there, it may enhance your visit.
