12 Best Things to Do in Savannah with Kids (2026 Guide)

12 Best Things to Do in Savannah with Kids

These 12 picks cover parks, museums, animals, sweets, and art, grouped so you can match them to energy level and weather.

• Forsyth Park
  • The 30-acre park anchors the walk between downtown's squares and parks, with two playgrounds and sprinkler areas for cooling off.
  • Its central fountain is the most-photographed spot in the historic district and makes an easy meeting point.
  • A Saturday farmers market sets up nearby, useful for grabbing picnic snacks before a stroll under the oaks.
• Savannah Children's Museum
  • This all-outdoor museum sits in Tricentennial Park and suits roughly ages 2 to 12.
  • Exhibits include a maze, a reading nook, a water-play area, and a sensory garden spread across open-air grounds.
  • Being outdoors keeps it calmer than a typical indoor children's museum; check the Coastal Heritage Society site for current hours and combo tickets with the neighboring railroad museum.
• Georgia State Railroad Museum
  • The museum sits next to the Children's Museum in Tricentennial Park, making the two an easy same-morning pairing.
  • Coastal Heritage Society, which runs both sites, lists combination admission online, so check current pricing before you go.
• River Street, City Market, and the Riverfront
  • River Street's candy shops, the pedestrian-only City Market, and a riverboat cruise sit along the riverfront walk.
  • Georgia's to-go cup law lets riverfront bars serve drinks to the sidewalk, so the strip leans toward an adult nightlife scene after dark; visit with kids in daytime or early evening instead.
  • Factor's Walk and the steps down to River Street use steep, uneven ballast-stone paving, so budget extra time with a stroller.
• Ellis Square Splash Park
  • At the east end of City Market, this small splash park is one of the easiest ways to cool kids down mid-afternoon.
  • Pack swimsuits and a towel; the pedestrian square around it gives younger kids room to run before or after.
• Wormsloe Historic Site
  • The oak-lined entrance drive, its limbs draped in Spanish moss, is the classic photo stop; check current site signage for its exact length.
  • A separate, roughly 3-mile (4.8 km) trail leads to the Colonial Life Area, where a blacksmith shop and a replica plantation-era house give kids something to explore on foot.
  • Cell coverage is patchy on the grounds, so download directions before you head down the drive.
• Leopold's Ice Cream
  • This historic ice cream parlor is a near-mandatory stop; one recent visitor account clocked about a 15-minute wait off-peak.
  • Expect longer lines on hot summer afternoons, so an early or late visit works best with kids in tow.
• The Sugar Tour: Candy Kitchen and Byrd's Cookies
  • Savannah's Candy Kitchen hands out free praline samples and runs a toy train around the ceiling, a hit with younger kids.
  • Byrd's Cookies offers free tasters too, including a rainbow cupcake cookie kids tend to gravitate toward.
  • Both have locations in City Market and on River Street, so you can fold them into the same riverfront stroll.
• Oatland Island Wildlife Center
  • This wildlife center sits a short drive from downtown and focuses on native Georgia species.
  • Check its current hours and trail map before visiting, since outdoor wildlife sites sometimes adjust schedules seasonally.
• UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium
  • Run by the University of Georgia, this aquarium focuses on coastal and marsh ecosystems, a useful counterpoint to the historic-district squares.
  • Confirm current opening days on the center's site, as university-run sites sometimes run reduced hours outside peak season.
• Skidaway Island State Park
  • About a 20-minute drive from downtown, the park's Sandpiper Trail is a roughly 2-mile loop that starts on a wooden boardwalk over salt flats.
  • Kids can spot fiddler crabs scurrying through the mud if the group stays reasonably quiet.
  • The trail connects to the Avian Loop, where osprey and dolphins are sometimes visible over the river; Georgia State Parks lists current trail conditions online.
• Starland District and Telfair's Artzeum
  • Starland District's murals give kids a scavenger-hunt reason to walk a few extra blocks.
  • Telfair's Artzeum is a hands-on children's art museum where kids make their own pieces rather than just look at exhibits.

Savannah by Age Group: Toddlers, School-Age Kids, and Teens

Savannah scales up and down well by age, but the best stops shift as kids get older.

• Toddlers
  • Splash pads at Ellis Square and the shaded squares give toddlers room to move without a long walk.
  • A dedicated toddler-focused Savannah plan covers nap-time-friendly routes in more depth.
• School-age kids
  • Family-friendly ghost tours skip graphic material and focus on local legends, a good match for school-age curiosity.
  • The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace ties into Girl Scout history and gives scouts a concrete reason to visit.
• Teens
  • SCAD's galleries and the Starland District's boutiques feel closer to a real city neighborhood than a tourist stop.
  • Older kids also tend to handle the walking distance between squares better than younger siblings.

Stroller vs Carrier: Navigating Savannah's Cobblestones

Savannah's historic-district squares are mostly flat, brick-and-grass paths, and stroller-friendly. Factor's Walk and the steps down to River Street are a different story, with steep, uneven ballast-stone paving that a lightweight umbrella stroller struggles with. A carrier, or a stroller built for rough terrain, makes more sense for any day that includes the riverfront. On square-only days downtown, a standard stroller is fine.

Beating the Georgia Heat: Timing and Indoor Escapes

Savannah's humidity builds fast once the sun is up, so families who start around 8:00 AM get the most comfortable window for outdoor stops like Forsyth Park or Wormsloe. Group indoor and shaded attractions, such as the Telfair's galleries and the riverfront's shops, for the early-afternoon stretch when the heat peaks. The Savannah Children's Museum is outdoors, so treat it as a morning stop rather than a 2:00 PM plan. Save splash-pad time at Ellis Square for whenever kids need a reset, since it doubles as a cooling break.

Getting Around: Free Shuttle, Paid Trolley, or Walking

Three ways to cover the historic district each suit a different kind of family day. The free DOT shuttle loops to about 18 stops around downtown at no cost, though routes and frequency change, so check Savannah's DOT site before relying on it. Paid hop-on-hop-off trolleys run narrated routes with around 15 stops and one- or two-day passes, useful when little legs need a seated break between stops. Walking works for most of the grid since it is flat, but budget extra time for the ballast-stone sections near the river.

Where to Stay in Savannah with Kids

The historic district puts most squares, Forsyth Park, and the riverfront within walking distance, which cuts down on car-seat loading and stroller transfers. Midtown hotels tend to cost less than historic district inns and more often include free parking, a trade-off worth weighing against the walkability you give up. Families planning a car-dependent day trip to Wormsloe, Skidaway Island State Park, or Tybee Island may prefer midtown's easier parking. Families staying mostly downtown get more value from the historic district's walkability.

Day Trips Worth the Drive: Tybee Island and the Marshes

Tybee Island's beach sits close enough to Savannah for a half-day or full-day trip and gives kids open sand after several days of squares and museums. Check current parking and shuttle details before heading out, and build a beach day with kids into a lighter-schedule afternoon. The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles from downtown, offers a 4-mile self-guided wildlife drive past freshwater pools where alligators, bobcats, and birds turn up. Cell coverage is patchy on the refuge's trails, so plan routes before you go.

A 2-Day Savannah Itinerary for Families

This two-day route sequences the highest-energy stops in the morning and saves water play and indoor breaks for the afternoon heat.

Mistakes to Avoid When Visiting Savannah with Kids

A few small planning missteps account for most of the friction families report in Savannah.

• Bringing a lightweight stroller onto River Street
  • Ballast-stone steps and ramps at Factor's Walk make a standard umbrella stroller hard to manage.
  • Switch to a carrier or a rough-terrain stroller for any day that includes the riverfront.
• Scheduling outdoor museum time for early afternoon in summer
  • Georgia humidity peaks by early afternoon.
  • Move outdoor stops like the Children's Museum and Wormsloe to the morning instead.
• Booking a full formal historic-house tour for young kids
  • Standard house-museum tours run long and formal.
  • Look for family or kid-oriented tour options before booking, or skip house interiors with toddlers.
• Skipping the free DOT shuttle to save time
  • Walking the whole historic district back-to-back adds up fast with kids.
  • Mix in the free shuttle or a paid trolley to cut down on total walking distance.

Bonaventure Cemetery With Kids

Bonaventure Cemetery can work for families who want a quieter Savannah stop, but it is best for school-age kids and teens. The cemetery sits east of the historic district near the Wilmington River, so plan it as a short drive rather than a downtown walk.

Go in the morning for shade, softer light, and fewer tired legs. The appeal is the setting: live oaks, Spanish moss, river views, and sculptural grave markers. Kids who enjoy local stories may recognize names such as Johnny Mercer and Gracie Watson from guided tours or Savannah history books.

• Use it as a calm 45- to 75-minute walk, not an all-day activity.
• Bring water, bug spray, and shoes that handle sandy or uneven paths.
• Skip it with toddlers who need a playground-style stop.

Remind kids that it is an active cemetery, not a park. Keep voices low, stay on paths, and avoid climbing on monuments.