Why Savannah is a Great Place to Vacation Year-Round

I have been resident of Georgia for 9 years and it was only recently that I had the opportunity to visit Savannah, Georgia with a group of my girlfriends. Originally, our main objective was to visit Tybee Island, which is about 10 miles outside of Savannah. However, our 4 day trip was packed filled with wonderful photo opportunities at Paula Deans restaurant, "Lady and Sons" and a midnight ferry ride on the Harbor.

We traveled from Sandy Springs, Georgia to the Historical District of Savannah, Georgia by car and it took about 4 hours to navigate our way from 85 S to East 16. We arrived well rested in the downtown Historical area of Savannah, Georgia. We arrived at our 4 star hotel we booked on-line at Price-line.com where we got a $200.00 a night hotel suite for $60.00 plus tax. There were five of us and we were able to split the cost in equal parts for the hotel and cost of the GA, which equated to about $30.00 a person.

It was lunch time when we arrived in Historic Savannah, Georgia, so we decided to find a great spot to eat. We actually found ourselves walking about 5 miles to a place called Firefly Cafe. There was a review written on it in a Georgia magazine and they were given 5 stars for their cuisine. I was not disappointed as this was a rather quirky spot as it is a Historic town home turned into a Cafe. The decor was very artsy and a great place for a photo opportunity. Not only was the cafe interesting, there was a little historic park right across the street with a garden. In the historic park we found a metal sculpture that was a great spot to take a photo. There are several angles you can shoot from. One is from on top of one of the stone benches and this angle gives you a unique point of view compared to shooting on the ground level. The metal sculptures were interesting as well as beautiful.

Once we had lunch and settled in our hotel, we got ready for the main event! That's right, our trip to Tybee Island. We gathered our bathing suites, flip flops and we were off for some sun and fun in the sand. It was about a 10 minute ride from Historic Savannah to Tybee Island. The thing that impressed me most was actually seeing the water before we reached the island. It was a lovely sight to see. This was a fantastic place for the entire family. They had bikes you could rent to tour the island as well as wonderful boats. We opted for the bikes and it was a blast. Not only did we get to see a lot of the Island we got in a little exercise in as well. There were families enjoying the island as children played in the sand building castles and burying one another. While you had older kids trying their hand at surfing. Since we were a group of ladies, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to build our future portfolios and took some great cover-girl water shots.

After fun in the sun, it was time to plan a great dinner and what better place then to check out the Harbor right downstairs from the hotel. I tell you that the site was spectacular! You could see the clear, blue water that seemed to go on for miles. The only thing more stunning then the water view were some of the extravagant private yachts that docked at the Harbor. In the evening, when I looked out over the pier and saw the lights from the Harbor glistening on the waters below it, all I could think of was, "what a romantic place to be". Unfortunately it was just us girls, but I made a mental note of where to bring my husband for a romantic night out or perhaps even an anniversary celebration for two!

The Harbor has free ferry rides up until about 4 a.m. in the morning. The boats takes you from one side of the Harbor to the other. The pictures we were able to take from that vantage point were phenomenal! We were able to get close ups of the water and in some of the photos and it looked as though we were almost standing on the water itself. In other photos you could see the Harbor skyline with all the hotels and shops lit up. Awww, they were great memories to capture!

After our night adventure on the Harbor, we woke up to a lovely sunrise and the view in the day light was again, stunning to say the least. When you are standing on the Harbor and looking out over the water, there seemed to be such a peace and calm that settled upon the water. Even though there were tourist walking about, I felt as though I was in my own little world in my own little piece of heaven!

Sunday was here and it was time to visit the famous Lady and Son's which is a restaurant owned by the famous chef Paula Dean. The key to getting a table at this restaurant is going there at about 9 a.m. in the morning and putting your name on a list. The host will give you a 30 minute window of when to arrive later that day. For us, out reservation was set for 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. Which was a picture time to enjoy a Sunday lunch.

When you walk inside the Lady and Sons you find a little shop attached with tons of books, cookware and history about Paul Dean and her family. There is so much to discover in the shop, you might just forget that you're there to dine and not shop. Hey, It's Paula Dean, so we did both. Once we finished our shopping spree, it was time to dine.

The servers were pleasant and extremely helpful. We asked the question, "what is the best dish" and they couldn't recommend just one. We were told that everything from the Ho cakes to the salad were a delight. Therefore we opted for the full buffet so we could get a taste of a little of everything that they had to offer. We were not disappointed! The fried chicken was to die for and I've never tasted mac and cheese so authentically southern.

Savannah, Georgia was a wonderful weekend escape from the normal hustle and bustle of the city. So whether you're thinking of finding a Romantic spot for you and your husband or just a fun family getaway. Savannah, Georgia will leave you more than satisfied and you'll be able to capture some unforgettable memories on camera.