How much does Savannah cost per day in 2026?

Budget $65 (hostel dorm + counter-service meals + walking), midrange $155 (three-star near the Historic District + sit-down dinners + one museum), luxury $350+ (Perry Lane Hotel or Kehoe House + Elizabeth on 37th + private tour). Savannah's hostel scene is thin compared to bigger US cities, so book early. Dorm beds tend to run $30-45/night and sell out during St. Patrick's Day week in March and SCAD university events in autumn. A budget motel south of Victory Drive on Abercorn Street drops to $55-70/night but puts you a 15-minute bus ride from the squares. For meals, Zunzi's on Drayton Street sells a Conquistador sandwich for $12 that fills you until dinner. Angel's BBQ on Oglethorpe Avenue does pulled pork plates for $9-13, and the hickory smoke drifts halfway down the block. The free DOT shuttle loops through the district, but the Historic District covers about 2.2 square miles. Walk it.

Most of the best things in Savannah cost nothing. The 22 remaining squares, first laid out in 1733, are open public parks with live oaks and Spanish moss overhead. Forsyth Park, dating to 1840, has its cast-iron fountain, pickup soccer on weekend mornings, and a Saturday farmers market where peach samples are free and a bag costs $4. Bonaventure Cemetery, established 1846, sits 3 miles east on the Wilmington River. The humidity at Bonaventure hangs thick under the oak canopy and the only sound is wind through the moss. No entry fee. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Lafayette Square, completed in 1873, is free to walk into. Fort Pulaski National Monument, 15 miles east, charges $15 per person. Telfair Museums, the oldest public art museum in the South (founded 1886), runs $20 for a combo ticket. SCAD Museum of Art, open since 2002, costs $10. Stick to one paid site per day and the $65 floor holds.

The open-container law is Savannah's strongest budget advantage. Georgia banned open containers statewide, but the city carved an exception for the Historic District. Buy a tallboy at Parker's Market on Drayton Street for $3, pour it into a plastic cup (glass is not allowed outside), and walk the squares with it. That is a $3 beer versus $7-9 at a River Street bar, where you are also paying a tourism-inflated premium over what Congress Street bars charge 4 blocks south. Most bars will pour your unfinished drink into a to-go cup when you leave, so you do not lose half of a $9 craft beer. Mind you, River Street is where the tourist pricing lives. The cobblestones are uneven and slippery after rain, the praline shops charge $18/lb for what costs $14/lb at other locations on the same street, and the restaurants run 20-30% above what you would pay on Broughton Street or in Starland District south of 37th Street.

For cheap eats, skip anything on River Street or City Market that does not have a line of locals outside. Clary's Cafe on Abercorn Street does breakfast plates for $10-14 in a diner with vinyl booths and the smell of bacon grease baked into the walls. Crystal Beer Parlor on West Jones Street, open since 1933, serves burgers for $13-16 and runs half-price appetizers during weekday happy hour from 4-7pm. Vinnie Van Go-Go's on Bryan Street sells pizza slices for $4, cash only, sticky tables and all. Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room on Jones Street serves family-style lunch for $35 per person, which is not budget. That said, you might want one splurge for the fried chicken, collards, sweet potatoes, and cornbread passed around communal tables where strangers share bowls. The line forms by 10am for an 11am open. Arrive at 10:15 and expect a 45-minute wait.

Chatham Area Transit (CAT) buses cost $1.50 per ride. The day pass runs $4, breaking even at 3 rides. Unless you are heading to Tybee Island, 30 minutes east on the seasonal shuttle ($5 each way, May through September), the day pass rarely pays for itself when everything is walkable. The real transport cost is parking. Street meters charge $1.50/hour with a 2-hour max. Garages near Broughton Street run $15-25/day. If you drove in, park at the Civic Center lot for $10/day and take the shuttle. The honest trade-off right now is the heat. It currently feels like 31.5°C with 90% humidity. The air sits on your skin like a warm towel. Carry water, plan indoor stops at the air-conditioned SCAD galleries (free to browse on the ground floor), and do your walking before 11am or after 4pm.