Savannah Trolley Tour vs. Open-Air Tour: Which Is Better for First-Timers?

Savannah Trolley Tour vs. Open-Air Tour: Which Is Better for First-Timers?

If it’s your first trip to Savannah, you’ll see two kinds of sightseeing vehicle all over the Historic District: the big hop-on hop-off trolleys and the smaller open-air tour vehicles. Both are narrated, both cover the famous squares, and both beat trying to find everything on foot. But Savannah trolley tours and open-air tours are built for different kinds of visit, and picking the wrong one can cost you half a day.

Full disclosure: we run an open-air tour, so we have a side in this. We’ve tried to be fair about what the trolley does well. We also think that for most first-timers the open-air format is the better first move, and we’ll explain why.

Quick answer: If you have a day or less, want to see the whole Historic District in one go and care about views and photos, take an open-air tour. If you plan to spend a full day going in and out of museums and historic houses, a hop-on hop-off trolley pass gives you more flexibility. Many visitors do the open-air tour first, then explore on foot.

The two formats, side by side

	Open-air tour (ours)	Hop-on hop-off trolley
How it works	One continuous guided loop at a set departure time	All-day pass; get on and off at any stop
Length	75 minutes	About 90 minutes for the full loop, plus waiting time
Stops	About 10 landmarks, with photo stops	Around 15 to 16 stops, 100+ points of interest
Price	$25 per person	Usually in the mid-$40s per adult
Views	Open sides, nothing between you and the street	Fixed roof and window frames
Guide	One live local guide for the whole loop	Different conductors depending on which trolley you catch
Group size	Small group	Large trolley, often full in peak season
Waiting	None once you board	Roughly every 20 minutes at each stop
Parking	Small free lot at the meeting point for tour guests	Limited free parking at the first stops
Best for	Seeing the whole district fast, first-day orientation	A full day of museums and house tours

Trolley details vary by season and operator, so check current prices and times before you book.

Why the open-air tour suits most first-timers

You actually see Savannah, not the inside of a vehicle

Savannah is a city of overhead things. Spanish moss hangs from the live oaks, iron balconies sit on the second floors, and church spires rise over the squares. Most of what makes the Historic District beautiful is above eye level.

On an open-air tour there’s no glass and no window frame. You can look up, turn round and take photos in any direction. On a trolley you see whatever the window nearest your seat happens to frame, and if you’re sitting on the wrong side when the cathedral goes past, that’s that. For photographers this matters more than anything else in the comparison.

It covers the whole district in 75 minutes

Our open-air tour runs one loop from our starting point on Gaston Street, south through the mansion district and Forsyth Park, then north to Factors Walk, City Hall and City Market. It takes 75 minutes, and nobody has to wait for the next vehicle.

A hop-on hop-off loop takes about 90 minutes if you never get off. Every time you hop off, you add a wait for the next trolley, which comes about every 20 minutes. Hop off four times and you’ve added the best part of an hour and a half just standing at stops. That’s fine if you have all day. It’s a problem if you have one afternoon.

One guide tells one story

Savannah’s history makes more sense in order: Oglethorpe’s grid of squares in 1733, the cotton trade along the river, the grand houses of the 1800s, Sherman’s arrival in 1864, and the preservation fight that saved the city in the 1950s. On our tour one guide tells that story from start to finish, connecting each square to the part of it that happened there.

On a hop-on hop-off trolley you’ll usually hear a different conductor each time you change vehicles. Some are brilliant (the trolley drivers have fans on review sites, and rightly so), but the story comes to you in pieces, and sometimes you hear the same part twice.

Small group, so you can ask questions

Because our groups are small, you can ask the guide which square the Forrest Gump bench stood in, where to have dinner, or whether that house is really haunted, and get an answer. On a full trolley the narration is more of a broadcast.

Fresh air, especially in summer

Savannah summers are hot and humid. An open-sided vehicle with a canopy roof keeps a breeze going while it moves, and the roof keeps direct sun off your head. Riders who’ve done both usually say moving through the humid air beats sitting still in it.

In winter the same openness means you’ll want a jacket. We’d rather tell you that now than have you find out on Bull Street in January.

It’s cheaper

At $25 per person, our 75-minute tour costs a lot less than an all-day hop-on hop-off pass. For a family of four that’s a real difference, and the money you save pays for lunch at City Market.

It works as your map for the rest of the trip

Most of our guests ride on their first morning. By the end of the loop they know the layout of the squares, where Forsyth Park is in relation to River Street, and which two or three places they want to go back to. They spend the rest of the trip doing exactly that, on foot, at their own pace. We think that’s the best way to see Savannah: ride first for the overview, then walk the parts you liked.

What Savannah trolley tours do better

We’d be doing you a disservice if we pretended the trolley had no strengths. It’s the better choice in some situations:

• A museum-heavy day. If you want to tour three or four historic houses and museums, stopping at each for an hour, the all-day pass is built for exactly that.
• Wheelchair users. The trolley operator keeps lift-equipped vehicles for standard wheelchairs, with 24 hours’ notice.
• Getting around, not just sightseeing. An all-day pass doubles as transport between your hotel, the sights and dinner.
• Two-day trips. Some tickets cover consecutive days, which adds value if you’ll use them.
• Night and themed tours. The trolley companies also run evening ghost-themed trips if that’s your thing.

Which one should you choose?

Choose an open-air tour if:

• You have a day or less in Savannah
• You want the whole Historic District in one sitting
• You care about photos and views
• You’re visiting in summer and want moving air
• You’d like one guide and a story that runs in order
• You’re traveling with older relatives or anyone who tires easily (see our guide to Savannah tours for seniors)
• You want to spend less and keep the rest of the day free

Choose a hop-on hop-off trolley if:

• You have a full day and want to go inside several museums
• You need a wheelchair lift and can book 24 hours ahead
• You’d like the pass to double as transport around town

Do both if you have two or more days. Take the open-air tour on day one for the overview, then use a trolley pass or your own feet on day two to go deeper.

Thinking about skipping vehicles altogether? We’ve also compared walking and riding tours of the Historic District.

What you’ll see on our open-air tour

The loop covers the landmarks most first-timers come for:

• Chippewa Square, where the Forrest Gump bench scene was filmed
• Forsyth Park and its white cast-iron fountain
• Monterey Square and the Mercer-Williams House from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
• The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, with a photo stop
• Reynolds Square, the Olde Pink House and Planters Inn
• Factors Walk and River Street, riding the historic cobblestones
• Savannah City Hall and its gold dome
• City Market, where most guests head for lunch afterwards

Departures run seven days a week from 405 E Gaston St, in the grass lot across the street from Ganem’s. Full times, the route map and live availability are on the tour page.

Tips for any Savannah bus tour

• Book ahead in spring and fall. March to May and October are the busiest months, and small groups sell out.
• Arrive ten minutes early. Tours on a set schedule can’t wait for latecomers.
• Sit on the side you want to photograph. On a trolley, ask the conductor which side passes the big sights. (On an open-air tour this matters much less.)
• Check the weather. Open-air tours run in light rain under the canopy, but heavy storms can mean a reschedule.
• Sort out parking before you go. Our Historic District parking guide covers garages, meters and free spots.
• Avoid St. Patrick’s Day if you want a normal tour. Street closures on March 17 change most tour routes, and the hop-on hop-off trolley doesn’t run at all that day.