10 Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Survival Tips

Have you ever been in Savannah, Georgia for St. Patrick’s Day? If not, you need to put this on your bucket list. You will have a blast there. The city hosts one of the biggest celebrations in the United States, including the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day parade. People from all over the country come to Savannah to partake in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. I’ve had the chance to experience St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah a few times because I lived there for eight years. Everyone needs to go at least once.  Today, I have ten survival tips for Savannah St. Patrick’s Day.

Book Your Lodging Early

There will be anywhere between 300,000 -500,000 people coming to Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day. You want to make sure you book your room early. I like to reserve my rooms several months in advance. I would suggest that you book your rooms no later than December. Hotels generally raise their prices around January. An excellent place to look for hotel deals is TripAdvisor. You can find all kinds of info on that site. Don’t get me wrong you can still book rooms in February or March but nine times out of 10 the only vacancies will be near the Savannah airport or I-95 which are both far from the downtown area. You don’t want to have to worry about going back and forth from Downtown Savannah to the Southside.

Explore hotel options in Savannah

If hotels aren’t your thing, you can check out Airbnb. You can book people’s homes or condos on that site. Depending on when you book your room, you may even get a better deal than you would on a hotel room.

Get $40 off your first Airbnb rental over $75 when you use my exclusive link.

Arrive a Day or 2 Before the Parade

The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day parade is on a different day every year. Check out Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day out for details. Getting to Savannah a day or two early gives you a chance to do a little bit of sightseeing before the madness begins. Another reason to get to Savannah early is that you will also beat the traffic which is always good.

Check the Weather

March is a weird weather month for the whole state of Georgia. Savannah isn’t an exception. The temperatures fluctuate. Some St. Patrick’s Day Savannah weekends have been warm, while others were cold. Make sure you check the weather and dress accordingly. I’ll never forget a few years ago; a cold front came during the weekend. The temp dropped a lot in a few short hours. A lot of people, including myself were not prepared.

Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Figure out if you want to go the parade or not. The parade starts at 10:15 AM. People start to arrive hours before that. I’ve been to the parade once out of all the times I’ve been to Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day. I got out there a little after 8 AM, and it was packed. It took forever to find a place to park my car. My suggestion is if you want to watch the parade in a good spot arrive downtown no later than 7:00 am. If you don’t make the parade, don’t worry, the area will be full of people all day.

Bring Plastic Cups

Make sure you bring some plastic cups with you because you can drink in the Historic District, which is downtown. Nope, that wasn’t a typo. You can drink in downtown Savannah. They have an open container law stating that the cups can be no more than 16 ounces. Make sure that you don’t overdo it. I’ve seen people passed out on the streets numerous times. I’ve also seen folks get locked up for being too drunk. That’s not a good way to spend your time in Savannah.

Bring Cash

You want to make sure that you have some cash on hand for food and souvenirs. People will have tents set up all around downtown selling different types of food. Many of them only take cash. People will also be selling shirts, beads and other kinds of souvenirs. There is a good chance that you will see something that you like. I also sell shirts for St. Patrick’s Day. Below is one of my St. Patrick’s Day designs. Click on the picture below for more info.

Enjoy River Street

River Street is a cobblestone street that features over 70 businesses. It is located on the Savannah River. A lot of the partying goes down on River Street. Thousands of people will be in the area enjoying themselves. The bars and restaurants will be making sure folks get in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit. There will be multiple drink specials going on.

Try Some Green Beer

What better way to celebrate Savannah St. Patrick’s Day than to try some green beer. That’s the only time that you can get a green beer, so you might as well live a little. It tastes just like regular beer. The bars use a special dye to make it green. Below is a picture of some green beer that I had a few years ago.

Enjoy Yourself

Make sure that you have fun. Besides River Street, you should check out City Market. They usually have a stage set up that will feature multiple performers. There are multiple bars to check out as well. If you want to see the ocean, you can take a short drive to Tybee Island. They will have events for St. Patricks Day Weekend as well.

Stay Safe

Last but definitely not least, stay safe. Don’t go in any dark alleys by yourself. Use common sense. Don’t drink too much. Let me repeat myself, don’t drink too much. You don’t want to get locked up for public intoxication. It’s a good chance you may be locked up for a couple of days. Always pay attention to your surroundings. With any big event, there could be pickpockets or scammers out there. Use good judgment. If you have a hotel on the other side of town and you’ve been drinking, please get a designated driver or use Uber/Lyft. You don’t want to put yours or anyone else’s life in danger.

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St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah can be a wonderful time. The ten tips above should help you have a great time.

Have you ever experienced Savannah St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have any other tips for people going to Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day Weekend?