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?
That sounds like something not to be missed. It is a little far for me to get there, but in the future, you never know we may just jump on a flight over there. I love a celebration!
Trust me it’s a HUGE celebration.
Visited Savannah several times for business and pleasure but never on St Patrick’s. Great atmosphere and architecture so I imagine the day would me special, rain or shine. Had no idea it was such a big event there. A four-leafed clover for your T-Shirts !
Thanks.
I had no idea that Savannah was so big into St Patrick’s Day! Imagine…a Southern town going Irish! Maybe I’ll drive on down the road some St Patty’s day! You’ve made it sound so appealing 🙂
It is very appealing. You should go at least once.
I took my sister to Savannah last year, but it was a couple of days before all the St. Patrick’s Day festivities got underway. I can only imagine how packed it must get, and those type of crowds are too crazy for me. We did go to the parade in Charlotte though. Even on a regular night, River Street can be a bit much at times. I must sound like an old fuddy-duddy 😉
I agree River Street can get crazy especially during the 1st Fridays or holidays.
Savannah is a beautiful city. I can just imagine the fun that could be had there on St Patrick’s Day. Your tips are really great. I would never have thought about taking the right sized plastic cup with me for the event. That was very good to know. 🙂
Thanks 🙂
Hi; this was a very helpful post. I am curious how they celebrate st. patrick’s day in savanna when it falls on a monday. is it still monday or do they have it saturday to help people make it back to work on time? and if you are ever in texas for st. patrick’s day i recommend san antonio where the river runs green for one day just like the beer. thanks and take care, Max
This year the celebration starts on Friday. They will have the parade and everything else on Monday.
Why is St Patrick’s Day so much of a big deal out there? I know it celebrated but it seems like they shut the city down for this.
There is a lot of Irish history down there. The city does get shut down.
Who knew that Savannah, Georgia was a hotspot for St. Patty’s day? Thanks for expanding my horizons…
Great tips Jason. I love St. Pattys Day but it definitely isn’t has big a deal out here in Southern California. I mean we like our green festivities but it is more local events than any thing you talk about. I can only imagine how much fun it would be in Savannah.
It is very fun.
I had heard about Savannah’s big celebration on March 17. I have been there several times but not in March. Great place with beautiful parks in an unusual configuration, gorgeous trees and architecture, unusual shopping opportunities and fabulous food.
I never knew Savannah was a big hub for St.Patrick’s Day celebrations! Now I have to add that to my bucket list. Sounds like a lot of fun!
Savannah has strong Irish roots, as does much of the south (think of Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind living at Tara, named after the Hill of Tara, the seat of power and kings in ancient Ireland). Another way to celebrate is to watch and listen to the traditional Irish dance and music in the parade and at other venues (pubs especially). Many of the tunes and dance steps have been passed down for multiple generations unchanged. So there’s a real cultural component to appreciate. I celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by organizing and running an Irish step dance show for our local community. I don’t have time to drink, lol!
Make sure you go with your fun friends! No prudes allowed! Lol
Facts!!!!!!!
“There will be anywhere between 300,000 -500,000 people coming to Savannah for St. Patrick’s Day.” Oh wow, that is a ton of people. And I can’t believe at 8am it’s difficult to park and find a spot to watch the parade. Wow!
It’s wild down there during that time. Everyone needs to go at least once.
I had no idea that Savannah was so much fun for St. Patrick’s Day! It’s now on the list..maybe for next year LOL!
You have to go. You will have a freaking blast.
Awesome Design and everything. I have No Idea about St. Patrick’s Day.
i Read Few Articles On it How to celebrate the Patron Saint of Ireland
This writer Give me Clear idea about this festival.
Thanks for reading!