As a concierge at a Savannah local hotel, it's my job and pleasure to be up to date on all the best offerings in the area. As an Oregon to Georgia transplant, it's been the best way to get to know the area, locals, and the history.
Whenever I travel anywhere, I am an obsessive researcher. I will have lists of restaurants, sights, bars, museums, and more saved so that when we arrive, there's no "what's there to do/ see/ eat/ around here?". Of course, there is always plenty of room for exploration- perhaps a local recommendation or hole-in-the-wall we walked by that pulls us in. There's rarely a hard-set itinerary, but I like to have an understanding of the offerings available to us! With that, I already had a decent list of Savannah destinations I was interested in exploring. Following along with local magazines and posts about new and upcoming dining and experiences, I was already well versed in the Savannah scene- in fact, that hobby is what got me the job!
Trolley tours are an essential part of Savannah's downtown history.
The first electric street cars began running in 1890, thanks to the Savannah Electric Company (now Plant Riverside). Though the grid design of the city made a perfect canvas for this form of transportation, they were short lived. The last electric streetcar operated in 1946, retiring to make way for the new auto-dependent city structure we now see widespread across the country. The River Street streetcar made a resurgence in 2009, shuttling people from one end of River Street to the other with six stops. The service ended with no formal announcement just six years later. A locally owned company brought back the trolley to the Savannah streets. Old Savannah Tours (the white trolleys) began giving tours of the downtown area starting in 1979, with Old Town Trolleys, owned by Historic Tours of America, beginning in 1993. Kelley Tours operates a fleet of motorcoaches, mini-buses, and trolley tours, convertible sprinter vans, and more. All of these companies are thriving in the area, filling the streets with historic facts and camera clicks from visitors near and far. Each of these companies also offers their own flavors of comedy, ghost, and historical figure tours.
This weekend, I was fortunate enough to hop onto the Savannah for Morons comedy trolley tour. This tour was non-stop high energy and fun from the very beginning! Being the only air conditioned trolley tour in all of Savannah, you are free to pack in and dance along without the fear of sweating through your clothes. The Moron twins (Dannie and Danny) provide an engaging narrative filled with jokes that will appeal to locals and visitors alike, poking fun at the obvious traits downtown Savannah is known for. Though it's not intended to be packed with historical accuracy and facts, they tell historic narratives of the city in a way that enlivens the characters in an amusing way. The tour drives in circles (or squares?) around downtown Savannah, which was something I noticed as a fairly local, but the main focus is the entertainers, who are accomplishing costume changes, choreography, sea shanties, and more on the large moving vehicle. One stop is made at McDonough's Restaurant & Lounge for drinks and bathroom breaks, and then it's back on the trolley again (it's also the only trolley tour you can bring your drinks on).
It's non-stop nonsense in the best way, engaging every single member of the tour (they went down the aisle and asked everyone their names and where they're from), as well as people on the street (no spoilers!). As it winds down, they take a moment to acknowledge the complexity of Savannah's history, which is a heavy topic often avoided on this type of tour. They present the information about Savannah's storied history with slavery in an intentional way, highlighting Black history and the historic places you can still visit today. In the end, Dannie and Danny are the stars, sharing their wonderful personalities and advertising their mothership, Front Porch Improv, in a way that reminds you of the power of sharing a comedic experience with random strangers. I will definitely be recommending this tour to folks who are looking to spend a couple hours in the most entertaining way possible.
As an experience narrative writer/ designer, it felt only right to document my experiences in the best way I know how. Getting to experience these attractions, then write and share them is a privilege that I don't want to take for granted. This blog exists in the pursuit of finding and documenting the best experiences of Savannah and Beyond. Thank you for reading.
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