How to get around Savannah on St. Patrick's parade day: route, transportation and viewing
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The St. Patrick's Day Parade is a hallmark of Savannah, and this year is the procession's 200th anniversary. All the fun and fanfare come with the need to know how to navigate town amid its various road closures and updates to logistics. Here is your one-stop shop for how to navigate town on parade day, March 16.
Where is the parade?
The parade will start at East Gwinnett and Abercorn streets before heading north on Abercorn all the way to Broughton Street. The route then turns east to East Broad where it will head north to Bay Street. Once on Bay Street, the parade will head west it hits Savannah City Hall, where it will then turn south and take Bull Street to Madison Square, the parade's end.
The parade starts at 10:15 a.m.
Where to watch?
The historic squares are coveted viewing spots, and there are six along the route. The squares include Taylor, Lafayette, Oglethorpe, Johnson, Wright and Chippewa squares. The squares will open up at 6 a.m. on parade day, but most viewing spots get swept up in about 30 seconds.
Anywhere along the parade route is also fair game for viewing, with chairs and tents permitted so long as they don't obstruct the pedestrian rights-of-way. This year there are three locations for bleachers, which are available for five hours, according to the parade committee's website.
Bleacher seating is offered in front of St. John's Cathedral, by Colonial Cemetery and on Bay Street. Colonial Cemetery and Bay Street bleacher prices start at $35. St. John's Cathedral are the "premium" seats, which start at $50.
Transportation: shuttles and ferries
Old Savannah Tours is offering shuttle service from midtown Savannah and Tybee Island to downtown Savannah.
For $25 per person (cash only), trolleys will run every 30 minutes beginning at 5 p.m. until midnight on Friday, March 15, with pickups at Hotel Tybee, 1401 Strand Ave., and Tybee Wedding Chapel, 1114 US-80.
On parade day, March 16, shuttle service will begin at 6 a.m. and run until 1:30 a.m., March 17. Tybee pick-up points: Rivers End Campground & RV Park, Tybee Lighthouse, DeSoto Beach Club/Beachside Colony Resort and Hotel Tybee.
The midtown shuttle with depart from the old Sears parking lot at Oglethorpe Mall, corner of White Bluff Road and Abercorn Street, every half hour beginning at 6 a.m. through 1:30 a.m.
All final shuttles will depart downtown at 1 a.m.
In addition to the Tybee and midtown shuttles, there will also be a $25 unlimited shuttle service from Tanger Outlets in Pooler to downtown Savannah. Port Wentworth will have a Chatham Area Transit shuttle from the Publix Super Market or City Hall to CAT's Intermodal Transit Center on Oglethorpe Ave. The Port Wentworth shuttle will cost $5 and runs from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on parade day.
The Greater Pooler Area Chamber of Commerce and Angel Learning Center will host a St. Patrick's Day Festival at Tanger Outlets and offer shuttle service from 7:30 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on parade day. A roundtrip ticket ― $30 for ages 11-and-up; $20 for children 10 and under; $25 for military and seniors, ages 60-plus ― will take guests to The Clyde Venue and Market, 223 Martin Luther King Blvd.
The Savannah Belle Ferries will operate on the current schedule between downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island, according to the City of Savannah's website.
Where can I have my drink?
Savannah City Council also voted to enact its special events ordinance for St. Patrick's Day weekend. The special events zones created by the ordinance, which remains the same as the last two years, will be in effect from March 16 at 10 a.m. to March 17 at 2 a.m.
Under the ordinance, the to-go cup zone's boundaries on parade day only extend from the Savannah River on the north to Victory Drive on the south. The eastern boundary is Truman Parkway. The western boundary is the centerline of Talmadge Bridge to West Oglethorpe Avenue, continuing from there south on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Victory Drive.
Where to park
Savannah city parking garages will be open during parade weekend, but with a few slight changes. Most notably, resident decals will not be valid on parade day. For details on rates and other guidelines, visit the city's website here.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah St. Patrick's Day 2024 parade route, where to park
