Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Savannah

Before you go

What happens when you get there

The squares

Dogs are welcome in all of Savannah's squares and throughout Forsyth Park, on the lead. The city rule is that pets are leashed in every park, square, business and residential area, and that waste is never left behind, with fines for both. Because the squares sit two or three minutes apart across the whole grid, you're never far from shade and a bench, which is what makes this city work in the heat.

Tybee Island

Dogs are banned from every Tybee beach all year round, and there's no seasonal window at all. The stated reason is loggerhead turtle nesting and migratory bird habitat, and the fine is USD 290 for a first offence, with certified guide and assistance dogs the only exemption. Off the sand the island is fine on the lead, there's the Jaycee Park bark park, and Fort Pulaski National Monument's nature trails nearby take dogs. Go for the day, don't book the stay.

The to-go cup rule

You can carry one open drink on the street inside the downtown zone, which makes an after-dinner walk round the squares legal. The cup has to be paper or plastic, never glass, a can or a bottle, and no more than 16 fluid ounces, and you can take only one drink from a premises at a time. The zone covers the Historic District and the northern half of Forsyth Park. The dog is still on the lead.

Weight limits

Thompson Savannah, the Kimpton Brice, Foley House Inn and East Bay Inn publish no limit at all. Hotel Orielle and Hotel Indigo go to 80 lb. Below that it tightens quickly: Hyatt Regency, Perry Lane, The Ann and Hotel Bardo at 50 lb, The Alida and Bellwether House at 40, The DeSoto at 35, and the JW Marriott and Hamilton-Turner Inn at 25. Bardo and Andaz both cap two dogs at 75 lb combined.

Leaving the dog in the room

Hotel Bardo, Perry Lane, Thompson, Andaz, The DeSoto, The Alida and Hyatt Regency all say no. Hotel Indigo and East Bay Inn allow it if the dog is crated. Foley House Inn is the one that says you don't have to crate at all, you just leave a mobile number when you go out, and the staff will walk the dog if you ask. That's unusual anywhere, let alone in an inn.

Eating out

The patios do most of the work here. Six Pence Pub takes dogs outside and brings water. Huey's on the River has four dog-friendly tables above River Street. Leopold's Ice Cream does a dog sundae for the outdoor tables. Service Brewing Co. takes dogs in the beer garden, and The Collins Quarter, Foxy Loxy Café, Treylor Park, Belford's and Vic's on the River all seat dogs outside. Bonaventure Cemetery and Wormsloe State Historic Site both take dogs on the lead.

Getting there and getting about

Savannah/Hilton Head International, SAV, is about 16 km north-west of the Historic District and is served by Allegiant, American, Avelo, Breeze, Delta, jetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country and United, some routes seasonal. The airport publishes nothing about a pet relief area, so plan for that on a long connection. Chatham Area Transit runs the buses and the free Belles Ferry, but no animal policy is published, so ring +1 912 233 5767 rather than assume. It's about 2 km from Forsyth Park to River Street, so most days you won't need either.

Vets

Case Veterinary Hospital is the practice The Ann Savannah sends its own guests to, and Allison Animal Care also covers the area. We haven't confirmed a named 24-hour emergency clinic in Savannah, so if that matters to you, ask your hotel for their current out-of-hours contact at check-in rather than looking it up at 2am.

Best walks

The squares are the walk. From Forsyth Park you can go north up Bull Street through Monterey, Madison, Chippewa and Johnson Squares to the river in about twenty-five minutes and be under oaks most of the way, with dog water fountains in Forsyth, Troup and Ellis Squares. Forsyth Park itself is the big green, with the fenced off-lead area on the south-east side near Park Avenue and dogs on the lead everywhere else in it. Emmet Park's oak bluff runs east along the top of the river and is the flattest green walk on that side of town, linking the eastern squares to the riverfront. The riverwalk runs the whole frontage, from the Waving Girl statue at the eastern end past the AC Hotel and Olde Harbour Inn, through to the Plant Riverside boardwalk at the western end by the JW Marriott, with no road crossings on the boardwalk stretch. The Eastern Wharf riverwalk starts outside Thompson Savannah. For a proper run, Herty Pines at Daffin Park is the fenced dog area about fifteen minutes east by car. Bonaventure Cemetery and Wormsloe State Historic Site are the two out-of-town walks that take dogs on the lead.

When to go

March to May and October to early December. Savannah in July and August is hot and very humid, the squares give shade but the pavements hold heat into the evening, and a dog on a midday walk down Bull Street will feel it, so shift walks to early morning and after dark and use the water fountains in Ellis, Troup and Forsyth. Spring is the best of it, with the azaleas out and the patios open. Autumn is quieter and just as walkable. Winter is mild enough that the squares and the riverwalk still work, and the patios mostly stay open. None of this changes the Tybee beach ban, which runs all year.