Savannah runs a free shuttle and a free river ferry. Say where you're headed — this does the rest.
Always free · no ticket, no appThe city's free transit is run by Chatham Area Transit and it comes in two parts. Neither one costs a cent, and you never need a ticket or an app to ride.
Small buses run two loops, about every 10 minutes. The Forsyth loop runs up Drayton Street and down Whitaker, connecting Forsyth Park with the squares and City Market. The Downtown loop circles the upper Historic District — Congress, Liberty, City Market — out to Eastern Wharf on the river. They meet near Liberty Street, so you can transfer between them.
Hours: Monday–Friday 7am–7pm, Saturday & Sunday 10am–6pm (lighter hours on some holidays; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day).
Four little ferries — each named for a famous Savannah woman — cross the Savannah River between River Street and Hutchinson Island every 10 minutes, from 7am to 10pm, every day. Landings: City Hall and Waving Girl on the River Street side, and the Convention Center (by the Westin) on Hutchinson Island. It takes bikes, luggage, and leashed dogs — and the ride is a genuinely lovely (free) view of the waterfront.
How the free network fits together: the dot Express Shuttle runs two Historic District loops about every 10 minutes — the Forsyth loop up Drayton and down Whitaker between Forsyth Park and City Market, and the Downtown loop along Congress, Liberty and MLK out to Eastern Wharf. At River Street, the free Savannah Belles Ferry crosses to Hutchinson Island from the City Hall and Waving Girl landings about every 10 minutes, 7am–10pm daily. One connected free network: park once, walk to a stop, ride all of it.
The official map lives in a PDF; here is every stop as plain text. Tap any stop and this page routes you to it from wherever you're standing.
Honest truth: the Historic District is small and made for walking, and most of the squares are a 5–10 minute stroll apart. The free shuttle earns its keep when it's hot, when it's raining, when feet are tired, or for the longer hops — Forsyth Park up to River Street, or anything out to Eastern Wharf. The ferry is the easy way to the Convention Center and hotels on Hutchinson Island (and a fun little cruise for free). This planner will tell you honestly when walking is just as fast.
The free shuttle stays downtown — it does not reach Tybee Island, Bonaventure Cemetery, Wormsloe, or Skidaway. Those need a car or rideshare. (For River Street from the Forsyth Park area, though, the free shuttle is perfect.)
Yes. The dot Express Shuttle is a zero-fare service from Chatham Area Transit — no ticket, no app, no charge. It runs two loops through the Historic District about every 10 minutes, Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm and weekends 10am to 6pm.
The Savannah Belles Ferry is completely free. It crosses the Savannah River between River Street (City Hall and Waving Girl landings) and Hutchinson Island (Convention Center landing) every 10 minutes, 7am to 10pm, every day.
No. The free dot shuttle stays within downtown Savannah's Historic District. Tybee Island, Bonaventure Cemetery, Wormsloe, and Skidaway Island require a car or rideshare.
Take the free dot Forsyth loop north toward the squares and City Market, near the River Street area — it runs up Drayton Street about every 10 minutes. It's one of the best uses of the free shuttle, especially in heat or rain.
No — there is no pedestrian path across the Savannah River. The free Savannah Belles Ferry makes the crossing instead, running between the City Hall and Waving Girl landings on River Street and the Convention Center landing on Hutchinson Island, about every 10 minutes from 7am to 10pm daily.