Savannah Slavery to Freedom Tour: Gullah Geechee History

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/8

Duration3h

GroupUp to 32

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Walk the sites where West African slaves arrived, were held and were sold—then hear how they fought for freedom.

Savannah Slavery to Freedom is a guided history tour led by Sistah Patt, a Gullah Geechee storyteller, across the city's landmarks tied to slavery and emancipation. Over two to two and a half hours, the tour visits River Street (where slaves were forced to build warehouses), Johnson Square (where they were auctioned), the Second African Baptist Church, the African American Monument and Laurel Grove Cemetery. The guide speaks English and the tour is wheelchair accessible with advance notice.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Savannah's slavery history

Learn about West African tribes
Visit River Street warehouses
See slave auction site at Johnson Square
Travel past Second African Baptist Church

The Experience

River Street is where the tour begins—the waterfront where West African slaves first arrived in Savannah and were made to labor building the warehouses that still line the water. From there, the route moves through the city's core, stopping at Johnson Square to learn where enslaved people were sold, then passing the Second African Baptist Church as the guide narrates the journey toward freedom. Each location carries a specific history the tour does not skip over.

Sistah Patt leads the entire experience. She is a Gullah Geechee truth-teller—a keeper of the cultural and historical knowledge of the West African diaspora in the Lowcountry—and the tour is built around her narration and the stories she carries. This is not a recording or a script read by someone unfamiliar with the material; it is a person who knows these histories speaking them aloud as you stand in the places where they happened.

The tour runs two to two and a half hours depending on weather and traffic. It covers four major sites: River Street, Johnson Square, the African American Monument and Laurel Grove Cemetery, with a stop at the Second African Baptist Church along the way. You move between them by vehicle, so the pace is set by the guide and the group, not by how far your legs will carry you. Wheelchair accessibility is available with 24 hours' advance notice.

What’s included

The tour includes the narration and guidance of Sistah Patt throughout.
visits to River Street, Johnson Square, the African American Monument, the Second African Baptist Church and Laurel Grove Cemetery.
and transportation by vehicle between the sites.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Gray Line Savannah

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English throughout, so you follow the narration directly as it happens. This tour suits anyone who wants to hear Savannah's slavery and freedom history from someone who carries that knowledge—not from a script or a recording, but from a storyteller who knows the untold stories.