# European Experience -Savannah GA



## capthowdy_1968 (Jan 9, 2001)

The new SoWo.

[video]https://www.facebook.com/southern.worthersee/videos/10154312166877316/[/video]


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

I am so ****ing excited for this. I go to school down there and the city will be crazy for sowo. It's such a great place to walk around at night and such a great setting for the cars


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## arson451 (Feb 10, 2004)

Did they say what part of town it's gonna be in?


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

I'll pass.


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## capthowdy_1968 (Jan 9, 2001)

Hutchinson Island. 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/H...2!3m1!1s0x88fb9ef2202d3e69:0xd07536075b429b39

I am with you on this PSU. We have Waterfest and Fixxfest, which look to be the same.


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## GasInMyVeins (Jul 11, 2010)

capthowdy_1968 said:


> Hutchinson Island.
> 
> https://www.google.com/maps/place/H...2!3m1!1s0x88fb9ef2202d3e69:0xd07536075b429b39
> 
> I am with you on this PSU. We have Waterfest and Fixxfest, which look to be the same.


The only difference is that this is at a road course, instead of a drag track. Really, it's NOLA for Euros. I'm not even two hours from there, so I'll probably go.


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## capthowdy_1968 (Jan 9, 2001)

They have an autocross track at Waterfest.


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## Aw614 (May 9, 2001)

hmm this might be tempting to go to, especially if there is a track day much like fastivus on the west coast, and I should be having a snell sa helmet by then.


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## Mayor McCheese (Jul 23, 2008)

RIP Sowo, new venue looks so terrible


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## PSU (May 15, 2004)

Mayor McCheese said:


> RIP Sowo, new venue looks so terrible


RIP.


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## DT EXP (Jun 15, 2007)

I am pretty fired up for this.. Savannah is a great City..


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

Appreciate the love from the supporters!


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## Gefallene der drachen (Jun 22, 2015)

[email protected] said:


> supporters


did you wait for today so you could use the plural form?


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## Squirrel Nuts (Aug 25, 2010)

Will def miss SOWO in Helen but Savannah is a pretty cool town so I'm excited at the possibility of what it can be. :thumbup:


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

PSU said:


> I'll pass.


Ah, c'mon


Its going to be...interesting. 

First of all, cool city thats never hosted a car event more than 750 cars (PCA took over Forsyth park in '11, NOPI just recently had an event but I didnt care to go so I can't comment on how it went(who goes to that anymore?)) 

There has to be a push for the use of the water ferry and foot traffic over driving everywhere. Downtown is congested on the weekend by locals and tourists already, so adding XXXX cars to the area is going to shut it down. Add a few broken oil pans to the mix and  Being able to keep cars over on the island while say everyone takes the ferry back and walks to their hotels in the downtown area would dramatically increase the flow of traffic. With that being said, *bring your bicycle* very friendly biking city, especially at night. What better way to see the cool buildings filled with ghosts

The venue area (originally a purpose built indy lights race track, disapproved by the downtown homeowners after the first race and then abandoned)









HSR Historics Race. I rode in the PTG e36 with Brian Redman 3 years ago, you can ride along with a vast array of cars, highly recommend coming to this event at the end of October. 


Last word of advice, Zunzis take out


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## vr6swap (Aug 17, 2001)

Savannah can be a rough place. It's not a FEMA disaster area like New Orleans, but it's not Helen GA either. It's a sea port town more like New York or Boston. The suburban hipsters and small town kids need to keep their wits about them and use a little common sense. 

Stay away from the west end of Bay St. There is a very large public housing development across Montgomery St, called Yamacraw. When I lived in Savannah (early 80's) locals called it Little Vietnam, or just Nam. You could hear gunplay from the place at night. Pizza delivery and taxis wouldn't go in there. Local media acts like the place is cleaned up now but I wouldn't trust it.


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## VDUB_TDI (Apr 24, 2008)

sim0nvr6 said:


> First of all, cool city thats never hosted a car event more than 750 cars (PCA took over Forsyth park in '11, NOPI just recently had an event but I didnt care to go so I can't comment on how it went(who goes to that anymore?))
> 
> There has to be a push for the use of the water ferry and foot traffic over driving everywhere. Downtown is congested on the weekend by locals and tourists already, so adding XXXX cars to the area is going to shut it down. Add a few broken oil pans to the mix and  Being able to keep cars over on the island while say everyone takes the ferry back and walks to their hotels in the downtown area would dramatically increase the flow of traffic. With that being said, *bring your bicycle* very friendly biking city, especially at night. What better way to see the cool buildings filled with ghosts


who wants to go to a car show to walk around, bike, and take a ferry? lol


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

VDUB_TDI said:


> who wants to go to a car show to walk around, bike, and take a ferry? lol


You're going to be sorely disappointed if you think you can drive around savannah like Helen. There's stop lights every block and there's going to be a few thousand tourists that had no idea there was anything going on that weekend besides their family vacation. People don't understand how traffic works there, they don't realize that when you take a left turn and see the red light in front of you, that it's just a yield because your light was green. On top of that, there will be tons of locals on their bikes who aren't scared to weave through traffic.



vr6swap said:


> Savannah can be a rough place. It's not a FEMA disaster area like New Orleans, but it's not Helen GA either. It's a sea port town more like New York or Boston. The suburban hipsters and small town kids need to keep their wits about them and use a little common sense.
> 
> Stay away from the west end of Bay St. There is a very large public housing development across Montgomery St, called Yamacraw. When I lived in Savannah (early 80's) locals called it Little Vietnam, or just Nam. You could hear gunplay from the place at night. Pizza delivery and taxis wouldn't go in there. Local media acts like the place is cleaned up now but I wouldn't trust it.


General rule of thumb is to stay east of Martin Luther King. There's little pockets of bad area all around the town though, so if you're walking around at night, just be aware. For the most part, as long as you stay in town it's pretty safe though. There's tons of cops all over the place which is going to disappoint a bunch of young guys that think they can treat this like they treated Helen this year.

Edit: I noticed a few people mentioned that savannah never hosted anything like this, and while it's true that they haven't done anything car related, this should be nothing compared to the st Patrick's day there every year, the only difference is that it'll be a bunch of modified cars.

One other thing: the roads in savannah are absolute **** compared to Helen


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

VDUB_TDI said:


> who wants to go to a car show to walk around, bike, and take a ferry? lol


Trying to make useful suggestions here so when I have to 1. go to work 2. go to a wedding that I'm in that weekend 3. do my normal sunday activities that I'm not following a bunch of lost cars doing 2 mph around town weaving over cobblestone roads. 



vr6swap said:


> Savannah can be a rough place. It's not a FEMA disaster area like New Orleans, but it's not Helen GA either. It's a sea port town more like New York or Boston. The suburban hipsters and small town kids need to keep their wits about them and use a little common sense.
> 
> Stay away from the west end of Bay St. There is a very large public housing development across Montgomery St, called Yamacraw. When I lived in Savannah (early 80's) locals called it Little Vietnam, or just Nam. You could hear gunplay from the place at night. Pizza delivery and taxis wouldn't go in there. Local media acts like the place is cleaned up now but I wouldn't trust it.


Still a bad area over there. Half of those section 8 buildings are boarded up now, not making it any better. SCAD and the new bus station in between Yamacraw and Oglethorpe have helped out that area so I dont think it's quite like it was back then, I've heard quite the bit of stories. I frequently park adjacent to the area to go out at night. (I carry though, I'm an aware Savannahian) Not so much gun violence there now-a-days. Two nights ago, three people were shot in city market around 0300; young african americans I believe. Anyways...
I lived in a corridor of Waters close to Daffin Park and we have an area of section 8/investor homes that we call the OK Corral. I was putting up christmas lights last year and found a 9mm slug lodged downwards in my roof. 

As far as St. Pats now, all of the Historic district from MLK on the west side, to Broad on the East side, River Street to Liberty are shut down for 36 hours to vehicles; only foot traffic allowed. With almost a million people in town over that weekend (sometimes the entire week) that seems to help. Apples to Oranges me thinks. On top of all of the local jurisdictions pitch in their police officers for the weekend thus over doubling police presence for that weekend. Wont be the case then. 

I'm trying to help out here; there's quite a bit of logistics involved with this many lowered cars downtown...and if you want to drive down River Street and you're remotely lowered *you're gonna have a bad time*. All its gonna take is 1 car to get stuck on some of these roads (which 60-70% of are one way streets) and traffic will be backed up for hours.


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

sim0nvr6 said:


> I'm trying to help out here; there's quite a bit of logistics involved with this many lowered cars downtown...and if you want to drive down River Street and you're remotely lowered *you're gonna have a bad time*. All its gonna take is 1 car to get stuck on some of these roads (which 60-70% of are one way streets) and traffic will be backed up for hours.



To piggyback on this: traffic will be backed up no matter what, SoWo won't be the only reason for the tourists down there and driving through Savannah is a real cluster**** as it is, so don't be an asshat doing something stupid to show off in downtown Savannah because there isn't much room for error on those streets.


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## vr6swap (Aug 17, 2001)

TheTynosaur said:


> To piggyback on this: traffic will be backed up no matter what, SoWo won't be the only reason for the tourists down there and driving through Savannah is a real cluster**** as it is, so don't be an asshat doing something stupid to show off in downtown Savannah because there isn't much room for error on those streets.


It isn't very often people in town for a car show do the smart thing (I'll include myself in that statement) but the *SMARTEST* choice would be to have show entrants park on-site Friday evening before the show, and leave the cars at the venue. 

As previously stated, I haven't lived in the city since 1984 so I have no clue about public transportation options, or whether SoWo partners plan to run shuttle busses like they did in Helen at least one year. There is one really big hotel on River St (Hyatt?) and several others within easy walking distance.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

I've booked already.. what do you think of Bull st area around 36th street? Seems good from the pics and reviews..


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> I've booked already.. what do you think of Bull st area around 36th street? Seems good from the pics and reviews..


Shouldn't have any problems there. Staying at one of the bed and breakfasts? That's a high student traffic area during school time. Check out the Foxy Loxy cafe, cool little place to grab breakfast and you're barely a block from it. I lived 4 streets up and 2 over for a year and that was not a good area. Savannah doesn't have very strict zoning laws so one block can be nicely remodeled early 1900's carriage homes and the next can be falling apart/borderline section 8 style. It blows my mind some times.


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> I've booked already.. what do you think of Bull st area around 36th street? Seems good from the pics and reviews..


Parking is going to be **** there but it's a really nice street and a pretty safe one


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## DT EXP (Jun 15, 2007)

TheTynosaur said:


> Parking is going to be **** there but it's a really nice street and a pretty safe one


so where is place with good parking and is also safe?


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

DT EXP said:


> so where is place with good parking and is also safe?


Any hotel with its own parking garage, but most of those in the middle of downtown are incredibly expensive. Besides that there aren't many parking lots unless you get outside of town.

36th and bull is one of the safer areas in town, but like most places in savannah, it's just a lot of street parking. I would guess wherever he's staying has a lot of some sort though because all those streets around there are 90 minute parking and that would suck for a hotel.

Savannah is weird because it doesn't have one bad side of town. There's little pockets of it everywhere. Bull street in general is one of the safer ones, I wouldn't be scared to walk from 36th all the way down to river street. In fact, I've done it before a few times because there's a scad building right there.

If you go a few miles outside of town you can find decent places that are pretty cheap with parking lots, but then you lose the experience of getting to walk around downtown at night, which is always kind of cool.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

TheTynosaur said:


> Any hotel with its own parking garage, but most of those in the middle of downtown are incredibly expensive. Besides that there aren't many parking lots unless you get outside of town.
> 
> 36th and bull is one of the safer areas in town, but like most places in savannah, it's just a lot of street parking. I would guess wherever he's staying has a lot of some sort though because all those streets around there are 90 minute parking and that would suck for a hotel.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I think the place I'm renting has some off street parking and is on the same block as the cafe mentioned a couple posts up, according to some of the reviews.


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

So, Got a little visuals to help out. 









So, red circles are no go areas due to lets say the "type of residents" in the area, the red square is the greater downtown area which is about 2.5 square miles (all very walkable) I can't count how many times I walked from Congress street to the top of Forsyth Park drunk as a skunk, especially if you walk up bull street and through the park. The park does close at 11 so I tend not to enter there on foot after then. You can bike that distance in 5 minutes, especially at night. Oglethorpe Ave takes you to the bridge and ultimately to the show grounds. 

Obviously the green circles are all good to go, parkside houses quite a bit of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) upperclassmen and the Historic District is where the old style Victorian Homes are usually owned by the wealthier class of Savannah. As far as quality of roads go, try to avoid most of the squares as a majority of those are original cobblestone roads from the first time the roads were paved(early 1900's for most of them). Drayton Street/Whitaker street are pretty safe, all though the road has quite the crest in the middle so if you're in one lane, stick to it because if you cross over, you will "ski" (if you're more than 3" lowered) as I've learned to call it and your wheels will almost come off the ground on both sides. Had this happened in my beetle one time and I had a hell of a time getting it un-stuck. Abercorn street all the way down isn't too bad. I believe those have been paved over and there arent cobble stones around those squares. Abercorn is the main passage to the newer side of town (southside Savannah) where there's many more hotels, malls, businesses and normal living houses with some acreage. 

Oh yeah, you can drink on the streets if its in a clear plastic cup. To-go beers are a thing and its amazing.

Edit: sorry guys the very bottom left smaller circle should be red, definitely red...


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

Savannah isn't Helen. Let's start there. Everything is not as close as it was in Helen. There will be more driving involved. There are lots of places to stay, eat, drink, shop, etc.

I have been several times during this planning process. Have not once felt unsafe or had issues driving my static lowered Mk6 Jetta through any of the streets. Yes cobblestone is a tough drive. It is not for everyone. It does make for an awesome set of pictures. Worried about cobblestone.....don't ever go to the UK. LOL!

As always we work very hard to put on all of our events. I simply ask that you give the event a chance before you begin to bash it. Ok so you lived there years ago, you went to school at SCAD, or don't foresee a large event of this size working. That's fine. But please don't continue to discourage others from attending.

As a matter of fact come out for yourself before you begin to write your review.

See you all in May!


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## DT EXP (Jun 15, 2007)

sim0nvr6 said:


> So, Got a little visuals to help out.
> 
> 
> So, red circles are no go areas due to lets say the "type of residents" in the area, the red square is the greater downtown area which is about 2.5 square miles (all very walkable) I can't count how many times I walked from Congress street to the top of Forsyth Park drunk as a skunk, especially if you walk up bull street and through the park. The park does close at 11 so I tend not to enter there on foot after then. You can bike that distance in 5 minutes, especially at night. Oglethorpe Ave takes you to the bridge and ultimately to the show grounds.
> ...



Awesome, this is what I needed to see..


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## arson451 (Feb 10, 2004)

Thanks for the tips simonvr6. It's greatly appreciated. 


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> As always we work very hard to put on all of our events. I simply ask that you give the event a chance before you begin to bash it. Ok so you lived there years ago, you went to school at SCAD, or don't foresee a large event of this size working. That's fine. But please don't continue to discourage others from attending.


Since I'm the only one in here that went to scad, that's obviously directed at me, and I thought I should explain that I wasn't discouraging people at all. If you look back at my posts you'll see that I was telling people that I do think savannah can handle this show and do a good job of it. 

But you're right, savannah isn't like Helen, and part of that is that there are parts of savannah you do not want to be in. Overall it's a really safe city and you shouldn't be uncomfortable walking around even at night, but there's some streets that are really dangerous and people should be warned and know to avoid them.

I want people to have a good time at sowo next year. I love savannah and I think it's a great place for the show, but I don't want someone to get hurt because they didn't know what parts of town to avoid.


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

TheTynosaur said:


> but I don't want someone to get hurt because they didn't know what parts of town to avoid.


because this _has_ happened before.


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## EDM_R32 (Aug 2, 2014)

Savannah is nice and all - Was up there for 4th of July - just not the place for this - We'll pass.


We are booked for Helen GA - Informal VW GTG without the madness.

#GoingBackToHelenAnyways :thumbup:


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## EDM_R32 (Aug 2, 2014)

And yes I agree Savannah's roads are terrible in many areas. Much like all of New Orleans! My daily is still recovering from NOLA. I also concur - Savannah is NOT the place to drive - It took me forever to park AND it ended up being 3 stories below ground. 

Then I go to a highly rated steak place on the river and Savannah has this automatic 18% gratuity - 

Auto gratuity pisses me off bc even if the meal sucks you gotta pay that level of tip - no matter how good or bad your server is. BUT it is good in one regard as it does save you 2-7% if you're like me who tips 20-25% for excellent service.


Just another heads up for you foodies


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

On the topic of food: anything on river street is really expensive. Some good less expensive things are Molly mcphersons, which is a Scottish pub and has really great food for pretty cheap; zunzis, which has a good variety but is pretty cramped inside when it's crowded, Spudnik, which is all baked potatoes with tons of stuff in them and is really good; and then b and d burgers, which is a really good burger place. All of those are right in downtown so you won't have to drive anywhere if you're staying downtown


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

b and d's is the jam. Serves late on the weekends, cheap, a lot of space, good beer selection. Green Truck though if you're a "gotta be different" person (which most VW people try and be...) down just shy of midtown is great as well. Very small restaurant, usually local's only who go but well worth the wait. Being in the tourism industry, there's not many places I haven't ate at downtown. Except paula deen's and ruth chris...eff those.


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

EDM_R32 said:


> Savannah is nice and all - Was up there for 4th of July - just not the place for this - We'll pass.
> 
> 
> We are booked for Helen GA - Informal VW GTG without the madness.
> ...


Enjoy Helen. Remember the city doesn't want you there. These are being installed throughout the city:


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## EDM_R32 (Aug 2, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> Enjoy Helen. Remember the city doesn't want you there. These are being installed throughout the city:


At least you're not bitter Matt. Don't be mad at us for not agreeing with your show location for next year. 

That's cool. It won't deter me. Those are better than "Nowhere to Park" Savannah and the cobblestone. They won't be installed on the awesome twisted mountain roads outside of town  Furthermore - bagged cars won't have issues with those speed bumps. 

Enjoy Savannah good sir. :thumbup:


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## demonmk2 (Mar 19, 2006)

I'll be going. Savannah is a bit more expensive but hopefully that will deter wholagins


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## capthowdy_1968 (Jan 9, 2001)

EDM_R32 we will be heading to Helen next year as well. An informal gtg would be nice, maybe just outside Helen. If it is in Helen I am sure there would be shop owners that would take a small group in.


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## EDM_R32 (Aug 2, 2014)

capthowdy_1968 said:


> EDM_R32 we will be heading to Helen next year as well. An informal gtg would be nice, maybe just outside Helen. If it is in Helen I am sure there would be shop owners that would take a small group in.


 Sounds awesome bro - itll be us hardcore enthusiasts - all the trolling outcasts will be in savannah. 👍🏻 All my buddies from Miami are committed to Helen too.


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## jdw46 (Jun 19, 2013)

I've never been to a sowo so this will be a first for me I think. From hearing about savannah in a all around perspective I don't know if it's gonna be worth it to go for a few days. I'm not gonna be part of the walking around drunk crowd. I want to be able to eat a few nice places, enjoy the town, and not destroy my car


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

jdw46 said:


> I've never been to a sowo so this will be a first for me I think. From hearing about savannah in a all around perspective I don't know if it's gonna be worth it to go for a few days. I'm not gonna be part of the walking around drunk crowd. I want to be able to eat a few nice places, enjoy the town, and not destroy my car


Show grounds are not near River Street where the bars are located.


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

jdw46 said:


> I've never been to a sowo so this will be a first for me I think. From hearing about savannah in a all around perspective I don't know if it's gonna be worth it to go for a few days. I'm not gonna be part of the walking around drunk crowd. I want to be able to eat a few nice places, enjoy the town, and not destroy my car


You can still do that...there's tons of nice restaurants and the thing is you can park anywhere and walk to to those restaurants...if not a pedi-cab ride is like 5-10 bucks to anywhere you wanna go.


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

sim0nvr6 said:


> if not a pedi-cab ride is like 5-10 bucks to anywhere you wanna go.


I don't know about all of them, but the ones that wear the blue shirts don't go further South than Forsyth. I haven't tried it out but I have been told there are plenty of uber drivers in Savannah though and a lot of my friends use them. So you have options, some just aren't as cheap.


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## jdw46 (Jun 19, 2013)

Also with staying in a hotel how safe is my car? I thought about staying 10-15 miles out and driving in during the days?


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

jdw46 said:


> Also with staying in a hotel how safe is my car? I thought about staying 10-15 miles out and driving in during the days?


I live in Savannah and park my car over night in even some of the sketchy parts of town and haven't had a problem. I don't drive an expensive car, but no doubt it stands out. Obviously I can't promise that nothing will happen to your car, but I wouldn't worry much about it. It's not any less safe than parking at any other city. Just like any other city, make sure you don't have anything expensive sitting out in the open in your car that someone could see if they were passing by.

There's also a couple parking decks and some hotels right in downtown either have a parking deck or underground parking.

As for staying a little way out and driving in for the show: you could stay somewhere in South Carolina so that you don't have to drive through Savannah if you don't want, and you can take a ferry from Hutchinson Island, where the show is, into town so you don't have to deal with the traffic in Savannah. I believe Hardeesville is the closest town. It's like 5 miles away, and then Bluffton is 15 miles or so away. The roads from Savannah to South Carolina are absolute **** though, so if you drive a lowered car, be prepared.

A lot of the charm of Savannah is from being there at night though. If you get the chance to stay in town within walking distance of Broughton and River Street, I would recommend that, because you can walk out to the bars and not have to worry about having a driver and what not.

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that they sweep different streets every night. Every street has a sign on it with a time and day that the street will be cleaned and you can't park on that street during those hours. If you're parked there during those hours, you will get a ticket. Also be observant any street that have a time limit even if it's free street parking. They aren't kidding about those times. Eveeryone I know that's gotten a ticket in one of those spots has been there less than 10 minutes over time.


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## jdw46 (Jun 19, 2013)

I've been looking on travelocity at hotels. Opinions on Richmond Hill and hilton head area


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

jdw46 said:


> I've been looking on travelocity at hotels. Opinions on Richmond Hill and hilton head area


I don't know anything about Richmond hill, but Hilton head is really nice. It is 45 minutes away though


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## TheFallen (Oct 25, 2015)

I live in Richmond Hill...it's about a 20 minute drive to Hutchinson Island. 

RH is a quiet sleepy town, built by Henry Ford. A few other historical places there like Sherman's March to the Sea ended at Fort Mcallister in RH. If you are a Civil War/War of Northern Aggression history buff you will appreciate it. The place is not much to look at unless you know what you are looking at. It's not pretty like Savannah. 

Hilton Head is nice, but tough to get to Savannah from there, even though it looks close. If SC is where you want to stay, then Bluffton is a good option. The best skatepark in the area is in Bluffton too.

Anyway, I spend most of time in Savannah and agree with much of what Tyranosaurus said. 

You won't be disappointed with this town! I drive my Beetle everywhere. It's only lowered 2" but I can go down River Street easily, but there is really no reason to do that. There is a TON of parking on Hutchinson and free ferry over to River Street. You can walk to everything from there. There are only a few other cobblestone streets, and honestly, I"m struggling to remember where they are or if they even bothered me at all. 

Comparison to NYC and Boston is unfair. It's not that crowded and evenings on the weekends you can drive up and down Bay, Jones, Broughton, and Ogelthorpe all night and probably catch only a few lights. I see a better comparison to the be Beaterville Show in Louisville, KY. 

Like any city, use some common sense. Savannah is safe, unless you are an idiot or a trouble maker. People here are more friendly than anywhere I have ever been in the states. 

Don't forget about: 
Angels BBQ (on man vs food)
Paula Deen resteraunt
All the haunted places
Pirate House (the real one from Treasure Island)
Pinkies 
Multiple German restraunts

This event is going to be awesome on Savannah, the beaches, the history, the food, the people. If I want to see a fake German tourist trap building like Helen, GA...I'll go to Busch Gardens, thank you.


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

TheFallen said:


> I live in Richmond Hill...it's about a 20 minute drive to Hutchinson Island.
> 
> RH is a quiet sleepy town, built by Henry Ford. A few other historical places there like Sherman's March to the Sea ended at Fort Mcallister in RH. If you are a Civil War/War of Northern Aggression history buff you will appreciate it. The place is not much to look at unless you know what you are looking at. It's not pretty like Savannah.
> 
> ...


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## riceslayer (Feb 15, 2012)

Our group has been considering staying on Tybee Island and commuting to the show, can any locals give some insight to pros/cons of this? I see its about a 30 minute drive from Hutchinson and obviously there's going to be some beach tourists and what not. Are there good restaurants/bars on the island?

Thanks in advance!


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## sim0nvr6 (Sep 8, 2008)

riceslayer said:


> Our group has been considering staying on Tybee Island and commuting to the show, can any locals give some insight to pros/cons of this? I see its about a 30 minute drive from Hutchinson and obviously there's going to be some beach tourists and what not. Are there good restaurants/bars on the island?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


yup. Bars are kinda small and kitchy but definitely a lot of good restaurants on the island. Theres Spanky's for one which is by far the best chicken fingers in town, and a nice taco place and bar called the tybee island social club. Most everything on the island is walking distance so you can drink and get back to your condo pretty safely. The weekend is pretty lively especially in the summer time. The drive is a little bit but its a nice commute, very scenic; especially at high tide. 

Majority of the bars and restaurants are near the pavillion/pier area down around 15th/16th street. The closer you can stay to there, the better. I've walked the whole island before drunk as a skunk, so its feasible regardless of where the condo is. 

Only I can think of is day of show you have to drive down through downtown on a saturday morning, and thats already a very congested area without the fact of the show going on. So leaving earlier than you would have expected is advised. You can expect the commute to be closer to an hour, if not more.


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

riceslayer said:


> Our group has been considering staying on Tybee Island and commuting to the show, can any locals give some insight to pros/cons of this? I see its about a 30 minute drive from Hutchinson and obviously there's going to be some beach tourists and what not. Are there good restaurants/bars on the island?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


The Crab Shack is an awesome place to eat at on Tybee!


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## EDM_R32 (Aug 2, 2014)

We're all booked for Helen, some of the best cabins in town are still wide open :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: #SaveTheEuros #GrassRootsSoWo 2016


To the guy asking about Tybee - I was there in July --- it's a packed little part of town, nowhere to park, overrun with tourists. And beach access is not easy. It's the exact opposite of OCMD, where you can find parking anywhere. Really nowhere for good pictures either to be honest.


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

EDM_R32 said:


> We're all booked for Helen, some of the best cabins in town are still wide open :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: #SaveTheEuros #GrassRootsSoWo 2016
> 
> 
> To the guy asking about Tybee - I was there in July --- it's a packed little part of town, nowhere to park, overrun with tourists. And beach access is not easy. It's the exact opposite of OCMD, where you can find parking anywhere. Really nowhere for good pictures either to be honest.


Have fun in Helen. We will be in savannah.


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)

Unitronic and SoWo Partners welcome you to The European Experience located on Hutchinson Island in Savannah, GA May 13-15, 2016
www.sowoeuropeanexperience.com


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## [email protected] (Oct 24, 2002)




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## BiH (Nov 27, 2000)

[email protected] said:


> Enjoy Helen. Remember the city doesn't want you there. These are being installed throughout the city:


whats being installed? I dont see the pic


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## Scurvy Bandit (Sep 12, 2003)

*Im looking forward to this!*

Im flying in from England and driving up with my family from Alabama. 

My brother and I were planning SOWO in 2016, but that obviously isn't happening. Im always excited to see something new, and Ive never been to Savannah! Just need to know if there are going to be some MK1 secret gtgs.


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

good news, I drove up to Atlanta today and after a few years it looks like they're finally finishing up the road work on I-16, which is a highway pretty much everyone coming from somewhere west of Atlanta will be taking down to Savannah. That part of the road was ridiculously wavy, it seriously felt like driving a jet ski in the open ocean, but now it's one of the smoothest roads I've been on


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## Scurvy Bandit (Sep 12, 2003)

*FV-QR*

Very excited for this and the debut of my expensive black turd mobile!!!


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## cjohn62 (Jul 1, 2012)

*Dog Friendly Dinning?*

I'm going to European Experience with my lowered Beetle Turbo Convertible (recently posted on the Lowered Thread) and my Corgi. We're staying at La Quintal Suites in Pooler; dog friendly, reasonably priced and not too far away. Does anyone have any good suggestions for dog friendly dining?


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

cjohn62 said:


> I'm going to European Experience with my lowered Beetle Turbo Convertible (recently posted on the Lowered Thread) and my Corgi. We're staying at La Quintal Suites in Pooler; dog friendly, reasonably priced and not too far away. Does anyone have any good suggestions for dog friendly dining?


I don't know of any for sure, but I know people sit outside some of the restaurants in City Market with their dogs. I doubt any of them let dogs in, but at least you can sit outside. Unfortunately they "don't allow" dogs on the beach but from what I've heard they aren't very strict about that, but it probably keeps the beachfront restaurants from allowing dogs so just be prepared for that if you go to Tybee


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

yesterday they decided to tear up all of 37th street so that sucks. It's a three inch straight drop onto 37th so pretty much undriveable if you're lowered at all. You can get past it by going all the way down to Habersham street. I scrape pretty bad on that intersection but it's better than the alternative. It won't be a problem if you're staying north of 37th, which most "downtown" hotels are, but if you're staying farther south you'll have issues.

Also there's no signs to warn you of the massive bump. I was lucky it was a red light when I came up to it


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## DT EXP (Jun 15, 2007)

TheTynosaur said:


> yesterday they decided to tear up all of 37th street so that sucks. It's a three inch straight drop onto 37th so pretty much undriveable if you're lowered at all. You can get past it by going all the way down to Habersham street. I scrape pretty bad on that intersection but it's better than the alternative. It won't be a problem if you're staying north of 37th, which most "downtown" hotels are, but if you're staying farther south you'll have issues.
> 
> Also there's no signs to warn you of the massive bump. I was lucky it was a red light when I came up to it


thanks for the warning!


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)




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## KICKINGTI (Jan 17, 2003)

If this town can handle thousands of drunken idiots during st. Patricks day, its well equipped to handle a tuner show. Btw, great idea for the venue. I used to ride my motorcyle at the track all the time. Unfortunately no more euro's in my life, and working saturday and sunday. I know a bunch of my friends will be going. Have been seeing vws and audis out on tybee. Now I understand why.

If anybody is into kiteboarding, Thursday, after the event is looking like its shaping up to be a fun session on the south end of tybee where the meet will be. Another great spot for a meet, btw. Organizers have chosen well IMO. 

Keep it clean and safe and low and slow this weekend. Police around here have no problem busting skulls. Tybee Police, No BS, they pull over anyone. 30-35 mph speed limit all over Tybee.


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## TheTynosaur (Jul 27, 2012)

it looks like they've finished paving 37th street. I can't speak for the whole road because I avoid it with my car right now until I know it's done, but the parts of it I've seen are done


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## BlingOnMyWrist (Feb 10, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Enjoy Helen. Remember the city doesn't want you there. These are being installed throughout the city:


I came back to this post because it's sat with me since you posted it, Matt. 

After visiting Helen this past week, I heard no negative feedback about the show attendees. Maybe you're referring to the "city council" that "doesn't want us there." As guests in Helen, we have absolutely no contact with the "city council" so they had absolutely no effect on our trip there. We only have contact with the businesses and police. 

Each employee/owner/police officer that my group asked about the show got the same answer: They loved the show and the people that came with it. Each one did mention that they didn't want YOU back at all, however. 
Dead serious.

Also, if anybody had a chance to see the photo of multiple speed bumps on Edelweiss that Matt posted to "back up" his claim, there is one speed bump just in front of Big Daddy's. And one on Unicoi St. near the bridge that leads to Escowee Dr.


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## GasInMyVeins (Jul 11, 2010)

Yeah, I'll be back in Helen next year, with our club. EuEx was disappointing.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

GasInMyVeins said:


> Yeah, I'll be back in Helen next year, with our club. EuEx was disappointing.


If I had the vaca time I'd probably split my time between the two, starting out mid week in Helen and heading to Savannah for the weekend. There was a lot of missed opportunity with EuEx but nothing that can't be remedied next year. I was a little disappointed with the 1.5 wait to get into the show, prepaying for a ticket only to be waved through the ticket check in barrier, the seeming lack of venders and extra curricular show sponsored activities. I don't think they were anticipating the numbers, in fact, one of the guys working the VW tent said they weren't.

Savannah isn't Helen, so instead of being able to walk from one end of town to the other, we're sort of left to our own devices to find ways to entertain ourselves. But Savannah has lots of potential and the issues with the show are fixable.
Bounds and team will be better prepared and so will I to take advantage of what Savannah has to offer.. 
We were less than 2 miles from downtown and I wish I had brought my bike with me.

..and I won something at the raffle on Sunday, so there's that lol.


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## GiveMeBassOrGiveMeDeath (May 17, 2016)

BlingOnMyWrist said:


> I came back to this post because it's sat with me since you posted it, Matt.
> 
> After visiting Helen this past week, I heard no negative feedback about the show attendees. Maybe you're referring to the "city council" that "doesn't want us there." As guests in Helen, we have absolutely no contact with the "city council" so they had absolutely no effect on our trip there. We only have contact with the businesses and police.
> 
> ...


I have to say I spent my time in Helen for a week this year instead of the normal 4 or 5 days. I couldn't agree with you more.

I had conversations at the package store, Betty's, Hofer's and the coffee shop on the main street corner.

Hofers:
I overheard 2 waitresses:
"I always liked the sowo people, I never had any problems with any of them"
"They made us really work that weekend but it was enjoyable"

Package store manager:
"Never had problems with the out of towners like yourself, it is our locals that cause the trouble b/c there's nothing going on in their town until sowo, and then it's time to come here to Helen and raise some hell, and make everyone look bad"

Betty's:
"We appreciate you coming back and your loyalty, you guys really made our city fun"
Coincidentally a big reason I went back was b/c a Betty's manager made me a sandwich after hours last year on Sunday night even though the deli was closed at 8:15pm. You have to reward these people for that.

Coffee shop:
Weekend was always enjoyable, good tippers, friendly, and fun to be around.

I made a conceded effort to have in depth conversations at all of these establishments.

The Heidi Motel manager last year even offered me a discount if I came back this year - she was sorely disappointed.

The police --
They were nothing but nice and gave out friendly warnings, and were appreciative of everyone being civil this year and acting with maturity and following the rules. Nobody was running around with open containers etc.

I agree the City leadership and a few vocal minority ran this show out of town.

On top of that I also heard a lot about Matt's lack of attention to the mischief last year. If it was MY show and my name - I'd have been knee deep in that burnout pit on Edelweiess telling people to cut the crap.

Policing our own is always vital.

That said - the VW owners who did show up were ALL very cool. and it was a community vibe - people borrowing jacks, people lending hoses or wash bay areas at their condos and it reminded me why I love the VW community so much. There's no attitude in the community of owners. The scene kids, that's a different story. 

We all committed to each other to go back to Helen in 2017 as well. We will actively recruit VW/Audi Euro owners who want to come up there, just talk cars, hang out, be civil, go out for photos, etc. 

I also didn't hear many things positive about Matt. I am kind of surprised to be honest. But there was that sentiment. I won't speculate on the relationship between Matt and the city but clearly they had enough of him.

I won't be going to Savannah ever, I've been there, it's overcrowded, pot hole laden, and overpriced. I really don't care to ruin my car's suspension on their cobblestone.

Not to mention it was NICE not having the riff raff in Helen - though I did see plenty of locals trolling through in beat up JDM cars or Mustangs looking to see if there was mayhem going on.

If you want to be part of the community and meet us in Helen every year please come. But don't bring your friends if they are troublemakers. Myself and the others will not hesitate to speak up to people acting like idiots.

Peace


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## GasInMyVeins (Jul 11, 2010)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> If I had the vaca time I'd probably split my time between the two, starting out mid week in Helen and heading to Savannah for the weekend. There was a lot of missed opportunity with EuEx* but nothing that can't be remedied next year. I was a little disappointed with the 1.5 wait to get into the show*, prepaying for a ticket only to be waved through the ticket check in barrier, the seeming lack of venders and extra curricular show sponsored activities. I don't think they were anticipating the numbers, in fact, one of the guys working the VW tent said they weren't.
> 
> Savannah isn't Helen, so instead of being able to walk from one end of town to the other, we're sort of left to our own devices to find ways to entertain ourselves. But Savannah has lots of potential and the issues with the show are fixable.
> Bounds and team will be better prepared and so will I to take advantage of what Savannah has to offer..
> ...


I'd love to hear how they think they can fix that problem. They had 15,000 people come in through one entrance, in a couple hours. There are no other entrances and I don't think they want to shrink the attendance, so I don't see a good way to improve that. Opening the gates at 7 am and still running the show until 4 may help, but then you're going to get **** parking if you don't show up at 7. Then we're right back to everyone trying to get in at once, but earlier.


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## reissue (Oct 17, 2010)

GasInMyVeins said:


> I'd love to hear how they think they can fix that problem. They had 15,000 people come in through one entrance, in a couple hours. There are no other entrances and I don't think they want to shrink the attendance, so I don't see a good way to improve that. Opening the gates at 7 am and still running the show until 4 may help, but then you're going to get **** parking if you don't show up at 7. Then we're right back to everyone trying to get in at once, but earlier.


I got **** parking and I showed up very early. They should park the show cars the night prior.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

They grossly underestimated the attendance for some reason. Expecting and preparing for less than half (6-7k is what a vendor told me) of the actual numbers can't be discounted as the root of everything that was wrong with EuEx. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## reissue (Oct 17, 2010)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> They grossly underestimated the attendance for some reason. Expecting and preparing for less than half (6-7k is what a vendor told me) of the actual numbers can't be discounted as the root of everything that was wrong with EuEx.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


Live and learn, I guess. Here's to next year.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

reissue said:


> Live and learn, I guess. Here's to next year.


I'll be there

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## NH69_GP13 (Apr 2, 2016)

reissue said:


> I got **** parking and I showed up very early. They should park the show cars the night prior.


and how are the people driving said show cars supposed to get around town that night? or to and from the show?:laugh:


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## reissue (Oct 17, 2010)

NH69_GP13 said:


> and how are the people driving said show cars supposed to get around town that night? or to and from the show?:laugh:


Were you even there? There's a ferry that goes across the water for free and everything was in walking distance.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

reissue said:


> Were you even there? There's a ferry that goes across the water for free and everything was in walking distance.


I went, and that's not even remotely the best idea. 
Who drives to a car show to have their car sit in a field most of the weekend? Savannah is too large for that. I will say that there are parts of savannah that are very bike friendly and I'll be sure to have mine with me next year.

Allocate more space for spectator parking. Problem solved, lol. When you treat the show like it's the first year instead of one that's been built off of 9 years, you'll run into issues.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## Bsaint (Mar 26, 2008)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> I went, and that's not even remotely the best idea.
> Who drives to a car show to have their car sit in a field most of the weekend? Savannah is too large for that. I will say that there are parts of savannah that are very bike friendly and I'll be sure to have mine with me next year.
> 
> Allocate more space for spectator parking. Problem solved, lol. When you treat the show like it's the first year instead of one that's been built off of 9 years, you'll run into issues.
> ...


I did, :laugh: 

You can get around in Savannah for free everywhere, trolly, boat, etc

But then again I trailered my car, left it at the show, took my DD back to the Hotel and walked everywhere.


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## reissue (Oct 17, 2010)

Bsaint said:


> I did, :laugh:
> 
> You can get around in Savannah for free everywhere, trolly, boat, etc
> 
> But then again I trailered my car, left it at the show, took my DD back to the Hotel and walked everywhere.


Nice, I want to build a trailer for my Touareg and show both cars at once, haha. Other than coming to town and leaving, I only drove my car once, and that was to the show field. Everything else I walked it took the ferry. There's plenty of shows out there that park their cars the night before. I don't know why people act like that's such a crazy idea. It wouldn't rule normal entry out either.


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## Bsaint (Mar 26, 2008)

reissue said:


> Nice, I want to build a trailer for my Touareg and show both cars at once, haha. Other than coming to town and leaving, I only drove my car once, and that was to the show field. Everything else I walked it took the ferry. There's plenty of shows out there that park their cars the night before. I don't know why people act like that's such a crazy idea. It wouldn't rule normal entry out either.


Exactly, and there was Security patrol at night on the show grounds, and no one really over there anyways, can't say the same for downtown Savannah and the hotels (which is typically where drunk vandalism happens atleast at H2oi)

So in actuality your car is much safer on the show grounds then downtown and at your own hotel. 

Just food for thought for some people.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

Curious how many people stayed within convenient walking distance to the river front. I was about 2 miles from there.. biking distance but not necessarily walking distance

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## Bsaint (Mar 26, 2008)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> Curious how many people stayed within convenient walking distance to the river front. I was about 2 miles from there.. biking distance but not necessarily walking distance
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


I booked my hotel on purpose because of it's proximity to both the show and downtown, I'm guessing those who didn't wanted to save money and thus shouldn't be bitching that their hotel was too far to walk.

I was at the Embassy Suites which was only a few blocks from city market and river front, but the best part was they had a free trolly running from the hotel to river front so took that once when I didn't feel like walking. The other best part was it was a simply left out of the Hotel to go across the bridge to Hutchinson Island, again I looked at all these factors when I booked my hotel.


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## PiSSAT4motion (Sep 28, 2006)

I was spoiled in the cabins of Helen so I wanted a house lol. Quiet street facing a park and a cafe a couple doors down. Then there was this dive bar a few blocks up called the Wormhole. 

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## DT EXP (Jun 15, 2007)

I got a house in between Savannah and Tybee.. Meant I had to drive into Savannah each night and pay for parking but worth it IMO.

10/10 would stay outside of Savannah again.


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## Bsaint (Mar 26, 2008)

PiSSAT4motion said:


> I was spoiled in the cabins of Helen so I wanted a house lol. Quiet street facing a park and a cafe a couple doors down. Then there was this dive bar a few blocks up called the Wormhole.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


Yeah I hear you, I did the oppisite for Helen haha I knew I didn't want to be in the crazy loud late night action, so stayed in Blairsville/Cleveland my first 2 years, then last year I got a house right before you enter town, but still away from the action it was perfect and I would do again despite having to drive in.



DT EXP said:


> I got a house in between Savannah and Tybee.. Meant I had to drive into Savannah each night and pay for parking but worth it IMO.
> 
> 10/10 would stay outside of Savannah again.


True, I still had to pay $15 on top of my hotel room cost for parking at the Hotel garage (and seems like most places were like that) so if you think about it not really a bad option.

I might try and do that next year, but only because I want to bring my dogs with me and I couldn't find any dog friendly hotels in town.


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## NH69_GP13 (Apr 2, 2016)

It was great walking everywhere, and having plenty of parking and being able to wake up and wash my car in the driveway in Helen. And hear birds chirp. And walk up to Hofer's for breakfast  And esp nice not having a burnout pit on Edelweiss.


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## reissue (Oct 17, 2010)

I couldn't beat where I stayed. Roof top pool, right next to the ferry, and right at the end of the river strip. I'll be staying there again next year.


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