American Airlines is now offering daily non-stop flights from Savannah to Miami (and vice versa)! They seem to run a bit over $200 and are about 2.5 hours.

Before this direct flight (just opened Dec 14th 2007), you had at least one connection, or had to drive to Jacksonville (a little less than 2 hr drive from Savannah), so it basically took less time to drive (about 8 hrs) from Savannah than to fly in the past (because of the connection and having to get to the airport 2 hrs before flight, etc).

Hi Beaker - it sounds like you've done the drive before. How long does it take and what tips can you offer. I am in Miami and I am thinking of going to Savannah soon.

I've done the trip quite a few times now. Some of those drives included a full carload with me, my wife, my 2 year old, my dog, and my cat....in a compact car . But it turns out to be much cheaper than flying, and used to take about the same amount of time before AA started offering this new flight.

It's about 480 miles, so about 7 hrs driving time if averaging 70 mph (the speed limit most of the way). The rest depends on traffic and stops.

When my daughter was a bit younger, I used to start the trip around 7:00 pm (close to her bed time back then) and she would sleep the entire way which would cut my time significantly since there was only a quick stop for gas and absolutely no traffic.

Now that she's too old to fall asleep for long periods of time in the car, we go during the day . This means she needs to be entertained by toys and movies, and we need to stop for about an hour for lunch, bathroom, gas, and expending some of her energy . You also need to factor in the traffic, especially if traveling around the Holidays or if constuction is going on. Try to time it so that you won't be passing through any major cities (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, etc) during rush hour.

Unless you have a good radar detector, I'd recommend sticking to within 10 miles of the speed limit because there are lots of state troopers along I-95.

Savannah is a beautiful city which I'd definitely recommend visiting. You can read some of my posts about the different restaurants and attractions throughout the forum for an idea of what to do. I'll try to write some more when I get a chance to give you a better idea before you make your trip .

How far is the airport from the heart of Savannah?

It's about 10 miles or 15 minutes. Not too bad at all.