Savannah Convention Center: Getting There, Parking & the Ferry

Updated October 22, 2026. The Savannah Convention Center is on Hutchinson Island, across the Savannah River from River Street. The footer on savconventioncenter.com prints One International Drive, P.O. Box 248, Savannah, Georgia 31402. The phone is (912) 447-4000. The fax is (912) 447-4722. If you are coming from a downtown hotel, the practical choice is the free Savannah Belles Ferry. If you are driving, you cross the Talmadge Memorial Bridge and pay to park on site.

Facts below come from the venue page, the directions and parking page, the expansion page, and Chatham Area Transit's Savannah Belles Ferry page. Checked October 22, 2026. Ferry clocks on those two sites do not match. Both are printed below. Distances are measured, not guessed.

Savannah Convention Center at a glance

• Address on the footer: One International Drive, P.O. Box 248, Savannah, Georgia 31402.
• Other ZIPs on the record: a legal-notice line on the same pages prints One International Drive, Savannah, GA 31401. A mapped pin for 1 International Drive carries postcode 31421. This page uses 31402 because that is the footer address block.
• Phone: (912) 447-4000. Event services uses the same number.
• Where it sits: Hutchinson Island, on the Savannah River, with the Historic District on the other bank.
• Size, from the venue page: a 660,000 sq. ft. waterfront complex, 200,000 sq. ft. of divisible exhibit space, 27 meeting rooms, 5 executive board rooms, a 40,000 sq. ft. ballroom in addition to the existing 25,000 sq. ft. ballroom, a 367-seat auditorium, and 1,500 parking spaces on site, including a new 900-space garage. The same sentence mentions 3 new dining outlets and zoom rooms.
• Ferry: free. The center says 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CAT says 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. See the ferry section.
• Parking, per the directions page: surface lot $10, garage $20, overflow lot $5 with a shuttle on high-attendance days, plus a $0.99 transaction fee.

Getting there: the bridge and the ferry

There is no road from River Street straight across the water to the front door. A driving route measured October 22, 2026, from the mapped convention center pin (32.0846245, -81.0868736) to City Hall Landing, the ferry terminal on East River Street (32.0818027, -81.0907034), was 6,935 meters, or 4.31 miles, and about 9 minutes. The longest named piece of that route is Atlantic Coastal Highway, labeled US 17 and GA 404 Spur. That is the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. Wikipedia's bridge summary says the Talmadge Memorial Bridge spans the Savannah River between downtown Savannah and Hutchinson Island and carries US 17 / SR 404 Spur. The rest of the measured route uses Savannah Harbor Parkway on the island, then Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, West Bay Street, and River Street on the downtown side.

A straight line between the same two points is 478 meters, or 0.30 miles. That line crosses the river. It is not a walking route, and this page does not turn the router's driving time into a walk time. The question "how far is the convention center from River Street?" has two answers: about a third of a mile across the water, or 4.31 miles and about 9 minutes by car.

The directions page does not print a rideshare drop-off point, so this guide does not invent one. It also says the center is easy to reach via Amtrak and via Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, and it says the airport offers more than a dozen direct flights from major cities daily. That flight line is the center's wording. Our airport to downtown guide and Amtrak station guide cover those arrivals into town. The center is a separate hop after you reach the Historic District.

The free Belles Ferry, and the two clocks

The venue page says the center has complimentary access via the Savannah Belles Water Ferry to the Historic District. The directions page is more specific. It says Savannah's downtown transportation system includes downtown express shuttles, the River Street Streetcar, and Belles Ferry boats, all free of charge. It says the ferries run from the Trade and Convention Center landing to River Street and back, seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

CAT's page, which is the operator, does not use that 10:00 a.m. start. Checked the same day, it says operating hours are Sunday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. A later line says ferries run every 10 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. CAT also links a current-schedules page at catchacat.org/current-schedules. Use CAT for the boat you are about to board. This guide does not pick the center's 10:00 a.m. line over CAT's 7:00 a.m. line, or the other way around. They were both on the sites on October 22, 2026.

CAT names three landings. City Hall is the Savannah Riverwalk at City Hall. Waving Girl is the Savannah Riverwalk in Morrell Park near the Savannah Marriott Riverfront. The Westin landing is described as the Savannah Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, next to the Westin. The fleet names on that page are the Juliette Gordon Low, the Susie King Taylor, the Florence Martus, and the Mary Musgrove.

A mapped ferry terminal on Hutchinson Island Road, labeled as Chatham Area Transit owned, sits at 32.0867417, -81.0884688. That pin is 279 meters, or 0.17 miles, from the convention center pin, about 4 minutes at 3 miles per hour. The straight-line distance from that island terminal to City Hall Landing is 588 meters, or 0.37 miles. This page does not claim the mapped terminal and CAT's "next to the Westin" landing were checked on foot as the same dock. It also does not print a crossing time in minutes. Neither official page states one.

CAT's page still shows a notice for the weekend of February 14, 2026: extra bus bridges for large crowds, Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Monday, February 16, 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., pickup at Bryan and Bull Streets, drop-off at the Savannah Convention Center dock, every 30 minutes. That weekend is over. It is not the regular ferry schedule.

For a large meeting, CAT says it can add a ferry by request. The posted cost is $250 per hour, with a four-hour minimum. The same note says CAT cannot provide private service and the additional ferry remains open to public use. The contact on that block is (912) 704-9624 or john.allen@catchacat.org. That is not the fare for a walk-up passenger. The public boats are the free ones.

The directions page also describes a free express shuttle with 10 stops in the Historic District, 30-passenger ADA-accessible vehicles, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. That line is the center's page, not a schedule this guide re-read on a separate DOT timetable. Our walkability guide is the downtown walking context once you are off the boat.

Parking rates on the directions page

Per the center's directions page, checked October 22, 2026, parking has run on Metropolis pay-by-phone since February 8, 2025. First-time drivers scan a QR code in the lot or garage, enter a license plate, and choose a contactless payment. The charge happens on the way out, with a text receipt. Returning drivers who already registered just drive in and out.

The posted rates are a surface lot at $10, a parking garage at $20, and, on high-attendance days, an overflow lot at $5.00 with shuttle service to and from the convention center. A $0.99 fee is assessed per transaction at the end of the visit. In-and-out privileges are no: each entry is a new visit and is charged at exit. You cannot reserve a space in advance. The page says that may exist later. After you drive in, there is a 30-minute grace period to leave without a charge. The page does not print a separate event price, so this guide does not invent one.

Parking questions go to Metropolis, not the convention center switchboard. The decoded contact on that FAQ is help@metropolis.io or (856) 485-6865. The venue page's 1,500 on-site spaces, including the 900-space garage, are the capacity line. They are not a promise that a space is open on a show day.

Downtown garages are a different system, on the other side of the river. If you park in the Historic District and ride the ferry, use our Historic District parking guide for those garages. Do not mix those rates with the $10 and $20 on the island.

What the building contains after the 2025 expansion

The expansion page says the center completed a $276 million expansion as of February 2025. That paragraph says the work doubled the exhibit hall to 200,000 square feet, introduced a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, added 15 meeting rooms, and built a 900-space parking garage. An earlier paragraph on the same page says Clark Construction was hired by the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission in 2018, and describes the added exhibit hall, ballroom, meeting rooms, and parking as planned. The February 2025 sentence is the completion line. This page treats the project as finished on that date, not as a future build.

The venue page, checked the same day, is the current building description: 660,000 sq. ft. waterfront complex, 200,000 sq. ft. of divisible exhibit space, 27 meeting rooms, 5 executive board rooms, a 40,000 sq. ft. ballroom in addition to the existing 25,000 sq. ft. ballroom, a 367-seat auditorium, and 1,500 parking spaces including the new 900-space garage. The "15 meeting rooms" line is what the expansion says was added. The "27 meeting rooms" and "5 executive board rooms" lines are what the venue page says the building has now. They are not the same sentence, and this guide does not add them together.

The expansion page also describes Zoom Rooms for calls and quiet work, by request through an event manager. That is a meeting amenity, not a public lounge with posted hours.

Where to eat, and where to stay

The venue page says the building has 3 new dining outlets. The expansion page names them and limits them. Savannah Bean at The Brick is the coffee stop, with locally roasted coffee, espresso, teas, and pastries, in the center's wording. The Port is the wine bar, with wine and light bites. The Hangar is an open gathering space for meetups and lounge-style events. The page then says each outlet is available by client request and can be activated for an event. Contact the event manager for availability. Do not plan a walk-in dinner at those three names. They are not listed as public restaurants.

Public food is on the Savannah side of the river. From City Hall Landing you are on River Street. Vic's on the River and The Chart House are the two River Street restaurants in our directory. The wider list is our River Street restaurants guide. Our River Street guide covers the cobblestones and the walk. Plant Riverside and the Savannah Christmas Market are at the west end of that riverfront, not at the City Hall dock. In season, the market is a separate walk west after you land.

The on-island hotel the venue page names is the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. It says the center is adjacent to the Westin. A mapped point for that hotel, at 1 Resort Drive, sits about 0.13 miles from the convention center pin. That street and the mapped postcode 31421 come from the map pin, checked October 22, 2026. The hotel's own page did not return a readable address on this check, so this guide does not print a rate and does not treat 1 Resort Drive as text copied from the hotel site.

The same venue paragraph names three Historic District hotels as lodging for attendees: the Hyatt Regency, the Savannah Marriott Riverfront, and the Hilton Savannah Desoto. Those are the center's names. This page does not add their street addresses or nightly rates. CAT's Waving Girl landing is the one it places near the Savannah Marriott Riverfront. The planned Signia by Hilton next to the center is already covered in our new hotels in Savannah guide. This page does not repeat an opening date.

If you have time off the show floor

Most of a visitor day in Savannah is on the downtown bank. Once the ferry drops you at City Hall Landing, River Street, Broughton Street, and the squares are the walk. Shopping districts are in our Savannah shopping guide. The Christmas Market link above is the seasonal riverfront add-on, at Plant Riverside, from November 19, 2026 through January 3, 2027, on that market's own page. None of that replaces the center's parking rules if your badge is on the island and your car is too.

If the group is large enough that the public ferry is the wrong tool, use the CAT extra-boat request above, and remember the added boat is still public. If the group is driving, budget the garage at the posted $20 plus the $0.99 fee, and do not count on leaving and coming back on the same charge.

Savannah Convention Center FAQ

Where is the Savannah Convention Center?

The Savannah Convention Center is on Hutchinson Island, across the Savannah River from River Street. The footer on savconventioncenter.com prints One International Drive, P.O. Box 248, Savannah, Georgia 31402, and the phone (912) 447-4000. A legal-notice line on the same site prints the street address with ZIP 31401. A mapped pin for 1 International Drive carries postcode 31421. Checked October 22, 2026.

Is the Savannah Belles Ferry free?

Yes. The convention center directions page says the Belles Ferry boats are free of charge, and the venue page calls the crossing complimentary. Chatham Area Transit operates the ferry. Checked October 22, 2026. A separate CAT line for an extra boat, $250 per hour with a four-hour minimum, is for added group service and is not the public fare. That extra boat stays open to the public.

How much is parking at the Savannah Convention Center?

Per the center's directions page, checked October 22, 2026: surface lot $10, parking garage $20, and an overflow lot at $5 with a shuttle on high-attendance days. A $0.99 fee is charged per transaction. Each entry is a new visit, with no in-and-out privileges. Parking cannot be reserved in advance. There is a 30-minute grace period. The page does not print a separate event price. Payment is Metropolis pay-by-phone, in place since February 8, 2025. Parking help is help@metropolis.io or (856) 485-6865.

How far is the Savannah Convention Center from River Street?

A straight line from the mapped convention center pin at 1 International Drive to City Hall Landing, the ferry terminal on East River Street, is 0.30 miles. That line crosses the river. It is not a walk. A driving route measured October 22, 2026, between those points was 4.31 miles and about 9 minutes, using US 17 / SR 404 Spur, the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. The mapped ferry terminal on Hutchinson Island is 0.17 miles from the convention center pin, about 4 minutes at 3 miles per hour, and 0.37 miles in a straight line from City Hall Landing.

What time does the ferry to the convention center run?

The two official pages do not match. The convention center directions page says the Belles Ferry runs from the Trade and Convention Center landing to River Street and back, seven days a week, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CAT's Belles Ferry page says Sunday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and that ferries run every 10 minutes in that window except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. CAT operates the boats. Check catchacat.org before you go. Checked October 22, 2026.

Can you eat at the convention center if you are not in an event?

The expansion page describes three outlets: Savannah Bean at The Brick, The Port, and The Hangar. It says each outlet is available by client request and tells guests to contact an event manager. They are not listed as public restaurants. For a public meal, use River Street. Vic's on the River and The Chart House are on the Savannah side. Checked October 22, 2026.