Hearse Ghost Tour in Savannah: What to Know Before You Ride

Savannah earns its ghost reputation honestly. In 2002 the American Institute of Parapsychology held a conference in the city and named it America's Most Haunted City, though its own founder called the title more honorary than scientific. The city was founded in 1733 around a plan of squares, 22 of which survive downtown, and it avoided destruction when it surrendered peacefully to Union troops in December 1864.

Old buildings, yellow fever graves and dense stories make it a natural city for telling tales from a vehicle. Savannah's ghost tours pass Colonial Park Cemetery, where more than 700 victims of the 1820 yellow fever epidemic are buried, and the squares where ghost walks tell of figures like Alice Riley, hanged in the 1730s. Those are stories and legends, reported as such, not settled fact.

What actually happens on the ride

On a hearse tour you sit inside a real, restored hearse while it drives the Historic District at night. The guide narrates ghost stories as the vehicle moves through the Historic District. You stay seated, and the operator's site does not describe any building entry.

The experience is closer to a moving storytelling session than a ghost hunt.

What the operator offers

The hearse operator's own site lists a standard night Hearse Ghost Tour, a 90-minute private VIP tour, a 60-minute daytime tour, a 40-minute family tour aimed at children 13 and under, and seasonal Halloween runs. Its private Halloween tour carries up to 8 people. Group size on the standard night tour is not stated in any material this site can verify, and prices are shown only at booking.

This is the single most important practical detail. Hearse ghost tours are sold directly by the hearse operator and booked online through its own reservation system. They are not listed on the two booking platforms this site compares.

That means no price, rating, cancellation deadline or review history is verified here, and none is printed on this page. You will see the cost only when you reach checkout on the operator's own site.

Booking direct is not automatically bad, but it changes your risk. Most catalog tours compared here carry free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, so a change of plans costs nothing. The hearse operator's cancellation terms are not stated in anything this site can check, so read them carefully on the operator's page before you pay.

If flexibility matters to you, a seated trolley tour with a verified 24-hour free cancellation window may be the safer spend.

Savannah sells its ghost stories in several seated and standing formats. The hearse is the most theatrical ride, but it is the only one you cannot price-compare in advance. The table below lines up the formats side by side so you can see what is seated, how big the groups get, how long each runs and where each is booked.

The hearse row comes from the operator's own listing, which this site cannot verify beyond what is printed there. The other four rows come from catalog listings with published prices, ratings and cancellation terms.

Two things jump out. In this table only the trolley tours go inside buildings, and only one of those includes a museum. The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley enters the Andrew Low House on Lafayette Square and the Perkins and Sons Ship Chandlery on River Street.

The paranormal museum trolley includes after-hours entry to the Savannah Paranormal Museum on West Boundary Street, which no other listing compared here offers. If riding is the priority and building entry is the bonus, the trolleys beat the hearse on value you can verify.

Worth it if the ride itself is the draw. Sitting in a genuine hearse gliding past darkened squares is a mood you cannot get from a bus seat or a sidewalk, and Savannah's compact Historic District means the stories come thick and fast between stops. It also suits anyone who cannot manage 90 minutes on foot, since every story arrives without walking.

October and November and March to May bring the mildest evenings, with October highs around 79°F (26°C) and lows near 59°F (15°C).

Think twice if price certainty and cancellation flexibility matter to you, because the operator's terms are not published anywhere this site can check. Think twice if you want interior visits, since the operator describes no building entry and the trolley tours do go in. And think twice with young children on the standard night ride, because the operator's shortest family option runs 40 minutes and is aimed at children 13 and under.

No price is stated here for the hearse, so weigh it against the $43 Ghosts and Gravestones trolley, the $52.43 paranormal museum trolley and the $39 candlelit walk before you commit.

One honest independence note: you do not need a paid vehicle ride to enjoy Savannah's haunted side at all. Independent visitors can still enjoy the city's ghost lore, especially with a self-guided route and realistic expectations. Our Most Haunted Places in Savannah, and a Self-Guided Walk post maps the addresses, including 432 Abercorn Street and Wright Square, that vehicle tours drive past, and the cemetery at Bonaventure is free to enter daily from 8 am to 5 pm.

The hearse operator does not only run at night. Its own site lists a 60-minute daytime tour, which suits travellers who want the novelty of the vehicle without a late evening, and a 40-minute family tour aimed at children 13 and under. Around Halloween it adds seasonal runs, including a private Halloween tour for up to 8 people.

All of these are booked on the operator's own reservation system, and the prices appear only at checkout.

If you want a daytime ride you can compare

Among the tours compared here, the seated daytime option is the Bonaventure Cemetery golf cart tour: one hour in a cart with a group of 10 at most, past the graves of Johnny Mercer and Conrad Aiken, from $38 with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. It is history rather than ghost stories, and you drive yourself to the cemetery, which is open 8 am to 5 pm.

What to ask before you pay

Since none of the hearse operator's terms can be checked here, ask the questions the compared listings answer up front: how long the standard night ride lasts, how many guests share the vehicle, the minimum age, what happens in rain and how late you can cancel. Write the answers down with the booking reference, because a confirmation email is the only record you will have.

Halloween demand

Halloween falls in October, and several of the listings compared here carry a likely-to-sell-out flag. If a hearse ride is the plan for Halloween week, book as early as the operator allows, and keep a seated trolley as a backup. Our Halloween in Savannah guide covers the weather, the family events and which tours to book first.

If the hearse appeals mainly because you want to sit, two catalog tours deliver the same seated format with published prices, ratings and free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Both are night rides through the downtown squares.

The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley is the cheaper of the two and the only seated tour that enters two buildings, with guides in period costume. The paranormal museum trolley costs about ten dollars more per person but is the only listing compared here with museum entry in the price, and it allows all ages. The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley is not suitable for wheelchair users, per its listing, and some travellers say narration at the back of that trolley can be hard to hear.

Parking at the museum is not included on the paranormal tour, and times there can shift with traffic.

Book evening slots ahead in October. Halloween falls that month and several listings already carry a likely-to-sell-out flag, so waiting until the day risks missing the night you want. Summer evenings stay warm and humid, with June to August averaging about 12 rainy days a month, so pack for it.

Most walking tours run rain or shine unless the weather is severe.

• Check the minimum age before you book. The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley excludes children under 6, while the paranormal museum trolley welcomes all ages
• Confirm where you board. The Ghosts and Gravestones trolley boards at 301 E River St with no hotel pickup, and the paranormal tour starts at the museum at 415 W Boundary St
• Plan parking. Museum parking is not included on the paranormal tour, and fees are extra
• Read the cancellation terms, especially on any tour booked direct with an operator rather than through a compared listing
• Want more after the ride? The Bonaventure Cemetery golf cart tour runs by day, and Colonial Park Cemetery is free to enter on your own from 8 am to 5 pm in winter and 8 am to 8 pm the rest of the year

A final note on expectations. Ghost tours in Savannah are storytelling, and the best guides say so plainly. The famous Molly story at the Sorrel-Weed House, for example, has no historical record behind it, even though Matilda Sorrel's death is documented.

Go for the atmosphere and the history and treat the hauntings as legend, and you will not leave feeling sold to.

Whatever you decide, decide before the evening gets away from you. If the hearse calls to you, go to the operator's site, read the cancellation terms and confirm the price at checkout. If you would rather know the cost in advance, the seated trolley tours and the candlelit walk all carry published prices and free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.

Our full breakdown of ghost tour prices in Savannah GA lines up every option compared here so you can pick tonight and still make the departure.