Walk down to the Riverwalk, find the ferry landing below City Hall, and wait. That is really all the Savannah Belles Ferry asks of you. The boats belong to Chatham Area Transit, the county's bus agency, and they work the Savannah River the way a downtown circulator works a grid of streets: back and forth between River Street and Hutchinson Island all day, with no fare, no reservation and no timetable you need to memorize.
Be clear about what you are boarding. The paid riverboat cruises that also tie up along River Street are separate from CAT entirely. The Belles are short, practical crossings, and for most riders the point is the Savannah Convention Center and the Westin on the far bank, a stretch of island that otherwise means going round by road. Three landings are involved: City Hall and Waving Girl on the Savannah side, and the Convention Center landing on the island.
CAT publishes the hours plainly, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except three holidays, but the frequency less so, and the section below explains why this page gives hours rather than departure times. No other ferry in our South section is run by a bus agency.
Fifteen hours a day, and why no departure list is printed here
Operating hours as published by CAT on its Savannah Belles Ferry page, read on September 25, 2026; no end date is given CAT — Savannah Belles Ferry · 2026-09-25
No fare at all, under CAT's deal with the City of Savannah
Nothing at the landings takes money: no ticket machine, no pass and no card reader, since the ride costs nothing. CAT describes the ferry and the dot Express Shuttle buses as a single free downtown system, covering land and water, which it runs through a partnership with the City of Savannah.
| Passenger, any age | Free |
| Bicycle or luggage you bring aboard | Free |
Zero fare according to CAT, checked on September 25, 2026 CAT — Zero Fare downtown services · 2026-09-25
Two River Street landings and one at the Convention Center
City Hall Landing
The main River Street stop is on the Riverwalk directly below City Hall, next to the Hyatt. Every boat on the old printed timetable started its run here, which makes it the landing to head for when you have no idea which boat is next.
CAT still has a notice online saying this landing is closed for repairs until further notice, with the ferry using the City of Savannah's recreational dock about two ramps to the east as a stand-in and the Waving Girl landing as usual. The notice carries no date, and the main ferry page lists City Hall Landing without any warning, so look for signs on the Riverwalk before you commit to it.
Convention Center Landing
On the Hutchinson Island side the boats tie up at the Savannah Convention Center, beside the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. The seawall, dock and ramp here were rebuilt in recent years; while the work went on, CAT temporarily moved the stop to the Westin's own dock, and the ribbon-cutting for the finished seawall took place when the new hybrid ferries were welcomed in June 2025.
Older CAT material calls this the Trade Center Landing. It is the same place.
Across the shipping channel between River Street and the island
This is a short hop across a working river. Three landings sit in a tight triangle: City Hall and Waving Girl on the Riverwalk, some half a mile apart along River Street, and the Convention Center landing directly across the water on Hutchinson Island. CAT's own transit data gives the boats about four minutes from City Hall to the island.
The Savannah River is part of the Intracoastal Waterway and a channel for ocean-going ships, and the ferry has to fit in around that traffic. CAT's printed timetable warns that fog, weather and large vessels moving up or down the river can hold a boat briefly at the dock.
Riding a transit boat on a river full of tour boats and freighters
- Do not queue at a ticket booth
The paid sightseeing and dinner cruises along River Street are private businesses. The Belles are the CAT boats; you simply walk on at one of the three signed landings.
- Waving Girl is the east-end stop
The Waving Girl landing is in Morrell Park, near the Savannah Marriott Riverfront, beside the statue it is named after. On the older timetable it was served only from mid-morning to early evening, so City Hall is the safer bet at the edges of the day.
- Bikes and bags welcome
The boats are ADA-compliant and take bicycles and luggage, which makes the ferry a practical way to reach the Convention Center hotels from the Historic District without a car.
- Dogs on a leash or in a carrier
Pets are allowed, provided a dog is leashed or in a carrier for the crossing.
- Three days without a boat
No boats on Thanksgiving, on December 25 or on January 1. On the Fourth of July it pauses during the fireworks and runs later afterward.
- Connect with the dot shuttle
The free dot Express Shuttle loops through the Historic District every ten minutes, seven days a week, with stops at the visitor centers and parking garages, so the whole trip from a garage to Hutchinson Island can cost nothing.
Juliette Gordon Low, Susie King Taylor and a waterjet first
Each of the Belles carries the name of a woman from Savannah's history: Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts; Susie King Taylor, a Civil War nurse and teacher; Florence Martus, the Waving Girl who greeted ships from the riverbank for decades, and whose statue gives the east landing its name; and Mary Musgrove, who interpreted between the Creek nation and the colony's founders. The names have passed from one generation of boats to the next.
The Juliette Gordon Low II is one of the two newest, welcomed with the Susie King Taylor II at a public ceremony on June 5, 2025. In CAT's words they are the country's first waterjet hybrid vessels of their kind: they run on battery power, with diesel generators aboard, and use electric propulsion from BAE Systems. The same fare-free idea runs through transit-operated boats elsewhere, from Kitsap Transit's boat out of Port Orchard in Washington, which Kitsap Transit prices like a bus, to Daufuskie Island just up the coast, where the county pays a contractor and riders still buy a seat.
Four Belles named for Savannah women, two of them hybrids
What riders ask on the Riverwalk before they cross
Does the Savannah Belles Ferry charge a fare?
No. The ferry is part of CAT's zero-fare downtown service, so every crossing is free for every rider, with no pass or card required. The only paid option is an extra boat for a large group, at $250 an hour for at least four hours.
Until what hour do boats leave Hutchinson Island?
Service ends at 10 p.m., which CAT describes as its regular end of service. Aim to be at the Convention Center landing before then; on the older printed timetable the last departure from the island side was ten minutes before the last one from City Hall.
Is there a wait between boats?
Not long, but CAT's sources disagree on exactly how long. Its ferry page says every 10 minutes, while its linked printed timetable and its 2025–26 transit data show a boat every 20 to 30 minutes. Either way the crossing itself takes only a few minutes.
Which holidays stop the boats?
It sails daily except on three holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and the first of January. On the Fourth of July it stops during the fireworks, from about 9:30 p.m. in 2026, then carries the crowds until 10:30 p.m.
Are bikes and suitcases allowed aboard?
Yes. CAT says the boats are fully ADA-compliant and accommodate bicycles and luggage, which is why people staying at the Westin or attending a convention use the ferry to reach the Historic District.
Which landing is nearest to the Marriott and the Waving Girl statue?
The Waving Girl landing, in Morrell Park near the Savannah Marriott Riverfront. Not every boat called there on the older timetable, which served it only from mid-morning to early evening, so the City Hall landing is the reliable one first thing and late at night.
Is the City Hall landing open?
It should be, but check the Riverwalk signs. CAT's main ferry page lists it as normal, yet an undated CAT notice about repairs is still online, saying boats use the city recreational dock two ramps to the east while work is going on.