Tracks of the Deep South

Your journey through America’s Deep South begins today on arrival in the city of Atlanta. Here, you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay. There is time to settle in and enjoy a night at leisure, so you may like to explore the city, which is known as the capital of the South, or perhaps simply relax in anticipation of tomorrow’s adventures.

Stay: Atlanta, Marriott Atlanta Airport

A morning sightseeing tour takes the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change as one of its themes. You’ll visit the ‘The King Center’ and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was once pastor. Afterwards, continue to the World of Coca Cola, where you will have time to explore. The Coca Cola bottle originated in Atlanta and the museum follows the rich history of this famous and most popular drink. This afternoon, explore the picturesque scenery of Tennessee Valley and enjoy a ride on a mountain railroad. This evening, return to Chattanooga to relax.

Stay: Chattanooga, Doubletree Downtown Chattanooga

INSIDER EXPERIENCE

Enjoy a tour of the Jack Daniel's distillery.

INSIDER EXPERIENCE

This evening, join an excursion to the legendary Grand Ole Opry, one of the oldest country music venues in the US. It is here we see a live show.

Journey by coach through Tennessee to Lynchburg, the capital of Moore County, which has been ‘dry’ since the days of prohibition. This makes its main attraction all the more remarkable – the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Continue to Nashville.

Stay: Three Nights, Nashvilee, Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown

Since the 1940s, Nashville has been synonymous with country music, with its collection of recording studios and record labels on ‘Music Row’ and the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry for three decades.  A morning guided tour introduces you to the sights before we visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, the world’s largest music museum, for an amazing ‘who’s who’ in the world of country music.

Today is yours to explore Nashville as you choose. You might like to take a tour tracing the city’s Civil War and plantation history. Alternatively, why not join a walking tour to explore the city’s local honky-tonk heritage or dine out in Nashville’s collection of cafes, bars and restaurants.

INSIDER EXPERIENCE

Visit Graceland, Elvis Presley’s mansion on over 5.5 hectares, and view his former living quarters and private aircraft.

Today introduces the sights of Memphis’ extraordinary musical history. In the morning, visit Graceland. Later, visit the famous Sun Studios. Laying claim as the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll, this amazing piece of rock music history recorded acts from Elvis Presley to Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. As evening draws in, Beale Street’s live music is a must-visit. Here blues from the delta found a home before moving on to influence the world’s musical tastes.

INSIDER EXPERIENCE

Take Amtrak’s City of New Orleans service. It is widely claimed that the blues spread along this railroad and you will have the chance to follow this iconic route as the pretty towns of Brookhaven and McComb lead into the exotic Cajun swamps of the Louisiana Bayou.

This morning you’ll board Amtrak’s City of New Orleans service, heading through Mississippi to Louisiana. Stopping in the city of Hammond, you’ll be transported back in time on a tour of Oak Alley Plantation, located on the banks of the Mississippi, before continuing to New Orleans for a three-night stay.

Stay: Three Nights, New Orleans, AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon