Bluegrass Country & the Smoky Mountains featuring Louisville, Lexington, Gatlinburg & Asheville

Your tour starts in Louisville, Kentucky, famous for Thoroughbreds, Bourbon and baseball. Settle in for a 2-night stay at your hotel, ideally situated in downtown Louisville.

Enjoy a visit to Churchill Downs, the Thoroughbred racetrack famous for hosting the pinnacle of all horse races: the Kentucky Derby. Experience the backside of the racetrack during a rail-side breakfast in the Track Kitchen all while watching the horses during their morning workouts! Then, tour the Kentucky Derby Museum and learn about the legendary history of the “Sport of Kings.” Enjoy a walking tour* of Old Louisville, a historic neighborhood of Victorian mansions. Later, head to “Museum Row” where it’s your choice! Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for an All-Star baseball experience -OR- explore the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, and its new Spirit of Kentucky exhibit, the official start of the Bourbon Trail. Tonight, join your fellow travelers at a local restaurant for a welcome dinner.

Visit Buffalo Trace, the oldest continuously operating Bourbon distillery in America. Learn about the subtle craft, meet some of the people who make it all happen, and taste some of the home-grown spirit. Stop in the quaint, historic town of Midway before exploring Kentucky’s horse country. Learn about the area from a local guide and take in the rolling bluegrass pastureland and the horse farms that dot the landscape. Hear about time-honored traditions during visits to private horse farms before settling into Lexington for your 2-night stay.

Travel to Berea, the historic college town known as the arts-and-crafts center of Kentucky. Meet a few artisans while they demonstrate their craft. Enjoy lunch at Boone Tavern, where bluegrass country meets the rolling hills of Appalachia. Tonight, personalize your evening with Diner’s Choice, deciding where you want to eat from an included “menu” of Lexington’s great restaurants.

Travel through Daniel Boone National Forest. Extending across the western plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains, it’s named for the larger-than-life American pioneer who once blazed a trail across these rugged and wild lands. Arrive in the lively mountain resort of Gatlinburg, gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and your home for a 2-night stay. The rest of the day is yours, perhaps you will go to Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountains theme park or enjoy time in downtown Gatlinburg.

With a local guide, explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park (UNESCO) – the United States’ most visited national park. Stop at various lookouts on your way to Newfound Gap, which boasts views of both Tennessee and North Carolina. Continue through the park to Cherokee and spend time at Qualla, the oldest Native American arts cooperative where you’ll learn about traditional crafts and customs. Afterwards, tour the Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery with a tasting. Enjoy dinner overlooking the Smoky Mountains at Anakeesta – a Cherokee word that means “high ground.”

This morning, depart for Asheville, North Carolina, your Blue Ridge Mountains home for 2 nights. Upon arrival in Asheville, embark on an orientation walking tour with a local guide and discover the neighborhood around your downtown hotel.

Back in 1895, George Vanderbilt II decided to build himself a “little mountain escape” in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The result was the impressive and decadent grandeur of the Biltmore Estate. Today, tour the sprawling mansion and the manicured grounds, enjoy a wine-tasting at the historic Biltmore Winery and experience what it was like to be a wealthy tycoon in the Gilded Age of America. Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Today your tour comes to an end. As you venture home, take the spirit and the warmth of America’s Southeast with you.