Taste of the Deep South

Depart for your flight to Atlanta. Stay for one night at the locally rated 4-star Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel (4Q).

Travel to Chattanooga (118 miles, two hours). Take an included trip on the Incline Railway up Lookout Mountain – the world’s steepest passenger railway – where you can enjoy views over the mountains.

Stay overnight at the 3-star Holiday Inn & Suites, Chattanooga Downtown (3Q). Facilities at the hotel include a restaurant, bar, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and fitness centre. Each of the 139 air-conditioned bedrooms are equipped with a television, telephone, tea and coffee-making facilities, microwave, mini fridge and hairdryer. B

Travel to Lynchburg (91 miles, one hour and 40 minutes).

Join an included tour of the Jack Daniel’s distillery, and enjoy a tasting of its famous whisky.

Continue to the 4-star Gaylord Opryland Hotel (4Q), where you stay for two nights. Take in a show at the Grand Ole Opry, where many country legends – from Patsy Cline to Dolly Parton – have performed. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is located ten miles south of the city centre. The hotel is a vast complex with a choice of restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, gardens, waterfalls and even an indoor river with a replica steamboat! The 2,881 rooms have a television, direct-dial telephone, coffee maker, hairdryer and ironing facilities.

Please note: if your tour starts on the 22 May 2022, your accommodation in Nashville will be The Aerston Hotel, a boutique hotel in Nashville’s Midtown district. Facilities include a restaurant, bar, fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool and free Wi-Fi. All 180 bedrooms are air-conditioned with a television, telephone, mini-bar and hairdryer. B

Enjoy an included morning tour of Nashville, known as the country music capital of the world. You’ll also visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. B

Travel to Memphis (212 miles, four hours). Stop at Elvis Presley’s birthplace, Tupelo, and see the shack where the young Elvis lived, visit the museum with its collection of Presley memorabilia, as well as explore the greater complex which also houses a chapel and the Assembly of God church where the Presley family would worship.

Continue to Memphis for a two-night stay at the 3-star Crowne Plaza Memphis Downtown (3Q). The hotel is 15 minutes’ walk from the restaurants and bars of Beale Street, and facilities include a restaurant, bar and outdoor swimming pool. All 230 bedrooms have a television, telephone, fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. B

After a short included orientation tour this morning, there will be a selection of optional excursions available or perhaps you would prefer to spend it at leisure.

After lunch visit Elvis Presley's legendary home, Graceland, where he lived from 1957 until his death in 1977. Enjoy an audio tour of the mansions and grounds. B

Travel south and cross the border into Mississippi to Natchez (304 miles, five hours). En route stop at the Delta Blues Museum.

Stay overnight at the 4-star Magnolia Bluffs Hotel (3Q) which has a bar, outdoor pool and free Wi-Fi. All bedrooms are air-conditioned and have a television, telephone and a hairdryer. B

Continue to New Orleans (176 miles, three hours), pausing en route to visit the Oak Alley Plantation.

Stay three nights at the 4-star New Orleans Marriott (4Q) on the famed Canal Street.

The hotel has a restaurant, wine bar, burger bar, outdoor heated pool and fitness centre. Each of the air-conditioned rooms has a television, telephone, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, coffee-maker, a safe and Wi-Fi (extra charge). B

Enjoy the day at leisure. Perhaps shop at the Riverwalk, visit the Jackson Square museums or ride on the St Charles streetcar. Perhaps take an optional city tour. B

Spend a further day at leisure exploring the city. Be sure to explore the historic French Quarter, the oldest neighbourhood in the city. Despite the name most of the buildings were built during Spanish rule, after two fires destroyed much of the original French architecture, but the charming area is still a joy to explore. The quarter is home to the celebrated 'House of the Rising Sun' and the delightful Cathedral of St Louis. Perhaps join an optional cruise around the Louisiana swamps and bayous. In the evening you might like to hop aboard a traditional paddle steamer on the Mississippi River for an optional jazz cruise with dinner included. B

Leave New Orleans and head to Birmingham in Alabama (343 miles, six hours). Martin Luther King pioneered the civil rights movement from Alabama.

Spend the night at the 4-star Hyatt Regency Birmingham -The Wynfrey Hotel (4Q) on a bed-and-breakfast basis. The hotel has a restaurant and lobby bar.

Travel back to Atlanta (160 miles, two hours and 30 minutes) and in the afternoon enjoy an included city tour. The USA’s self-proclaimed ‘Capital of the South’, Atlanta was founded as a railroad town in the mid-19th century. Your tour includes a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which comprises King’s birthplace, the Ebeneezer Baptist Chapel where he preached, and his grave.

Your final night is at the 3-star Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel (4Q). B

Enjoy some time at leisure before travelling to the airport for your overnight flight back to the UK overnight. B

Arrive in the UK for your included door-to-door travel service.