Following the steps of Jazz & Blues & Country & Rock & Roll - 8 nights / 9 Days
Explore the best of Country, the Blues, Bluegrass, Rock 'N Roll and much, much more in the Southern States of the USA. This is a place that has incredibly friendly people, a reputation for enjoying life, top class food and French influence particularly in creole New Orleans. Elsewhere, the southern BBQ reigns king with each city and state having their own way of doing things. One thing is for sure, with great music heritage, record labels and studios known to every lover of music, this journey into the musical repertoire of America will appeal to all lovers of great songwriting.
You'll take music themed walking tours and walk in the footsteps of your heroes. Onwards to Memphis, Tennassee, to continue our cultural journey and we enjoy some spectacular and unparalleled Southern Hospitality.
Many would say the cherry on the cake is New Orleans and it's certainly a place that will get you talking. New Orleans has some of the world's best food, best music and best cultural attractions. The city is an icon of Jazz and the birthplace of this great musical genre. So let's get rocking on the lyrical Journey of Lifetime.
Itinerary and Specifics
Highlights:
- Visit the Grand Ole Opry - the Madison Square Garden of Country Music
- Enjoy the three best musical cities in the USA
- Learn about the culture and the cult following of some of the biggest stars - Johnny Cash, Elvis, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and many more
- Understand what it is that makes these three cities so inspirational for aspiring stars
- Understand the home of the Blues in New Orleans
- Learn the history of Louisiana and Tennessee from the days of European arrival to the current day
- Enjoy some fo the best food in the United States - New Orleans in particular has some of the best cuisine on the planet due to its French influences and abundant fresh and tasty ingredients
- Return home having experienced the very best of the South - you'll be impressed by the culture, live music, friendly people and excellent hospitality you'll experience.
Included:
- 4* Accommodation on a Bed & Breakfast Basis
- Meet and Greet at Airport
- Transfers to and from hotel
- Expert driver/guide
- Comfortable touring vehicle
- Local knowledge, recommendations and help with any bookings you want to make
- Porterage - 1 piece per person in and out of hotels
- Detailed city tours in all cities
- Tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville
- Sun Studio tour in Memphis
- Mississippi River Vintage Steamboat Tour in New Orleans
- San Antonio tour from Houston
Not included
- Flights - purchase your own flights in and out of destination
- Gratuities minimum recommended - $10 per person per day
- Lunches and Dinners - we like our guests to be able to choose their own dining options
- Additional tours specified as optional or extra
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1 - Atlanta
Upon arrival, your tour guide will meet and greet you at Atlanta Airport. After passport procedures and luggage retrieval, we will transfer to our hotel with our private vehicle waiting for us at the airport. We will have free time to relax after the distribution of rooms. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 2 - Atlanta
After breakfast, we will leave our hotel and start a tour to get to know the City of Atlanta.
During this tour, we will visit the entire region from the city center to the ruins of the civil war, from Swan House to Buckhead Mansions. At the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, we will listen to Dr. King's life. Continuing to Krog Street Market, we will witness the rediscovery of the Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods. You can visit the CNN Center before continuing to Buckhead. We'll see other historical sites, including The Swan House, featured in the movie"The Hunger Games". After the tour, our guests can visit the Coca Cola Museum or the Aquarium.Overnight at our hotel.Day 3 - Atlanta - Nashville
We will leave our hotel early in the morning and head out to Nashville, the center of Country Music with our private vehicle. Up on our arrival, we will start our city tour immediately. This city is the birthplace of Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Ronnie Dunn, Garth and home to Dierks Bentley, Caleb and Jared Followill of Kings of Leon, Julianne Hough of Dancing with the Martina McBride, Ronnie Millsap. During our tour, Broadway, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Museum (we will also tour inside), Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, and important buildings of the city are the places we will visit. We will transfer to our hotel after the tour. In the evening we will leave our hotel to explore the live music
options. Overnight at our hotel.Day 4 - Nashville - Memphis
After breakfast, we leave our hotel and head out to Memphis. We will take our breakfast break on the way. After our arrival in Memphis, which is known as the Birthplace of Rock & Roll around the world, we will start our city tour. After seeing Peabody Hotel, Lorraine Motel, Beale Street, Memphis Pyramid, we will go to Sun Studio where B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis was discovered. The first recordings of many musical genres, from Blues and Gospel to Country and Rock & Roll, were made in
this Studio. You will have the chance to stop where Elvis sang his first notes and listen to the stories of countless music giants.Day 5 - Memphis - New Orleans
We leave our hotel early in the morning and head out for another music center, New Orleans. We will take our breakfast break on the way. Up on arrival, we will make a tour introducing this beautiful city before transferring to our hotel. During this tour, the French Quarter, Historic Jackson Square, St. Charles Boulevard, City of the Dead, Mardi Gras festival grounds and the homes of the Festival King and Queen are some of the places we will see. We will transfer to our hotel at the end of the tour. We will have some free time to relax after the distribution of rooms. In the evening, if you wish, you can walk on Bourbon Street, known as the center of New Orleans' nightlife and famous for its jazz bars, shop and sip your drinks while listening to jazz music in the bars. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 6 - New Orleans
After breakfast in the morning, we will leave our hotel for a more detailed tour of New Orleans and first, we will wander around the Garden District. In the middle of the 1800s, while the north-south debates were taking place in the country, we will see the magnificent mansions built by the rich southerners and have the chance to explore the French Quarter region on foot. Lafayette cemetery, the home of the famous writer Anne Rice and the French Market are among the places we will see. After our tour, we will perform the Mississippi River Nostalgic Steamboat Tour. In this tour, you will take a cruise on the Mississippi river, on a historical steamship known as the pearl of New Orleans, and you will have the chance to see this beautiful city with a view of the river. In the evening, if you wish, you can walk on Bourbon Street, known as the center of New Orleans' nightlife and famous for its jazz bars, you can shop and sip your drinks accompanied by Jazz music in the bars. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 7 - New Orleans - Houston
After breakfast, we will depart for Houston. Up on arrival, we will take a half-day panoramic tour introducing the city of Houston before transferring to the hotel. During this tour, downtown Houston, Convention Center, Market Square Park, Chase Tower, Tunnel System, City Capitol and Historic Texas Boulevard are among the places to be seen panoramically. After the city tour, we will transfer to our hotel. We will have some free time to relax after the distribution of rooms. Overnight at our hotel.
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Day 8 Houston - San Antonio - Houston
In the morning, we will head out to San Antonio, which is today’s tour. In our city tour that we will do up on our arrival; The Alamo, Pearl Brewery Entertainment Complex, Market Square El Mercado and Centro des Artes Museums, San Fernando Cathedral, Spanish Government Palace, American Space Tower, King William Historic District, San Antonio Art Museum, the famous River Walk and Theater District are some of the places we will see. After the break, we return to Houston in the evening. Overnight at our hotel.
Day 9 - Houston
In the morning, after breakfast, we leave our suitcases in the hotel luggage room. Those who want to spend their last days shopping or exploring the missing spots of the city can have the free time to themselves. Other may join the NASA-Johnson Space Center - the largest Space Research Center in the USA and Galveston & Kemah Tour organized by your tour guide at an additional cost. On this tour, you will be able to visit and photograph the platforms where space exploration of the USA is carried out and where rockets, satellites and Space Shuttles are launched into space. You will be able to buy souvenirs and see the original control room of the space center where the first man was sent to the moon. After our space center tour, we will visit the towns of Galveston and Kemah, two beautiful resorts located at the opening of the city of Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. In Galveston, we will see Porretto Beach and Seawall Boulevard with beautiful mansions and hotels on it. Then, in Kemah, where we will go, we will take a walk on the Boardwalk,
where there are many cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops, and witness the vibrant social life of Kemah. After our tour is over, we’ll go to Houston airport with our private vehicle for your home flight.
End of our tour.