A friend and I are making this trip over 10 or so days in August. We plan to hit Austin, New Orleans, Nashville and/or Memphis, and Savannah for sure. Additional possibilities include Jackson, Birmingham, Atlanta.

I'm looking for recommendations especially for the NO to Savannah legs. Small towns of historical interest, places off the beaten path, local color... Also campsites and parks, since we plan to camp some nights. And does anyone have experience using sites like couchsurfing.com and hospitality club to find places to stay?

I imagine this question is on the general side but we are just looking for some ideas to help shape the trip. Thanks!

Bump. In the interest of getting more responses, I'll make my query more specific. It now looks as if our trip will take us from New Orleans to Nashville over a few days, and I am looking for sites of historical, cultural, or natural interest in Mississippi and western/center Alabama. Also, does anyone have experience traveling along the Natchez Trace? Thanks!

http://www.nps.gov/natr/

Try to work in parts of The Natchez Trace Parkway in your travels. A lot of history and many small towns just off the parkway..

Do travel the Natchez Trace Parkway. There are a lot of interesting places to stop along the parkway. Take a detour at the northern end and spend some time in Franklin, TN. It is a real nice town and a good place for lunch or dinner.

We drove the Parkway this past June. A sign at the southern end gives the mileage to Nashville, 445 miles. Its a nice slow drive but you make relatively good time considering the 50 MPH speed limit and there are no traffic lights and very little traffic to bother with. We did it in 3 days with stops along the way.

Thanks for the replies. Natchez Trace is definitely a possibility for us. We're also wondering about Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, a route more to the east. Which of these cities have the most to offer? I'm waiting for some AAA TourBooks to arrive, which should help for making choices, but any personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.