rickydarkblue

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I are making our first trip to the States in a few weeks for the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. We are trying to fit a road trip holiday around the Festival.

I have worked out a proposed itinerary below and would really like some advice on the 2 spare nights. Things we would like to experience would be a College night out, must see tourist attractions, nice views and general fun for two 25-30 year olds.

Day 1 Fly into Atlanta and overnight
Day 2 Travel to Gatlinburg
Day 3 Day and overnight in Gatlinburg - possibly visit Dollywood
Day 4 Spare Day - possibly Chattanooga or Lynchburg
Day 5 - 8 CMA Fest Nashville
Day 9 - Nashville - Huntsville and overnight (Space Centre)
Day 10 - Spare Day - possibly Tuscaloosa for Alabama State Stadium Tour
Day 11 Travel to Biloxi
Day 12 Day in Biloxi
Day 13 Travel to New Orleans
Day 14 New Orleans
Day 15 Fly Home from New Orleans

Any thoughts/advice/suggestions would really be appreciated.

We are trying to not crush in too much, so we can relax and enjoy ourselves whilst still getting a good tour round the South.

Thanks

Rick

Gretchen

I think to put it succintly, you HAVE crushed in too much. A day and a half in NOLA?
Only the CMA fest in Nashville?
Gatlinburg? Ugh, IMO.
What do you equate with a "college night out"?

BigRuss

How can you have a college night out when college won't be in session?

I'd drop Gatlinburg, spend a couple of nights in Atlanta and check out the various civil rights sites, Coca-Cola museum, Buckhead (where you can get your drink on), etc. And if you're going to visit an amusement park, Atlanta has a Six Flags.

Chattanooga has more for travelers than Lynchburg. Lynchburg is a tiny podunk town that is actually dry - no alkeehaul. Just because it's the site of the Jack distillery doesn't make the town interesting. Nashville is only four hours from Atlanta by car.

What's the "Alabama State Stadium Tour"? Alabama State University isn't in Tuscaloosa, it's in Montgomery. It's one of the various HBCUs - Historically Black Colleges and Universities - that were established due to bans on black students in state schools in the Jim Crow era; an erroneous concept ratified by the "separate but equal" doctrine of the Supreme Court in 1896 (and overturned in 1954). Tuscaloosa is home to the University of Alabama. Stadium tours are kind of dull, especially if you have no clue about the sport or its history and I'm thinking the UK isn't full up with folks yelling "Roll Tide" at their TV sets during the hours that correspond to autumnal Saturday afternoons in the US.

You're better off with more time in New Orleans than puttering around nowheres like Lynchburg or Huntsville. Just visit the latter en route to Biloxi, overnight ONE night in Biloxi and add two nights to NOLA at the end.

jent103

With one full day in the Gatlinburg area, you can either see Gatlinburg or go to Dollywood or see part of the Smokies. But you'd have to pick one. If you don't want to spend a day in Atlanta, I'd stop to eat and walk around in Chattanooga on your way to the mountains from Atlanta and then spend two full days in/near the mountains. And I would not spend those days on the strip in Gatlinburg - go to town to eat dinner or something, but you'll get plenty of similar tourist experience wandering Lower Broadway at CMA Fest, and I'd much rather spend the days experiencing the Smokies themselves. Even one day at Dollywood and one actually in the park would be preferable, I think. It'd be a shame to come so far and miss the mountains.

I'm also not sure exactly what you mean by a "college night out," but there will be plenty of beer and live music and partying at CMA Fest, if that's what you're after.

You could do the Jack Daniels tour on your way (ish) between Nashville and Huntsville, if that's a prime interest to you - adds driving time to that day, but it's less out of the way than going between Atlanta and Gatlinburg.

rickydarkblue

Thanks so much for the replies.

Suppose i should clear a few things up...im a massive sports fan, you'd be surprised at the following the NFL and College Football have in the UK. I am always intrigued when i see these massive College Stadiums that are way bigger than our top Pro Football (Soccer) and Rugby stadiums. I meant to say the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa not Alabama State...better get that cleared up before i visit!! But i would definitely be keen to see some sports facilities on the trip.

Is the Jack Daniels distillery worth a visit, or would i be better off heading straight to Huntsville from Nashville?

What sort of driving time am i talking to go from Huntsville --> Biloxi and would a stop in Tuscaloosa break this up or is there anywhere better to break this journey up?

One more question, going from Gatlinburg --> Nashville, would we be best to stop off in Chattanooga and then head towards Nashville the same day or stop off in Chattanooga and get away early towards Nashville for the CMA Fest...whats the traffic like and how easy is it to get into Nashville to park up during the CMA Fest?

Cheers

Rick

jent103

I'm not totally sure what your last question is - both options seem to involve stopping in Chattanooga and going to Nashville the same day? It might be more direct to go to Chattanooga on your way from Atlanta, unless you really want to go through the mountains in north Georgia. Doing Chattanooga between Gatlinburg-Nashville would add about an hour+ (plus walking-around time) to the drive to Nashville.

Where are you staying for CMA Fest? The answers to your questions depend a lot on that. Downtown will be crazed. The rest of the city, not so much.

The Jack Daniels tour is fun; whether it's worth it depends on your interests. If you're really into space/science, I'd save the time for the Space & Rocket Center. If you're moderately interested in both, you could probably squeeze them both in. A lot of people eat at Miss Mary Bobo's in Lynchburg - it's good traditional Southern food.

If you go through Knoxville on your way to Nashville from Gatlinburg, given your interest in sports facilities, you might drive by Neyland Stadium (where the University of Tennessee plays football). The team hasn't been stellar the last decade or so (much to my personal sadness, as I'm a Knoxville native!), but the stadium is massive, and it's in a great setting on the Tennessee River. If you go to Tuscaloosa I wouldn't make a point to stop in Knoxville too, but if you're in the area it's definitely worth a stop (it's close to downtown).

BigRuss

Neyland Stadium in Knoxville is larger than Bryant-Denny Stadium, which means more drunk nutters on Saturday evenings (especially in the last decade give-or-take because UT has been second-rate at best). College football is a second religion in the South and much of the Midwest, and SEC schools are in cities that are not close to NFL stadiums. Many college football stadia are larger than NFL stadia (other than the Cowboys' home). Rugby is a secondary sport in your own country.

Google maps will give you directions and travel times. For the US, its timing is generally good and you can shave time off its estimates. For the UK its timing estimates are usually low. Going to Tuscaloosa from Huntsville will require you to track back to get to Biloxi at some point.

Evidently you're ignoring advice to increase time in NoLA. Too bad.