Tunica, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee
 

At the end of April going to Tunica for 4 days/3 nights. From Cleveland, OH and it's free airfare and a free room. We will be doing some gambling, but would like to go to Memphis. What's the best way to get there? Should we rent a car? Are there tours from Tunica to Memphis? Take a taxi? We were thinking of Graceland in the morning then the shuttle to Sun and then back to Beale street for dinner and some music. We'd appreciate any information.

You should rent a car. From Tunica to downtown Memphis is about 30 minutes and probably another 10 minutes to Graceland. There's a free shuttle from downtown to Graceland and Sun Studios.

As spread out as Tunica is, you'll actually need a car there, too. It's nothing like Las Vegas where you can walk from one casino to another. There are a couple of groups of 3 casinos, so you can walk between those, but otherwise the casinos are a car drive away. There is a shuttle between casinos, but I'd really hate to rely on it.

Thanks!

Anyone have any additional information?

Janice,
I would definitely get my rental car lined up ahead of time. Tunica is just a tiny town that has sprung up with the casinos. There is a small outlet shopping center with 10 stores but that is all I have noticed. It takes me over an hour to get back to Memphis driving 65 mph so there is no way to get a taxi to take you that far. It is an easy drive. By the way Graceland is south of Beale Street so you would hit it first then travel north to Beale. Make sure you have rides planned out downtown though because Memphis is very unsafe away from the crowds at night. My son just went on a field trip to Beale and even at lunchtime a homeless person peed in the street in front of us.

I just replied to bachslunch regarding her Memphis itinerary. I wrote that Tunica is in the middle of nowhere so you really need to have a car to get from one casino to the other. If you are flying in to Memphis, just rent a car rather than dealing with a shuttle.

Memphis does have a bad reputation for safety. Personally, I've never encountered any problem, and I've been there several times.

My experience in Memphis suggests that one needs to be street smart in many parts of the city, but the immediate downtown area is fine during the day -- and during the day one can also walk several blocks below Beale Street going down Main Street or Front Street to places like the AMTRAK station, National Civil Rights Museum, Gus's Fried Chicken, and the like. Otherwise, I wouldn't stray more than a block or so south of Beale even during the day.

I don't think of the downtown area bounded by Beale Street to the south, Front Street to the west, Adams or Jefferson Avenue to the north, and (running from north to south) Third-Street-to-Union-Avenue-to-Fourth-Street to the east as being unsafe until notably later in the evening. Even here, though, would recommend trusting your instincts and avoiding alleyways and such. There's a trolley that runs down Main Street as well.

One can encounter homeless people (a few of them are pushy) at any time of day here, but the best tactic is to just ignore them and keep walking.

There are sizable stretches north, east, and south of the immediate downtown tourist area that are indeed not safe to walk in. One could take public transportation through them during the day, however, and there are always taxis or cars one can utilize.

Of course anything can happen anywhere at any time, in Memphis or anyplace else, so no ironclad guarantees here.