Itinerary

*Choose to spend the first night after your flight at a hotel in Atlanta at your leisure or pick up your motorhome on arrival and start your journey.

When you are ready to start your journey, pick up your motorhome at the Cruise America Atlanta depot and make the 2.5 hour drive northwest into Alabama. You’ll be spending your first night in the state capital, Montgomery. Once the founding headquarters of the Confederate States prior to the American Civil War, you can visit the First White House of the Confederacy and Old Alabama Town, as well as numerous other locations relating to the Civil Rights struggle in America, like the Rosa Parks Museum and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. preached. Music Take your pick according to your interests – all major sites do a wonderful job of immersing you in the past.

Your overnight will be at The Backyard RV Resort.

• 249km from Atlanta to Montgomery

Today you’ll be making your way from Montgomery, Alabama over to New Orleans in Louisiana. The drive is long and best broken up with a stop in the historic Gulf Coast town of Mobile, Alabama. Founded in 1702 and recognised as the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States, Mobile boasts a beautiful downtown district with diverse architecture, varied museums, excellent seafood, and the former WWII battleship, the USS Alabama, which military and engineering enthusiasts will want to tour.

Your overnight will be at the Shady Acres Campground where you’ll find a warm welcome.

• 297km from Montgomery to Mobile

Continue first thing in the morning to make your way finally to New Orleans – the birthplace of Jazz and one of America’s most distinctive cities. Leave your motorhome at the French Quarter RV Park and walk the short distance into the heart of New Orleans. The RV Park looks like a car park, but rest assured it has full hookups and the Clubhouse is the epitome of ‘The Big Easy’ with great facilities.

Spend your day strolling the historic French Quarter, dining in the city’s wonderful restaurants, and soaking up as much jazz and live music as you can. Highlights of the city include a visit to Jackson Square, the Audubon Park, and a live jazz show come evening. For the adventurous, take a short cruise aboard a paddle steamer along the Mississippi River or take a day tour to the swamps and beautiful plantations just outside of New Orleans.

• 257km to New Orleans

Today you’ll head back north after a leisurely start towards the home of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It’s a long ride to ‘Elvis Town’, so you will break up your drive with an overnight in the state capital of Mississippi, Jackson at the Timberlake Campground. Spend the afternoon at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum to learn about how the 1960s Civil Rights Movement changed the nation.

• 289km to Jackson

Leave the freeway traffic and take the exceptionally scenic Natchez Trace Parkway all the way up to Tupelo. This route has been traversed for 10,000 years, starting with buffalo, then Native Americans, European settlers, slave traders and soldiers, so you’ll find historic sites, picnic areas, biking paths and camping grounds along the way.

When you finally arrive in Tupelo, Elvis Presley’s birthplace and hometown until the age of thirteen, stop at the museum dedicated to his life. After, make your way to your campgrounds for the night at Barnes Crossing, just minutes north of Tupelo’s downtown.

• 257km to Tupelo

Spend the morning driving through the Holly Springs National Forest to Memphis, Tennessee. You’ll be staying at the Memphis Graceland RV Park and Campground just minutes away by foot from Elvis Presley’s iconic home, Graceland. There’s plenty to see here with a visit, even if you’re not a serious Elvis fan, and a tour is highly recommended.

Other highlights to see in Memphis include a visit to Beale Street, home of the Blues and countless live music bars, and the famous Sun Recording Studios. History aficionados will also be interested in visiting the Civil Rights Museum located in the Lorraine Motel where the activist, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed.

• 176km to Memphis

Drive first thing to the home of Country Music, Nashville. Known as the Music City, Nashville will strike a chord with music lovers of any genre. Visit the Grand Ole Opry – and catch a concert there too if you can – the Country Hall Music of Fame and the Jack Daniels Distillery if you happen to like whisky. It’s worth strolling the Broadway for live music too.

Your overnight will be at the Nashville Country RV Park just north of Nashville, and you can join a tour there too as the campground organises them.

• 370km to Nashville

Make your way towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area. World renowned for the beauty of its ancient mountains, its diversity of plant and animal life, and it’s fascinating Southern Appalachian music culture, you’ll spend the next two days here at America’s most visited national park.

You’ll be staying at the Smoky Mountain Premium Campground in Cosby just a short drive from the vibrant mountain towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge – where Dolly Parton’s Dollywood is located – and across the road from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From beautiful hikes to scenic drives, nature centre visits and whitewater rafting – you’ll find so much to enjoy in this incredible part of the South.

• 410km to Cosby/Great Smoky Mountains

Drive around 3 hours to your last stop on this trip: Chattanooga. Set along the Tennessee River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain, Chattanooga is one of Tennessee’s most beautiful cities and offers ample opportunities for recreation with the Tennessee Aquarium, the Southern Belle Riverboat, a historic downtown and the Lookout Mountain Battlefields which can be seen from the ‘Incline Railway’ to all keep you occupied.

Your overnight will be at the picturesque Raccoon Mountain RV Park & Campground, and you’ll find an 8.8km cave system, the Raccoon Mountain Caverns, right next door to explore.

• 249km to Chattanooga

Make the just over 2 hour long drive back to Atlanta to drop off your motorhome at the Cruise America depot before catching your flight back home.

• 209km back to the Cruise America depot in Atlanta