Self-Drive Rhythms of the South 11 Days

Day 1

Fly from the UK - Memphis
Arrive in Memphis, the "Home of the Blues" and the "Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll." After settling in your hotel, get yourself to Beale Street, one of America’s most famous streets where W.C. Handy first penned the Blues music of the Mississippi Delta. Located downtown stretching several blocks east of the river bluffs. Nightclubs and restaurants offer a variety of food and live music including traditional Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, and Rock’n’Roll. Shops and boutiques throughout the district provide visitors with the opportunity to purchase souvenirs, t-shirts, memorabilia, and novelties. Walk Beale Street west to Tom Lee Park and the banks of the Mississippi River, where you can stroll, gawk at the Riverboats and River barges, and view an awesome sunset
Hotel Sleeping Court Square

Day 2

Memphis
First, go to Graceland and tour Elvis’ beloved Mansion. In addition to Elvis’ home, the mansion tour includes the Hall of Gold, Elvis’ private office, the Meditation Garden and the Racquetball Court with the dedicated wall of gold and platinum records and monument given by RCA Records proclaiming Elvis as the greatest entertainer and recording artist of all times. After the mansion, tour the remaining Graceland attractions at your own pace.
Stride over to the Smithsonian’s Rock ’n’ Soul Museum. Learn why Memphis was the epicentre of Rock ’n’ Roll and Blues ’n’ Soul music.
Next tour the nearby Sun Studio, the birthplace of Rock’n’Roll. Today the studio, where Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and many others launched their careers, is open to the public for tours daily while still operating as a studio by night. Sun Studio Cafe is located next door to the studio. Above the cafe is a new museum/gallery featuring hundreds of rare recordings, memorabilia, photographs, and vintage recording equipment.

Day 3

Memphis to Nashville (210 miles)
Depart Memphis this morning for Nashville. You will drive through Nutbush, the birthplace of entertainer Tina Turner, to Brownsville, Tennessee. Here you can visit the home of blues singer Sleepy John Estes, and the adjacent Delta Heritage Center. Down the road in Jackson you can tour the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and visit the Casey Jones Village and Old Country Store. Continue on the interstate to Nashville. After settling in at your hotel quickstep over to the 2nd Ave or Broadway Ave for some outstanding country music.
Hotel Guest House Inn Orpyland

Day 4

Nashville
Located on the west bank of the Cumberland River just a few steps from the historic Ryman Auditorium and the authentic honky-tonks of Lower Broadway is the fabulous Country Music Hall of Fame. In a soundproof 75 seat Songwriter’s Theatre, songwriters regularly entertain and enlighten museum guests with in-the-round guitar pulls and song swaps, a uniquely Nashville tradition. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a shrine inspired by, and a tribute to the many country music stars that have gone before and the many yet to come. Next you’ll tour the Ryman Auditorium, mother church of country music and 1940’s home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Day 5

Nashville to Tupelo (195 miles)
Departing Nashville, you will travel to Tupelo on the historic and scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, an 800-year-old path taken by Indians, outlaws and settlers. In Tupelo, visit Elvis Presley’s Birthplace. This modest two-room house, where the King of Rock ’n’ Roll was born, has been restored and is part of the Elvis Presley Center that also includes the Elvis Presley Museum, Memorial Chapel and Elvis Presley Park. The museum has one of the most unique private collections of Elvis memorabilia in the world.
Hotel Ramada Inn

Day 6

Tupelo to Clarksdale (110 miles)
Depart Tupelo & en route to Clarksdale stop in the beautiful town of Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi and the writers William Fulkner & John Grisham. Continue on west to Clarksdale. From the 1930’s through the 1950’s Clarksdale was a major blues town. John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Little Junior Parker and Sam Cooke were born here.
In Clarksdale, don’t miss the Delta Blues Museum. Here you can enjoy unique displays, video tape and slide/sound programs, photographs, and recordings, about the blues. Nearby on Delta Avenue is the Sunflower River Trading Company store with many unusual items for sale.
Hotel Comfort Inn

Day 7

Clarksdale to Natchez (216 miles)
From Clarksdale, head south to Vicksburg and visit the hallowed Biedenharn Candy Company, the restored 1890 building where Coca-Cola® was first bottled anywhere in the world. Built by slave labour in 1858, the Old Courthouse Museum is the most historic building in Vicksburg.
Continue southward to Port Gibson, which was saved during the Civil War because it was proclaimed too beautiful to burn. Next, head off to the famous river town of Natchez. Tonight explore Natchez-Under-The-Hill, an historic district of shops, restaurants and riverboat casinos
Hotel Radisson Eola

Day 8

Natchez to Lafayette (150 miles) Tour one of the beautiful antebellum homes, Dunleith Plantation, before departing beautiful Natchez. Cross the river & stop in the small town of Ferriday and visit the Delta Music Museum which showcases entertainers Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley.
Hotel Days Inn

Day 9

Lafayette to New Orleans (135 miles)
This morning you will tour Vermilionville, Louisiana’s Cajun/Creole Heritage & Folklife Park. Vermilionville authentically portrays a way of life preserved with a distinctly French accent. Situated on the banks of the Bayou Vermilion, this Cajun/Creole heritage and folklife park recreates life in the Acadiana area between 1765 and 1890. After departing Lafayette you’ll pass through the capital city of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, then point your car towards the Big Easy: the wonderful city of New Orleans.
Hotel Historic French Market inn

Day 10

New Orleans
This morning you will take a guided walking tour of Vieux Carre, the historic French Quarter, It is one of the oldest and most extraordinary neighbourhoods in the U.S. Often referred to as the "heart" of New Orleans, the French Quarter is a vibrant enclave of shops, hotels, clubs restaurants and residences. Within the French Quarter is the exciting Bourbon Street, referred to as the playground of the South. Nearby is Royal Street best known for its upscale art galleries and world-class antique shops.

Day 11

Depart for home with individual transfers to the airport

Day 12

Arrival back to the UK

What's Included

• 10 nights accommodation in good standard hotels as listed above or similar
• Lunch on Beale Street
• Rock n Soul Museum
• Sun Studio
• Graceland
• Delta Heritage Center
• Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Ryman Auditorium
• Visit birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo
• Automobile Museum
• Delta Blues Museum
• Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum
• Old Courthouse Museum
• Dunleith Plantation
• Delta Music Museum
• Vieux Carre walking tour
• Maps of cities & states & suggested driving routes