The Deep South
Discussion
We (self and partner, no kids) have got flights booked into Atlanta in early May, staying over for 18 nights and are trying to put together a decent tour. We've previously spent quite a bit of time in New England, Florida and California but know little of the Deep South so would appreciate some tips of places to do/things to see. I know I want to visit Nashville but aside from that we are quite open to options.
Great Smokey Mountains looks worth a visit for a day or two, Charleston and Savannah seem like pretty places although I'm not sure how long you could/would spend at either, and New Orleans looks good although I'm not sure how we'd work it into other options without spending most of out time just driving rather than experiencing the place.
Any places we should look at or avoid?
Great Smokey Mountains looks worth a visit for a day or two, Charleston and Savannah seem like pretty places although I'm not sure how long you could/would spend at either, and New Orleans looks good although I'm not sure how we'd work it into other options without spending most of out time just driving rather than experiencing the place.
Any places we should look at or avoid?
I'm in North Carolina (the South still), in-laws live between Nashville and Memphis.
Lookout Mountain, Rock City etc are great. The underground caverns are cool and worth an overnight stay. We found a great AirBNB https://www.lookoutmountain.com/
Nashville, go to the Belcourt movie theater. My wife's uncle is on the board, it's a restored older building and in a nice part of town with great restaurants. Always interesting movies there. Also the Country Music Hall Of Fame if you're into that (I am).
Further west there's the Casey Jones museum in Jackson, where both my wife and Carl Perkins are from, then on to Memphis where, if you're an old Rockabilly like me, there's the SUN studio, STAX studio, Beale St and tons of great music and food. But to go to the civil rights museum in Memphis. If you're going to TN you can't miss Memphis. There are some dodgy parts but around Beale it's OK if you stay down the tourist end.
Lookout Mountain, Rock City etc are great. The underground caverns are cool and worth an overnight stay. We found a great AirBNB https://www.lookoutmountain.com/
Nashville, go to the Belcourt movie theater. My wife's uncle is on the board, it's a restored older building and in a nice part of town with great restaurants. Always interesting movies there. Also the Country Music Hall Of Fame if you're into that (I am).
Further west there's the Casey Jones museum in Jackson, where both my wife and Carl Perkins are from, then on to Memphis where, if you're an old Rockabilly like me, there's the SUN studio, STAX studio, Beale St and tons of great music and food. But to go to the civil rights museum in Memphis. If you're going to TN you can't miss Memphis. There are some dodgy parts but around Beale it's OK if you stay down the tourist end.
worldwidewebs said:
Charleston
I visited Charleston (solo) in December on a weekend whilst on a 2 week work trip to NC. I'd say it's OK for a day to stroll around and take in the sights/have a nice meal/visit the market but found there wasn't much else to do in the city. Pretty areas though. May be better as a couple.Don't forget the distances involved in travelling between places to see can be relatively long - I spent 4 hours getting there from mid NC (8 hours getting back on the Sunday but stopped off looking at sights / had lunch on the way).
mr_spock said:
I'm in North Carolina
Would also be interested in some pointers more local to NC. I sometimes have a free weekend in NC while there solo on business - generally centered around Smithfield for my sins. I always get away for the weekend, normally Friday - Sunday - been to Raleigh, Wilmington and Charleston - am thinking about going to the mountains for this trip in January - any suggestions gratefully received too.Edited by sleepezy on Friday 12th January 15:04
You're welcome to come visit! I'm halfway between Greensboro and Raleigh, and I work in RTP (research triangle park). Lots of car related events, music, some local history stuff. Raleigh's art museum is great, Greensboro has a civil rights museum which is fascinating, there's a cool zoo/aquarium not too far and lots of "small town" type things.
We did a similar trip a few years ago. From Atlanta we drove up to Chattanooga and then into the smoky mountains, the blue ridge parkway is stunning. We stayed in Asheville for a couple of nights which is a cool little town before heading east to Charleston and Savannah. Charleston is probably the nicest city I’ve been to in the US, very clean and lots of interesting history and great restaurants. Savannah is nice just steer clear of the riverfront, very tourist trap like. I’m in Savannah next week for a night before flying out of Atlanta, it’s a reasonably short drive. Just be warned that Atlantans cannot drive for s
t.
Nashville is great, like a slightly sanitised Vegas with an insanely good music scene. Memphis is bloody brilliant for food and music. New Orleans is one of my favourite cities in the world, it’s an acquired taste though!
I drove from Nashville down to NOLA in September rather than fly because I fancied going to one of Rodney Scott’s restaurants (in Birmingham Alabama) and knew I wouldn’t have time in Charleston. It’s a bit of a boring drive.
You may find a flight is necessary to avoid too much driving. Southwest fly direct from Nashville to New Orleans, they’re cheap and include checked baggage in their fares so worth considering. I think there’s direct flights from Charleston to New Orleans with Breeze as well. Or you can connect to pretty much anywhere through Atlanta of course.
t.Nashville is great, like a slightly sanitised Vegas with an insanely good music scene. Memphis is bloody brilliant for food and music. New Orleans is one of my favourite cities in the world, it’s an acquired taste though!
I drove from Nashville down to NOLA in September rather than fly because I fancied going to one of Rodney Scott’s restaurants (in Birmingham Alabama) and knew I wouldn’t have time in Charleston. It’s a bit of a boring drive.
You may find a flight is necessary to avoid too much driving. Southwest fly direct from Nashville to New Orleans, they’re cheap and include checked baggage in their fares so worth considering. I think there’s direct flights from Charleston to New Orleans with Breeze as well. Or you can connect to pretty much anywhere through Atlanta of course.
During the days of dial-up (c1998) we organised a tour ourselves booking most of our accommodation online in advance.
We flew into Sanford then headed for Tallahassee before heading the next day to Montgomery in Alabama for a few days before heading to Point Clear on Mobile Bay - nobody goes to Alabama or so we were told but we really liked it.
We then travelled to New Orleans for a few days (picking up the old hotel coupon books at the state border when they were a thing) before heading to Sarasota in Florida (a solid 11 hour plus drive).
Another occasion, again booked in advance, we landed in Atlanta then headed next day to Asheville up in the Blue Ridge Mountains before we headed to Wilmington, NC. We then travelled down the coast staying in Charleston which was lovely followed by 5 nights on Hilton Head Island (a beautiful island just down from Charleston) then finishing off in Savannah. With the exception of Hilton Head Island, all the accommodation we booked were bed & breakfasts (don’t think typical British B&B’s, these were historic houses with great friendly hosts and complete with ghosts!)
A really enjoyable road trip and so much so we returned to both Charleston and HHI on a few more occasions over the years (HHI has a great choice of golf courses if you like that)
We flew into Sanford then headed for Tallahassee before heading the next day to Montgomery in Alabama for a few days before heading to Point Clear on Mobile Bay - nobody goes to Alabama or so we were told but we really liked it.
We then travelled to New Orleans for a few days (picking up the old hotel coupon books at the state border when they were a thing) before heading to Sarasota in Florida (a solid 11 hour plus drive).
Another occasion, again booked in advance, we landed in Atlanta then headed next day to Asheville up in the Blue Ridge Mountains before we headed to Wilmington, NC. We then travelled down the coast staying in Charleston which was lovely followed by 5 nights on Hilton Head Island (a beautiful island just down from Charleston) then finishing off in Savannah. With the exception of Hilton Head Island, all the accommodation we booked were bed & breakfasts (don’t think typical British B&B’s, these were historic houses with great friendly hosts and complete with ghosts!)
A really enjoyable road trip and so much so we returned to both Charleston and HHI on a few more occasions over the years (HHI has a great choice of golf courses if you like that)
mr_spock said:
Lookout Mountain, Rock City etc are great. The underground caverns are cool and worth an overnight stay. We found a great AirBNB https://www.lookoutmountain.com/
Nashville, go to the Belcourt movie theater. My wife's uncle is on the board, it's a restored older building and in a nice part of town with great restaurants. Always interesting movies there. Also the Country Music Hall Of Fame if you're into that (I am).
Further west there's the Casey Jones museum in Jackson, where both my wife and Carl Perkins are from, then on to Memphis where, if you're an old Rockabilly like me, there's the SUN studio, STAX studio, Beale St and tons of great music and food. But to go to the civil rights museum in Memphis. If you're going to TN you can't miss Memphis. There are some dodgy parts but around Beale it's OK if you stay down the tourist end.
Some superb suggestions there, many thanks.Nashville, go to the Belcourt movie theater. My wife's uncle is on the board, it's a restored older building and in a nice part of town with great restaurants. Always interesting movies there. Also the Country Music Hall Of Fame if you're into that (I am).
Further west there's the Casey Jones museum in Jackson, where both my wife and Carl Perkins are from, then on to Memphis where, if you're an old Rockabilly like me, there's the SUN studio, STAX studio, Beale St and tons of great music and food. But to go to the civil rights museum in Memphis. If you're going to TN you can't miss Memphis. There are some dodgy parts but around Beale it's OK if you stay down the tourist end.
We arrive into Atlanta late afternoon on the Sunday so will definitely have one overnight stay there, but do you think we'd be better doing 2 nights and spending an entire day there or just head up to Chattanooga on the Monday? I see that the Jack Daniels distillery is on the way to Nashville and I quite fancy doing a tour, given how iconic it is. I also wondered whether it was worth staying overnight somewhere in the Lynchburg area after doing the tour, or just head straight to Nashville.
How many days would you recommend to spend in Nashville? I was originally thinking of 3 nights (2 full days) but I wonder whether it merits another night. I've also heard Franklin is worth a stop over too - what are your thoughts on that?
I'm not sure we'll be able to squeeze Memphis in as we do want to spend some time in the Blue Ridge mountains and it feels like a lot of driving to go west then retrace our steps. I suppose the question though is whether we do Memphis and then on to New Orleans via some route and miss out the east coast (Charleston/Savannah), or miss out Memphis/New Orleans to do Charleston/Savannah
djc206 said:
We did a similar trip a few years ago. From Atlanta we drove up to Chattanooga and then into the smoky mountains, the blue ridge parkway is stunning. We stayed in Asheville for a couple of nights which is a cool little town before heading east to Charleston and Savannah. Charleston is probably the nicest city I’ve been to in the US, very clean and lots of interesting history and great restaurants. Savannah is nice just steer clear of the riverfront, very tourist trap like.
There seems to be so much to see and do around BRM! Gatlinburg area (maybe not the town itself) seems a good gateway to the GSMNP and then some rough ideas I have are: Tail of the Dragon, Fontana Dam, Bryson City, Cherokee, Asheville before, like you, heading to Charleston and Savannah. The hardest part seems to be deciding how long to spend in each town before moving on - I feel we need to book the accommodation before we leave, so that limits flexibility somewhat. It seems a fair old drive from Asheville to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then to Charlotte. Which route did you do and how long did it take? Any stop-overs?
Edited by worldwidewebs on Tuesday 2nd January 19:33
In October we flew in to Atlanta, and back from Houston 10 days later. Happy to share my thoughts on it - but below was our brief itinerary.
We spent 2 nights in Atlanta, then drove via Montgomery & the Florida pan-handle (and Navarre Beach) to Mobile, Alabama (stayed here). Then stayed overnight in New Orleans. We then nipped north-west to stay in Shreveport, so we could visit Dallas, then headed South again via Austin, San Antonio finally with 2 nights in Houston. We finished off with a trip to the Space Centre before flying home.
We spent 2 nights in Atlanta, then drove via Montgomery & the Florida pan-handle (and Navarre Beach) to Mobile, Alabama (stayed here). Then stayed overnight in New Orleans. We then nipped north-west to stay in Shreveport, so we could visit Dallas, then headed South again via Austin, San Antonio finally with 2 nights in Houston. We finished off with a trip to the Space Centre before flying home.
worldwidewebs said:
There seems to be so much to see and do around BRM! Gatlinburg area (maybe not the town itself) seems a good gateway to the GSMNP and then some rough ideas I have are: Tail of the Dragon, Fontana Dam, Bryson City, Cherokee, Asheville before, like you, heading to Charleston and Savannah. The hardest part seems to be deciding how long to spend in each town before moving on - I feel we need to book the accommodation before we leave, so that limits flexibility somewhat.
It seems a fair old drive from Asheville to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then to Charlotte. Which route did you do and how long did it take? Any stop-overs?
We didn’t do the whole parkway just a section of it in NC, I will get round to going back and doing the rest of it some time. We split out time in Asheville using it as a gateway to the area. We had a night there, a night at the top of Mt Le Conte in the lodge up there (now that’s a cool place!), another night in Asheville after that. We didn’t get to Charlotte, it was in our original plan but we didn’t want to commit to too many places and end up not spending enough time in each. We headed to Charleston after Asheville taking a scenic detour.It seems a fair old drive from Asheville to the Blue Ridge Parkway and then to Charlotte. Which route did you do and how long did it take? Any stop-overs?
Edited by worldwidewebs on Tuesday 2nd January 19:33
It’s tough to recommend particular cities over others and what you’re looking for might be different to what I enjoy. I really like Memphis but then I’m a blues fan. New Orleans is a bit of a party town, I’d certainly recommend staying outside the French Quarter if you plan on sleeping…
Arguably nit-picking on semantics, but I'm not sure North Carolina can be construed as "The Deep South".
I think the more generally accepted Deep South states are SC, GA, AL, MS, LA and TX. My adopted home state (Florida) isn't, despite the reality that the further north you venture in FL, the more southern it gets.
I think that to explore the literal "Deep South", you end-up in very rural, often impoverished places, in many of which, time has stood still to some extent.
Civilized Deep South would be the antebellum towns of South Carolina and eastern Georgia mentioned elsewhere.
However, places like Birmingham and Montgomery AL, Jackson MS and Shreveport and Baton Rouge LA are less Deep South atmospheric, leaning more toward economically depressed or downright dangerous.
Texas, of course, is like a different, god-bothering country altogether!
I think the more generally accepted Deep South states are SC, GA, AL, MS, LA and TX. My adopted home state (Florida) isn't, despite the reality that the further north you venture in FL, the more southern it gets.
I think that to explore the literal "Deep South", you end-up in very rural, often impoverished places, in many of which, time has stood still to some extent.
Civilized Deep South would be the antebellum towns of South Carolina and eastern Georgia mentioned elsewhere.
However, places like Birmingham and Montgomery AL, Jackson MS and Shreveport and Baton Rouge LA are less Deep South atmospheric, leaning more toward economically depressed or downright dangerous.
Texas, of course, is like a different, god-bothering country altogether!
djc206 said:
We did a similar trip a few years ago. From Atlanta we drove up to Chattanooga and then into the smoky mountains, the blue ridge parkway is stunning. We stayed in Asheville for a couple of nights which is a cool little town before heading east to Charleston and Savannah. Charleston is probably the nicest city I’ve been to in the US, very clean and lots of interesting history and great restaurants. Savannah is nice just steer clear of the riverfront, very tourist trap like. I’m in Savannah next week for a night before flying out of Atlanta, it’s a reasonably short drive. Just be warned that Atlantans cannot drive for st.
I'd agree that it's worth keeping your wallet in your pocket but the old warehouses on the river front are quite pretty, even if most of them house bars and vendors of kiss-me-quick hats or whatever the US equivalent is.t.hidetheelephants said:
I'd agree that it's worth keeping your wallet in your pocket but the old warehouses on the river front are quite pretty, even if most of them house bars and vendors of kiss-me-quick hats or whatever the US equivalent is.
Don’t get me wrong we had lunch in Savannah in September and that’s where we headed (my wife insisted). Had a great French dip sandwich in one of the pubs along there but my god do they sell a load of old ste in those stores. There’s much nicer parts of town if you’re limited for time is all. The squares are beautiful although sadly they’ve fallen victim a bit to the US homelessness crisis. They really need to get a grip of it nationwide.I live in Charleston SC. Happy to provide some top local tips if you want to visit. May is a nice time to visit weather-wise, not too hot and humid. As this is a car forum, I put some thought into a possible southern tour route from Charleston with an automotive inclination. I have not driven this route, but I have been to Charlotte, Atlanta, Pigeon Forge (Dollywood area), Greenville, Boone and Atlanta.
Day 1: Charleston to Charlotte [210m / 3.5 hrs] – Drive to Charlotte and tour the NASCAR motor speedway and museum, lunch, then onto Boone, NC
Day 1-3: Charlotte to Boone [100m / 2 hrs] – Arrive in the mountain town of Boone, NC and stay at a downtown boutique hotel. Enjoy a day in this small university and artistic town. Stay two nights to try white water rafting and get a taste for mountain driving
Day 3: Boone to Nashville [340m / 5.5 hrs] – Hit the road to music city crossing the Appalachian Mountains. Find a small town for lunch and start to enjoy the southern hospitality. Dollywood stop over maybe. Stay 2-3 nights.
Day 4 or 5: Nashville to Bowling Green [70m / 1.25hrs] – Drive north into Kentucky and bourbon country. Before you sip the local tipple, visit Bowling Green, the home of the Corvette. Once you’ve experienced that high octane buzz, then relax with a tour or two of the local bourbon distillers
Day 6: Nashville to Memphis [250m / 4.5 hrs] – Time to hit the road and head to Memphis. Grace Gracelands and a good bbq restaurant. Stay 1 or 2 nights.
Day 8 & 9: Memphis to New Orleans [400m / 6 hrs] – Buckle up, this will be a long trip. What happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans…..
Day 10 & 11: New Orleans to Birmingham [400m / 5.5 hrs] – Put the pedal to the metal and head to the motorsports mecca of Barber Motorsports & Museum.
Day 12 thu 14 : Birmingham to Atlanta [150m / 3 hrs] – Atlanta, a large and bustling city for shopping, music, restaurants and a side trip out to Road Atlanta racetrack and nearby that is Chateau Elan resort and winery.
Day 15: Atlanta to Chattanooga [150m / 2.5 hrs] – Slow the pace down to Chattanooga to ready yourself for the mountain driving section.
Day 16: Chattanooga to Greenville [250m / 5hrs] – Pull on those string back driving gloves and hang on as the Great Smokey Mountain roads twist and turn you over to Greenville SC and the home of the BMW assembly factory and a tour of the facility and museum
Day 18: Greenville to Charleston [230m / 3.5 hrs] – Time to head back to Charleston for a few days of beach life before heading home.
Looks like this on a map. Might need some additional research and finessing. Happy to help.
Day 1: Charleston to Charlotte [210m / 3.5 hrs] – Drive to Charlotte and tour the NASCAR motor speedway and museum, lunch, then onto Boone, NC
Day 1-3: Charlotte to Boone [100m / 2 hrs] – Arrive in the mountain town of Boone, NC and stay at a downtown boutique hotel. Enjoy a day in this small university and artistic town. Stay two nights to try white water rafting and get a taste for mountain driving
Day 3: Boone to Nashville [340m / 5.5 hrs] – Hit the road to music city crossing the Appalachian Mountains. Find a small town for lunch and start to enjoy the southern hospitality. Dollywood stop over maybe. Stay 2-3 nights.
Day 4 or 5: Nashville to Bowling Green [70m / 1.25hrs] – Drive north into Kentucky and bourbon country. Before you sip the local tipple, visit Bowling Green, the home of the Corvette. Once you’ve experienced that high octane buzz, then relax with a tour or two of the local bourbon distillers
Day 6: Nashville to Memphis [250m / 4.5 hrs] – Time to hit the road and head to Memphis. Grace Gracelands and a good bbq restaurant. Stay 1 or 2 nights.
Day 8 & 9: Memphis to New Orleans [400m / 6 hrs] – Buckle up, this will be a long trip. What happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans…..
Day 10 & 11: New Orleans to Birmingham [400m / 5.5 hrs] – Put the pedal to the metal and head to the motorsports mecca of Barber Motorsports & Museum.
Day 12 thu 14 : Birmingham to Atlanta [150m / 3 hrs] – Atlanta, a large and bustling city for shopping, music, restaurants and a side trip out to Road Atlanta racetrack and nearby that is Chateau Elan resort and winery.
Day 15: Atlanta to Chattanooga [150m / 2.5 hrs] – Slow the pace down to Chattanooga to ready yourself for the mountain driving section.
Day 16: Chattanooga to Greenville [250m / 5hrs] – Pull on those string back driving gloves and hang on as the Great Smokey Mountain roads twist and turn you over to Greenville SC and the home of the BMW assembly factory and a tour of the facility and museum
Day 18: Greenville to Charleston [230m / 3.5 hrs] – Time to head back to Charleston for a few days of beach life before heading home.
Looks like this on a map. Might need some additional research and finessing. Happy to help.
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