Day 1 - Welcome to New Orleans
Arrive in New Orleans for the start of your motorcycle adventure around the Deep South. Make your way to the hotel and then head out to explore the sights and sounds of this eclectic city.
With flights from £1605
With nights in Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, you’ll experience the heart and soul of the Deep South, the birthplace of American music.
Highlights:
Arrive in New Orleans for the start of your motorcycle adventure around the Deep South. Make your way to the hotel and then head out to explore the sights and sounds of this eclectic city.
This morning you will pick up your bike and start your ride around the birthplace of American music. New Orleans jazzes things up and it is generally agreed that jazz was born here. From New Orleans you travel west towards Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. From here, you can enjoy a scenic and slow ride all the way up to Natchez. Natchez is one of these cities where time seems to have stood still. Out of Natchez you ride the Natchez Trace Parkway to pretty town of Vicksburg where you will spend the night.
Vicksburg is a sleepy town on the banks of the Mississippi River and is known as ‘the Key to the Confederacy’. During the Civil War the town’s domination of the river halted Union shipping and it was a crucial target for General Grant. You might want to visit Vicksburg National Military Park to get an idea of what happened in 1863. From Vicksburg you continue north all the way to Memphis. Memphis is one of the most intriguing cities in the US. In addition to the larger-than life influence of Elvis, Memphis also offers fabulous BBQ joints and much more!
If you are a music lover, you can easily spend weeks in Memphis hitting great record stores and talking to older Memphians. Perhaps you would like to visit Sun Studio or Graceland before you continue to Nashville. Make sure to check out ‘Super Cycle’, a bike shop that sells customised Harleys, parts, accessories, and collectibles (on Bellevue Blvd). Nashville is set amid gentle hills and fertile farmlands and is home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry. It’s here that you spend the night enjoying some foot stomping Country Music in the famous Honky Tonks, or perhaps you might like to catch a show at the Grand Ole Opry.
From Nashville, ride south to Lynchburg, home to Jack Daniels Distillery. Founded in 1866, this is the oldest registered distillery in the country. There is an entertaining 70-minute tour available that leads you through every step of the sour-mash whiskey-making process – you might want to check it out! Lynchburg itself is a pretty hamlet, laid out around a neat town square with a red brick courthouse and several old-fashioned stores. From here it’s onwards to Birmingham, where you will spend the night.
From Birmingham head south to Montgomery, Alabama’s capital. Montgomery is among the more engaging destinations in the deep South and much of what there is to see here has to do with the Civil War or the civil rights movement. After stopping in Montgomery, take the highway all the way down to Mobile, Alabama’s busy port city. It’s a very pretty place – especially in spring, when virtually every street is transformed by the delicate colours of azaleas, camellias and dogwoods.
Today you head back to New Orleans, the city that is populated with the ghosts of French settlers, Spanish explorers, British soldiers and Caribbean immigrants. You also find modern-day hustlers, gamblers, artists, musicians, dancers and riverboat captains, who wring maximum pleasure out of each day here. From Mobile enjoy a scenic ride along the Gulf coast. Upon arrival in New Orleans it will be time to return your bike and transfer to your hotel where you will spend your final night.
Today is your last day in New Orleans. This might be a good time to fly onwards for a relaxing beach stay. Or if this is all the time you have, it is off to the airport for your return flight to the UK.
Include this Self Guided Motorcycle Tour in an America holiday
designed for you
Price is per person, based on 2 sharing a double or twin room and includes pre-booked accommodation, motorcycle hire and unlimited mileage. Hotels specified are subject to availability and may be substituted by one of a similar or higher standard. Itineraries may vary for tours departing from 1 April 2022 onwards.
Enjoy independent touring at its very best. You can book our motorcycle tours as they are or add extra days in the places you choose. Normally available in both directions.
Your motorcycle self drive includes:
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