9-Day Break

Day 1 – Join the direct flight to Atlanta. Transfer to Montgomery, Alabama for an overnight stay.
Day 2 – New Orleans; Dinner Jazz Cruise on the Mississippi River (optional). Journey through Mississippi and on to New Orleans, Louisiana for a two-night stay. This evening, join our optional dinner cruise aboard a paddle-wheeler on the world-famous Mississippi River, with live jazz and traditional Cajun and Creole  cuisine, sure to get your toes tapping and your taste buds tingling.
Day 3 – New Orleans City Tour & Oak Alley Plantation (optional). Today’s optional city tour includes many of New Orleans’ most famous attractions, such as the lively French Quarter and historic Jackson Square, dominated by Saint Louis Cathedral. Our local guide will bring to life the history and stories of this colourful city. Later we visit Oak Alley Plantation, with its quarter-mile canopy of giant oak trees and grand antebellum house, where you can take a tour around the house with a guide dressed in period costume. In the evening, enjoy free time, perhaps soaking up the vibrant  atmosphere of the historic French Quarter, listening to the infectious sounds of the Dixieland rhythms, which spill out onto  the streets.
Day 4 – Graceland Too & Tupelo Morning departure for Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis. with free time to visit the Elvis Museum and the tiny tworoomed house in which Elvis was born. You can also experience a reconstruction of a 1940’s service in Elvis’s childhood church, which has been moved from its original location to become part of the Elvis Presley Birthplace Complex for visitors to enjoy. Continuing to Holly Springs, a quaint village and home to the quirky ‘Graceland Too’ (entrance not included). This place has to be seen to be believed! Every inch of space is covered with Elvis memorabilia – every item imaginable – which creator, Mr McLeod has been collecting for over 50 years. We then travel to Memphis Tennessee for a two night stay. Home to the Blues, and birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll, you'll enjoy some good old-fashioned southern hospitality in this vibrant city. This evening, why not venture to famous ‘Beale Street’. Full of jazz clubs, bars, eateries and street entertainers, it's a great place to soak up the atmosphere, take in the live music and enjoy fantastic food – especially the spare ribs, for which Memphis is famous.
Day 5 – Graceland & Sounds of the South Excursion (optional). Today don’t miss our optional full-day excursion to visit Elvis Presley’s mansion, Graceland, and join an audio tour which will guide you around the house and grounds. You’ll see the jungle room, pool room and music room, plus the hall of gold and racquetball building, ending at the meditation garden, which was one of Elvis’s favourite places. You’ll also see Elvis’s cars and planes and various other exhibitions. Then it’s on to Sun Studios, where you can hear outtakes from sessions, touch Elvis’s first microphone, see loads of memorabilia, hear how Elvis came to record there and the story of the studio that launched the careers of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and many more.
Day 6 – Today we travel to ‘Music City’, Nashville for a two-night stay.
Day 7 – Studio B & The Country Music Hall of Fame and Opry Mills Shopping Mall (optional). The undisputed home of country music, join our optional excursion to Studio B and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Your chance to visit the most famous recording studio in America, made famous by artists like Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton and the Everly Brothers. You can even sit at the piano which Elvis used on many of his tracks! Then it’s on into Nashville to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame with exhibitions spread over two floors of an impressive building, which from the air, is the shape of a bass clef. After free time to explore the city of Nashville, we visit Opry Mills Shopping Mall for some US-style retail therapy. This evening, why not head into the city where you'll hear the sounds of Country music spilling out onto the streets from the numerous bars playing live music.
Day 8 – Chattanooga and journey home Depart Nashville and head to Chattanooga, synonymous with the famous train and song, for a short visit before continuing to Atlanta airport for the overnight return flight.
Day 9 – Arrival in the U.K.

Accommodation

All hotels are of European 3 star standard and have a restaurant or bar on site or close by. All rooms are en suite and have TV, telephone and air-conditioning.

• Day 1 - La Quinta Inn, Montgomery
• Day 2-3 - Hampton Inn New Orleans Downtown, New Orleans
• Day 4-5 - Crowne Plaza, Memphis or similar
• Day 6-7 - Guest House International and Suites, Nashville or similar

(Please note : American Law states coaches do not have to be fitted with seat belts). 

This Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) will be available from 1st August 2008 online. Travellers should log onto the ESTA Web site and complete the on-line application in English.

The web-based system will prompt travellers to answer basic biographical and eligibility questions (typically requested on a paper I-94W form completed on the aircraft). Applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel, however, it is recommended that applications are submitted no less than 72 hours prior to travel.

Please note: due to local laws at least one person in each room booked must be aged 21 years or over.

Extras:

• Single room supplement £190
• Travel insurance, essential, from £69
• All meals
• Optional excursions
• Admissions and gratuities except those mentioned.