Deep South and Texas Self Drive Break 2020 & 2021

Day 1 UK to Houston

Today begins the start of your journey by boarding your international flight from the UK to Houston. On arrival, collect your hire car from the airport and drive to your centrally located hotel. Vibrant Houston, America’s fourth largest city, offers an excellent museum district, exciting art and theatre scene and fantastic shopping. Spend the evening discovering the bars and restaurants of Downtown Houston. (N)
Accommodation in Houston: The Whitehall (or similar)

Day 2 Houston

Today enjoy a full day of leisure exploring Houston. Visit the educational Space Center which is the leading science and space learning centre in the world, the excellent Houston Museum of Fine Arts that features an exquisite sculpture garden or one of the city’s leafy parks. Head to Discovery Green Park with live music, public art and kayaking, and in the evening experience true Texan style dining at one of the city’s many restaurants. (N)
Accommodation in Houston: The Whitehall (or similar)

Day 3 Houston to Baton Rouge – 269 miles

Leave Houston behind as you start your journey towards the soulful Deep South. Cross the state border into Louisiana and make your way to Baton Rouge stopping off for lunch at the colourful cities of Lake Charles or Lafayette along the way. On arrival in Baton Rouge, spend the afternoon at leisure exploring the city and the surrounding plantations. (B)
Accommodation in Baton Rouge: Hotel Indigo (or similar)

Day 4 Baton Rouge to New Orleans – 81 miles

Start the short drive to New Orleans this morning. Choose to stop off at Oak Alley Plantation, an historic sugarcane plantation dating back to 1830, which features a beautiful canopied walkway of oak trees as well as a Slave Quarter and Civil War exhibit. Continue to the hometown of jazz, New Orleans, a melting-pot of culture, cuisine and celebration. This evening explore the colourful French Quarter with its colonial architecture and sophisticated jazz bars and sample some local Creole or Cajun cuisine. (N)
Accommodation in New Orleans: The Higgins Hotel (or similar)
Upgrade option: The Roosevelt (or similar)

Days 5 & 6 New Orleans

The next two days are at leisure in New Orleans. Discover the city’s many and diverse neighbourhoods including the mansion-lined Garden District, the African American area of Treme which features colourful Creole cottages and gumbo restaurants and the arty and vibrant Warehouse District. Alternatively, why not get out of the city and take a traditional steamboat cruise along the Mississippi River, or enjoy a cookery class making southern delicacies such as beignets, Cajun shrimp and jambalaya. Ensure to visit Bourbon and Frenchmen Street in the evening and soak up the smooth beats and laid-back atmosphere. (N)
Accommodation in New Orleans: The Higgins Hotel (or similar)
Upgrade option: The Roosevelt (or similar)

Day 7 New Orleans to Natchez – 176 miles

This morning leave New Orleans behind and continue to Mississippi. En-route stop off and explore Louisiana’s famous swamps by boat or kayak whilst you admire the beautifully-twisted cypress trees jutting out the water and search for wildlife. On arrival in Natchez, explore the pretty Antebellum homes and learn of their history or take a drive out to the rolling cotton fields. (B)
Accommodation in Natchez: The Burn Bed & Breakfast
Upgrade option: Monmouth Plantation

Day 8 Natchez to Memphis - 304 miles

Today travel through Mississippi’s countryside before reaching the Tennessee border where you will arrive in Memphis. Situated on the Mississippi River, this rock and blues city is famous as the home of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and B.B. King who all recorded albums at the legendary Sun Studios. The city also played a prominent role in the American civil rights movement. (N)
Accommodation in Memphis: The Guesthouse at Graceland
Upgrade option: The Peabody (or similar)

Day 9 Memphis

Enjoy a day at leisure exploring Memphis. Visit Graceland the mansion once owned by Elvis Presley, the iconic Sun Studios and also the National Civil Rights Museum which is built around the former Lorraine Motel - the location of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. In the evening, wander down the iconic Beale Street as it comes alive with blues clubs and southern restaurants. (N)
Accommodation in Memphis: The Guesthouse at Graceland
Upgrade option: The Peabody (or similar)

Day 10 Memphis to Hot Springs – 188 miles

This morning depart Memphis early and drive to the city of Hot Springs situated in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. On arrival take a trip to the Hot Springs National Park and relax in the beautiful early 20th century bathhouses that are built atop natural hot springs. The Garvan Woodland Gardens are also well worth a visit; a 210-acres botanical garden on the water which features bubbling brooks, waterfalls, arch bridges and an airy chapel. (B)
Accommodation in Hot Springs: Doubletree by Hilton (or similar)

Day 11 Hot Springs to Dallas – 286 miles

Today drive four and a half hours through the Arkansan and Texan countryside before reaching the mega metropolis of Dallas. Home to the 2010 season super bowl, excellent art galleries, rodeo bars and barbecue restaurants, Dallas is a vibrant city full of welcoming and friendly locals. (N)
Accommodation in Dallas: Magnolia Hotel (or similar)

Day 12 Dallas

Spend the day exploring Dallas at leisure. Visit Dealey Plaza which commemorates the site of John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963, the unique Pioneer Plaza where you’ll find a herd of sculptured bronze cattle or the excellent Dallas Museum of Art. That afternoon drive out to Fort Worth, a traditional wild west city where you’ll find wooden sidewalks and false front buildings, the historical Stockyard District and an authentic cowboy culture. In the evening enjoy the city’s vast range of Texan restaurants and rodeo bars. (N)

Accommodation in Dallas: Magnolia Hotel (or similar)

Day 13 Dallas to Austin – 195 miles

Take your final drive today as you head towards your final destination, Austin. Priding itself on being the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin is renowned for its eclectic music scene centred mainly around country, rock and blues. It is also the state capital of Texas and any visit to Austin should include a visit to the impressive Texas State Capitol building. (N)

Accommodation in Austin: Hilton Garden Inn (or similar)

Day 14 Austin

Today enjoy a day at leisure to discover this contemporary city. Head to the unique Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, home to the world's largest urban bat colony where approximately 1.5 million take to the sky at dusk each evening from March through to November. Take a dip in the city’s three-acre Barton Springs swimming pool or enjoy a paddle on Lady Bird Lake’s serene reservoir. Austin is also known for its exciting food scene and throughout the city you’ll find many inviting food trucks and restaurants serving anything from gourmet donuts to Korean barbecue. (N)

Accommodation in Austin: Hilton Garden Inn (or similar)

Day 15 Austin to the UK

Enjoy your final morning at leisure in Austin before making your way to the airport to drop off the car and where you will board your international flight back to the UK. (N)

Self-Drive: Plantations, Swamps and Cities of the Deep South and Texas

15 days from £2150 per person

Itinerary Highlights

Itinerary: Self-Drive: Plantations, Swamps and Cities of the Deep South and Texas

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