2025 Tour code: SMA25
About the tour
Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains: A region of scenic landscapes and iconic cities, and incredible sites that enrich the mind and the soul. During our time here, you will visit legendary sites, some of Tennessee and North Carolina's most beloved cities and one of the most grandiose homes in the country. Your journey begins in Music City, U.S.A - Nashville, TN - where incredible musical history comes to life. Moving onto Chattanooga, enjoy time in the city and out in the vast wilderness, as you embark on the first of several steam train rides throughout the mountainous landscape. From Chattanooga, Pigeon Forge awaits your exploration. Your days here are spent surrounded by the beauty of nature, with a steam train ride along the Nantahala River and a half-day tour through Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The tour presses on as you arrive in Asheville, NC. With a tour of the Biltmore Estate and free time to peruse the shops, art galleries and unique eateries throughout the town, your tour is sure to end with just as much excitement as it began.
Unforgettable Experiences
What’s included
Itinerary
Arrive in Nashville and transfer independently to your hotel. After check-in, the remainder of the day is free to get acquainted with this vibrant city. Overnight Nashville, TN.
Additional information
Hotels
Trains
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Upgrades
Reviews
4.4 / 5 · 34 reviews
Patrice Marie Carpenter
Submitted 19/May
The trip was nice, but what made it excellent was the tour guide, Jeanean. She was informative, funny, and an all around wonderful person. She took time to be with all of us at some point. We did spend a lot of time on the coach, but that was part of the deal. All of us loved Rock City and were very happy the original destination was cancelled and Rock City was put it its place. Two suggestions tho. 1. Name tags. There were several people that I would recognize along the way but never learned their names. I have never done a tour group where we didn't have some sort of name tag. 2. Allow a little more free time at destinations. I didn't feel rushed at Rock City but felt that I had to keep moving. And not near enough time in Chattanooga after lunch. I barely hit two stores for a short amount of time when the street was lined with stores. Loved the trip. I hope to travel with Jeanean again in the future. She is well worth it!
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Judy Dawley
Submitted 19/May
The trip was wonderful. The group of people we traveled with were kind and friendly. The experiences were delightful. Our tour guide, Jeanean, was warm, welcoming and very professional. She had such a fun sense of humor. She’s exactly who you want to be representing your company. I couldn’t say enough good things about her.
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Gary Berger
Submitted 19/May
Our tour leader,Janeane was awesome, she was thorough, patient , kind and entertaining. Our bus driver Vic the best!
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Noella
Submitted 14/Apr
Absolutely terrific. Exceeded my expectations. The music content, the thrills, highlights as an Elvis fan, a country music fan, a nature lover and photographer, the capability of our escort Patti Thompson, her care and efficiency and friendliness and interest in her passengers, warmth. The slightly changed itinerary was very satisfactory the final destination being changed from Asheville to Knoxville Tn. We covered a lot and saw and experienced a lot. Shows, colour, music, thrills, scenery, natural wonders, Dollywood and more. Thank you very much for a spectacular trip. Noella from Sydney Australia
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PAMELA SKELTON
Submitted 22 Nov 2024
Terrific! Our guide Patti and driver Vic made our trip so pleasurable.
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Melissa
Submitted 08 Nov 2024
This was an amazing adventure! Vacations by Rail had to have a Plan B for the last leg of our trip because of hurricane damage in Asheville; their alternative plans were excellent! Our tour guide, Mark Jacobson, could not have done a more superb job. He gave us so much information and history during our travels, and quite a bit of humor along the way. Our driver, Vic, did an outstanding job of getting us to and from our destinations timely and safely. The only reason I didn't give five stars for the Value for Money is because I traveled solo and had to pay $1,800 more for "upgraded accommodations" at the hotels. Otherwise, it was worth every penny.
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