Bluegrass Country & Smoky Mountains

Your tour starts in Louisville, Kentucky, famous for Thoroughbreds, Bourbon and baseball. Settle in for a 2-night stay at your hotel, ideally situated in downtown Louisville.
Hotel Name: Hilton Garden Inn Louisville Downtown

Enjoy a visit to Churchill Downs, the Thoroughbred racetrack famous for hosting the pinnacle of all horse races: the Kentucky Derby. Then, tour the Kentucky Derby Museum and learn about the legendary history of the “Sport of Kings.” Enjoy a walking tour of Old Louisville, a historic neighborhood of Victorian mansions. Later, head to “Museum Row” where it’s your choice! Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for an All-Star baseball experience -OR- explore the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, and its Spirit of Kentucky exhibit, the official start of the Bourbon Trail. Tonight, join your fellow travelers at a local restaurant for a welcome dinner.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: Churchill Downs
Enjoy a visit to Churchill Downs, the Thoroughbred racetrack famous for hosting the pinnacle of all horse races, the annual Kentucky Derby, which opened officially in 1875.

Visit Buffalo Trace, the oldest continuously operating Bourbon distillery in America. Learn about the subtle craft, meet some of the people who make it all happen, and taste some of the home-grown spirit. Stop in the quaint, historic town of Midway before exploring Kentucky’s horse country. Learn about the area from a local guide and take in the rolling bluegrass pastureland and the horse farms that dot the landscape. Hear about time-honored traditions during visits to private horse farms before settling into Lexington for your 2-night stay.

Breakfast Included
Hotel Name: DoubleTree Suites by Hilton

Admittance: Kentucky Derby Museum
Tour the Kentucky Derby Museum, and learn about the legendary history of the “Sport of Kings,” where Thoroughbred horses and their jockeys test themselves on a mile-and-a-half track.

Travel to Berea, the historic college town known as the arts-and-crafts center of Kentucky. Meet a few artisans while they demonstrate their craft. Then, explore musical artifacts and memorabilia during a visit to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. Tonight, take in the tastes of Kentucky at a local restaurant.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: Old Louisville Walking Tour
Enjoy a walking tour of Old Louisville, a historic neighborhood that boasts the largest concentration of Victorian mansions in the United States.

Travel through Daniel Boone National Forest. Extending across the western plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains, it’s named for the larger-than-life American pioneer who once blazed a trail across these rugged and wild lands. Arrive in the lively mountain resort of Gatlinburg, gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and your home for a 2-night stay. The rest of the day is yours, perhaps you will go to Dollywood,* Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountains theme park or enjoy time in downtown Gatlinburg.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Hotel Name: Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg

Admittance: Louisville Slugger Museum or Frazier Museum of Kentucky History
Head to Museum Row where it's your choice! Visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for an All-Star baseball experience -OR- explore the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, and its Spirit of Kentucky exhibit, the official start of the Bourbon Trail. Louisville Slugger Museum Activity Level: 2 45 minute tour of the factory with no seating. Frazier Museum of Kentucky History Activity Level: 1 Self-guided time in the museum.

With a local guide, explore Great Smoky Mountains National Park (UNESCO) – the United States’ most visited national park. Stop at various lookouts on your way to Newfound Gap, which boasts views of both Tennessee and North Carolina. Enjoy your picnic lunch at a scenic location before continuing through the park to Cherokee and spend time at Qualla, the oldest Native American arts cooperative where you’ll learn about traditional crafts and customs over a discussion with an artist. Afterwards, tour the Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery with a tasting before enjoying an evening at leisure.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included

Admittance: Buffalo Trace Bourbon Distillery
Learn about the subtle craft of Bourbon distilling and taste some of Kentucky’s home-grown spirit at Buffalo Trace, the oldest continuously operating Bourbon distillery in America.

This morning, depart for Asheville, North Carolina, your Blue Ridge Mountains home for two nights. The afternoon and evening are yours to explore a city known for craft breweries, chocolate, and farm to table cuisine.

Breakfast Included
Hotel Name: Cambria Hotel Downtown

Admittance: Lexington Horse Farms
Enjoy the stunning, rolling bluegrass pastureland and the many horse farms that dot the landscape of Kentucky’s horse country, and visit private horse farms.

Back in 1895, George Vanderbilt II decided to build himself a “little mountain escape” in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The result was the impressive and decadent grandeur of the Biltmore Estate. Today, tour the sprawling mansion and the manicured grounds. Tonight, enjoy a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Visit Area: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Follow a local guide into the most visited national park in the United States, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and explore the park on your way to Newfound Gap.

Today your tour comes to an end. As you venture home, take the spirit and the warmth of America’s Southeast with you.

Breakfast Included

Visit Area: Asheville, NC