2 Weeks Road Trippin' The Deep American South

Craving to be on that open road? Exploring the home of country music, the blues, jazz, barbecue, moonshine and cowboys? The Deep South Plus trip from Trek America has it all!

14 days of adventure, 4 awesome states and the open road. This truly is the ultimate way to experience the southern states of America, it's a trip that will likely stick with you forever.

Heres why you need to stop what you're doing, strap on your boots and book your Trek America trip now.

The Great smoky mountains

After flying into Atlanta and meeting your fellow trekkers and new best friend/tour guide, you’ll be setting off to the Great Smoky Mountains National park in your spacious minivan (it’s even equipped with wifi!).

Before you know it you’ll be making plans on how to customise the van's interior and deciding who will be playing what in your newly formed band.

It's hard to find anything quite as astounding as the Great Smoky's natural beauty. There are hundreds of trails to suit all ability levels taking you around winding valleys and staggering vistas dotted with natural streams and rivers to cool off in.

Clingmans Dome lookout tower gives the perfect 360 views of the national park and is well worth the calories burnt to get up there!

Moonshine time

You’ll be staying in the small town of Asheville where you can get your first real southern experience, moonshine tasting at the Ole Smoky distillery!

For 5 bucks you can take a sip of all the weird and wonderful flavours such as pickles, red grapefruit and coffee liquor. You can even learn about the history and how it's made if you can get over the taste of the 60% proof spirit!

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Nashville

Quite a change from the picturesque mountains, Nashville is buzzing! The main strip is packed with bright neon lights, music bars and venues filling the streets with the sounds of live rock, blues and country music.

There is so much to see and do that it's overwhelming in the best kind of way. When you eventually drag yourself away from the bars and live music the County Music Hall of fame and the Jonny Cash Museum will be waiting for you, and are an absolute MUST see!

Graceland and BBQ’s

Elvis Presley’s Graceland is an intimate tour of the legends family mansion. Each room has been reconstructed to exactly how it was when his family lived there during the 60s and 70s. The Jungle and TV rooms will leave you in awe!

Even if you weren’t a fan of Elvis, this tour will grantee you’ll leave as an ultimate stan of his life's work.

Barbecue time! Marlowes was Elvis’s favourite grill spot, so much so that he would request their ribs be flown out to him wherever he may have been on tour.

After eating here its clear to see why he went through so much effort, your summer bbq will never quite compare after eating here.

Sun Records Tour

Do you want to hold and sing into the very microphone legends such as Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash used to record? The tour of Sun Records is a powerful experience, it will take you through the history of the small record label and the ups and downs of the recording studio.

Being able to stand in the same small room where some of the biggest tracks in the world were recorded is an experience that can’t be turned down.

New Orleans

The musical history in this city is astounding, you can almost feel it as soon as you step foot on the streets of New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz. Po boys are a local delicacy here, it's a delicious seafood sandwich and you’re bound to eat three, maybe four of these throughout your time here!

The shrimp from Johnny’s Po-Boys is highly recommended. At night, New Orleans really comes to life! Bourbon Street is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter known for its Mardi Gras festival, it can get a little wild!

American Horror Story was also filmed here so it would be rude not to take a voodoo ghost tour… and be generally freaked out.

Austin City Limits

The final destination of the epic tour of the south was Austin, where the 3-day festival Austin City Limits takes place. Glorious sunshine, ice-cold drinks, free water and a killer lineup made this one of the best festival experiences.

With amazing acts like Tame Impala, Billie Eilish Y Cardi B, this was a perfect way to end this awesome road trip.

The festival itself is in the heart of the city which made it extremely easy to get to with a constant stream of shuttle buses, and electric scooters literally everywhere… quite literally!

The layout was fantastic with minimal travel time between stages, which is always a worry when a lineup is this good. The Food trucks were made up of Austin’s greatest hits, tacos, barbecue, and burgers, All priced well and delicious! Kimchee fries are strongly recommended.

MTV Travelled with road trip specialist, TrekAmerica. This year Trekkers can take a musical odyssey through the deep south's famed music areas on TrekAmerica's 8 day Deep South Plus tour. The tour cost starts at £1,419 per person and next departure is 12 July 2020. Price includes two nights budget lodging, five hotel nights, services of a professional tour leader and all transportation by private vehicle with free Wi-Fi. To book, visit www.trekamerica.com or call 0333 003 2051.