Exploring the Great Outdoors in the American South

Thirteen nights across the American South, self-drive with the flights included, from Chattanooga down to the Carolina coast.

Chattanooga takes the first two nights, with Lookout Mountain, the riverwalk and a museum covering the Civil War battles fought for the town, which sat on the railway junction both sides needed. Sevierville follows for two, with a guided four-wheel drive tour into the Great Smoky Mountains past homesteads and waterfalls.

Asheville comes next for two nights at the Biltmore Estate, George Vanderbilt’s 250-room house and the largest private home in the country, with the Pisgah and Nantahala waterfalls and the River Arts District nearby. Blowing Rock follows for two by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway, with Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain, the highest town east of the Rockies. Charleston takes the last three, with a guided walking tour from the city’s founding in 1670 through the Civil War, Rainbow Row and the Battery, and a boat out to Fort Sumter, where the war began.

Flights, fully insured car hire, all the accommodation and round-the-clock support while travelling are included, and the price is quoted per person. Fourteen days with two or three nights everywhere is a comfortable pace for a route that mixes mountains, history and coast. Hilton Head is within reach of Charleston for a dolphin-spotting boat trip. Spring and autumn are the seasons, with the Blue Ridge Parkway at its best in October and the Carolina coast hot and humid in high summer. The Smoky Mountains four-wheel drive excursion is the part of the route that justifies the adventure billing.