Fly drive - USA Deep South

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Hi there
Has anyone done this recently? Looking for any recommendations please - should we book flights, car and hotels separately or anyone have any suggestions re good travel agents? We are three adults (adult DD) looking to go for around 14 days in May 2020. Aim to fly into and out of Atlanta. Thanks

I have done this a couple of times recently, different routes each time. I would definitely book everything separately. Use Skyscanner for flights and hotels.com for accommodation, you get a free night for every ten nights you book.

Roadtrippers.com is useful for ideas as it will tell you what's within 30 miles of your planned route and also helps calculate fuel usage.

Thanks Rusholme - that's really helpful

Lots of airlines allow you to book multiple hotels during a stay and it’s better to book hotels when you do the flights if you use this system.

However I can highly recommend bed and breakfast establishments in the USA. We used them in Virginia this year and each one was fantastic and we chatted to other guests. The hosts were a mine of information too. There will be great properties in the areas you want to visit and I would do this in preference to chain hotels. We booked direct with the owners to get the nicest rooms! Many are definitely the best of American hospitality and won’t disappoint. We found car hire via Expedia was way cheaper too.

Therefore look at an itinerary, decide on a shortlist of accommodation and go from there. Remember distances are great so don’t rush.

I live in the US Deep South. I agree that bed and breakfast places are a good bet, but be sure to read reviews. Also some are called "Inns" rather than B&Bs.

I hope that you are going to Savannah. It's close to where I grew up and one of the best places in the South to visit. Same for Charleston. If you want a bit of beach time and don't want to go all the way to Florida, St. Simons Island, Georgia is a good choice.

Hi Seneca - thanks for suggestions re B&Bs. Savannah was on the list as DD has a friend studying there (or Charleston - can't remember which) I'm beginning to think we may be over ambitious - it's DH and DDs first trip to USA (I did California when younger) so we want to fit as much in as possible - DD is now early 20s so it will be our last "family holiday" (first one for a while really). We want to start and end in Atlanta (flights from Manchester) and were hoping to fit in Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans and Savannah/Charleston - so a big loop going anti-clockwise. Obviously lots of other places to see en route - any suggestions would be ideal!

We always books flights and accommodation ourselves. I love searching for hotels.

Last year we flew into Nashville and out of Charlotte connecting into Atlanta onwards to Heathrow on the way home.

We done Nashville, Pigeon Forge/Dollywood and Gatlinburg. We loved it there loads. Ended up in South Carolina for the last few days.

I have always found Atlanta so expensive to fly direct into to for some reason.

Thanks Hairy! We were looking at Pigeon Forge but too far off planned itinerary- maybe next time!! Once you start looking there is so much to do and limited time - it’s proving hard to stick to plan :) Going to definitely book accommodation and flights separately- does anyone have any car hire recommendations?

I suggested Expedia earlier! We found them cheaper. We wanted a 4x4 though. Ended up with a Toyota 4 runner: not an up to date car by any means and way bigger than we booked! One way fee was low though. I think Atlanta would have more choice over the little depot we collected from.

Another route you could consider is flying home from New Orleans rather than tracking back. Audley travel have an itinerary from Atlanta to NO. Check that out.

Apologies Bubbles - I missed your post somehow! Sorry about that - will check them out now

If you're a Costco member it's worth checking out their car hire prices. We got a great deal with Hertz through them recently with free additional driver included.

Oh we are! Thanks Rusholme - will check it out

If you're going to Memphis, make sure you do a side trip to Oxford, Mississippi. Only 1hr15 away and it's got a lovely historic square as well as William Faulkner's home

Thanks BlueCow!