Texas, Presley's Memphis & New Orleans 2025
15days from
£3,745*per person
Overview
The heart & soul of the South
Itinerary
- Fly to Austin, meet your tour manager and transfer to your hotel in San Antonio for your first overnight stay in the USA.
- San Antonio, the birthplace of Tex-Mex culture and one of the USA's most attractive cities, is yours to explore, today. Relive the siege of The Alamo - when Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie held out heroically for almost two weeks before finally succumbing to the overwhelming forces of Mexican general Santa Anna, and discover the famous River Walk that snakes its way across the city.
- Journey to Houston to visit NASA's world-famous Lyndon B Johnson Space Centre. This was the heart of the moon landings 50 years ago and remains a working base for the International Space Station. The site offers an incomparable taste of modern history, with its restored Mission Control and the sight of the towering Saturn V rocket that fired the Apollo astronauts into orbit. Continue to your downtown Houston hotel for the night.
- Board the coach and head east into Louisiana and Creole Country to the great city of New Orleans, the unmistakable ‘Big Easy’. In the evening, perhaps join an optional Steamboat Dinner Jazz Cruise.
- This morning's optional guided city tour introduces the ‘Big Easy’ and will include the famous French Quarter's time-warped, iron-balconied buildings, which radiate out from Jackson Square. This afternoon, join our optional Louisiana Swampland excursion to explore the surrounding countryside, and later head back to the Quarter to enjoy the night-time atmosphere of the place that gave the world jazz.
- Cross the state border into Mississippi this morning for a visit to Tupelo. Upon arrival, make your way to the Elvis Presley birthplace where you’ll have ample time to explore its fascinating memorials and museums. Discover the former shotgun house which the Presley family once called home and take in the church that inspired Elvis’ love for the rhythms and beats of gospel music. After a captivating tour, check into your hotel ahead of an evening at leisure.
- Head north, today, through sleepy Alabama to our next stop, Muscle Shoals. This town is home to Rick Halls' Fame Studios, which put the likes of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin on the map, as well as the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and the Rolling Stones all recorded. Discover the musical legacy of the Muscle Shoals studios on two included visits, before we head to Nashville, the undisputed capital of country music, and home to “1352 guitar-pickers” and songwriters.
- An optional excursion will introduce the legendary Studio B - where countless country standards and a galaxy of Elvis's RCA hits were recorded - and the Country Music Hall of Fame. This afternoon, you'll be free to make the most of your final night in Nashville. Why not revisit some of your favourite spots from the past two days, or explore a new corner for some authentic Southern comfort while sipping on a sweet tea? This evening, find dinner in the city before returning to your hotel.
- Wake up early this morning for a journey to the great city of Memphis on the Mississippi. Elvis' hometown boasts a musical heritage to match any world city and a host of historic landmarks.
- Today's full-day Memphis Sounds excursion will include a visit to legendary Sun Studio and to Elvis’ beloved Graceland, home and final resting place of 'the King'.
- Join an optional excursion to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Here, you’ll be immersed in the toe-tapping rhythms of one of the world’s most beloved musical genres. Witness its storied history come to life with interactive exhibits and discover the museum’s fascinating collection of musical memorabilia. You can also pay a poignant optional visit to the National Civil Rights Museum. Built around the Lorraine Motel, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, this sobering museum chronicles the American civil rights struggle from segregation to the modern day. However you choose to spend your day, soak up the atmosphere of famous Beale Street before reconvening at the hotel for a final overnight stay in Memphis.
- Journey west, today, into the Lone Star State and to the cattle town of Fort Worth, the starting point of the famous Chisholm Trail, and still home to authentic Western culture. The famous Stockyards are the focal point of the Historic Quarter, where wooden boardwalks and old-fashioned storefronts recreate the days of the Old "Wild" West.
- Spend this morning at the Stockyards – don’t miss the daily Texan cattle drive. This afternoon, you’ll visit glittering Dallas, forever associated with the tragic events of November 1963. You'll return to Fort Worth via Southfork Ranch, and tonight you'll have the chance to further explore the Stockyards' area or venture into downtown Fort Worth.
- Today, you'll make your way to the Texan State Capital, Austin, and continue to the airport to catch your overnight flight home.
- Arrive back in the UK, after a wonderful journey through America's fascinating Southern heartland.
What's Included
Holiday Highlights
- Enjoy San Antonio, the capital of Tex-Mex culture
- Experience the unmistakable rhythms of New Orleans, Louisiana’s laid-back 'Big Easy'
- Spend three nights in Memphis, Tennessee, home of Elvis Presley
- Explore historic Dallas and visit Southfork Ranch
- Relive the heroics of Davy Crockett at the Alamo
- Discover Nashville, the world capital of country music
- Visit Muscle Shoals and its famous recording studios
- Learn more about Elvis Presley in his birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi
- Catch a cattle drive at the Fort Worth Stockyards
- Tour Houston, home of the NASA Space Centre
Our Price Includes
- 13 nights' room-only accommodation in a series of good-quality hotels in San Antonio (2 nights), Houston (1), New Orleans (2), Tupelo (1), Nashville (2), Memphis (3), Fort Worth (2), plus one night on the aircraft
- Visit to Dallas and the infamous Southfork Ranch
- Entry to Sun Studios and Elvis' beloved Graceland in Memphis
- Day trip to Tupelo and the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum
- Visit to NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Centre
- Return flights to Austin
- Comfortable, air-conditioned coach travel and transfers throughout
- Fully escorted by a friendly, experienced tour manager
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Dates and Prices
Accommodation
Texas, Memphis & New Orleans Touring Hotels 2023 -
The hotels used will meet the standard of a good, four-star European hotel. Guestrooms will have private bathrooms, telephones and TVs. The vast majority will also have tea/coffee-making facilities. There will always be a bar or restaurant on site or nearby.
Other Information
Passports and visas
When travelling to the USA, British citizens require passports with an integrated chip (shown on the front by a small rectangular symbol beneath the word PASSPORT), valid beyond the return date from the USA. Visas are not normally required for entry, but visitors must apply for an ESTA online with US Immigration at least 72 hours before departure at www.cbp.gov/esta. The current charge is $21 for British Citizens. British subjects and anyone who has a criminal record or has ever been arrested should consult the US Embassy as a visa may be required. Note too that if you have visited North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia or Yemen since March 2011, or Cuba since 12 January 2021, or have dual nationality with any of these countries, you do require a US visa and cannot travel on the Visa Waiver Program.
Hotel transfer times
The transfer time from the airport to your hotel is approximately two hours.
Foreign Office travel advice
Visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice to find out the latest Foreign And Commonwealth Office travel advice for your holiday destination, as well as information about passports and visas.
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted on any coach forming part of your holiday; regular stops will be made though for your comfort en route. The majority of hotels in North America are non-smoking throughout including in all bedrooms. In general smoking outside is acceptable, but do look out for signs prohibiting this close to public entrances or bus stops.
Tipping
Gratuities are a way of life in North America, and it is generally accepted that they form part of a person's earnings. The customary gratuity for a coach driver or Tour Manager is about $5 per person per day. It is normal to tip 15-20 per cent of the bill for a taxi or in a restaurant, and to leave a dollar or so per drink in a bar.
On your flight
All outbound flights depart and arrive on the same day. All return flights leave in the evening and land in the UK the next day. On-board meals will usually include lunch and a snack on outward flights, and dinner and breakfast on flight home. Soft drinks are complimentary, but some airlines will charge for alcoholic drinks.
Luggage allowance
You are permitted to take one suitcase per person on the aircraft, which should not exceed 23kg.
Special requirements
If you have notified us of any special requirements, please check that they have been noted and acknowledged. This is especially important with any dietary needs you may have.
Disabled access
The majority of our tours involve a certain amount of walking, including a short walk from the coach stop to the town, attraction or venue you're visiting. If you are bringing a wheelchair, please let us know at the time of booking so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Itinerary changes
Occasionally, for operational reasons, we may have to change the order of the excursions on your holiday. The final day-by-day itinerary will be confirmed on your Final Travel Documents, which you will receive approximately three weeks prior to your departure.
Changes to your hotels
Should circumstances require, we reserve the right to accommodate you in alternative hotels, of a similar standard, nearby. Full details of your hotels will be sent with your Final Travel Documents.
Please note, on certain departures you will stay at the Menger Hotel, San Antonio, for nights 11 & 12 (instead of the Crockett Hotel).
Hotel rooms
Standard hotel rooms in North America will contain one or two double- or queen-sized beds, and it is not possible to add extra beds to the room. Parties consisting of more than two travellers, but who have only booked one room, will be expected to make use of the two beds provided. If this is a concern, you may wish to consider booking more than one room for your group.
Holiday code
N2539Holiday provided by Newmarket Holidays
BOOK WITH CONFIDENCE: This holiday is sold and operated by Newmarket Holidays (ABTOT 5509, ATOL 2325, ABTA V7812), you can be 100% sure that your money is safe.