Nashville, Gatlinburg and Memphis help….please.

[TraceyDisney2008]

Looking to do a road trip starting in Gatlinburg, then Nashville and ending in Memphis at Graceland. Any suggestions on where to stay, we are two adults who will have a vehicle. Fun things we should do? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[AmyAnne]

Graceland is interesting even if you are not necessarily an Elvis fan. The Peabody Hotel is sort of B-grade famous: https://www.peabodymemphis.com/

 

[bnf0522]

We like the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville but it's kind of expensive if they aren't running any special deals. It's not in downtown Nashville but they do have a shuttle that will take you back and forth from downtown.

 

[AndreaDM]

Graceland is interesting even if you are not necessarily an Elvis fan. The Peabody Hotel is sort of B-grade famous: https://www.peabodymemphis.com/

This place is super cool, even if you don't stay there (we didn't) go for an afternoon cocktail and/or dessert and watch the duck march.

 

[DawnM]

We are in Pigeon Forge right now. If you book a cabin or rental through Bear Camp Cabin Rentals (or their affiliate on VRBO) you get one free ticket per day to several events. That might be helpful for your stay in Gatlinburg. We have used free tickets to Alcatraz, Titanic, Anakeesta, and a few other places.

 

[nw6675]

I have stayed in prob almost every Gatlinburg hotel because for awhile I used to go every other weekend when I lived in Nashville. If you don't care about being right on the strip, I also recommend a cabin.

For Nashville, we used to do staycations at Opryland. It is touristy, but lots to do plus tge shuttle as someone else mentioned. Plenty of high end hotels downtown - we like the Omni and the Hermitage (5 star hotel).

For Memphis, the Peabody is only place we stayed.

 

[disneyseniors]

You will love Gatlinburg and the Smokey Mtns. I have to say that the traffic in Nashville is horrible. You will have to travel I-40 most, if not all, of the way to Memphis. Just allow yourself extra time for travel. I have good friends who live outside of Nashville, and she had a doctors appointment at 9am. She had to go to Nashville the night before and stay at a hotel so she would be on time! There was no way to get from her home to Nashville on the I40 on time. I don't want to discourage you, but just be aware if you have never traveled I-40 before in Tennessee.

 

[OhhBother]

Eat at The Loveless Cafe outside Nashville. Yum!

 

[YachtClubWoman]

The Hilton in Nashville or the Lowes
The Hilton is one block off Broadway
The Lowes is by Vanderbilt
Both fabulous hotels

 

[Cadiewampus]

Looking to do a road trip starting in Gatlinburg, then Nashville and ending in Memphis at Graceland. Any suggestions on where to stay, we are two adults who will have a vehicle. Fun things we should do? Any help would be appreciated.

We are going to be in Gatlinburg this weekend. Check out Dollys Country Condo on AirBnb

 

[beldred]

For where to stay in Memphis, it really depends on what you plan to do when you're here. I DO NOT recommend staying at a hotel near Graceland. It's in a very bad area. What else do you plan to do/see and I can make some recs.
The Peabody is a historically great hotel. It's not friendly on the pocketbook though for sure. It's downtown, and honestly I wouldn't recommend staying downtown unless you plan to do downtown activities like Beale Street, Sun Studio, the Zoo, some of the museums, etc.

 

[tetera]

When are you planning on going? There is an RC Cola and MoonPie Festival in Bell Buckle, TN in June
https://bellbucklechamber.com/rc-cola-moonpie-festival/

We have stayed in all sorts of places in East TN but we absolutely love Dollywood's DreamMore Resort (not really budget friendly in the summer but can be surprisingly affordable "off season" - again, depends on when you are going).

For just two adults you might prefer The Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg (we have stayed there but not at the ones in PF - but then if you stay at the one in G'burg you can walk to everything on the Parkway).

We have stayed at the DM and the M'ville Resort for less than $100/night (pre-tax) each on weeknights in the "off season"....

And if you like Roadside Attractions you can't miss the World's Largest Cedar Bucket in Murfreesboro, TN:
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/1230

(Less exciting but still worth it if you go see the bucket is the marker of the Geographic Center of Tennessee, also in M'boro:
https://www.tnvacation.com/local/murfreesboro-geographic-center-tennessee )

 

[Dakota731]

We enjoyed Gatlinburg. I enjoy renting cabins instead of hotels. They are often cheaper and have nicer amenities. We had amazing views, a hot tub and lots of wildlife. We hiked and did the touristy stuff like Anakeesta as well.

 

[Jamie-m]

Most people visiting the area are interested in the cabin lodging and there are plenty of options for that. if you're looking for a resort style experience look at the Dollywood DreamMore Resort. There are a lot of cabins that claim to be in a resort, but to me they arent really what I expect when I think of a resort setting

 

[#1hoosierfan]

If we go to Gatlinburg for only a few days, we prefer to stay at a hotel on the strip. It’s cheaper. Then we can walk everywhere in town. Moonshine tastings are fun, mini-golf, The Smoky Mountain Brewery, The Pancake Pantry, and the Peddler Steakhouse are must-dos every trip.

The only place we have stayed in Nashville is The Opryland Hotel.

We did like the Peabody Hotel n Memphis.

 

[bjscheel]

We liked Old Creek Lodge in Gatlinburg as it was on the edge of town and the Park. So close to things without being right in the busyness.

One of the highlights in the Gatlinburg area was a UTV tour. Whichever of you is driving does have to have some confidence in it! DH was great, I would have been too cautious.
https://www.adventuresmokies.com/utv-tours/