Collect your car on arrival. 

Explore this city, home to the World of Coca Cola, the CNN Center, the world’s biggest television network and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world. Visit the Martin Luther King Center where you can take the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, past the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, into the Visitor Center. Visit the Georgia State Capitol building, where Ray Charles played when honoured by the state, making his version of ‘Georgia On My Mind’ the official state song. See the house where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind or unwind in Piedmont Park or at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The city boasts some fantastic restaurants and array of nightlife including plenty of spots where you can find live music.

Located on the scenic Lookout Mountain Parkway, Fort Payne and the surrounding area is all about the outdoors, beautiful landscapes and stunning scenic drives. Enjoy recreational opportunities at nearby Cloudmont Ski and Golf Resort, DeSoto Falls and State Park, and Little River Canyon National Preserve, hiking, climbing, kayaking, swimming holes and much more! Within the parkway’s 93-mile span, you will find waterfalls, canyons, scenic vistas, unique towns and villages, parks and preserves, and many more natural wonders, as well as intriguing local history.

Stay two nights in the Fort Payne area

Head into the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to Scottsboro, home of a truly unique retail experience – Unclaimed Baggage. Bargain hunt to your heart’s content in this 50,000 square foot store where one-of-a-kind items discovered in unclaimed baggage in airports throughout the USA are on offer. The emphasis is on reselling, repurposing and recycling items, rather than just wasting them. 

Once in Huntsville you can visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the Earth’s largest space museum featuring a full size Space Shuttle, a Saturn V rocket and the actual Apollo 16 capsule. Save time for the Huntsville Botanical Garden where you can enjoy the Alabama sunshine whilst exploring 112 acres of flora and fauna. For a different perspective, go back in time to 1819 by visiting Alabama Constitution Village, or to Burritt on the Mountain, a remarkable 14-room mansion built in the shape of an X and is insulated with 2,200 bales of wheat straw. In the evening sample great local cuisine, either in a casual bar or fine-dining restaurant and take in live entertainment in one of many venues throughout the city. 

Stay two nights in Huntsville

The northwest corner of Alabama known as ‘The Shoals’, brings you a cluster of cities bursting with musical talent – Tuscumbia, Florence, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals lining the banks of the Tennessee River. Visit the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia which showcases some of the state’s famous music icons including WC Handy, Jimmie Rodgers, Sam Phillips, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, The Temptations, Alabama and the Commodores. 

The Shoals region also boasts some of the most influential recording centres in America. Renowned for their huge contribution to rock, country and R&B music throughout the 60’s and 70’s, the Muscle Shoals Sounds Studio and FAME Recording Studio were used frequently by superstars like Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and Otis Redding. Both studios are active recording studios but are open for public tours (check ahead for visiting times).

There is also a wide variety of outdoor recreation to enjoy at Pickwick Lake, Wheeler Lake, Wilson Lake and Coldwater Falls.

Stay two nights in the Muscle Shoals area.

Alabama's largest city was named after Birmingham, England, and is known for its foodie scene, lively entertainment districts, arts and attractions. The Barber Motorsports Museum showcasing the world’s largest collection of motorcycles, the fascinating Birmingham Civil Rights Institute which details the city’s role in the movement which changed America, Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball park in America and Red Mountain Park, with nature hikes and a series of zip lines through treetops, are just some of the must do attractions. 

Stay two nights in Birmingham

Moving south take a detour via Selma which marks the starting point of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery March, a landmark development in the U.S. civil rights movement, when hundreds of civil rights advocates marched over 50 miles on Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery. Visit the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, see the march’s starting point at the Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church & King Monument and follow the route the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Montgomery, Alabama's State Capital is the birthplace of both the Civil War and Civil Rights. It was here in the State Capitol, where the breakaway Confederate States of America were born, leading to the U.S. Civil War. Alabama is also famous for its role in the struggle for equality between black and white Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, marched and changed history across Alabama, including in Montgomery where Rosa Parks challenged segregation by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man.

Enjoy The Alley entertainment area of downtown Montgomery which includes a baseball field, basement jazz club, two performance facilities, an outdoor riverfront amphitheatre, several restaurants, bars, a New Orleans-style alley and a riverboat cruise. 

Stay one night in Montgomery

En-route make a stop in Monroeville, once home to writers Truman Capote and Harper Lee, who famously used the city as the basis for the fictional town of Maycomb, AL in her critically acclaimed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Today, the town features a bronze monument dedicated to Atticus Finch, the novel's protagonist. 

The historic port city of Mobile is one of the oldest cities in America. Part of Mobile Bay, the city offers an abundance of history and entertainment and boasts the original Mardi Gras which started in 1703 and is still celebrated every year two weeks before Lent. Learn more about the tradition and see some amazing floats and costumes at the Mardi Gras Museum. Admire the buildings on Cathedral Square or take a drive through the nearby Oakleigh Garden Historic District allows you to take a look at some of the city's finest late 19th Century residences. History and military fans will enjoy touring the USS Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park. 

Mobile features delicious seafood and an array of bars, restaurants and live music venues - just what you would expect from Jimmy Buffet's hometown. The Lo Da Entertainment District has over 20 establishments with live music on different nights of the week. 

Stay one night in Mobile

Relax on 32 miles of white-sand beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. These two beachside cities are a spring and summertime haven for families seeking fun in the sun and a winter playground for the annual influx of snowbird travellers. The destination is a mecca for world-class food with award-winning chefs, culinary festivals and international food sport competitions. Outdoor activities abound with nature trails, back bays and eco-tourism opportunities. The Alabama Gulf Coast is also steeped in military history and is home to a masonry fort built in 1819, where several significant battles took place.

Stay three nights in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach

Head to New Orleans and drop-off your car in time to check-in for your flight, or alternatively extend your trip with a couple of nights in New Orleans.