USA

Tourdescription Standard Tour

US Southern States

Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia

The USA motorcycle tour of southern states will take us through Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana.  At the conclusion of the trip we will have packed in our luggage, among many other things:  a visit to the Blue Angels, the hottest air show in the world, Jack Daniels destillery and Elvis, the King, Presley, and the energy of  jazz from the “Big Easy,” New Orleans.  Have fun !

Welcome to the Sunshine State !
Pensacola, Florida

We will meet you at the Gulf of Mexico in the sunshine state of Florida and take you to the hotel.  After the strenuous flight to the emerald coast you will first have the opportunity to relax and unwind because our motto is:  biking is our passion, but to get to know the country and its people is an important part of it.

Therefore we’ll spend the first two days in the USA to get acclimated:  city sightseeing tour, swimming, shedding jet lag.  By US standards, Pensacola has a relatively long history, since it was the first settlement in the USA.  The old Spaniards already knew where life is good.  The city lies directly at the Gulf of Mexico and has much to offer; it doesn’t matter if you choose to relax at the seashore or the pool, or if you want to begin preliminary exploration on your own.

The evening before the beginning of our road tour you will be invited to enjoy a welcome dinner of shrimp, oysters and other delicacies.

Mount the motorcycles !
Biloxi

In our accompanying van we will drive a uniquely scenic route to pick up our motorcycles.  On our return we will make a ferry crossing which will also pass by drilling rigs. This, of course, calls to mind the oil spill catastrophe of 2010; however there is no trace of the spill at this place.

In the gambling city of Biloxi, Mississippi we will spend the night.  First, dinner in a first class hotel (not included) and then – bed or a casino visit.  After a potentially intense night, we’ll begin the next day leisurely, and then drive the last stretch back to Pensacola.  Our recommendation:  enjoy the area’s excellent sea food.

But before we leave Pensacola, there’s a great treat in store:  we’ll visit the air show of the Blue Angels, probably the world’s most famous and best flight demonstration team.  If the weather permits, you will see the performance directly at the US Navy military base.  It’s a unique opportunity to witness how the Blues soar into sky and execute their complex maneuvers.  If the Blue Angels performance is not a possibility, we will offer an interesting, comparable alternative.

We will say good-bye to Pensacola and roar in a northerly direction.  The single longest driving day is here at the beginning as we head for Atlanta in the state of Georgia.

 A lovely drive through the land of cotton.
Atlanta

We’ll be on the road for five hours through parts of the eastern USA and we’ll have a chance to appreciate the scenic landscape of parts of Alabama.  The skyline of Atlanta with its skyscrapers will be in our line of sight for a while.

Depending on mood and circumstances we can cruise through the city on our bikes, stretch our bodies with a walk, or we’ll use public transportation for a city tour.  At any rate, today we’ll slow our pace down.

The Olympic and Coca Cola city of Atlanta has a lot to offer:  “The World of Coca-Cola” shows the history of this dark drink, including its invention here in Atlanta and various quirky and comical events in Coke’s world-wide distribution.  One can also marvel at the world’s largest aquarium -- or the intellectual biker can visit CNN, the world’s most important news agency.  And, of course, this is the birthplace of Martin Luther King, who also grew up here.  So, in Atlanta we find the beginning of the dream of a more peaceful world.

VW and Jack Daniels
Chattanooga – Lynchburg

We’ll leave the tumult of the big city and dip into the rural part of our trip.  We’ll drive through the outskirts of Atlanta with our eyes on the goal of Tennessee.  Magnificent mountain roads will thrill the biker and we’ll continue to the city of Chattanooga, the city to which Glen Miller dedicated his song Chattanooga Choo Choo.  A look at the new VW plant will show us how strong the German influence will be in Tennessee.

The day’s goal in Tennessee will be Lynchburg.  This city is of great potency:  JACK DANIELS produces its unique charcoal melowed whiskey here.  You will be surprised how elaborately this drink is produced.  You will find out during the distillery tour (included in the price) that Lynchburg is a dry county.  This means that alcohol cannot be served within the city;  so, we are limited to a hearty sniff.

Ladies and Gentlemen:  THE KING !
Huntsville – Tupelo – Jackson

We will drive toward Tupelo, in the magnolia state of Mississippi, along the Natchez Trace Parkway (a road through the woods used almost exclusively by bikers).  The crossing of the Tennessee River is a very special experience.  But before this you’ll be able to visit the NASA Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama to marvel at an original Saturn 5 moon rocket.

In Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, a visit to the house of his birth and the Presley Museum is a must:  it’s a trip back in time to the 30’s and 40’s, the years of the King’s youth.  Maybe we’ll run into someone who went to school with Elvis, or sang in the same church choir.

Wonderful Mississippi and Tennessee River bridges, as well as a reservoir,  are to be found on the way to Jackson and will tempt us to linger and admire.  The capital of the state of Mississippi has numerous attractions to offer and you will feel the legendary flair of the deep South.

The Big Easy
New Orleans

New Orleans, named the Big Easy, is the final destination of our tour and is surely one of the highlights of a bike trip through the southern states.  The drive into New Orleans is over the longest bridge in the world and is a glorious experience;  it will take us 40 Kilometers over Lake Pontchartrain.  The flooding of this lake was a large cause of the catastrophe caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A high-class hotel awaits us, just the perfect spot to relax after an extensive sightseeing and party tour in the birthplace of jazz, where Louis Armstrong had his start and where today illustrious musical careers are still launched.  A visit to the Garden District, as well as a look at the Super Dome are to be recommended.  The football stadium of the New Orleans Saints and naturally, Bourbon Street, are on the schedule.

We’ll drive into the hinterland of New Orleans, into the land of plantations, which will take us back in time to the era of slaves and plantation owners.  We’ll see the best preserved plantation at Oak Alley, where the interesting history of the Northern and Southern states can be felt.  We’ll have an insight into why the South did not want to give up slavery, though it was proclaimed as the law.  This, too, belongs to the history of the US.

Finally, we’ll relinquish our motorcycles, and enjoy one last evening in New Orleans, the city in which all the rules are different than in other US cities.

Remarks:

The price of the flight is not included in the tour cost, but can be economically booked by us.  Open-jaw flights into Pensacola and back from New Orleans are generally, depending on the season, favorably priced.  We would be pleased to book these for you.

And remember: there is adventure here !!