US
Bluegrass Country & the Smoky Mountains
featuring Louisville, Lexington, Gatlinburg & Asheville
9 DAYS
From $3,199
$2,879
pp*
Save up to 10%
*Rate is per person, land only, double occupancy, tour inclusions and available options may vary based on departure date.
Please select a date below for more details.
Please select a date below for more details.
Take a delightful trip through the heart of Appalachia, discovering the equestrian culture of Kentucky, the pioneer spirit of Tennessee, and the mountainous beauty of North Carolina. Get a taste of Bourbon, baseball, and Thoroughbreds in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky. Travel through Daniel Boone National Forest as you make your way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. From your home base of Gatlinburg, explore the natural wonders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Travel on to Asheville, North Carolina, and enjoy the city’s historic architecture, engaging neighborhoods and robust arts districts. Tour the Biltmore Estate, George Vanderbilt’s "little mountain escape” in the Blue Ridge Mountains. When you leave, you’ll have the warmth and charm of southern Appalachia still in your heart.
Your Tour Includes
- 4 Handpicked Accommodations
- 13 Meals
- 2 Choice on Tour Options
Included Highlights
- Churchill Downs
- Kentucky Derby Museum
- Old Louisville Walking Tour
- Choice on Tour: Louisville Slugger Museum or Frazier Museum of Kentucky History
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Your Tour at a Glance
Getting Prepared
Know Before You Go
Enhance Your Tour
Accommodations
Hilton Garden Inn Louisville Downtown
Nights 1-2
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Lexington
Nights 3-4
Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg
Nights 5-6
Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville
Nights 7-8
Need More Information?
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Call us toll free at 800.340.5158
Trip Reviews
Live, Unedited, & Independent Traveler Reviews
Rating
79 reviews
4.7
Out of 5
Based on 79 independent reviews
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Highlights were the tour of Churchill Downs , the tastings at Buffalo Trace snd the Moonshine Distillery in Gatlinburg, the KatieRich Breeding Farm,and the day spent in The Smoky Mountains. When it became impossible to include Ashville on the tour , Collette punted , as I was sure they would , having been on many Collette tours, and added a side trip to Nashville. It was wonderful. Meals included in the tour were appropriate, delicious and representative of local cuisine . Our driver and our tour manager were over the top spectacular. You should employ them as much as possible. They added bits of information and games to the bus rides and made every stop memorable.Anne Oconnor
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Churchill Downs Kentucky Derby Museum Historic Home Tour, Louisville Horse farm Berea Music Hall of Fame Museum Frazier Historical Museum Buffalo Trace Distillery Cherokee Cooperative Qualla Biltmore Estate and Antler Hill Museum and Winery Bush Beans Museum
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Biltmore and Churchill downs
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We had so much fun, it’s hard to pick one venue/tour. We would’ve rather gone to Bush’s Beans than Buc-Ees that place was mind boggling!😳the Buffalo Trace was great with the history and grounds; had a lot of fun at Dollywood. Beautiful country!Debra Kapitan
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This tour was very very good. Getting to the beginning of the tour was crazy. We are from Waterford, CT On the tour, There is a huge group from Massachusetts. We find out they actually used Bradley airport BDL which is 50min from Waterford, CT But we had gone to JFK to fly to Nashville. Do you know that’s 3 hours drive( who wants to to that when unnecessary) . What was someone thinking? Whoever the limo service was chosen at the end to bring us from JFK back to Waterford was using smaller limo and broke up our group of 6 people from Waterford, CT. so some of our party got there 25 min sooner. they took 3 and 3 people. my family was traveling as 4 and there was these two other lady friends i( to make up the 6 from Waterford)Raymond Karasevicz
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The weather wasn't perfect, and the last dinnertime wait was too long, but this was no fault of the tour. Tim, the Tour Guide and Brandon, the tour driver, were excellent!
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Nothing is perfect but it was very nice. Tim was a very good tour guide. Bandon helped make the trip very comfortable.Robert Hron
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The tour went off without a hitch! We even had a tornado alert and our fabulous tour guide Michael was on his phone assuring us and instruction us what to do!! A first time for everything, just happy it went around The Gaylord Resort area! I highly recommend Colette Tours. Every trip I have been on with Colette was first class all the way! Thank you!Marion Bailey
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Gaylord Opryland Resort was best place I’ve ever stayed in on a tour. Other two places were good. Smoky Mountains were beautiful and would have loved more time there. Could have spent less time at Dollywood…too glitzy for me.
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Very well organized & all tryout guides well spoken & knowledgeableSusan Kachinski
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I always have enjoyed the Collette tours; the tour managers have been wonderful, and the experiences as well!
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Five star rating for a five star experience.
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The trip was enjoyable staying at the Gaylord hotel was great. It had anything and everything you could want in a hotel
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Carefree travel with special events and tours that would be hassle to plan on my own.Dona Cole
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Thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Great tour guide, and places of interest were amazing. hotels were good and breakfasts were goood.
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The Tour manager had no experience & did not do basic homework. It’s a good tour but needs tweaked. When you provide 3 meals some days it means a later dinner. Followed by an early start. Include dinner on days where there is not nearly start the next day. Last hotel in Asheville. Terrible facility & location. It is not downtown has no ATM and no restaurant food.THOMAS McKAY
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The tour was great. The Smokey mountains was beautiful.
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The tour manager was very knowledgeable of the area.Virginia Kubenka
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I think the tour was very nice. Food was great. Tour director did an amazing job. I have already recommended trip to several people. Buffalo Trace needed some better way to deal with all the people buying things! That tour was great , but no way we could buy. The line was a half mile long. Maybe a busy day for them. Not a Collette problem. Just wanted you to know.Teresa De Vries
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Fun trip....lots to do and see ...great local guides...beautiful countryside in Kentucky. Tour manager was excellent....she made it a fun trip.Kevin Greeley
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Everything went smoothly,Janet Follstaedt
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Great tour mgr and bus driver. All3hotels we’re top notch; however the 2nd hotel had a less-than good breakfast.
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If there was a “glitch” and there usually is with travel, it was taken care of quickly & seamlessly.Kathleen Swierlik
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Everything about this tour was first class. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
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The tour itself checked all the boxes for the area The tour guid was outstandingJUDITH BUDLONG
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Mainly the tour guide made the tour great Tim was knowledgeable , personable and efficient
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Venus were excellent. Seats at the shows were not. Could only see the backs of performers at the Christmas Stampede.
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titanic exhibit and biltmore visit exceeded expectations. opryland hotel was spectacular. smoky mountains magical. nashville fun music cityPamela Chinelli
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Well organized fun activitiesJanet Kawa
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Dolly's Stampede. I loved the trick riders and their horses.
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Most of my issues had to do with the director. She knew very little about the area. She should have gone there earlier to scope it out and give us suggestions as to where to go and what to do. We were in gaitlenberg a Christmas area. She knew nothing.
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Everything happened as planned.
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The tour was filled with great excursions. Our tour manager and motor coach driver were excellent. Both made sure we had the best experiences.Lillie Kramer
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Tour guide was excellent. Only the accommodation in Gatlinburg was slightly above average. Everything else was excellent.
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Excellent from start to finish and everything in between.
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The sights included were wonderful. I particularly enjoyed touring Churchill Downs and the horse farms .Thomas Michelmore
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Wonderful itinerary! Includes a taste of the culture, history, local cuisine, and fun and unique activities to experience and enjoy in Bluegrass Country. Who would have expected a Titanic Museum nestled amongst the amusements of Pigeon Forge? Our visit was filled with information, facts, understanding of the events, and feeling like one of the passengers in "Titanic" proportion. Excellent Tour Manager, awesome Coach driver, very knowledgeable Step on Guides, and a group that blended quite well.Maria Luisa (Louie) Despeaux
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Churchill Downs narration by the guide.she was so knowledgeable and able to answer all questions..Brenda Crumb
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Churchill Downs, Smoky Mountains. Tour Manager Tim was awesome and very knowledgeable and went the extra mile with the travelers.JJKOBE
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Some hotels did not meet my expectations. Hot tub was nearly impossible to get into in one hotel, and most breakfasts were of limited menu items, or were not very hot when servedDiane Pellett
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This was our first Collette tour and we were very satisfied. We especially enjoyed the visit to the horse farm in Lexington.Ruth Elin Riley
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Excellent itinerary, nice accommodations and pleasant tour guide.
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Churchill Downs and horse farms were great. Tour manager was average at best.
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Bus driver was the best. He provided snacks and water throughout the tour. Wrong time for tour. Two weeks late for summer weather and 2 weeks early for fall colors.
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Nice itinerary and pacing was just rightRobert Faria
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Biltmore - Last hotel on trip was very good.Dwight Schulz
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Very well organized tour that included all the highlights I wanted to see. The tour manager was excellent.Barbara Grcevic
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This was my first tour with Collette and it was fabulous. Very informative, great choice of hotels, and all tours were great. I hope to plan another one soon.Margaret Lapage
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Loved the Churchill Downs, The Smoky Mountains, The Biltmore Estate, and all the stops along the way. Margaritaville Resort was an added bonus that I loved.
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Great tour, very informativeMichael Sweeney
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Highlight was Churchill Downs & horse farms.
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Best trip ever. Great Tour Manager.Jimmie Crane
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There were certain things with the hotels, as I mentioned in the previous survey. I also felt it was awkward with the tipping policy especially for the local guides, and I feel the tipping should be handled by Collette vs the indiviual guests.
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Enjoyed the tour, the driver was competent and fun, the tour leader was excellent!Jan Charbonneau
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The overall experience was very good.
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The visit to Churchill Downs and the horse farms .... and being able to tour the Biltmore Gardens.Linda Travis Plato
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Visiting Studio B and getting to record a CD in the same room as Elvis stood and recorded his music.Donald Danyo
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Two of them.......the "Horse and Dinner show" and the surprise trip to Bush's Bean Factory....and not to diminish any of the other parts of the trip because every single part of the trip was super!Jimmy Gilbertson
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Went to Churchill Downs and 2 horse farms. Very good guides at both. The 3 distilleries were very good and enjoyed the samples. In Gatlinburg, enjoyed the large craft show (Not on our schedule) and Dolly Stampede & dinner. Also, enjoyed the unscheduled stop at Bush Bean factory. The farewell dinner at Isa's French Bistro was excellent. All in all great trip.
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I enjoyed the Dollywood and their wild west show.Jill Marine
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Loved everything about this trip. Have told all my friends about it and recommended they take this trip by Collette.
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Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable of every tour site, the bus and driver were excellent and our excursions were well planned . The best way to sum up is to just say we had a great time!Anna Villegas
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Great itenary .Fred Weaver
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Everything was great! Dolly’s Stampede.
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Wonderful tour, interesting, great tour guide and fun.Linda Purdy
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Lots of pre planning for a smooth trip. Very accommodating. Good pace. Enough time in gift shops. Favorite- Biltmore Estate.
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Churchill Downs Biltmore Estate
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I liked that the our included Dollywood..
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Enjoyed seeing Churchill Downs, horse country, and smoky mountains...and of course the Biltmore. Gatlinburg was a shock with all the stores and attractions. I thought it would be a sleepy mountain village with lots of local arts and crafts. Was shocked that it was like Las Vegas without gambling. I did not like the Dolly Parton Stampede.Susan Avelar
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Enjoyed Churchill Downs and Great Smoky Mountain Park the most.
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Churchill Downs, Boone's Tavern, BiltmoreGertrude Klepper
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Buffalo Trace tour and the Biltmore in AshevilleBette Wilkinson
