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Old 30 Apr 15, 08:17 AM  
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Trip sounds fabulous,another wanna go area for me
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Old 10 May 15, 08:53 PM  
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Originally Posted by *source* View Post
Sorry to hear about your mum. We are just back from our trip - we had a blast and I have a wee recommendation for your girls... There are outlets in Commerce (just north of Atlanta if you have time )
Thank you source I will google and check them out. Read your pre trippy and your trip sounds amazing. Glad you enjoyed it. Time to start planning another
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Old 10 May 15, 09:32 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Thank you source I will google and check them out. Read your pre trippy and your trip sounds amazing. Glad you enjoyed it. Time to start planning another
I am all road-tripped out!

Currently planning a cruise... plenty to keep me busy
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Old 16 Jun 15, 06:11 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Hi,

First ever pre trip report so not too sure how to do all the links and everything hopefully I will figure it out as I go along. We are a family of four from Southern Ireland Dad, Mom and two teenager daughters who will be 16 and 14 when we travel. We enjoy theme parks, sight seeing and lots of shopping.

30th May - Flights with US Airways direct from Dublin to Charlotte NC where we plan to collect car and drive to Gatlinburg TN. Here we have prebooked the River Terrace Resort for 5 nights. We did look at cabins but prefer to be in walking distance to shops and restaurants. The plan is to visit Dollywood and Waterpark, Cades Cove, Roaring Forks Motor Trail and maybe Clingman's Dome.

3rd June - Drive to Chatanooga and stay in the Choo Choo Hotel for one night. Here we will visit Lookout Mountain.

4th June - Drive to Atlanta and stay in the Hilton Garden Inn next to the World of Coke. Have yet to finalise what else we will visit here but I am considering CNN tour, Margaret Mitchel House or possibly Gone with the Wind Tour or the King Centre. I will do one of these with the World of Coke.

5th June - Drive to Savannah and stay in the Inn at Elis Island for 2 nights. Plan to meander along River Street, book a tour and maybe visit the graveyard.

7th June - On to Charleston I have booked the Hampton Inn in the Historic District for 2 nights. Again maybe a hop on hop off type of tour and I want to visit Boone Plantation.

9th June - Myrtle Beach for four days relaxation on the beach in the Breakers Resort. Plan here is shop till we drop and a little beach time.

13th June - Drive to Charlotte and fly home

Any suggestions, tips or recommendations on must sees that I may have overlooked.

Thanks for reading,
Back home after a fantastic holiday so thanks for all the tips and info. Too tired to figure out how to do links and post photos so here is a brief overview of the trip:-

Gatlinburg - After a direct flight with US Airways from Dublin to Charlotte we drove to Gatlinburg in about 3.5 hours. Our accommodation for the four nights was the River Terrace Resort and it was basic but very well located. The room had two sinks which was very handy. On the first night we ate in Bubba Gumps on the balcony overlooking Gatlinburg and loved it. Gatlinburg is so pretty nestled at the foot of the Smokey Mountains we were delighted with our choice and had a number of cold beers to celebrate getting there safely.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Pancake Pantry for breakfast and it was lovely. We planned on visiting Dollywood for the day and it was lovely and sunny. Dollywood is a really pretty theme park and luckily for us not busy that day most of the rides were walk on.

The weather on the third day was overcast and we headed off to Cades Cove hoping it would brighten up later but it didn't unfortunately. We loved visiting the churchs and sights along the route. Afterwards we visited Pigeon Forge and ate in TGI Fridays. We got lost in the Christmas store there it is HUGE!

The following day we went to Splash Country for opening time which was luckily as by lunch time all the attractions were closed due to thunder but the hubby and girls had most of the park covered by that time anyway. Still I felt a bit put out by the weather! We went to the Tangers Outlets for the rest of the day.

For our last night we ate in the Italian on Parkway and it was not that good and wander around the numerous shops.
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Old 16 Jun 15, 06:58 PM  
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Heather1957
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Thank you so much for this quick overview!

Christmas shop... will have to be done!

We'll be there end of September but only have 3 nights so will have to be organised!
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Old 16 Jun 15, 07:41 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Back home after a fantastic holiday so thanks for all the tips and info. Too tired to figure out how to do links and post photos so here is a brief overview of the trip:-

Gatlinburg - After a direct flight with US Airways from Dublin to Charlotte we drove to Gatlinburg in about 3.5 hours. Our accommodation for the four nights was the River Terrace Resort and it was basic but very well located. The room had two sinks which was very handy. On the first night we ate in Bubba Gumps on the balcony overlooking Gatlinburg and loved it. Gatlinburg is so pretty nestled at the foot of the Smokey Mountains we were delighted with our choice and had a number of cold beers to celebrate getting there safely.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Pancake Pantry for breakfast and it was lovely. We planned on visiting Dollywood for the day and it was lovely and sunny. Dollywood is a really pretty theme park and luckily for us not busy that day most of the rides were walk on.

The weather on the third day was overcast and we headed off to Cades Cove hoping it would brighten up later but it didn't unfortunately. We loved visiting the churchs and sights along the route. Afterwards we visited Pigeon Forge and ate in TGI Fridays. We got lost in the Christmas store there it is HUGE!

The following day we went to Splash Country for opening time which was luckily as by lunch time all the attractions were closed due to thunder but the hubby and girls had most of the park covered by that time anyway. Still I felt a bit put out by the weather! We went to the Tangers Outlets for the rest of the day.

For our last night we ate in the Italian on Parkway and it was not that good and wander around the numerous shops.
Chattanooga - We left Gatlinburg and headed straight to Rock City Lookout Mountain and I must say we all loved it. It was so pretty with rock pathways, swinging bridges and caves and the views were amazing. We ate lunch in the cafe at the entrance and it was ok. We checked into the Choo Choo which i had booked before the announcement for the renovation and our room was ok. We were on the ground floor and the area was open up for anyone to walk around and the hotel felt empty so I did not feel safe and would not stay here again. That evening we took the free transport to downtown Chattanooga for dinner. I should have headed straight to Atlanta from Lookout Mountain instead of staying overnight in Chattanooga.
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Old 16 Jun 15, 08:15 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Chattanooga - We left Gatlinburg and headed straight to Rock City Lookout Mountain and I must say we all loved it. It was so pretty with rock pathways, swinging bridges and caves and the views were amazing. We ate lunch in the cafe at the entrance and it was ok. We checked into the Choo Choo which i had booked before the announcement for the renovation and our room was ok. We were on the ground floor and the area was open up for anyone to walk around and the hotel felt empty so I did not feel safe and would not stay here again. That evening we took the free transport to downtown Chattanooga for dinner. I should have headed straight to Atlanta from Lookout Mountain instead of staying overnight in Chattanooga.
Atlanta - We left Chattanooga and headed straight for our hotel the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Atlanta. Check in was quick even though we arrived at 12 long before the offical 3pm check in time. We dropped our luggage and went straight to Lenox Mall for a spot of retail therapy. After spending 4 hours in 3 shops, Hollister, Abercrombie and Victoria Secrets we headed back to the hotel with two very happy girls. That evening we headed to STATS for dinner and it was really nice. It was located very near the hotel.

We had a very good breakfast (Hilton always has an excellent breakfast) and walked to the nearby World of Coke. It was very enjoyable and took about 1.5 to 2 hours. Well worth the entrance fee. You might remember I was considering what else to do in Atlanta well we decided to drive to Covington aka Mystic Falls in the Vampire Diaries for lunch in the Mystic Gril as a surprise for the girls. They were delighted and it was the high light of the holiday for them.
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Old 16 Jun 15, 08:34 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Atlanta - We left Chattanooga and headed straight for our hotel the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Atlanta. Check in was quick even though we arrived at 12 long before the offical 3pm check in time. We dropped our luggage and went straight to Lenox Mall for a spot of retail therapy. After spending 4 hours in 3 shops, Hollister, Abercrombie and Victoria Secrets we headed back to the hotel with two very happy girls. That evening we headed to STATS for dinner and it was really nice. It was located very near the hotel.

We had a very good breakfast (Hilton always has an excellent breakfast) and walked to the nearby World of Coke. It was very enjoyable and took about 1.5 to 2 hours. Well worth the entrance fee. You might remember I was considering what else to do in Atlanta well we decided to drive to Covington aka Mystic Falls in the Vampire Diaries for lunch in the Mystic Gril as a surprise for the girls. They were delighted and it was the high light of the holiday for them.
Savannah - Our hotel the Inn at Ellis Square was very well located just behind River Walk and next to City Market but it had no pool and we would have loved to cool off as it was very hot. The weather was very good baring the one or two overcast days in Gatlinburg. We were luckly and there was a festival on and the whole area had a great buzz about it. I loved Savannah and would love to return for Paddys day sometime. We had a drink in Kevin Barry's and as we had a huge lunch earlier just ate snack food from one of the many stalls along the river front. We chatted to a couple from Wales that were living in the states and on a short vacation to Savannah and watched the fire works. Back in bed by 10pm as we were most evenings. I had booked Olglethorpe tours for the following day to tour Savannah. It is just so beautiful and full of history. I would not recommend Olglethorpe as once you finished the 90 minute tour the on /off section did not work so well and we were left standing around waiting for buses more than I liked. Also you had to ring for collection at stops which is inconvienent for overseas visitors. The trolley for the tour was really old and the air condition unit leaked all over a man two seats in front of us.
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Old 16 Jun 15, 08:50 PM  
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Originally Posted by Irelandmaryd View Post
Savannah - Our hotel the Inn at Ellis Square was very well located just behind River Walk and next to City Market but it had no pool and we would have loved to cool off as it was very hot. The weather was very good baring the one or two overcast days in Gatlinburg. We were luckly and there was a festival on and the whole area had a great buzz about it. I loved Savannah and would love to return for Paddys day sometime. We had a drink in Kevin Barry's and as we had a huge lunch earlier just ate snack food from one of the many stalls along the river front. We chatted to a couple from Wales that were living in the states and on a short vacation to Savannah and watched the fire works. Back in bed by 10pm as we were most evenings. I had booked Olglethorpe tours for the following day to tour Savannah. It is just so beautiful and full of history. I would not recommend Olglethorpe as once you finished the 90 minute tour the on /off section did not work so well and we were left standing around waiting for buses more than I liked. Also you had to ring for collection at stops which is inconvienent for overseas visitors. The trolley for the tour was really old and the air condition unit leaked all over a man two seats in front of us.
Charleston - Our hotel was the Hamilton Inn Historic District and was very comfortable. Once we arrive we just chilled at the pool and headed out for something to eat at a nearby Italian Papa Joes I think it was called. The following day we drove to Boone Plantation it was brillant I loved all the movie /tv references(North and South, Roots Queenie, the Notebook) and the history of the place. We all enjoyed this very much even the girls. Afterwards we decided to go to Fort Sumter hubby really enjoyed this the girls not so much. Not sure where we ate that night to be honest. While I loved the activites here I preferred the stay in Savannah more of a holiday vibe.
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Old 16 Jun 15, 09:10 PM  
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The only other of these places we will be visiting is Chattanooga and we have booked in the Great Weston Arbour Inn and Suites, I hope it is okay!

I hope you had a great time!
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