Southern Sights and Sounds - Titan Travel

We both had a desire to visit Sun Studios and experience the different types of music, country and western, blues and jazz which the Deep South had to offer. We decided that we didn’t want to drive ourselves and that a tour was probably the best option. Having spoken to Sharon who kindly put a few options together, we settled on her recommendation, Titan Tours. Titan picked us up from our home address in a luxury taxi to take us to Heathrow T5 - it was great for us not to have to worry about getting there. Unfortunately, on arrival at T5 there was nobody from Titan Tours at the airport to advise how to check in as it was a group flight booking so we could not pre book seats and the self check in machines wouldn’t recognise our passport details or booking reference details. We got sorted eventually and enjoyed the flight to Atlanta where we met by our tour guide at the airport (which was much more organised).

The tour itself was great - visiting a wide variety of towns and cities in great weather, enjoying their history of culture, music, food and drink - something for everyone. We particularly enjoyed Memphis visiting Graceland, Sun Studios and enjoying a stroll down Beale Street. Nashville was good and the guided tour visit to Studio B where many famous artists have recorded was brilliant. We both enjoyed our evening at the Gand Old Opry where, even though we are not hardcore country and western fans, we enjoyed some fantastic performances, finished off with Garth Brooks being top of the bill. We also enjoyed exploring the sights and sounds of New Orleans, going the Mississippi on a paddle steamer in the mid-day sun - having a couple of local cocktails whilst listening to the jazz band was very pleasant.

Overall, the tour was well organised with us staying in some good hotels, enjoying some some good food in a variety of restaurants recommended by our tour guide and enjoying a mix of people on the tour. We visited five states and did 2,240 miles in eleven days so be prepared for quite a lot of travelling on the coach and a few early starts! A big thank you to captain Nick, our coach driver and to Marcus, our tour guide, who kept us informed and entertained on the coach with lots of interesting facts and listening to a range of music. This was our first experience of an organised tour and we both enjoyed it and will use Titan Tours again - we would definitely recommend this to others to use for a similar type of holiday. When we arrived back at T5 our experience was very positive - the smart Titan Tour drivers were all waiting for us and we were speedily transferred home.

We have already started to think about where to go next! As always, a big thank thank you to Sharon for her advice and support in helping us to choose this tour.

Steve and Jane Alton - (tour date: October 2023)