Great Smoky Mountains

Length of Trip

To experience the various destinations, we’ve written this itinerary over 5 full days, with air travel on the 1st and 5th day. However, depending on your interest, availability, and flight options, you could add a day in the park, or remove the city days to lengthen or shorten the trip. In particular, if you're interested in a longer hike, you may wish to add a day to still have space for the variety of other park activities.

Given the location, many people choose to drive to the Smokies. This could also lengthen your trip, and we can work with you on planning those changes.

Travel Season

Winter ice and snow can limit access to many of the highlights of this itinerary. While there are no scheduled seasonal closures, we recommend visiting in the warmer half of the year to minimize the chances of being frozen out of parts of the trip. 

   Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec   

Key:     best months       okay months     not advised

Many accommodations and high-demand activity permits fill up quickly during peak seasons. Planning a minimum of 6 months in advance, or in some cases 12 months, increases availability. However, even with shorter time horizons we will work to find options for you and your group.

Tip: Foliage season peaks in October, and many say this is the best time of year to see these mountains.

Most nights on this trip involve lodging in 3-star hotels. Sometimes lodging in or adjacent to national parks may have fewer amenities, but is still the right choice based on location, as well as historic appeal. 

If you would prefer more luxurious lodging, let us know and we can present additional options along with the price difference. If you would prefer to save some money, let us know and we can discuss less expensive options as well. If you are interested in camping, there are campgrounds convenient to some, but not all, of the locations. Talk to our team about camping options in lieu of hotels when making your reservation. This will reduce cost significantly, but also may not always be available as park service campgrounds in particular often fill up quickly. (Note that Wandersaurus does not provide or facilitate rental of camping equipment.)

The recommended hikes throughout this trip are mostly of the 2-4 mile variety and can be completed by a reasonably fit person without much specific training. No more than 6 miles of hiking are listed on any individual day. In the case of hikes that are a bit more challenging than the others in the itinerary, detailed descriptions of are provided as well as alternative suggestions if one or more are not right for your group.  

In the summer months, humidity can push heat indexes high enough to be uncomfortable. Always bring plenty of water and sunscreen, especially if visiting between June and August.

Kids: You know your kids better than we do. A 5-year-old with enthusiasm for the outdoors and some hiking experience would not find any of these overly challenging. A 15-year-old with an “indoor cat” personality might struggle. That said, many trails are not stroller-friendly. A couple of individual trails will have notes of caution for kids in your detailed daily itinerary.

The distances on this trip are not long, but many of the roads are very windy, and can also be crowded. Speed limits are often just 35 mph, and drivers are more respectful of those limits here than on bigger highways. Estimated primary drive times are as follows:

• Asheville to Cherokee via Blue Ridge Parkway: 3-5 hours

• Asheville to Cherokee via Highway: 1 ½ hours

• Cherokee to Gatlinburg (one side of park to the other): 1 ½ - 2 ½ hours 

You will end up driving a bit each day to get to the various trailheads, but other than taking the Blue Ridge Parkway, you'll only be spending a relatively small amount of each day behind a windshield. 

Other Logistics

The biggest challenge in many parts of the Smokies is finding parking. We'll give advice on which trailheads tend to fill up the fastest, and make sure to provide alternative hikes if parking is completely unavailable.

By Air

This itinerary is designed around a starting point of AVL Asheville Regional Airport. AVL is a regional airports, well-served by multiple major airlines, supporting over 2 million passengers per year, and with several rental car agencies onsite or nearby. Our itineraries have flexible schedules on the arrival and departure days, so let us know what flight options you have and we can make adjustments as needed to accommodate.

TYS airport in Knoxville is a similar distance from the western entrance of the park (near Gatlinburg). We recommend the Asheville approach primarily to experience the Blue Ridge Parkway, but if you would prefer to fly in to Knoxville the Smoky Mountain portion of the itinerary would be largely unchanged.

Charlotte (CLT), Atlanta (ATL), and Nashville (BNA) are much larger international airports, and they are each located 3-4 hours away from either Cherokee or Gatlinburg. If it's your preference to fly into one of these major hubs, you may save some money, or simply avoid having to make a connection, at the cost of making the longer drive. If you wish to fly into one of these airports let us know, and we can discuss appropriate changes to the itinerary plan.

By Car

Travelers from nearby states may find it more affordable to drive their own vehicle to the Smokies rather than fly and rent a car.

• As mentioned, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville are 3-4 hours away from either Cherokee or Gatlinburg.

• Memphis TN, Indianapolis IN, and Columbus OH are all 6-7 hours from Gatlinburg.

• Raleigh NC is 5 hours from Cherokee

• Jacksonville FL and Washington DC are ~8 hours from Cherokee

If you’ll be driving to the park let us know the details and we can adjust the itinerary accordingly.

Some features of this trip may have seasonal variation, so all package prices are presented as estimated ranges. Contact us for a more precise price estimate for your preferred travel dates. Pricing does NOT include airfare.

Couples / Two Travelers

This trip was originally designed for parties of 2 people, sharing a room. The expected total price for all included items is $1,600 - $2,000.

Families

Groups of 3-6 people can enjoy this trip as well, with costs variable depending on room-sharing preferences. Contact us for details.

Solo

Unfortunately for solo travelers, the majority of the costs are overnight accommodations which do not reduce for individuals, so a solo traveler would only save around $200 off of the couples' price.

Larger Groups

While details of this trip were not designed with larger groups in mind, the itinerary would still be functional. Contact us to discuss!

Payment Policies

• Payments must be made by credit card. Specific restrictions may exist for certain lodging or activity vendors. 

• 20% deposit due at time of reservation

• Balance due 90 days before trip start date (If booking within 90 days of trip, full balance due at time of reservation)

• Some portion of deposit may be nonrefundable, as some excursions or activity fees (which will have been booked upon confirmation) are nonrefundable. Accommodations and transportation will generally be reserved as refundable.

• Fully refundable until 60 days before trip start, less $100 admin fee and any nonrefundable excursions

• 50% refundable until 14 days before trip start

• If cancelling within 14 days of trip start, no refunds are given

Included In Your Package Price

• Bespoke itinerary - tailored as needed to suit your particular requirements

• Overnight accommodations for all nights

• Rental car

• Maps of all driving routes

• Trail maps and trail descriptions for all recommended hikes

• Restaurant recommendations, at a range of price points, highlighting vegetarian and kid-friendly options

• “America the Beautiful” federal lands pass (grants access to all National Park Service facilities on the trip)

• Tickets to all museums included in trip plan

• Fees for any guided tours mentioned in trip plan

• Expert advice and local information, including packing suggestions

• Updated information on any changing conditions delivered in the weeks before your trip

• Carbon offset credits for the mileage driven along the main route of the itinerary

• Full support during your trip from the Wandersaurus Travel team (9:00 am until 9:00 pm Eastern Time)

Not Included

• Travel to and from your starting/ending points

• Gasoline, parking, and/or any other ground transportation expenses unless specified

• Meals unless specified

• Additional guided tours or excursions beyond those specified

• Tips/gratuities for any guides

• Travel insurance. Note: we recommend purchasing travel insurance via a certified insurance agency