14 Day Deep South Usa Small Group Tour

Arrival to Houston airport and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy free time this afternoon.

This morning we depart for San Antonio, one of the most pleasant American cities. San Antonio’s architectural heritage, composed by magnificent Spanish missions and Victorian residences, is very well preserved. We have a delicious Mexican lunch and then take a city tour of San Antonio's old Mexican districts Paseo Del Rio, La Villita, historical Fort Sam Houston, Spanish Governor’s Palace and Fort Alamo, a symbol of Texas history.

The late afternoon and evening are at leisure. Feel free to walk through the famous Riverwalk with its charming cafés and boutiques longing the river.

Today, we visit San Antonio Mission’s National Historic Park covering 4 of 5 Spanish missions of San Antonio Area: Mission Concepcion, Mission San Jose, Mission San Juan and Mission Espada. Return to San Antonio.

Enjoy a special Cowboy lunch at Buckhorn Saloon before a visit of Buckhorn Museum and Texas Ranger Museum, home to a large collection of cattle and whole parts. 520 species collected from all over the world hang on the walls or decorate the themed rooms.

This morning we discover the superb Hill Country covered with green hills and sparkling streams. Stop at Bandera, the “Cowboy Capital of the World”. Located amongst the hills, Bandera is surrounded by rich ranches and sumptuous residences. The country apparel shops are a dream for western amateurs, for ranchmen and especially for tourists.

You can walk around downtown Main Street facing the church. Continue up to the Silver Spur Ranch, still in the cattle breeding business, to discover daily ranch activities. You will meet real cowboys on-the-job before an exhilirating lasso show. We have a traditional Cook-out lunch before we return to San Antonio in the late afternoon.

Before noon, spend some free time at the ranch or go horseback riding. We continue towards Fredericksburg, which is still very German, for some time at leisure. Continue towards Austin, the capital of Texas and center of country and rock music. We take a city tour including the State Capitol building in pink granite, the biggest Capitol House of the USA and headquarters of the Texan State, Old Pecan Street and its Victorian houses.

We continue towards the infamous Congress Bridge which is home to the biggest bat colony on the planet, with between 75,000 and up to 1.5 million bats coming from Mexico (Tadarida Bresiliensis) to reproduce. When the city rebuilt the bridge by the early 1980’s, nobody thought it will be the perfect bat-cave. Embark on a boat tour at sunset to see these mammals leave their cave for the night with the silhouette of Austin on the background.

Depart for the Dallas region this morning. Our first stop is Fort Worth, which preserved its atmosphere from last century with its buildings that remind us that Fort Worth was once the frontier of the Far West. You will see the Sundance Square, Fire Station No.1, Cattleman’s Association and historical Stockyards District.

Towards mid-afternoon, don’t be surprised to see some ranchers guiding their cattle herd trough Exchange Avenue Crossing Stockyards. Late afternoon at leisure. We have an early dinner to catch a real Rodeo experience at Stockyards Coliseum.

We head to Dallas for a city tour. Dallas looks like a gigantic forest of glass with carved skyscrapers, with Old City Park, Pioneer Plaza, Old Red Courthouse, the Farmers’ Market, Union Station and historical West End. We make an emotional stop at Kennedy Memorial Plaza, not far from the point where John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. We visit the Sixth Floor Museum to discover the events of the assassination day before lunch. Continue towards Shreveport in Louisiana.

Our first stop this morning is Natchitoches. After a city tour of the charming historical center, visit Cane River Historic Park, home to Oakland and Magnolia plantations and discover the French heritage before lunch. This afternoon, continue to Natchez, located at the boundaries of Mississippi river. This city was spared from the Civil War. Its buildings talk about when cotton was king, about Mark Twain and his steamers, and the race of smugglers. Discover beautiful antebellum houses of the 19th century.

Departure for Baton-Rouge, capital of Louisiana. City tour: the Capitol, this magnificent art deco monument’s panoramic roof offers a spectacular view over the city and Mississippi; Rural Life Museum. Visit of this open-air museum, witnessing the rural life of 19th century: homes, sugar cane boiling houses and ruins of old houses of pioneers. Lunch. Continue to Nottoway, witness of the rich life of the region before the Civil War, the biggest houses of antebellum (before-war) era. Plantation visit and check in. Dinner and overnight in plantation.

This morning we depart for the region of Thibodaux. Enjoy a thrilling boat ride on a flat-bottomed boat in the bayous accompanied by an alligator hunter, amongst cypress and oak trees where alligators live together with snakes, herons and ibises. Continue for the sugar cane plantation of Oak Alley and bare witness to the region’s rich economy before the War. We have lunch and tour the plantation. Arrive in New Orleans this afternoon and spend the evening at leisure.

In the morning, we take a guided tour of the French Quarter with its old checkered streets which have kept their French names: Bourbon Street, Royal Street, Bienville Street; colonial style houses with forged iron balconies, sometimes as old as 250 years. The French Quarter has been designed by a French architect at the beginning of the 18th Century with a village in mind. Jackson Square is the center of the village, and St Louis Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in the USA.

We see the French Market, not far away from the Mississippi River where people were disembarking from the boats, and is one of the oldest markets in the USA. Embark on a lunch cruise on a steamboat and take in the jazz atmosphere on the Mississippi. Afternoon and evening at leisure.

We depart for Morgan City, the world capital of shrimps, towards Avery Island. Discover tropical gardens, migratory bird reserves and the plant of the infamous Tabasco hot sauce before lunch. This afternoon, we visit Saint Martinsville, considered as the real capital of the Cajun country. St Martinsville is attached to its French roots and many locals speak French.

Discover the catholic church of St-Martin-de-Tours before continuing towards Lafayette. Enjoy a city tour with Saint-John’s Evangelist Cathedral, the 450-year-old oak tree and the City Hall. Tonight is a special “Fais Dodo” - a Cajun dance party - with Acadian orchestra playing Zydeco, a mixture of folk music of Western France (original homeland of the Cajuns) and African-Caribbean folk chants, blues, Spanish guitar, German/Austrian accordion. Cajun specialties adorn the menu.

This morning we depart for Texas via Lake Charles. We arrive at Houston, the 4th biggest city of the USA for lunch. We then visit the Johnson Space Center, one of most famous and historic sites of NASA which controls all Apollo missions. You can discover the exhibitions, watch an IMAX movie, test your capacity of a space trip on interactive machines, visit the control room or the entertainment room of the astronauts. The day concludes with a city tour at the end of the afternoon, including the Civic Center with Tranquility Park, Old Market Square, Sam Houston Park.

Enjoy time at leisure before transferring to the airport according to your flight schedule.