Foodie Deep South holiday with Iceland & Seattle

Itinerary in brief:

• 3 nights Reykjavik          
• 3 nights Seattle               
• 3 nights New Orleans
• 1 night Houston
• 2 nights Austin
• 2 nights Dallas 
   

Day 1: Depart UK

Depart the UK from your chosen airport. On arrival in Reykjavik, you will take a shuttle into the city and check into your hotel for three nights. If you want to, you can stop off at the Blue Lagoon on your way into the city – there is plenty of space to store your bag and enjoy a mud mask and a dip in the geothermal waters.

Included: International flight, shuttle transfer, hotel

Days 2 and 3: Reykjavik

With two days to explore the city and discover as much as you can about Reykjavik’s food scene, we’ve included a couple of tours to get you going. On your first day, you’ll spend the morning at leisure – why not wander along the harbour, shopping in the pretty shops and getting a taste of the famous Icelandic hot dog for lunch? In the afternoon, you’ll enjoy a beer tour of Reykjavik, stopping in at four different bars to sample 10 of Iceland’s best craft ales and lagers. Learn about the country’s love affair with beer, from the early Viking days to the surprising ban on beer in 1915, as you tour microbreweries and gastropubs, with delicious bar snacks included!

On your second day, we know you’ll want to get out of Reykjavik and explore some of Iceland’s natural wonders, but don’t worry, this tour still has a foodie twist! You’ll visit the Golden Circle, the country’s three biggest attractions – Thingvellir National Park, the gushing Geysir hot spring and the mighty Gullfoss waterfall. Throughout the day you’ll get a taste of Iceland’s fresh and local cuisine – trying succulent tomatoes grown in geothermal greenhouses and visiting a traditional turf farmhouse to taste smoked lamb flatbreads and pancakes filled with rhubarb jam.

Included: Hotel, day tours

Day 4: Fly to Seattle

Today you’ll hop on a shuttle back the airport before catching your flight to Seattle. On arrival in the USA, you’ll make your own way into the city and check into your hotel for three nights.

Included: Flight, hotel            

Days 5 and 6: Seattle

Start your day with a tour of Pike Place Market, where a guide will show you where to find the best cheese, pastries and seafood in this vast market as well as watching some fish throwing as the catch of the day arrives. Spend the rest of your day exploring the city – why not head up to the top of the Space Needle to watch the sunset, with panoramic views over the city and Puget Sound below you – before enjoying a seafood dinner by the harbour.

On your second day, we’ve included a day tour to local Woodinville where you’ll taste some of Washington State’s best wine. Compare tasting notes of 4 – 6 wines at each of the three wineries and learn about the art of viticulture whilst tucking into a cheese and charcuterie plate. No corporate wineries or queuing at the bar – this is relaxed wine tasting in an exceptional setting.

Included: Hotel, Pike Place Tour             

Day 7: Fly to New Orleans

Today is your final day in Seattle – you’ll make your own way to the airport in time to catch your flight to New Orleans. On arrival in New Orleans, you’ll pick up your rental car at the airport and drive to your hotel, where you’ll check into your hotel for three nights.  

Included: Flight, rental car, hotel

Days 8 and 9: New Orleans

New Orleans is a foodie’s paradise, as Rowena found out on her trip there. Make sure you plan your time here before setting off on your Deep South road trip, so you can maximise the delicious treats you get to try. Start at Café du Monde for their world-famous beignets and coffee – you’ll be queuing along with the locals for this taste of New Orleans history. A po’boy is another famous resident, so why not share one of these delicious fried shrimp sandwiches before splitting a pot of gumbo for dinner. Finish with a dish of bananas foster, where rum, vanilla, bananas and cinnamon come together to make the most delicious New Orleans dessert.

There’s obviously a lot of other fascinating ways to spend your time in New Orleans beyond the food. Wander through the spooky ornate cemeteries or stroll along Bourbon Street listening to saxophone solos that escape from open jazz club doors. If you want to get out of the city, why not drive to visit one of the famous plantation houses nearby or take a tour of the bayou whilst looking out for alligators.

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 10: Drive to Houston

Today you’ll make the long drive to Houston. It’s a 5-hour drive, so why not break it up with a lunch stop in Lafayette where you can dig into a bucket of boiled crawfish cooked in Cajun spices? On arrival into Houston, you’ll check into your hotel for one night. The fourth largest city in the USA, Houston is bustling urban sprawl with huge suburbs with a relatively small downtown area. Most visitors can’t wait to visit the NASA Space Centre, just outside the city, to learn about Mission Control for the Space shuttles and Apollo projects. In terms of food, Houston is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, with large Jewish, Ethiopian, Chinese, Nigerian and Korean populations. Despite its array of international cuisine, there is one Houston is most famous - for Tex-Mex. Whether you want to try fajitas, tostadas or street food tacos, you’ll be in heaven!

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 11: Drive to Austin      

Spend the morning in Houston (breakfast burrito anyone?) before driving over to the capital of Texas – Austin, a town of music and barbecue. On arrival, you’ll check into your hotel for two nights and head out into this college city to explore.

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 12: Austin

On your visit to Austin, be sure to visit the State Capitol building, which is taller even than its counterpart in Washington DC but other than that, Austin’s interest lies in its smokehouses, bars, jazz clubs and dance halls. Austin is obsessed with barbecue, from juicy ribs and brisket to mouth-watering pulled pork - get in the queue early and you might just score lunch at Franklin’s BBQ, known as one of the best spots in the country.  If you have time, try to fit in a football game at University of Texas campus here – thousands of fans dressed in orange cheering on the Longhorns is a spectacular sight! Finish your night tapping your feet at one of the many different bars with live music, from rock and country to jazz and bluegrass before grabbing a late-night snack from one of the cities thriving food trucks.

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 13: Drive to Dallas       

Spend the morning in Austin before heading north to Dallas. There are two ways to get there - you can either drive the highway north through Waco, stopping at the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame to learn about the states favourite baseball team or take the scenic route on smaller roads, stopping in for a swim at Hamilton Pool and driving through the Texas countryside past vineyards and cattle ranches towards Dallas. On arrival, you’ll check into your hotel for two nights.

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 14: Dallas and Fort Worth          

You’ve got a full day to explore the twin cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. Why not head to Fort Worth this morning, where you can visit the stockyards, where the wild west begins! This former livestock market is chock full of Texan shops and restaurants as well as the twice-daily cattle drive, where cowboys walk the speckled longhorns through the square.

Why not try a local steak for lunch before heading back to Dallas to spend the afternoon exploring the museums and botanical gardens, as well as Dealey Plaza where you can learn about JFK’s assassination. Finish the night with a frozen margarita – invented in Dallas these zesty drinks can be found in many of the city’s rooftop bars.

Included: Hotel, rental car

Day 15: Depart Dallas         

Today is the final day of your Deep South holiday, so after a morning in the city, you’ll drive out to the airport to drop off your rental car and catch your flight home.

Included: Rental car, international flight

Day 16: Arrive UK