Planning a trip to Nashville

Tips for Student Travelers

There are many universities and colleges in the Nashville area, but the main ones are Vanderbilt University, on West End Ave. (tel. 615/322-7311), a private 4-year research-oriented university; Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. (tel. 615/963-5000), a public 4-year university; Belmont University, 1900 Belmont Blvd. (tel. 615/460-6000), a Baptist liberal arts university; and Fisk University, 1000 17th Ave. N. (tel. 615/329-8500), a private 4-year African-American university.

There are about a dozen major colleges and universities in the Memphis area. The most prominent are Rhodes College, 2000 North Pkwy. (tel. 901/726-3000), which has a Gothic-style campus located opposite Overton Park; and the University of Memphis, on Central Avenue between Highland and Goodlett streets (tel. 901/678-2000), located on a large campus in midtown Memphis.

Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism

Being environmentally conscious isn't the main concern of most music fans visiting Nashville and Memphis, yet Tennessee has begun taking steps to change that. After all, it is the home state of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, whose bestseller, Earth in the Balance, launched intense scrutiny of global warming.

Increasingly, hotel chains in Nashville and Memphis are trying to be more environmentally friendly, by giving guests the option of requesting fresh linens and towels on a nightly basis. For example, the new Hutton Hotel, in Nashville, is a pioneer in sustainable luxury.

Perhaps most noticeably, green living begins with what people eat. Restaurants, such as Nashville's tayst -- the city's first green-certified eatery -- are drawing kudos for their efforts and encouraging other restaurants to take similar measures.

In both Nashville and in Memphis, chefs and restaurant owners are beginning to emphasize organic and/or locally grown and raised produce, cheese, and meat sources for their menu items. Both cities also have vibrant farmers' markets, allowing residents and tourists alike to shop for the fresh foods and ingredients.

In the pork-barbecue-loving cities of Nashville and Memphis, it's not always easy to avoid eating greasy, meat-heavy meals. But the situation is light-years better than it used to be. An abundance of ethnic eateries can be found in both cities, and vegetarian options at mainstream restaurants are much more common than they were, say, a decade ago.

Increasingly, coffee houses such as Bongo Java in Nashville feature fair-trade coffees in their own, distinctive blends.

General Resources for Green Travel

In addition to the resources for Nashville and Memphis listed above, the following websites provide valuable wide-ranging information on sustainable travel. For a list of even more sustainable resources, as well as tips and explanations on how to travel greener, visit www.frommers.com/planning.

• Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com) is a great source of sustainable travel ideas; the site is run by a spokesperson for ethical tourism in the travel industry. Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) promotes ethical tourism practices, and manages an extensive directory of sustainable properties and tour operators around the world.

Money

It’s always advisable to bring a mix of cash and credit cards, and to exchange enough petty cash in advance to cover incidentals, tips, and transportation. Memphis is moderately priced compared with larger U.S. cities such as New York and Atlanta, while Nashville grows closer in cost to larger cities daily. ATMs are prevalent. Debit cards are widely accepted.

Taxes -- The United States has no value-added tax (VAT) or other indirect tax at the national level. Every state, county, and city may levy its own local tax on all purchases, including hotel and restaurant checks and airline tickets. These taxes will not appear on price tags. In Nashville, combined state and local sales tax is 9.25%. This tax applies to goods as well as all recreation, entertainment, and amusements. However, in the case of services, the tax is often already included in the admission price or cost of a ticket. In both cities, room taxes plus sales tax will run you up to 15%, so it’s key to calculate that into the room total before you book. Sites such as Booking.com will include that price in searches, but not all sites do.

Tipping -- In hotels, tip bellhops at least $1 per bag ($2–$3 if you have a lot of luggage). Tip the doorman or concierge only if he or she has provided you with some specific service (for example, calling a cab for you). Tip the valet-parking attendant $2 every time you get your car, or up to $5 at the end of a trip. In restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, tip service staff and bartenders 15% to 20% of the check, and tip valet-parking attendants $2 to $3 per vehicle. Tip cab drivers 15% of the fare.

Getting the Best Deal

There are a number of strategies to save money on hotel rooms. To cut costs:

• Book online. See box below.
• Dial direct. When booking a room in a chain hotel, you’ll often get a better deal from the hotel’s reservation desk than from the chain’s main number.
• Avoid excess charges and hidden costs. Read the fine print to find out if there’s a “resort fee” or “facilities fee.” This nefarious extra can add a good $21 a night onto the cost of the stay, though that won’t be immediately apparent when you’re searching for hotel rates. Ask about local taxes and service charges, which can increase the cost of a room by 15 percent or more.
• Enroll in “frequent guest” programs, which court repeat customers where you accumulate points or credits to earn free nights, airline miles, and the like. Some credit cards will offer similar deals.
• Buy a money-saving package deal. A travel package that combines your airfare and hotel stay may be the best bargain. In some cases, you’ll get airfare, accommodations, transportation, and extras for less than the hotel alone would have cost. Most airlines, the convention and visitors bureau, as well as the usual booking websites (Priceline, Expedia, etc.), offer good packages to Nashville.

Online Hotel Discounts

Before going online, it’s important that you know what kind of discount you’re seeking. Currently, there are three types of online reductions:

1. Extreme discounts on sites where you bid for lodgings without knowing which hotel you’ll get. You’ll find these on such sites as Priceline and Hotwire, and they can be money-savers, particularly if you’re booking within a week of travel (that’s when the hotels resort to deep discounts to get beds filled). Hotel Tonight is another good option to help you find deals, especially within 7 days of traveling. As these companies use only major chains, you can rest assured that you won’t be put up in a dump. For more reassurance, visit the website Bidding Traveler. On it, actual travelers spill the beans about what they bid on Priceline.com and which hotels they got. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the quality of many of the hotels that are offering these “secret” discounts.
2. Discounts on chain hotel websites. In 2016, all of the major chains announced they’d be reserving special discounts for travelers who booked directly through the hotels’ websites (usually in the portion of the site reserved for loyalty members). They weren’t lying: These are always the lowest rates at the hotels in question, though discounts can range widely, from as little as $1 to as much as $50. Our advice: Search for a hotel that’s in your price range and ideal location (see below for where to do that) and then, if it is a chain property, book directly through the online loyalty portal.
3. Use the right hotel search engine. They’re not all equal, as we at Frommers.com learned in 2017 after putting the top 20 sites to the test in 20 cities around the globe. We discovered that Booking.com listed the lowest rates for hotels in the city center, and in the under $200 range, 16 out of 20 times—the best record, by far, of all the sites we tested. And Booking.com includes all taxes and fees in its rates. For top-end properties, again in the city center only, both Priceline.com and HotelsCombined.com came up with the best rates.
4. Last-minute discounts. Booking last minute can be a great savings strategy, as prices sometimes drop in the week before travel as hoteliers scramble to fill their rooms. But you won’t necessarily find the best savings through companies that claim to specialize in last-minute bookings. Instead, use the sites recommended in point 3 of this list.

It’s a lot of surfing, but your diligence can pay off.

Tips for Black Travelers

Calendar of Events

Staying Connected

Entry Requirements & Customs

Customs

What You Can Bring into the U.S. -- Visit the U.S. Customs website for information on what you can bring into or take home from the U.S. Guidelines frequently change and vary from country to country:

For information on what you’re allowed to bring home, contact:

Canadian Citizens: Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500).

European Union: EU.

U.K. Citizens: GOV.UK (tel. 0300 200 3319; +44 135 535 9022 from outside the U.K).

Australian Citizens: Customs and Border Protection (tel. 1300/363-263).

New Zealand Citizens: New Zealand Customs Service (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786).

Embassies & Consulates -- All embassies are located in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Some consulates are located in major U.S. cities, and most nations have a mission to the United Nations in New York City. If your country isn’t listed below, call for directory information in Washington, D.C. (tel. 202/555-1212) or check www.embassy.org/embassies.

The embassy of Australia is at 1601 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 (tel. 202/797-3000).

The embassy of Canada is at 501 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 (tel. 202/682-1740). Other Canadian consulates are in Buffalo (New York), Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle.

The embassy of Ireland is at 2234 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202/462-3939). Irish consulates are in Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, and other cities.

The embassy of New Zealand is at 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202/328-4800). New Zealand consulates are in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

The embassy of the United Kingdom is at 3100 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202/588-7800). Other British consulates are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Passports -- Every traveler entering the U.S. is required to show a passport. All persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda are required to present a valid passport. Note: U.S. and Canadian citizens entering the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry from within the Western Hemisphere must now also present a passport or other documents compliant with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. Children 15 and under may continue entering with only a U.S. birth certificate, or other proof of U.S. citizenship.

Visas -- The U.S. State Department’s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of dozens of countries to enter the United States without a visa for stays of up to 90 days. Citizens of all other countries must have (1) a valid passport that expires at least 6 months later than the scheduled end of their visit to the U.S.; and (2) a tourist visa. For information about U.S. Visas go to https://travel.state.gov and click on “U.S. Visas.”

When to Go

Getting There

By Plane

If you haven’t flown into Nashville since the pandemic, you won’t recognize Nashville International Airport (BNA) as it is today. With a brand-new International Arrivals Facility (IAF), a renovated lobby with soaring ceilings, and a central marketplace that includes local go-to restaurants like Acme Feed & Seed, BNA finally feels like a “Big City” hub. That’s good because, as local interstate traffic worsens, you’ll want to head there early for your departure, and now there’s at least some fun food and booze onsite (see: flynashville.com). The Nashville Visitors Center is located at The Music City Shop (inside the glass tower) at 501 Broadway (tel. 800/657-6910) and is the main source of information on the city and surrounding areas. Open daily during daylight hours, the center offers free Wi-Fi and is located at the base of the radio tower of the Bridgestone Arena. Signs on interstate highways around the downtown area will direct you to the arena.

Getting into Nashville from the Airport

Nashville International Airport (tel. 615/275-1600) is located about 8 miles east of downtown Nashville and is just south of I-40. It takes at least 20 minutes to reach downtown Nashville from the airport and may take an hour or more during rush hour. Many hotels near the airport offer a complimentary shuttle service, while others slightly farther away have their own fee shuttles; check with your hotel when you make your reservation.

Taxi service is another option. There is a $25 flat fare in the triangle between the airport, downtown, and the Opryland resort. Between any two points, the fare is $30 for up to four people. Outside this triangle, the meter starts at $9. Taxis are available on the ground level of the airport. For information, call the Transportation Licensing Commission (TLC) at tel. 615/862-6777.

Ride-hailing services including Lyft and Uber are both active in Nashville via phone application. A nearby driver will be dispatched to your location within minutes. The Nashville International Airport was the first airport in the country to allow ride-hailing services to operate on the property, and they remain committed to making them easy to use. For more information, visit flynashville.com/ground-transportation#RideApp.

By Car

Avoid the interstate during morning or afternoon rush hour in both cities, which is typically 7 to 9am and 4 to 6pm. Traffic tie-ups are increasingly common, especially in Nashville, and ongoing freeway construction and renovation often congests roadways. To find out about lane closures, visit the Tennessee Department of Transportation. You can also find out about snow and ice warnings there.

Nashville is a hub city intersected by three interstate highways: I-65 runs north to Louisville, Kentucky, and south to Birmingham, Alabama; I-40 runs west to Memphis and east to Knoxville; I-24 runs northwest toward St. Louis and southeast toward Atlanta. Downtown Nashville is the center of the hub, encircled by interstates 40, 65, and 265. Briley Parkway on the east, north, and west and I-440 on the south form a larger “wheel” around this hub.

Here are some driving distances from selected cities: Atlanta, 250 miles; Chicago, 442 miles; Cincinnati, 291 miles; Memphis, 210 miles; New Orleans, 549 miles; and St. Louis, 327 miles. If you’re heading into downtown, follow signs for I-65/24 and take exit 84 or exit 85. If you’re headed to Opryland, take I-40 east to Briley Parkway and head north. If your destination is West End, take I-40 around the south side of downtown and get off at Broadway.

If you’re visiting from abroad and plan to rent a car, keep in mind that foreign driver’s licenses are usually recognized here, but you should get an international license if your home license is not in English.

By Bus

Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222) is the sole nationwide bus line. Greyhound offers service to Nashville from around the country along interstate corridors or local routes. The Greyhound bus station is on the south side of downtown Nashville at 709 Rep. John Lewis Way S.

Getting Around

Scooters, Bicycles, Golf Carts, etc.

Good news for anyone visiting Nashville: The city has alternate means of transportation in and around the city center via scooters and bicycles for rent, as well as through golf cart services for short distances. If you have the mobility, scooters are an ideal way to see the city, allowing you to move quickly and navigate streets and sidewalks for several miles while avoiding traffic. Scooter companies include Bird, Lyft and Lime, which can both be activated using a credit card and photo ID. Typically these scooters cost $1 to unlock and 30 cents per minute riding. You can find available scooters near you using the app, and you can leave them in any safe location when you’re finished. There are often blackout areas in the city center where scooters can’t be used, but you’ll find these restrictions are rarely enforced, and you can easily scoot around them. You can also rent Segways, a two-wheeled motorized personal vehicle which you ride upright. The company iRide offers rentals, training, and tours for individuals or groups.

The city offers point-to-point rides using low-speed vehicles such as golf carts. Either Joyride or Cruzzin’Nashville will take you anywhere in the downtown area for a few bucks. You can flag them down or book online.

There is one final mode of transportation that bears mentioning: pedal taverns, or roving mobile bars that people “pedal” around the city center. If you’ve never seen these contraptions, you will in Nashville, where they are an omnipresent logistical and auditory nightmare for locals. Primarily geared toward bachelor(ette) parties, rowdy tourists, and young locals, I can’t weigh in on whether they are fun because I cannot bring myself to step foot on one. That said, if they look like fun to you, try it: Nashvillepedaltavern.com is a respected local company, and there are others that offer wagons, horse-drawn carriages, trolleys, party barges, andrecently, our first triple-decker pedal tavern (I wish I were joking). For a full list of options visit www.styleblueprint.com/nashville and search “pedal taverns.”

By Car

Nashville is easy to get around by car, however parking downtown can cost $30 to $50. The best way to get around this is to either stay in the city center or use ride-hailing apps or taxis to get to the city center and then walk, cycle, or scooter around.If you have young kids and don’t want to lug carseats on a plane, check out KreweCar, which is essentially a “black car” service that offers car seats on request. It’s not cheap—a ride across town in Nashville might cost $45—but if you do the math on parking, per-person cost, or just convenience, it’s worth every penny.

Rental Cars -- All major rental-car companies have offices in Nashville. Another option is Zipcar.com, which allows members to book small cars by the hour or day for around $10/hour, or $83/day after a one-time $25 application fee. You check the car out, drive around up to 180 miles (45 cents per mile after that), and park it back in its dedicated spot when you’re done. The gas is complimentary and insurance is included.

Parking -- Downtown has many parking lots, and rates range anywhere from $6 to $55 overnight. When parking on the street, be sure to check the time limit on meters which are, to the chagrin of locals, no longer free on nights and weekends. The best way to find parking is to use parkitdowntown.com, which will help you uncove the always dwindling reasonable options such as the Nashville Public Library (615 Church St.) and Metro Courthouse/Public Square garage (101 James Robertson Parkway), both of which cost $5-8 per hour (or $15 during events like Titans game) and max out at $20 overnight.

Driving Rules -- A right turn at a red light is permitted after coming to a full stop, but drivers must first yield to pedestrians or vehicles that have a green light. Children under 3 years of age must be in a car seat and children ages 4 to 8 must be in approved booster seats. Tennessee has a very strict DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol) law, and any person driving under the influence with a child under age 12 may be charged with a felony.

By Bicycle

In Nashville, you can rent a bicycle affordably using B-cycle from 5am to 10pm daily. Purchase a membership online or at any B-stationfor a three-day guest pass ($27.31), which allows for unlimited 120-minute rides, or a monthly pass ($21.85) for unlimited 60-minute rides. Return your bike to any of 30 B-stations around the city. Stations are clustered around the city center but are available throughout the city and suburbs, including locations in Green Hills, Opryland, East Nashville, West Nashville, and 12South.

By Bus and Shuttle

By Taxi

Cabs aren’t as prevalent as they once were now that ride-hailing apps are ubiquitous, but there are still a few reliable options. American Music City Taxi & Checker Cab of Nashville (tel. 615/865-4100) accepts reservations via phone, app, or online. Rides between the airport, downtown, and Opryland are a flat $30, which may be more economical than ride-sharing during surge pricing times.

On Foot

Nashville gets more walkable by the day, with many neighborhoods holding enough attractions, restaurants, and activities that you may not need a car. The key to making this work is finding a neighborhood you want to explore and booking your lodging there, even if it costs a few more dollars. If you plan smart, you’ll get those dollars back in parking and cab fare.

Tips for Travelers with Disabilities

Escorted & Package Tours

Special-Interest Trips

It will come as a surprise to no one that there are myriad musical tours in Nashville, but the options don’t stop there. Special interest tours are available for everything from the Civil War and African-American history to culinary tours.

Food & Drink 

If you’re looking to eat your way through the city, food tours are a fun option, and most will let you book as part of a group or as a private event. The expertly curated Walk Eat Nashville is best for hardcore foodies, and lead by local cookbook author and journalist Jennifer Justus. Nashvillefoodtours.com also offers some solid options, especially for groups like bachelor(ette) parties.

Escorted General-Interest Tours

The official Nashville website allows tourists to book vacation packages that include hotels and attractions, often stratified by theme. Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp offers tons of options, including NFL, New Year’s Eve, seasonal, and music-themed packages. The discounts can be worthwhile, especially if you are a completist and know you want to do everything at Opryland, for example, and don’t mind staying in a hotel that’s feels more corporate and less unique to Nashville. If you know you want to hit at least four major attractions, which most people staying 2 to 3 days can easily do, options such as the Music City Total Access Pass allows you to choose four, and it offers a bonus attraction (Frist Museum access, for example).

Sweet Magnolia Tours is your best bet if you want to combine destinations. They offer everything from full vacation packages to attraction bundles and day trips, so it’s a good option for people who want some structure but don’t want to hand over their whole trip. For European travelers interested in touring Tennessee as well as cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, and Louisville, check out Deep South USA.

Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

LGBTQ Travelers -- Church Street near downtown is the most well-known gay district in Nashville. Resources and publications for LGBTQ travelers can be found through the Nashville LGBTQ Chamber and Out & About Nashville.

Health & Safety

Doctors -- If you need a doctor in Nashville, call Tri-Star Medline at tel. 800/265-8624 or 615/342-1919, or contact Vanderbilt Health at tel. 615/322-3000. In Memphis, contact Methodist Healthcare (tel. 800/288-5000) or the Regional Medical Center at (tel. 901/545-7100). If you have dental problems, use a nationwide referral service, such as 1-800-DENTIST (tel. 800/336-8478), to get the name of a dentist nearby. You can also visit a walk-in clinic for emergency cases that are not life threatening. If you suffer from a chronic illness, pack prescriptions in your carry-on luggage and remove them at security. Visitors from outside the U.S. should carry generic names of prescription drugs. For U.S. travelers, most reliable healthcare plans provide coverage if you get sick away from home. Foreign visitors may have to pay costs upfront and be reimbursed.

Hospitals -- The following Nashville hospitals offer emergency medical treatment: St. Thomas West Hospital, 4220 Harding Rd. (tel. 615/222-2111), and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (tel. 615/322-5000), 1211 Medical Center Dr., in the Vanderbilt area.

Insurance -- For information on traveler’s insurance, trip-cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling, please visit www.frommers.com/planning.

Medical Requirements -- Some vaccinations are now required to travel to the U.S. Visit the CDC for information: www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth.

Safety -- Nashville is a friendly city where travelers can feel safe downtown and in neighborhoods. Cautious tourists may want to be aware that nightlife around Broadway can get rowdy after dark.