Gatlinburg + Pigeon Forge Travel Guide

travel

Nov 14

My friends and I just returned from almost a week trip to Gatlinburg. It was truly magical and a very much needed girls trip! It was the first time my friends and I went to Gatlinburg and we absolutely loved it—I can’t wait to go back! It’s the first week of November and holiday lights were already up making the town a lot more magical! We ate, drank, and had tons of fun! I made sure to take lots of pictures so keep scrolling to see where we stayed, where we ate, and what we did on our trip to Gatlinburg!

WHERE WE STAYED

We booked our stay through Airbnb and we loved it!

Click on this link to create an account with Airbnb.

Here is the link to our Airbnb. (fits 6 people, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, living area, and kitchen)

We visited both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg during this trip. We chose to drove there to get all the scenery views and it was totally worth it! We had to drive through Pigeon Forge in order to get to Gatlinburg. We stayed at the Airbnb for 2 nights—a total of 4 people. The property was a condominium and completely comfortable and peaceful. First of all I loved it because it was a 5 minute walk to Downtown Gatlinburg and about a 20 minute drive to Pigeon Forge. Since this condo also had a kitchen, we chose to buy groceries for breakfast and dinner to save some money—totally worth it if you’re on a budget! Check out a few photos of our stay!

WHAT TO DO

Before all of my trips I like to do tons of research on the best places to stay, eat and fun things to do in each destination I visit. I’ll share with you the things we did in both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg!

THINGS TO DO IN PIGEON FORGE:

The Island in Pigeon Forge : We walked around the island and got on The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel (the best views are at night from the wheel, will not disappoint!). We also chose to get VIP tickets ($75 per gondola, 1-4 people) and it was worth it—we were on there for at least an hour!
Titanic Museum Attraction: We could not wait for this activity! The only downside was that they did not permit photos being taken inside or any type of recording. Otherwise, we loved every part of the tour!
Hollywood Wax Museum: This museum truly made it feel like we were in Hollywood. There were several different wax celebrity and cute little small stations to take pictures with them! We also got the ALL ACCESS PASS that included: Castle of Chaos, Hannah’s Maze of Mirrors (another fun one!), and Outbreak.
Christmas Place: All of the Christmas lights were up and it was truly magical! Made Pigeon Forge look a lot more beautiful!

The Great Smokey Mountain Wheel! This was at the Island in Pigeon Forge.

THINGS TO DO IN GATLINBURG:

Anakeesta: This a theme park where you can do different activities, eat and relax! We got on the open-air chondola to get ourselves up to the mountain and boy did I have to face my biggest fear—heights! I kid you not when I tell you I closed my eyes on the whole ride which felt like forever, ahh! On our way back down they give you an option of riding the open-air chondola (up to 6 people) or the encolsed gondola (up to 4 people), we definitely went with the enclosed one!
Anavista Tower: The best views are definitely at night! There were at least 7 flight of stairs so it was a good leg workout!
Treetop Skywalk: My personal favorite! Lights were along the hanging bridges and the peaceful walk through nature was magical.
We also walked around the Vista Gardens and Memorial Forest.