5 Day Tour: December 3-7, 2026
Pricing for Mountain Christmas
- Base Pricing is always calculated for double occupancy.
- $480 supplemental for Solo Travelers.
Tour Highlights
Biltmore Estate Candlelight tour
National Gingerbread Competition
Some of the best Christmas Light Displays in the Country!
Tour Includes
- Round trip airfare from Chicago to Asheville & Charlotte, NC
- First Class Hotel Accommodations
- All Breakfasts
- 2 Dinners
- Deluxe Motorcoach Transportation
- Admissions to all listed Attractions
- Round trip airport transfers in the Chicago land area
- Guided by Bill Ball
- Baggage Handling
- All Gratuities
Tour Itinerary
Day One We fly into the center of Christmas, history and scenic beauty. This encapsulates the very best holiday travel with literally something for everyone. Our first day we follow the decorated Christmas trees in the famous Deck the Halls Tree Extravaganza. Over 50 trees are pieces of art that also help raise money for those that can’t afford heat for the winter. Then we have a special surprise that Bill knows will score well with all of you. After our first night dinner we head to the North Carolina Arboretum for their incredible lights display.
Day Two Asheville is particularly famous for two things and we do both today. We start with the National Gingerbread House Competition. Featured on several TV shows, this is the ultimate in creating fabulous Gingerbread Houses. You can judge for yourself who should win. Another extra bonus is a visit to the Biltmore Village. A series of shops, restaurants and decorated gardens. Afterwards, we tour the most famous and largest private home in America—the Biltmore. We do the candlelight tour that includes jaw dropping decorating, Christmas trees galore and choirs. The history of the mansion and its first family—The Vanderbilts—is not forgotten so you get the Biltmore experience with Christmas on steroids.
Day Three We travel a short distance to Winston-Salem and visit the living history museum Old Salem. This “village” has over 50 buildings along with the museum itself that showcases the history of the region. This is also one of the special days where costumed interpreters are there to teach you about living in the 19th century and celebrating Christmas. We end the day in Charlotte where we visit the largest light display in the south at the Charlotte Raceway.
Day Four Today is full of exciting and interesting experiences. We will visit the Carolina Raptor Center to see the many rehabilitated birds of prey that the center has saved. You will get up close and personal with these majestic birds. We will then visit the Charlotte Museum with its 7 galleries dedicated to telling the history of the Carolinas going back 400 years. We can also walk the grounds and see the Rock House dating to pre-Revolutionary times. After our farewell dinner, we will visit not one but two unbelievable Christmas adventures. The first is Christmas Town USA where people flock from all over the US to see this quaint mountain village light up and celebrate Christmas the way we all dream. We follow that with the Graham Library living nativity.
Day Five We aren’t done yet! We have another surprise for you that will leave you mystified and smiling. We also visit what Charlotte is best known for –NASCAR. You do not need to be a racing enthusiast to love the NASCAR Museum. I am no racing guy, but I loved it. It has the history, outfits and all the weird components of racing displayed, but it also has simulators you can drive to see if you have what it takes and even a pit crew simulator! This is a fun and engaging museum. We then fly home with memories of Christmas today and yesterday, mountain history and its scenic wonders. This trip will have you soaring like a raptor, speeding like a race car and just enjoying the spirit of Christmas.
