Great Smoky Mountains Self-Guided Tour

Embark on a self-driving discovery tour of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited National Park in the country. Learn about Cherokee history, Appalachian life, and more!

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Newfound Gap Road - Continue your journey to Newfound Gap, a breathtaking mountain pass with significant historical importance. Discover the tales of trappers, farmers, and merchants who once traversed the Smokies, and how this gap transformed their journeys.
    Purchase once and enjoy for a year! Perfect for extended stays and return visits over the…
What's Included
  • Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone
  • Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
  • Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
  • Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
    -…
What's Not Included
  • Park Passes
Additional Information

Recommendation: Purchase one tour per vehicle, not per individual. Everyone can listen together!
Discover the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and find out why it’s the most visited national park in the United States! Experience these renowned mountains while learning about Cherokee history and legends, Appalachian culture, and much more. There’s…

Location
Oconaluftee Visitor Center
Newfound Gap Road
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.1
(279 Ratings)
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Amber
Aug 19, 2025
Wonderful - It was a great tour with lots of good stops along the way. Highly recommend doing an audio tour. Saved us from getting lost and we seen alot of amazing sites along the way
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Athenr2018
Jul 25, 2025
- I learned so much and I even saw an elk cross the road on the way back! I took over 40 pictures too! Great memories. Hopefully I’ll get do more before my year is up.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cado8981
Jul 20, 2025
Highly recommend! - We just returned from a week in the Smokey mountains and found this driving tour greatly helpful. It gives great history and information while you are driving as well as identifying places to stop for a hike or view areas of interest. Make sure you drive the speed limit to get all of the valuable information provided. Of note, we never saw bears and I really wanted to. We didn’t take the 3 hr Cade loop which I wish we would have because several people told us that is where they saw bears
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cindy
Jul 1, 2025
History of the Smokies - The audio guide was interesting and helpful, our visit was enriched and more enjoyable. The history of the formation of the Smokies was my favorite part,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heather
Jun 25, 2025
Nice trip and helpful guide! - Our family went on this tour while visiting Gatlinburg. We all enjoyed the information provided, and being told where to stop for hikes and views. We only did one hike since it was so hot outside. The map kept us on track and the narrator has a great voice. I think this is a great tour and recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
99damond
Jun 25, 2025
A Wonderful Experience and Well Worth It! - This app worked great! We downloaded it before leaving the house and I confirmed the started point (i.e. starting address) before I left. I turned off wi-fi and cell-data so as to have to no interference with the GPS and then I just started following the directions telling me where I should go. As I approached each point on the map, it gave me helpful information about what is at that point and informed me if a hike was available, how long it was, what I would see on that hike and the difficulty of the hike. Overall, this was so much better than paying $75-$100 a person for a guided tour while being trapped in a van with other people, not having control of the pace or what I wanted to do and then having to pay a tip at the end. I highly recommend this as the way to go!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancy_b
Jul 31, 2025
Roaring Fork Motor Trail - We downloaded the app for an audio tour while we drove through the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, Gatlinburg TN. The app worked fine and we enjoyed hearing about the sights and additional stories. We were a bit disappointed that the Falls we wanted to see required more walking then we were able to do. (2 1/2 miles one way!) Also, it is a busy time, and parking spaces/pull off areas were mostly filled up, so we had to continue along the route as vehicles were behind us. I would definitely recommend doing this in a quieter season!
Review provided by Viator
Shirley
Jun 26, 2025
Tour - It would be nice if it also stated at Townsend. But once we got to Gatlinburg and followed the guide, it was awesome. It gave alot of information.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trecia_h
Aug 15, 2025
Disappointed visitor - The audio service does not have good reception. It kept us going in circles. Never did go thru smokey Mt park. Finally went back to hotel. I've asked for a refund.
Review provided by Viator
Pitt_c
Aug 6, 2025
A Very Unhappy Customer - This was a total waste of money! We got to the park entrance and were told that our “voucher” was useless and the park doesn’t have self-driving tours because there is no cell phone service in the park. If we misunderstood and were supposed to just use the Viator app for the self-driving tour, then that is also Viator’s fault, because they did not provide a clear, step-by-step explanation of how to access the driving tour once we were there. By providing a “voucher” to use at the park entrance, they made it seem as though we were to show the voucher at the desk at the park’s welcome center in order to get the self-driving tour. That’s when we were told that the park doesn’t have or use them because the self-driving tours don’t work there. If this wasn’t how we were supposed to access the tour, then Viator should have given a much more detailed explanation of what the “voucher” was and how to use it. Based on this experience, I will never purchase anything from Viator again. I would like to receive a refund for the cost of the self-driving tour that we were unable to access.
Review provided by Viator
From $17 (Per Vehicle)
up to 4 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).