Montgomery AL to Nashville drive: Best stops, distance & time

Planning a Montgomery AL to Nashville road trip itinerary

The Montgomery AL to Nashville drive connects the capital of Alabama to Tennessee’s country music capital of the world.

The main reason to visit Montgomery is the Civil Rights heritage. There are several ways to explore this, with the cheapest being a self-guided audio tour and the most in-depth being a three hour private tour.

Other fun Montgomery experiences include a party pedal boat cruise along the Alabama River,

If planning to blitz several attractions, a city pass might save you money.

Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.

The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.

Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.

You can save money in Nashville by combining a tour ticket with admission to two top attractions. These combo tickets give you a half day tour of the main sights, plus entrance to the Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out more here.

Montgomery AL to Nashville distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Montgomery AL to Nashville is 280 miles. That makes for a driving time of around four hours and seven minutes. The quickest route is straight up the I-65. The best stops on a Montgomery AL to Nashville road trip itinerary are Birmingham AL, Rickwood Caverns State Park and Huntsville AL.

For more suggestions, check out the guides to individual legs of the Montgomery to Nashville road trip:

Best stops between Montgomery AL and Nashville: Birmingham AL

Birmingham, Alabama, has a rich civil rights heritage. This is best explored on a civil rights tour which links the key sites and, crucially, puts them into context. Other Birmingham experiences include ghost walks and multi-brewery beer tours.

For museums, you’ve got the McWane Science Center, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and more. 

The top-rated Birmingham accommodation picks are the Drury Inn and Suites Birmingham Grandview and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Birmingham South.

Montgomery AL to Nashville drive: Rickwood Caverns State Park

Unsurprisingly, the highlight of the visit to Rickwood Caverns State Park is the hour long cave tour. The enormous cave is home to 260-million-year-old formations, and was carved from what was the ocean bed at the time.

The park also has plenty of walking trails, plus an Olympic-sized pool that is fed by the water from the caves.

The nearest town to the park is Warrior, Alabama.

Montgomery AL to Nashville road trip attractions: Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville has played a massive part in the space race, and the US Space and Rocket Center is the top attraction. There are lots of ways to experience what being an astronaut is like here, including flight simulators and a G-Force Accelerator. Most fun (or nauseating, depending on perspective) is the multi-axis trainer, which spins you round in all directions.

Other Hunstville experiences include self-guided audio tours and scavenger hunts.

Big Time Boots sign in Nashville, Tennessee.
Big Time Boots sign in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Paulbr75/ Pixabay.

More Montgomery road trips

Montgomery to Atlanta | Birmingham AL to Montgomery | Memphis to Montgomery AL | Montgomery AL to Mobile AL.

More Nashville road trips

Nashville to Atlanta | Nashville to Austin | Birmingham AL to Nashville | Nashville to Boston | Nashville to Bowling Green | Bristol TN to Nashville | Nashville to Buffalo | Charlotte to Nashville | Nashville to Chattanooga | Chicago to Nashville | Nashville to Cincinnati | Cleveland to Nashville | Columbia SC to Nashville | Nashville to Columbus | Cookeville TN to Nashville | Crossville TN to Nashville | Dallas to Nashville | Nashville to Denver | Nashville to Destin FL | Detroit to Nashville.

Nashville to Fort Lauderdale | Nashville to Gatlinburg | Nashville to Graceland | Grand Rapids to Nashville | Greensboro NC to Nashville | Nashville to Greenville SC | Nashville to Gulf Shores | Nashville to Houston | Huntsville to Nashville | Indianapolis to Nashville | Jackson TN to Nashville | Johnson City TN to Nashville | Nashville to Kingsport TN | Nashville to Knoxville | Lexington to Nashville | Nashville to Little Rock | Louisville to Nashville | Lynchburg to Nashville.

Manchester TN to Nashville | Nashville to Memphis | Nashville to Milwaukee | Minneapolis to Nashville | Nashville to Mobile AL | Nashville to Myrtle Beach |  Nashville to New Orleans | New York City to Nashville | Omaha to Nashville | Nashville to Orlando | Nashville to Panama City | Nashville to Pensacola | Nashville to Pigeon Forge | Pittsburgh to Nashville | Raleigh to Nashville | Nashville to San Antonio | Nashville to Savannah | Sevierville to Nashville | Nashville to St Louis | Nashville to Tallahassee | Nashville to Tampa | Tulsa to Nashville | Nashville to Tuscaloosa | Nashville to Wilmington NC.