Eight Tips for Tourists to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Traveling to Pigeon Forget or Gatlinburg? Perhaps its best to hear some tips before visitors go! Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, while these two great cities have much to offer in the way of fun, food, and historical importance, it's important to know a few things before making that quick getaway.

Below are eight tips that will help ease the issues travelers and visitors may come across when visiting these two cities.

1. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are NOT Theme Parks! They are towns where people live and work!

This one right here should be obvious. While Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg may offer a lot in the way of thrill rides, museums, and dinner theaters, they are cities where people live and work. Therefore, when anyone visits Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, it's best to be respectful of their citizens and laws. Failure to do so will result in visitors being arrested.

However, if someone does visit Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg with the desire to attend a theme park, Dollywood may have what their looking for.

2. When making reservations for lodging, it's best to make them months in advance.

This one tip should be obvious. Considering Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are both tourist destinations for many people, this one is important. Having reservations for rooms and lodging conducted in advance will save travelers the headaches and stress of looking around at the last minute.

4. Traffic in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg becomes hectic between 3pm to 6pm.

As previously stated, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are cities were people live and work. So its expected traffic around these times will increase at certain times of the day. This added with tourists traveling around, expect a lot in the way of delays, bumper to bumper traffic, and slow traffic during these hours.

5. It's best to pick at least ONE dinner theater per visit. Make sure to arrive at least an hour and a half before the show.

While the five or so dinner theaters in Pigeon Forge are entertaining, it's advisable for visitors to attend one during their stay. The reason for this is so visitors don't become overwhelmed with attending every dinner theater. Also, this enables the possibility of return trips to Pigeon Forge to attend the theaters tourists and visitors missed out on their previous visit.

Not to mention the food is very good! Also, if visitors are attending these dinner theaters, they should at least arrive an hour or so before the start time. That way, finding both decent parking and their assigned seating will be less of a hassle.

6. Summer is usually the most intense month. This is because children are out of school and the weather is warm.

This one should be a no-brainer. With the onset of Summer vacation, and children being out of school, this will explain why the Summer months are the most crowded. Which is why families tend to visit Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in the Summer for this very reason. Another thing to consider is the Summer heat. So be sure to hydrate and take shelter to avoid heat related injuries or illnesses.

7. Make sure to see the museums, game arcades, and go-kart racing during your trip.

Some may consider this to be fun to be had with friends and family, others may see this as filler. No matter how one may look at these smaller venues, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg has a lot to offer everyone.

8. Remember to have fun and enjoy what Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have to offer!

Isn't the entire purpose of a vacation or trip to have fun? If one ever does visit Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, always remember to have fun and to enjoy themselves.

In closing, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are great places to visit. Originally known for their logging and iron forging, it's a far cry from the tourism destinations they're known for today. Yet, going to these places without any sort of idea as to what to expect will set up many for disappointment. Hopefully, with these tips, travelers can avoid the stress and enjoy their time in these two cities.