Please enjoy a recent travel review from one of our agents here at Travel Brokers, Zack Kemp.
My trip to New Orleans was fantastic. My wife and I traveled with 8 of our closest friends and stayed at a beautiful rental property right at the edge of the French Quarter called The Natchez Vacations Rentals (Stayed in unit 3301).
New Orleans in September was HOT. Our highs were 92 degrees each day with temperatures of 101 degrees. With that being said, our airfare and our resort reservation were very affordable due to traveling during the end of the summer months.
The best way to get from the airport to the city was by Uber/Lyft (took about 20 -25 minutes). Once in the city, most everything is within walking distance or accessible by their historic streetcars. New Orleans has a transportation app called Lepass, which allows you to purchase a 3-day unlimited ride pass for only $8 per person. The app also has a map feature that allows you to enter your desired destination and it will give you the closest streetcar stop as well as how long it will take for the next streetcar to arrive.
We booked a walking Ghost tour through a company called Free Tours by Foot. This is a really cool website that will allow you to name your price for several different walking tours. They just ask you to pay $2.75 per person as a booking fee to keep the website alive. At the end of the tour, it is expected that you tip your tour guide if you feel they did a great job.
Our favorite activity that we booked was the Mississippi Riverboat Jazz cruise at night. It offers a 2-hour boat ride on the Mississippi with a live Jazz band and multiple cash bars. They have a day cruise as well as a night cruise. On both voyages, they offer a food option where you have an authentic New Orleans buffet lunch or dinner aboard the ship one hour before it departs. We booked a riverboat cruise through the New Orleans Steamboat Company but can also be booked on Viator.
If you are interested in Mardi Gras, there is a warehouse where most of the floats, costumes, and decorations are located called Mardi Gras World. It is slightly out of walking distance from the French Quarter and not located on a street car stop, but they offer complimentary pick-up and drop-off to and from the French Quarter with the price of admission.
Bourbon Street lives up to its reputation as a bustling party scene with lots of bars, restaurants, shops, and street performers. Most Jazz clubs and bars require either a one-drink minimum or cover charge in order to enter, so make sure you are prepared.
If you are looking to get away from the touristy nature of Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street offers a much more music-focused area of the French Quarter and some unique local shops and restaurants. We heard from several different people that Frenchmen Street is where the locals like to hang out.
The Garden District is where the old mansions of New Orleans reside and is a beautiful neighborhood to walk through and explore. It is accessible from the French Quarter by a 20-minute Streetcar ride.
Let's talk about Beignets. New Orleans is known for its Beignets and you can get them just about anywhere you want in the city. The most well-known place is Cafe Du Monde and the comparable establishment (according to some) is Cafe Beignet. We tried both establishments and I can say with the utmost confidence that Cafe Du Monde has the best Beignets in the world. Something to note is that Cafe Du Monde is a cash-only establishment.
I would definitely recommend visiting New Orleans to anyone, even if it is just for the Beignets.
