Travel NEW ORLEANS! tips - questions - advice

#196
Hi,

I'm going to Mardi Gras in February and prior to that I thought I make a Road Trip. However, I have no idea where to go. I can either choose to start my trip in NO and end it there and so make a loop, or I can fly to something near and drive down to NO.

Any good recs on what I shouldn't miss? I have to honest, so far I haven't found much. Surely that must be a mistake, right? I don't won't to venture into Georgia since I'll be doing that Road Trip a couple months later but beside that I'm up for everything. :biggrin:
 
#198
#199
I don't really think there is anywhere else to fly into...there isn't much around there (in terms of major airports).

Actually, one possible idea is to fly into Nashville. Spend a few days in Nashville, then drive over to Memphis, and then down to New Orleans.

We did this one year and it was a lot of fun!

Tennessee does get snow, but not all the time (we did hit some slushy, gross stuff in mid-March).

Nashville is a really fun city with good food and an amazing music scene. Memphis has FABULOUS barbeque and Elvis.

Nashville to Memphis is a pretty drive (I really like the state of Tennessee), but might be a bit barren in February. Memphis to New Orleans not so much...until you start hitting the swamps, which are interesting to see.
 
#200
dr. twiggers said:
I don't really think there is anywhere else to fly into...there isn't much around there (in terms of major airports).

Actually, one possible idea is to fly into Nashville. Spend a few days in Nashville, then drive over to Memphis, and then down to New Orleans.

We did this one year and it was a lot of fun!

Tennessee does get snow, but not all the time (we did hit some slushy, gross stuff in mid-March).

Nashville is a really fun city with good food and an amazing music scene. Memphis has FABULOUS barbeque and Elvis.

Nashville to Memphis is a pretty drive (I really like the state of Tennessee), but might be a bit barren in February. Memphis to New Orleans not so much...until you start hitting the swamps, which are interesting to see.
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Yes, one possibility is Nashville, another Memphis or San Antonio. The tickets are just about the same but the downside is that the rental car will be more than twice as much, since I'm returning it in another city.
The snow is concerning me a bit. I got the info that Nashville is in the mountain so snow isn't unheard of. Living in Sweden I'm used to snow but if the car doesn't have winter tires or snow chains I'm to chicken **** to drive.
 
#201
Meh, Nashville really isn't in the mountains....more like baby rolling hills. However, maybe staying further south is better.

A couple more options:

1. Hang around the gulf. Fly into NOLA and dry over to Biloxi/Gulfport in Mississippi. Keep on driving through and go to Pensacola in Florida. It's not exactly beach weather, but it's still nice out. Biloxi/Gulfport has a ton of casinos.

2. Fly into NOLA and head to Baton Rouge and other areas http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/0020010011.html
 
#202
dr. twiggers said:
Meh, Nashville really isn't in the mountains....more like baby rolling hills. However, maybe staying further south is better.

A couple more options:

1. Hang around the gulf. Fly into NOLA and dry over to Biloxi/Gulfport in Mississippi. Keep on driving through and go to Pensacola in Florida. It's not exactly beach weather, but it's still nice out. Biloxi/Gulfport has a ton of casinos.

2. Fly into NOLA and head to Baton Rouge and other areas http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/0020010011.html
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Thanks for all the info.
I do want to do Nashville but I'm also thinking that I only have one week. If I'm doing a loop from NOLA it might to far north. Do you have any experience of Arkansas?

I booked the hotel in NOLA today. So excited Even though it's more than 6 months away.
 
#203
We did a week long road trip from Indiana to Nashville (1 night), Memphis (1 night), and then 3 nights in New Orleans and back up to Indiana. I felt that 3 nights in New Orleans was a great first taste and then went back down for another 3 nights.

Do you have a week total for a road trip? Or a week including New Orleans?

I don't know much about Arkansas, except that there really isn't much there. The more touristy stuff is going to be in Memphis and Nashville.

Are you flying all the way from Sweden for this trip?
 
#204
Yes, I'll be flying in from Sweden. The Road trip is one week, or perhaps 6 days then I'm taking a cruise and will end it with three night in New Orleans. How long do you say one need for Memphis and Nashville? Two days each, to little, to much?

dr. twiggers said:
We did a week long road trip from Indiana to Nashville (1 night), Memphis (1 night), and then 3 nights in New Orleans and back up to Indiana. I felt that 3 nights in New Orleans was a great first taste and then went back down for another 3 nights.

Do you have a week total for a road trip? Or a week including New Orleans?

I don't know much about Arkansas, except that there really isn't much there. The more touristy stuff is going to be in Memphis and Nashville.

Are you flying all the way from Sweden for this trip?
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#205
How fun! Is your cruise out of New Orleans? We're doing one for New Years Eve out of New Orleans.

Memphis: For me, I needed only a day. The big attractions are Graceland, which can be adequately seen in a few hours. The second attraction is Beale Street, which is fun in the early evening. BBQ and blues music.

Nashville: There is quite a lot more to see here....a lot of it related to country music. I think 2 days is probably more than adequate though.
 
#206
dr. twiggers said:
How fun! Is your cruise out of New Orleans? We're doing one for New Years Eve out of New Orleans.

Memphis: For me, I needed only a day. The big attractions are Graceland, which can be adequately seen in a few hours. The second attraction is Beale Street, which is fun in the early evening. BBQ and blues music.

Nashville: There is quite a lot more to see here....a lot of it related to country music. I think 2 days is probably more than adequate though.
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Yes, the cruise is out of New Orleans. I decided that I should do Nashville, I will probably never return to that specific area so it would be stupid to miss out.

Have you done a cruise out of New Orleans before? I've never done Western Caribbean.
 
#207
Not out of New Orleans, but I have done W. Carib before. Where are you going? Our cruise on NYE is going to Cozumel (been there), Grand Cayman (been there), and Falmouth (new port).

Nashville will be great! Are you going to try for Memphis as well? Do the Elvis stuff? It is interesting, and the BBQ is TDF in Memphis.
 
#208
dr. twiggers said:
Not out of New Orleans, but I have done W. Carib before. Where are you going? Our cruise on NYE is going to Cozumel (been there), Grand Cayman (been there), and Falmouth (new port).

Nashville will be great! Are you going to try for Memphis as well? Do the Elvis stuff? It is interesting, and the BBQ is TDF in Memphis.
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Where doing Costa Maya, Belize, Roatan and Cozumel.

Yes, I'll be doing Memphis also. I think I'll go from NO to Nashville and then on to Memphis and then depending on time. Lille Rock in Arkansas or otherwise straight back. You've convinced me that there are no Mountains in Nashville :smile:
Any suggestion where I should stop between NO and Nashville? The best way seems to go through Birmingham Alabama. Is there anything to see on that route?
 
#210
I did those same ports on a cruise a few years back. Highly enjoyed all of those ports. The Mayan Ruins near Costa Maya are great! Belize, we did cave tubing and zip lining. Honduras....I think we just went to a beach.

NO to Nashville....meh, there wasn't much. If you are into African American history there is the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, but that's about it.

We actually drove along highway 10 and stopped in MS at the gulf, just to dip our toes in and say we had done it. Lots of casinos there. Then we just drove straight through.

IMO, Alabama and Mississippi are very boring states to drive through. I much preferred Tennessee as there were the rolling hills (no mountains - unless you go far east TN, which you are not) and it was very green.

Northern Louisiana was also very boring.....my highlight was seeing the freeway exit for where Britney Spears was born and raised LOL

Tennessee sometimes gets snow...but it's like big slushy snow and we didn't run into it until we were far north of Nashville and into Kentucky.
 
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