Traveling to new and exciting places is thrilling, and having some friends go along for the ride makes them even better. Traveling could also be very expensive, especially for a college student barely getting by. New Orleans is one of my favorite travel spots and one of the cheapest. Yes, you could ball out and stay at an expensive hotel, but then you’d miss out on what makes New Orleans what it is. These tips are to show you how you can travel to New Orleans on a budget!
First off, figure out what you want to do and where you want to go, then plan your stay around there. You can use sites such as travelchannel.com to help give you an idea on where the popular spots are. My favorite spots, besides the obvious Bourbon Street, is Jackson Square, because they have local vendors who sell cool things like hats for the beach and it’s also a great spot for an Instagram pic with horses and carriages!
Next stop, the flight. Figure out if you want to go during a busy time of the year, or a quieter time so that you have the space to walk around freely and can visit as many spots as possible. The most popular time to go to New Orleans is in the beginning of February for Mardi Gras. During this time, New Orleans is filled with all kinds of people and can get really crowded. The calmest time to visit would be in the beginning of the summer, right before hurricane season and when the weather is at its warmest.
Picking out a hotel is one of the tricky parts because it really depends on where you want to go. If you want to live like a local, I would highly suggest Airbnb. If you mainly want to visit Bourbon Street, hotels in downtown New Orleans are surprisingly cheaper than if you were to stay right on Bourbon Street. The plus side to staying downtown is that not only is the walk to Bourbon Street around two minutes, but there are many stores along Canal Street (perpendicular to Bourbon Street) that are conveniently there for anything you need.
Finding package deals online is becoming easier and more affordable as the time passes. You can check out hotels.com for flight and hotel deals that are so affordable especially when you travel with friends. You can also use groupon.com if you have flexible dates. However, it is not guaranteed that they will have hotel deals all the time and you will have to buy a flight separately.
Now that you have these tips, go out and have a blast in New Orleans! If you’re an American Horror Story fan, check out the Lalaurie Mansion and try to find the house the coven stayed in! Even if you’re not, New Orleans is a great place with amazing food and intriguing history. Live like a local and learn some new things!