Our Family Trip Down in New Orleans
New Orleans is a magical place that's name fills your head with images of Mardi Gras parades, jazz music, beignets and Cajun food. It is chock full of great activities and dining experiences for all different ages. The people there are very friendly and there is music wherever you go. This article will tell you our experience taking our three and five year old to New Orleans as well as lots of ideas for planning your own trip.
Steamboat Natchez, a Mississippi steamboat
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Our Flight to New Orleans
We were looking for trip options in November of 2022 during my daughter’s school break for the NJEA Teachers Convention. At the time my daughter was five and my son was three. We had not yet flown with both of the kids and we saw the flights to New Orleans were not super long.
We found an awesome deal where we got four round trip tickets from Philadelphia for $200 total on Spirit airlines. These did not include carry-on luggage but the personal item requirements were large enough that we were able to fit everything we needed for our four night trip due to the warm weather at the time. I checked and there are currently cheap flights once more during the time of the convention: EWR to MSY flights.
Our trip to the airport parking lot, check in and flight all went as seamlessly as possible. The cabin crew were great and gave my kids stickers since it was the first time flying for my son. I liked how new and clean everything was compared to some other flights I have been on in the past.
The seats had slightly less space than some other airlines but I had no issues with legroom (I am 5 feet 4 inches tall). My husband was still able to sit without having to purchase a seat with extra legroom. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall so it was a little more challenging. Luckily he could move his knees to the sides a bit by sitting next to the kids. It was doable for the short flight time.
Our Hotel Stays During Our Trip to New Orleans
Our first three nights we were able to find a cheap rate for the Drury Plaza Hotel in New Orleans and we stayed at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans for our last night. When we arrived at the Drury Plaza Hotel we were really impressed with its central location, classy lobby and how secure it was. It seemed like the kind of place where Humphrey Bogart would stay. Our room was clean with warm lighting and all the amenities were above and beyond most other places we had stayed in the past.
These are all of the amenities at the Drury Plaza Hotel New Orleans we enjoyed during our stay. There was a rooftop pool and hot tub, laundry room, gym, coffee, free soda and free popcorn. The breakfast had an incredibly large buffet with lots of hot and cold item options for everyone to enjoy. There was also a free happy hour with three free drinks and a large buffet of food that was enough for our dinner each night. There was also an outdoor seating area. The menu even included some New Orleans specialties. The kids favorite part was that they could have juice at breakfast and dinner. I noticed that the hotel staff was also great at showing food packaging to people with food allergies.
For our last night we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. This hotel was much larger so it took us a while to get to our room with the kids. Our room had a great view of the Caesars Superdome and it was fun to stay on a high floor. There was a Starbucks and many other things inside the hotel. The decor was really nice at the hotel as well and it was popular with business travelers due to its conference rooms. We were not there for very long as we left in the middle of the night for our flight home.
Our New Orleans Adventures
Day 1
For our first day in New Orleans we wanted to get a lay of the land. We took a streetcar over to Tulane University and walked around campus there and on part of Loyola’s campus as well. Our favorite part was the iconic Tulane Mardi Gras Bead Tree.
Then we took another streetcar over to Canal Street. We stopped in shops with cool artwork and got some tasty pralines to try at Magnolia Sugar & Spice.
This day we had booked a ride on the Riverboat City of New Orleans (sister ship to the Steamboat Natchez). On our way to the dock we stopped for lunch at Cafe Maspero. In its cozy, open-air atmosphere we tried some New Orleans favorites such as their Chicken Andouille Gumbo and Muffuleta. The kids had fun coloring their kids' menus. After that we headed for an amazing ride on the steamboat complete with a dance party to live jazz music and a narrative about what we could see on the shoreline. It was so much fun to stand right next to the wheel as it spun to feel the spray of the water.
Then we walked to the original Cafe du Monde to make some souvenir pennies. We also tried their fresh and sweet beignets and cafe au lait while we watched the sunset in Jackson Square. We littered the ground with powdered sugar as many before us as done. The beignets lived up to the hype. I had a hankering for these after having watched Tiana make them in the Princess and the Frog movie. After that we took a trolley back to our hotel for dinner and a dip in their pool before bedtime.
Day 2
On the morning of our second day we packed a picnic lunch and snacks since we had booked the Cajun Pride Swamp Tour. They picked us up outside our hotel. Our driver told us a lot about New Orleans history on our drive. The swamp tour was a hit as we were all amazed by the number of alligators we saw on our tour. I had already seen four within the first few minutes. We were even able to hold a baby alligator and feed the alligators marshmallows! The tour operator also told us a bit about the history of the area and the gators and even showed us a family of raccoons!
After this we were dropped off downtown and we went to the Laura C. Hudson Visitor Center to get our Junior Ranger Program National Park badge from the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. We popped into a few inexpensive souvenir shops nearby. Then we called to get picked up to go to the Mardi Gras World museum. Upon entry we were thrown into a Mardi Gras frame of mind. We were each given beads to wear, king’s cake to eat and we watched a short film about Mardi Gras. The kids loved all the bright and colorful floats that populated the large warehouse. After that we were dropped off not too far from our hotel and we headed back for dinner and a swim before bedtime.
Day 3
For our third day we first went to check into the Hyatt Regency. Then we headed to Louis Armstrong Park for a wonderful stroll and hide and seek game. After that we walked through the French Quarter until we reached St. Louis Cathedral. The kids had wanted to go inside since they thought it looked like a castle. It was very impressive from the inside as well, especially the work on the ceilings. We also stood outside the Cabildo, the place where Louisiana had been transferred to the US once the Louisiana Purchase had already been signed in France. It was fun to dance to the jazz musicians right outside and we saw a mini parade as well.
For lunch we had our favorite meal of the trip at Bon’s where we got the beef po-bao and the pork street tacos while we looked across at Jackson Square. We also sat in the beautiful Cafe Beignet for some sweet treats while listening to live music in this French-inspired cafe. I was immediately a fan of the guitarist as he was playing Dream On by Aerosmith when we walked in. Then we took a streetcar to the French Market to try a po-boy. Taking the streetcars to different areas were one of the best parts of the trip.
It was getting late so it was time for us to head to Music Box Village. This was one of our unexpected highlights of the trip since we had not known much about it beforehand. It was an entire village made out of recycled materials where adults and kids could play music on everything. I love to drum on objects and it was awesome to be able to drum on almost everything in sight. Towards the entrance it was also like a beer garden. There was some food being sold from a pop-up that we purchased for our dinner.
After a few hours we headed to our hotel to catch a few winks before our nighttime flight home. The New Orleans airport was really nice to wait for a flight with its indoor foliage, extreme cleanliness, automated toilet seat covers and chargers at every seat. We were able to get breakfast sandwiches and coffee even with our super early flight. The entire trip was amazing and to this day my son raves about New Orleans to people and sings a song about New Orleans that he made up.
Read this article next to get all your questions about New Orleans trip planning answered: FAQs About Planning a Trip to New Orleans.
I will write more specifics about each of our activities in another article coming soon so that you can be sure to add them to your trip itinerary.
Be sure to visit New Orleans! It is full of unique experiences that should not be missed. From streetcars to street parades there are things for everyone to enjoy.