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. 

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. 

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

This is a map of our favorite spots from our family trip down in New Orleans.

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.

FAQs About Planning a Trip to New Orleans

Jackson Square and Saint Louis Cathedral

Is New Orleans Kid Friendly?

For our family this was a resounding yes! Many things were free for kids under five. It is very easy to walk or take streetcars to most of your destinations. There are lots of activity options for kids to do there that parents will love as well. We had gone during the weekdays and always went back right before dark except for our one night at the Music Box Village. On Thursday and Friday the French Quarter was more crowded and I am guessing at night and on the weekends there would be more revelry in that area. 

Will there still be parades and music even if I am not going during Mardi Gras?

Yes! Our trip was in November and we still saw multiple small parades sporadically as we walked along the streets. There were also musicians playing on the street and in various restaurants and cafes. I was speaking to a resident who told me in New Orleans there are also many parades for the whole month of Mardi Gras. 

How can I experience the magic of Mardi Gras if I am going at a different time of year?

On our trip we went to Mardi Gras World where we all had a blast seeing the different floats being constructed. We also ate king’s cake and saw a short video about Mardi Gras. You can always wear Mardi Gras beads as you walk around as well.

How should I plan ahead for my trip to New Orleans?

We picked one paid activity per day for our trip and booked these ahead of time. We had not rented a car so we wanted to make sure we knew how to get to all of these places beforehand. We booked with coupons and through Groupon. Viator also looked like a good option for booking things beforehand for your trip.

Wear sneakers! There is a lot of walking. Bring a portable power bank for your phone as well.

We had purchased these bags from Five Below in the picture below that worked well for our Spirit airlines flight. If you are also trying to travel there with limited luggage purchasing gallon sized Ziploc bags to help compress your clothes is very helpful.

Always check your flight bag requirements before making a purchase. 

What kind of clothes should I pack?

We packed lighter clothes since it was hot there in November as it is a fair amount of the year. We purchased Mardi Gras beads from Dollar Tree beforehand and these were easy to throw on with any of our outfits. Many stores also sell them in New Orleans. Some of the New Orleans themed shirts we packed for the kids are pictured below. For our steamboat ride we had my son wear suspenders.

Should I rent a car in New Orleans?

This will depend on your itinerary. For our trip we were doing a short trip and mostly staying within a small area so we did not rent a car. We only ended up getting three Uber rides and the rest of the time we could walk or take streetcars. The streetcar rides were one of my son’s favorite parts of our trip. Public transportation was all very clean since food and drinks were not allowed to be consumed. For our Cajun Pride Swamp Tour we booked a trip where they could pick you up from your hotel. When we went to Mardi Gras World we called them and were able to get picked up and dropped off to a central location. If you are planning a longer trip it might be worth renting a car for a few days if your itinerary includes multiple places that are further away.

What foods should I eat in New Orleans?

There are lots of foods associated with New Orleans. The ones we were able to try while we were there included a beignet, gumbo, jambalaya, po-boy, muffuletta and pralines. Our favorite meal was eating beef po-bao and the pork street tacos at Bon’s. Our favorite dessert was eating beignets from Cafe du Monde. New Orleans also has lots of great spots for Vietnamese food. I only learned this at the end of our trip but I will definitely check these out if we return again.

What are good souvenirs to take home and for friends?

My daughter’s favorite souvenir was her New Orleans jazz bag she purchased. For my son he loved this alligator puppet we bought after our swamp tour. He still likes to feed his puppet marshmallows to this day. We liked our pot holder and magnet that we took home. They were all easy to pack. 

For friends we mostly took home pralines and they were a hit. Aunt Sally’s pralines are great since they are gluten-free and individually wrapped. If you get hooked on them like we did you can also buy them on Amazon once you get home. Mardi Gras beads are another easy souvenir to take home for friends and family.

Are there Penny Press machines in New Orleans?

Yes! We found them on our trip at the Cafe Du Monde location near Jackson Square. We also saw another one inside of Mardi Gras World. This shows locations of other Penny Press machines in New Orleans and Louisiana: Louisiana Penny Press Machines.

What things did you do on your trip there?

Our major activities were Mardi Gras World, Cajun Pride Swamp Tours, the Riverboat City of New Orleans and Music Box Village. Other places we went included Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral and more.

To learn all the details about our trip see my article here:

The outside of Music Box Village

What are other things for kids there that you would consider for a future trip?

City Park sounded like it would be lots of fun for kids with Storyland, Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and City Putt.

The Audubon Nature Center also sounds like an interesting place to visit with its hardwood bottomland forest and astronomy center.

Other travelers we met mentioned that their kids enjoyed the Louisiana Children’s Museum with its many hands-on activities. 

When asking for food recommendations, many people mentioned that Mulate’s had tasty Cajun food.

What are things you would recommend if you are planning a trip to New Orleans without kids?

I would still repeat our entire itinerary if traveling without kids as all the activities we did on our trip I enjoyed a lot.

Two of our friends recently went and had a dinner date at Arnaud’s. There they saw Mardi Gras costumes housed above the restaurant in a personal museum. This sounded like an awesome date night in the city.

We passed some of the houses in the Garden District on our streetcar and they looked very picturesque. It would be fun to walk around the Garden District for part of a day or even do a tour there.

Going out on or around Bourbon Street during the night time or on weekends definitely seemed to be popular for adults.

New Orleans is known for its ghost tours so if you are not easily scared these may be fun to check out: Haunted Tours in New Orleans

The infamous rotating Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone has a Bar Bites menu and sounds like a unique experience.

The Caesars Superdome looked impressive from the outside. They have games and events all the time that sound like they would be a lot of fun.

Are there other websites about New Orleans I should check out before my travels?

Read my article about our trip here to help you plan your own adventure: Our Family Trip Down in New Orleans.

New Orleans travel website is amazing with lots of itinerary ideas and things to do in different seasons. New Orleans

These are two coupon sites that would be useful to check during your trip planning: New Orleans Coupons & New Orleans Deals

The portion of the site that I used the most during our trip was the streetcar itinerary here: New Orleans Streetcar Itinerary 

This was another helpful guide for using streetcars: New Orleans Streetcars Lines 

What are websites that will tell me more about the history of Louisiana?

History of New Orleans by Period

New Orleans History Starter Pack

New Orleans

Where was the Louisiana Purchase Signed? 

Send me an email if you have further questions you want answered for your trip!