New Orleans is one of the United States’ most popular travel destinations. Bachelor and bachelorette parties flock here for big party weekends. Couples come for a romantic stay in one of the French Quarter’s elegant hotels. And of course, tourists come from around the country and the world for Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. I wanted to see a different side of the city, so I spent my Memorial Day weekend backpacking New Orleans.
Backpacking New Orleans requires some budget discipline. But don’t worry — you don’t have to give up on any of the city’s highlights just because you don’t have a ton of spending money. Here are some tips to get the most out of this great city on under $50 a day.
1. Go to free music shows — or choose carefully which ones you pay for
Backpacking New Orleans gives you the opportunity to explore one of America’s great music scenes. It’s one of only a handful of cities in the world where you can start watching jazz shows at 5 pm and not stop until 4 am. The music is everywhere and it’s very good. Best of all — you’ll never have to look hard to find a free show.
Tipitina’s and dba are two of the city’s most storied music clubs. Tipitina’s has a free show every Friday at 10 pm. dba’s early sets are free — only the 11 pm one has a cover.
The center of New Orleans’ music culture is on Fremont St. There are maybe 30 clubs within a three-block strip. The scene gets going around 5 pm and doesn’t stop until the wee hours of the morning. Before 8 pm, you’re unlikely to find a cover anywhere. Later at night, a few places charge covers, but you’ll still have plenty of free (or one $3 beer) options.
Of course, the places that charge covers offer a different class of music. If you like brass bands, it’s worth paying for one show — but choose it wisely. The sets at Preservation Hall are only an hour, and cost as much ($15) as the 2.5-hour show at Howlin’ Wolf or Maple Leaf.
2. Choose just a few museums — spend your time walking around instead
New Orleans has a dizzying array of museums. Art museums. Southern food museums. Second-line museums. Voodoo museums. Plus all the old houses converted into museums.
Admission runs $8-$20 per person. If you’re a museum person, it’s well worth setting aside some of your budget for the best of them. But read the descriptions and choose what you’re really interested in. I found the Ogden Museum of Southern Art to be particularly worthwhile.
If you’re not a museum person, or you’re interested in the history and art but have limited funds, spend your time walking around the Garden District instead.
The architecture is stunning. There are lots of old French-style cemeteries you can duck into to learn about the post-Civil War occupants of the city. Check out these self-guided walking tours for route ideas.
3. Eat on the cheap and steer clear of booze
You don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy the food scene when backpacking New Orleans. Yes, it can be hard to find an authentically-Cajun meal for under $10. But the food is so heavy that you probably won’t need more than a mid-morning breakfast and an early dinner to see you through the day.
A few of my favorite cheapies: Coop’s Place in the French Quarter for $5 gumbo. Tracey’s on Magazine St. for cheap catfish po’ boys. Surrey’s in the Lower Garden for $6.50 biscuits and gravy that’ll hold you till dinner. Cochon Butcher (not the swanky Cochon next door) in the Warehouse District for the best $10 pulled pork sandwich.
But perhaps the biggest budget-buster for people backpacking New Orleans is alcohol. This is a party town. You can get some incredible cocktails. It’s hot and it seems like a beer would be refreshing. But it’s not a cheap town to drink in ($6+ for a beer, $8-$15 for a cocktail). So by all means try a sazerac. Just don’t blow your entire budget on getting plastered on Bourbon St.
Ready to get started?
You can get into the city from the airport for $2 on a public bus. It only runs hourly in the evenings, but it’s an okay option in the mornings.
Streetcar tickets cost $1.25 for one ride, or $3 for a day pass.
Accommodation is another big budget challenge when backpacking New Orleans. The best value for money I could find was Auberge NOLA Hostel — and it was really nice. The location was perfect, between the French Quarter and the Garden District, so you can walk everywhere. I paid $36 a night for a dorm with breakfast.
All bets are off on accommodation prices during Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
To sum up, New Orleans is one of the U.S.’s great cities. Don’t miss it because it can be expensive — it’s doable on under $50 a day!
Have you been backpacking New Orleans? Leave your tips in the comments!
Read more about travel in the USA here
[…] You know what that means: three-day weekends are prime travel times. I’m spending this one in New Orleans. So I’ll be joining the thousands of people flocking to the airports Friday night to deal […]