Day Trips from New Orleans Without a Car

New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the US, and the area around it is equally enticing. The first time I visited the city, I wanted to go on a day trip from New Orleans but didn’t have a car.

Freshly graduated, I was traveling on a very low budget (check out my NOLA budget travel guide) and couldn’t afford a car rental. Yet every guide I read suggested going outside of the city to see the wetlands and historical plantations.

While there isn’t much public transportation to help you explore these places around New Orleans, there are plenty of private companies that will bring you there by bus. And I’ll be sharing some of the best with you here.

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Do you need a car to visit New Orleans?

No. The first time I visited NOLA I didn’t have a car. The second time I did. And I found that it was definitely not necessary to have a car to enjoy New Orleans.

In fact, I had to choose accommodation far from the French Quarter so that I had free parking (India House Hostel—I highly recommend for budget travel). And, I barely even used the car. Almost every day, I opted to take the nearby streetcar, since it was cheaper than parking and less hassle. And anyway, the touristy areas themselves are very walkable.

Even if you want to explore more of Louisiana while in New Orleans, plenty of tour companies offer transportation to places like plantations and swamps, so you don’t even need a car to visit those while in New Orleans.

So no matter what reason you have for being in New Orleans without a car, you can most definitely still experience some fantastic day trips.

Best Day Trips from New Orleans Without a Car

1. Visit a Plantation on a Day Trip from NOLA

It’s important not to forget history, even—and especially—if it portrays our past in a bad light. Plantations were a place of great wealth and luxury, but also of horrors that should not be forgotten. That’s why I think everyone visiting New Orleans should take a day trip to visit a plantation.

Since there are so many plantations nearby and since there are lots of tours doing day trips from New Orleans for those without a car, let me make it easier for you to decide which plantation to choose.

Oak Alley Plantation

In my opinion, this was the most beautiful. Not because of the house, but because of what lies in front of it: several-hundred-year-old oak trees. I have a huge obsession with big live oak trees, one that started with my first visit to New Orleans, and this row of oak trees is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever encountered.

The visit to Oak Alley was also quite informational. You get a tour of the Big House where you mostly learn about the family who owned the plantation, and then there is a self-guided exhibit of the slave quarters. You can wander around the gardens on your own as well, so you have more freedom to explore the grounds that you do with Laura Plantation (which requires you to be with a guide at all times).

Laura Plantation

This plantation is unique in that the house has Creole architecture, unlike the other English plantations nearby. It was really interesting to see how a mixture of different cultures resulted in the colorful house that looks so much more cheerful than the other grand houses found on plantations through the region.

The tour paints an in-depth picture of life on this plantation, including Laura, who ended up selling the family plantation and writing a memoir that the tour is based on. You’ll also visit the slave quarters, which are actually original and were lived in until just a few decades ago.

Whitney Plantation

This is the plantation I’m visiting next time I’m in New Orleans, as I heard great things about it. While the other plantations talked about both life for both slaves and the plantation owners, Whitney solely focuses on the horrors of slave life. It doesn’t sugar coat anything, and from what I heard, it’s a much grimmer experience.

This is a great option if you are only interested in learning more about slavery, since that’s what all the exhibits are focused on. There is both self-guided and guided tour options for Whitney Plantation.

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These are all located on the same road along the Mississippi River, so this company can take you to any of these three, since they’re all on the way to each other. Tickets are included in the price of the tour, so you save time of buying those. I used this tour the time I traveled to NOLA without a car and I thought it was plenty time to visit the plantation I chose (Oak Alley) on a day trip before the bus came to pick us up.

2. Swamp and Bayou Tour Half-Day Trip from NOLA

Another day trip that your trip to New Orleans wouldn’t be complete without is a swamp or bayou tour. It’s obviously cheaper to take a swamp tour if you have your car to drive yourself to a swamp. But if you don’t have a car, it’s still cheaper to go on a tour than rent a car, since it includes hotel pick up in New Orleans.

There are two types of tours you can do on the bayou and swamps: a normal sightseeing boat or an airboat.

Calm Boat Cruise in Jean Lafitte National Park

For a more family friendly (and safer) tour, take a cruise on the bayou. This is what I did, and I found it to be really enjoyable. Lots of alligators swam up to our boat and the guide was great with giving lots of info about the gators, bayou, local tips and interesting stories! The tour is on the Barataria Preserve, which is located in Jean Lafitte National Park and is a short drive from New Orleans.

Thrilling Airboat tour in Jean Lafitte National Park

The airboat tour is more for the thrill seekers, as it travels through high speeds. It’s more expensive than a regular sightseeing tour, but it’s worth it because you get to see more since it covers more ground. Here is a tour that includes roundtrip transportation from New Orleans in the price and explores Barataria Preserve more than the tour I recommended above.

And for an alternative location…

Swamp Boat Cruise in Honey Island

Alternatively, another place to go on a boat tour of swampland around New Orleans is Honey Island. I haven’t been to this swamp but I heard great things about it from fellow travelers I met at my hostel. This tour includes transportation to Honey Island Swamp from New Orleans and a cruise on a sightseeing boat.

3. Plantation and Swamp Combo Tour as Day Trip from NOLA

   

Interested in doing both the plantation and swamp day trip from New Orleans? Save money and time by doing a combo tour. You don’t need a car to visit both in one day; you just need a tour that offers transportation to both.

Depending on which kind of swamp experience you prefer, here are your options if you want to visit Oak Alley:

Oak Alley Tour + Swamp Airboat Tour in Barataria Preserve

Oak Alley Tour + Swamp Boat Tour (NOT airboat) in Barataria Preserve

4. Baton Rogue as Day Trip From NOLA

Even without a car or tour, you can still visit the capital of Louisiana (Baton Rouge) as a day trip from New Orleans. There is a Greyhound bus line between the two cities, and it takes only about 1.5 hours. For ticket prices and schedule, check out the Greyhound website.

I personally preferred New Orleans over Baton Rouge, but if you have the time, there are some cool spots to check out in Baton Rouge.

My favorite was Louisiana’s Old State Capital. It’s so beautiful inside, has several exhibits and is free, so it’s worth the bus ticket for this castle-like building alone. Other POI are the USS KIDD Veterans Museum, Louisiana Art and Science Museum and the Capital Park Museum.

5. Mississippi River Steamboat Cruise as Half-Day Trip from NOLA

You don’t need a car at all for this New Orleans day trip. You can take a street car or walk right up to the docking point, and this historic steamboat will transport you along the river that ensured the city’s existence. It’s a great vantage point to see the area around New Orleans.

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So there you have it! It is very possible to fully enjoy your trip to New Orleans by going on a day trip (or several), even without a car.

I’m curious: which one are planning to choose?

And as a bonus…

Cheap Places to Stay in New Orleans Without a Car

Take advantage of not having a car and get accommodation somewhere within or around the French Quarter since you don’t have to worry about parking.

If you’re interested in budget accommodation (hostels), then I have some recommendations!

I stayed in The Quisby my first time, which is in the Business District and within walking distance of both the French Quarter and the Garden District. It would have not been possible for me to stay there if I had a car, since there was no free parking nearby.

Or, you can get accommodation farther from the touristy areas but near a streetcar stop. Like I mentioned earlier, my second time I stayed in India House Hostel, and it was just a minute walk away from the streetcar that goes from the French Quarter to City Park. The less touristy restaurants were both cheap and delicious. And the pool was a big plus and made it really easy to meet new people! Although it’s a hostel, private rooms are available too.