Will be here for 4 days Easter week and really don't plan on straying too far from the NO area, maybe out to tour a plantation, a ride up the river etc. 1st time to NO and wasn't sure whether it would be better to rent a car. Thanks.

A rental car is an impediment in New Orleans. Parking is limited and likely to be expensive. Besides, it is a fairly compact city and easy to navigate by foot, streetcar or taxi.

If you wanted to do self-guided tours outside the city, rent a car for the day. But, definately don't consider an overnight rental in NOLA.

Hotel parking is expensive. By the time you rent a car, pay for gas and pay to park it, you're looking at $50-100 a day.

You can take lots of cabs for that price!

I'll 3rd that! I rented a car the first time in NO and never used it the whole week - just such a pain and it wasn't needed.

Last 3 times - no rental car! No problem.

We were there for a week without a car and never missed having one, and I am a Californian - everyone knows how we love our cars here. We took a plantation tour and a swamp tour during our trip - both times we went with a tour company that picked us up at our hotel.

Thanks for the most helpful info- Since we will be around NO most of the time I'm going to bag the rental car.

ANOTHER PLUS, TAXIS ARE CHEAP. $28 TO AND FROM THE AIRPORT. LESS IF YOU TAKE THE SHUTTLE.

Is it true that if you take a taxi from the airport to your hotel in the French Quarter, it will cost you $28, and if you take a shuttle (2 people) it will cost you $26.00?? To save 2 bucks, why take a shuttle with numerous stops?

Is there any other ecomonical way to get from the Airport to your hotel other than taking 2 hours on a local bus?

I take the city bus from the airport every trip and it doesn't even take an hour, usually 45 minutes. $1.60 is a real bargain, it is the E2 Jefferson Transit bus- if needed you can jump on a local bus down Poydras or Canal, depending on where you are staying, I pack light and have excellent rolling luggage and always walk, (one time all the way to the W on Poydras). I do however rent a car for the day and drive out to plantations. Dollar is convenient for me and walkable or again an easy stop on the city buses.

I would say skip it most of the time and maybe just rent one day from Enterprise (who should have locations all over town) to make the trip out of the city.

Taxi or airport shuttle are your best bets for transport from the airport. If it only took you 45 minutes on the bus, that's pretty amazing! Must have had very little traffic! 2 people should definitely take a cab...basically the same price as the shuttle.

Anne

For clairfication- I take the city but- EVERY trip and 45 min is the NORM. Look at their schedules.

Well, speaking as a lazy lout, I'll just say that we had a car for NO in Nov. and thought it was well worth the daily parking charge at the hotel. One of our big things is touring residential neighborhoods and taking short excursions. The car made that lots easier. For strolling around the French Quarter, no, it was an unnecessary impediment. For the Garden District, up the river, out into the countryside, a necessity.

Don't rent a car. Last time we were in New Orleans, my brother and his wife rented a car so they could drive over to Mississipi - which was nice, but we spent more time finding places to park in NO than just about any other activity. A real pain. You can always sign up for a plantation tour. (They might not be open around Easter.)