Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are thinking of a little trip to New Orleans to celebrate our wedding anniversary, and will be going during Thanksgiving holiday. We've always heard great things about New Orleans from friends that have been and how great the food, music and culture is. It'll be our first time in New Orleans. It's something we were just talking about and decided on over the weekend so it's not something that we've been planning for. It's a bit sporadic, but we're looking at being out there for 3 days 2 nights. My husband has left it all up to me in planning and sorting out the trip as he got to plan our previous trip.

I've read the weather is really nice at this time of year. How should I pack for this trip? Can I get by with layers and a thin coat/blazer or should I pack fairly warm? Does it get super nippy at nights?

Also, are there any huge events going on during Thanksgiving Holiday that I need to be aware of that will make my trip planning more efficient?

We're thinking about staying at one of the B&B's. Any suggestions or recommendations on B&B's? It'll also be our first time staying at a B&B! We thought it would be a nice experience. Also, does anyone know how much B&B's usually hold as a security deposit when I check-in? I'm booking the accommodations with a debit card. I know that hotels hold a higher security deposit on debit cards compared to using a credit card. Is it the same policy for B&B's? If so, how much do they usually hold so I have an idea of how much I should budget. I'll be contacting the B&B about all this stuff as well prior to booking the room.

Car....would we need to rent a car? Can we get around on public transport and taxis for the most part? I wasn't planning on renting car but I figured I should ask since I've never been to New Orleans just in case. I read on another thread that I may need a car if I plan to visit plantations. Are there day trips or day tours I can book that will get us out there to the plantation and back?

I started to hunt for flights last night and still hunting today. When is should I book my flights by at the latest? I've read that the best time to book flights are Tuesdays after midnight. Myth or Truth? Also, if I wait too long to get the flight, the prices just get more expensive right? I was just using the Bing Travel site and it's advising me to wait and tickets will drop $50. I'm a tad nervous.

Any insight, advice, suggestions, and recommendations are welcomed! Would love to hear from everyone!

Thanks!

We were in New Orleans last year during Thanksgiving and it was colder than we had expected. Having said that, you should be ok with a jacket if you layer. I would personnaly recommend having a car, unless you decide to stay in the downtown/French Quarter area the whole trip. A car isn't absolutely necessary because the trolleys and busses will get you to most of the museums, etc. We love the French Quarter for its restaurants, bars and jazz, but it doesn't really get hopping until late evening, so you'll need to entertain yourself during the day. There are tours out to the plantations and to Cajun country, if are interested. We both loved the art museum and I thought the World War II Museum was excellent. If you are gamblers, Harrah's has a nice casino. Right behind the casino, they decorate the street for Christamas, with small booths and a snow making machine. It's fun for a few hours. We have never stayed in a B&B in New Orleans, but we have stayed in several nice, small hotels there. We have been to New Orleans several times and thought it was even more special during Thanksgiving. Have fun.

Your best bet would be to stay in the French Quarter, which is centrally located and near a lot of attractions, restaurants, and public transportation options. Would recommend staying at a hotel situated within a region here bordered by Canal, Decatur, Ursuline, and Bourbon Streets. You should have no trouble getting to almost any tourist sight in NOLA either on foot or via public transport from this area. And you definitely will not need or want a car if you stay in this part of town, as parking is awful and driving can be a major challenge. Depending on the area, you likely wouldn't need a car if you stay outside the French Quarter either, as the streetcar and bus system is good in this city. Finding a taxi shouldn't be a problem if you need one.

Renting a car to see the plantations outside of NOLA is a wise idea, though, as tours that go out to anything other than Laura and Oak Alley are unreliable.

I don't know what "tours that go out to anything other than Laura and Oak Alley are unreliable" means -- accuracy, scheduling, departure guarantees, etc.??? The fact is that Laura and Oak Alley are close to NOLA and the latter is extremely popular. But Laura Plantation is unique and, although not nearly as visually stunning as Oak Alley, Nottoway, Rosedown or other sites on the River Road, its history is both intriguing and disturbing.

One plantation that we couldn't get to (dang tour at another one ran LOOOOOOONG) but that was intriguing is Houmas House: http://www.houmashouse.com/

Thanks for all the replies & responses so far! Really appreciated! I have heard about the WWII Museum. That was the first thing my husband mentioned. We can go wherever I want, do whatever I want, as long as he got to go the WWII Museum then he's a happy camper. Haha!

The WWII Museum is one of the best museums I've ever visited!

We took a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward (just drove around some of the streets where rebuilding is going on). It was nice to have a car for that. Maybe you could get a car for one day just to tour the plantations and the Lower Ninth Ward (it's hard to believe the devastation until you see it....I was afraid of being a voyeur, but there are so few people there except for construction workers that nobody noticed us).

BigRuss, I can sadly say from personal experience that trying to find a reliable tour that will go out from New Orleans to any plantation outside of the city is pretty much impossible, unless you want to go to Laura and/or Oak Alley. Most all the tour companies I contacted will not guarantee that a particular tour will happen, even if it is found on their website, unless they meet a minimum number of customers for that day who want to go. And they don't know for sure until ca. 24 hours before the tour is scheduled to go if they met their quota or not.

This did not seem to be a problem when I called around when Laura or Oak Alley was the plantation in question, as there seem to be enough folks wanting to go to these two that the minimum is usually met. These two were excellent, and very different from each other.

However, some companies have tours on their books that supposedly go to Houmas House, Nottaway, Destrehan, and San Francisco. Problem is, they rarely, if ever, get the minimum number of folks to commit. Also, some companies lie and say they don't have minimums when in fact they do. After a lot of evasiveness and truth stretching, the company with which I had set up a day-long tour to Houmas House, Destrehan, and San Francisco finally admitted that they haven't once gotten the required minimum to actually go out on that tour in a year or better -- and I indeed never got to go. I was fortunately able to get a tour of Nottaway with yet another tour group, but the company bent the rules to allow it even though they were a couple people short of the minimum -- and it's possible they did so in part because of some solid complaining on my part and my offer to tip the driver beyond the standard tour fee. I'm glad I got a chance to see Nottaway too, as it's a stunner, and the tour company driver was great. But the impression I got is that this tour very rarely goes out.

I would guess that if you can actually manage to get out to any plantation on a day it's open, you'll be able to get a tour of the plantation itself. That's something different.

Stay - Just booked our stay with a B&B, a street car ride away from the French Quarter. Found out the weekend we're in town, there's a Bayou event....football and college students. So we opted not to be in the French Quarter. Solved & done! YAY!

Car - Decided no car. Solved & done! YAY!

Now just working on those flight tickets! After that, the fun planning begins -- activities and sights! YAY!

Since you are only there for two nights, you really won't need a car. Plus a car is expensive to park at downtown hotels, usually 30-35 per night.

The streetcars and a taxi will get you to just about every where you want to go.

A suggestion, the WW IIuseum is very well done and a very moving experience. Take the St Charles streetcar to Lee's Circle, get off and walk about 1 1/2 blocks to the museum. It opens at 9:00 am (closed on thanksgiving day). It usually takes about 2.5 to 3 hours to go through the exhibits. You will winf through the old warehouse as the war unfolds and finally ends.

After you leave the museum walk away from Lee's Circle on Higgins towards the river. About two blocks on the corner of Higgins and Tchoupitoulas (chop i too las) is Cochon. A great place for lunch run by Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski.

http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/

You can then walk back up to Lee's Circle and catch the streetcar either back or keep going away from the Quarter to the Garden district.

Where did you end up finding to stay?

You asked what events occur during Thanksgiving. Well, the Bayou Classic between Southern and Grambling attracts a lot of college students from those universities. The area near the Superdome will be absolutely packed from the fans - do not get a hotel near the Superdome unless you are planning to go to the game.

Unless you have a strong interest in plantations, I would skip them with such a short trip. Just focus on New Orleans itself. With 2 days you'll get a nice taste.

If you are interested in touring historic homes, there are several in the FQ: 1850 House, Gallier house, Beauregard-Keyes house, and the Hermann-Grimmer house are all good to see.

Also, you asked about the weather. The weather is usually very nice at Thanksgiving. I remember in college I would come home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I remember leaving the nasty weather in the Northeast and returning to 60 or 70 degree weather in Louisiana.

However, that being said it could be 80 or it could be 40. You really just don't know what you'll get. Most likely you'll get some of the best weather in the US that time of year.

Oh, we took an excellent walking tour of the French Quarter with Friends of the Cabildo.

http://www.friendsofthecabildo.org/

One thing you'll need to plan for is which restaurant to go to on Thanksgiving. Many restaurants will be closed, and unless you want to wind up at Five Happiness (which is a really good Chinese restaurant by the way) then you'll need to plan.

notbob -- Thanks for the tips and suggestions! Will definitely try to check the restaurant out after the WWII Museum! We're staying at the 1896 O'Malley House.

bkluvsnova -- Thanks for the heads up on the Bayou Classic! I had no idea! I had to Google it to find out more info! Thanks for mentioning it. The weather sounds comfortable and nice. I didn't pack warm enough for one of my trips and I swore I was going to die. I was so miserable that I didn't enjoy myself at all. Eventually I had to go and buy some new clothes, warmer clothes. Since that experience, I always ask how the weather is! I think I can get away with layers! YAY! Oh, and thanks for the heads up on Thanksgiving. I will look into that. Got so excited and absorbed with everything else that I completely forgot about Thanksgiving.

november_moon -- Thanks for the suggestions! I think we may end up touring the historic homes than going to the plantations. My husband and I aren't super crazy about plantations so it's not like we'd die if didn't get to do it. I figured since we're out there and plantations have a lot of history, we should consider doing it. But now, it's looking like we may have to save the plantations for tour for next time we come back to New Orleans.

sf7307 -- Thanks for the link to the walking tour!

I agree with the Bayou Classic comment. There will be closed streets around the French Quarter area and thousands and thousands of people plugging up the area on foot and in cars. If you want to stay in the French Quarter, book now cuz Bayou Classic fans have already booked plenty of rooms. The battle of the bands is a big highligh at Bayou Classic.