#1
kika , May 6th, 2022 03:55 PM
I’m planning to take my daughter for a week for her 30th birthday this fall and have a bunch of random questions.

Sept or Oct? Does it matter in terms of hurricane risk, overall temperature,outdoor activities and prices? We would like to do a swamp/bayou tour. How essential is it that the hotel have air conditioning?

Staying in the French Quarter: is it a terrible idea to stay on Bourbon street if we want a good night sleep? Which streets to avoid and which to seek out for accommodations? Am I crazy to hope for a place with a balcony overlooking a scenic street for less than $300/night?

Katrina tourism: best sites, tours or guides to respectfully help us to understand the impact this had?

Thanks in advance.

We stayed at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon St. A few years ago. We had a very small balcony overlooking the side street and didn’t have trouble sleeping at all. We were there right before Marci Gras and thought it was fun watching a couple of small parades go past our window.

https://www.sonesta.com/royal-sonest...ta-new-orleans

September is one of the peak months for hurricanes. You will definitely want AC due to the humidity and I expect all hotels in NO have it. October is a lot cooler than Sept.

Go for Columbus Day weekend or later. The only good thing about hurricanes is that they are predicted several days in advance. If one is coming, just stay out of the entire state of Louisiana at that time.
It has been many years since I was in NOL (before Katrina) but I do remember staying in the Garden District not too far from the St. Charles St. streetcar. It was much cheaper and much quieter. The streetcar was a great way to get down to Canal Street and the French Quarter.
The combination Amtrak and bus station is next door to the (Mercedes Benz?) super dome if you wanted to arrive by train or bus instead of flying into the Louis Armstrong airport and having a long expensive taxi ride into the city The three Amtrak trains that serve NOL are the City of New Orleans (from Chicago and Memphis), the Crescent (from Washington DC and Atlanta) and the Sunset Limited (three days/week) from Houston and points west.

Thank you. The Royal Sonesta looks beautiful.

Thanks Prairie and tom and . I am changing our plans to go late Sept/early Oct now.