We'll be in NOLA in early October for a long weekend. Right now, our plans are not to rent a car. Thinking of taking a plantation tour, any suggestions on where to go, what tour to take, or should we just rent a car for the weekend, and drive ourselves. We'll be there Friday-Monday. Thanks, annieladd

Last November we took a bus tour to one of the plantations. Make sure you understand where you will be picked up. We thought it was at our hotel but it turned out to be around the corner/across the street. I like narrated bus tours but I didn't think we had enough time at the plantation. The plantation tour, Oaks, itself was very nice though. It was a long drive out so it might have been nice to see some other things. I would opt for a car, maybe just a one day rental.

Don't forget to take a carriage tour of the city. The aquarium sp? is nice, too. We liked the steamship ride, on the Natchez, I think. Great food at Ralph and Kakoo's, again, not sure of the spelling. I have not taken a plantation tour, so I don't know. We have always used cabs and feet on our trips to the city. A swamp tour is also quite fun!

Superior is to rent a car for the day. I rent from Dollar on Loyola, cheap rates usually. Then easy to drive to Evergreen, Laura and Oak Alley in the same day. Consider a lunch stop at the B&C Cafe next to Laura.

Print out coupons from the Good Times guide for discounts on boat tours.

We went on a plantation tour with Tours by Isabelle to both Oak Alley and Laura plantations and really enjoyed it.

http://www.toursbyisabelle.com/

They picked us up at our hotel in a small bus and the driver was very informative.

Budget Queen gave you a very good tip to check out the Good Times Guide - they have quite a nice selection of coupons. If you decide to do a steamboat ride (GTG has 2-1 offers for the Natchez) I'd suggest just a short tour instead of the dinner trip. There are plenty of better places to eat in New Orleans and your time is limited. Enjoy the city!

We did a half day tour with Spinato Tours to Laura and Oak Alley. It was really good. They picked us up at the hotel in a 10 passenger van, we had a small group (obviously since we all had to fit in the van), and the driver was a great tour guide.

We chose the tour rather than renting a car for a couple reasons. One was that with limited time in NO, we wanted to make the most of our trip and taking a half day tour fit in nicely. Also, we were in the mood to be on a tour rather than organize an outting ourselves.

Hmmm, maybe we will rent a car for a day. Well, thanks you've given me lots to think about. annieladd