Getting to French Quarter from airport

[Lilacs4Me]

We have decided to fly myself and two of our kids (13 and 14) down to New Orleans this summer, where we will meet DH who will be in Alabama prior to that with our car. The only thing is, our flight will be getting in at around 10am, and DH won't be arriving to New Orleans in the car until about 5-6pm that evening.

We live in the Chicago suburbs, and are completely familiar and comfortable with public transportation, Lyft, Uber, taxi's, trains, etc...but not everywhere is like here. We are scheduling a Lyft to O'Hare in the AM.

What is the best way to get into the French Quarter-ish area of New Orleans from the airport? I googled it and it looks to be about 35-40 minutes from the airport. Should I hire a private car and driver, or is Lyft/Uber/Taxis fairly common down there? I don't want to rent a car because DH will be there with ours and it's so expensive to park in NOLA! We will all be driving back home together in our car 4 days later so we will only need that one ride from the airport when we arrive, then we will have our car (and of course NOLA is so walkable or has the trolley system!)

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Start by reading here:
http://www.flymsy.com/groundtransportation
Shuttle is cheapest; taxi, Uber, and Lyft all available on site and appear to be about the same price.
FWIW I took taxis each time and it was easy, but this was a little before the days of Uber and Lyft (but still in the 2000s).

 

[LSUmiss]

We have decided to fly myself and two of our kids (13 and 14) down to New Orleans this summer, where we will meet DH who will be in Alabama prior to that with our car. The only thing is, our flight will be getting in at around 10am, and DH won't be arriving to New Orleans in the car until about 5-6pm that evening.

We live in the Chicago suburbs, and are completely familiar and comfortable with public transportation, Lyft, Uber, taxi's, trains, etc...but not everywhere is like here. We are scheduling a Lyft to O'Hare in the AM.

What is the best way to get into the French Quarter-ish area of New Orleans from the airport? I googled it and it looks to be about 35-40 minutes from the airport. Should I hire a private car and driver, or is Lyft/Uber/Taxis fairly common down there? I don't want to rent a car because DH will be there with ours and it's so expensive to park in NOLA! We will all be driving back home together in our car 4 days later so we will only need that one ride from the airport when we arrive, then we will have our car (and of course NOLA is so walkable or has the trolley system!)

When we go to the airport to fly out or come back home we can easily take Uber/lydt/taxi. There are also abundance of taxis lined up at the airport to take if you want.

Are y’all staying in the French qrtr?

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Start by reading here:
http://www.flymsy.com/groundtransportation
Shuttle is cheapest; taxi, Uber, and Lyft all available on site and appear to be about the same price.
FWIW I took taxis each time and it was easy, but this was a little before the days of Uber and Lyft (but still in the 2000s).

Yeah - I looked up transportation for NOLA, but I also know from experience that Detroit Metro has all those options too, but it's rare that anyone (that I have known at least) uses them. So, I was hoping to get personal knowledge from people who live there/use it. It looks like there are some good choices.

Thanks!

 

[Lilacs4Me]

When we go to the airport to fly out or come back home we can easily take Uber/lydt/taxi. There are also abundance of taxis lined up at the airport to take if you want.

Are y’all staying in the French qrtr?

Thanks!

Yes, or somewhere within walking/trolley distance. We won't have bags getting off the plane because we are going to throw our stuff into DH's car before he leaves (he's leaving on a Sat, we are flying in on the following Tuesday when he's leaving Alabama), so as long as we can get to the general FQ/Garden District area, we will meet up with him at some point to go check into the (TBD) hotel. I'm actually looking at hotels now...any suggestions? We were there two years ago and booked the Omni Riverwalk through Hotwire. It was perfect for what we needed, but we would also love to stay in the FQ at a hotel with some charm/character!

 

[LSUmiss]

Thanks!

Yes, or somewhere within walking/trolley distance. We won't have bags getting off the plane because we are going to throw our stuff into DH's car before he leaves (he's leaving on a Sat, we are flying in on the following Tuesday when he's leaving Alabama), so as long as we can get to the general FQ/Garden District area, we will meet up with him at some point to go check into the (TBD) hotel. I'm actually looking at hotels now...any suggestions? We were there two years ago and booked the Omni Riverwalk through Hotwire. It was perfect for what we needed, but we would also love to stay in the FQ at a hotel with some charm/character!

Omni is one that I know a lot of ppl like. I haven’t stayed at many. I’ve been to Roosevelt, but it’s not in the French qrtr but close. The only one I’ve ever been to in the French qrtr is the hotel Monteleon. Its beautiful & historic & it’s on Royal St which is also a good place for shopping.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We were just there in January. We stayed at the Omni Royal on St. Louis - loved it!! We grabbed a taxi right outside the terminal. There was a little bit of a wait but not bad...maybe 10 minutes?

 

[Donaldswife]

Over the last 10 years I have been to New Orleans a few times. We have used shuttles booked in advance (can't remember the name), taxis and uber and all have been easy and efficient. Depends on size of your party and which is more convenient for you. Never waited very long for any of the above and all were reasonable in cost for a party of two or three. I have never stayed directly in the French Quarter as I could not justify the price difference. I would LOVE to stay at the Omni Royal or Monteloene, but last fall we stayed at the Courtyard at the corner of St. Charles and Canal. A couple of blocks from the French Quarter at half the price. It was nice, but a typical Courtyard without much of the New Orleans "Charm" you were asking about.

 

[Gary M]

We have been to NOLA at least 35 times over the last 40 plus years. We always stayed in the French Quarter except twice on Canal Street. The Canal St. hotels were the Marriott and Roosevelt. I have always taken a taxi from the airport.

Of the half dozen or more French Quarter hotels we have stayed at, the Four Points By Sheraton has been our favorite. It's located on the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse Sts.. Great location and the rooms have always been nice. I like to have a Bourbon St. balcony, but most people wouldn't like that because of the noise. Toulouse St. balconies are also loud. The courtyard rooms with a balcony haven't been been noisy at all. Parking in the Quarter is expensive at all or most hotels.

We usually go in the winter months. The couple of times I have been in NOLA during the summer, the heat and humidity has been brutal.


https://www.expedia.com/New-Orleans...raton-French-Quarter.h15629.Hotel-Information

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, if you want "charm", along with decent pricing, you will probably want to consider the smaller hotels near Chartres St. Probably the most unique right now is Peter & Paul, which is the converted sanctuary & school of a former church; it's actually in the Marigny, not the Quarter. For convenience when you have your own car with you, you can't beat Le Richelieu, which is the only hotel in the Quarter with open courtyard parking. (Warning, if you stay in the really old buildings in the Quarter or Marigny, you WILL see bugs. They live in the courtyards' foliage, and it's impossible to completely eliminate them unless you put down enough poison to be bad for people.)

With your kids' ages, Villa Convento might be an option; they have one room under the roof that has a queen and a loft with twin beds up a spiral staircase. (They don't allow small kids, but teens should be fine.) That is a REALLY old rabbit-warren of a building, sometimes rumoured to be haunted.; it was kind of a flophouse apt. building up until the 70's, when it was restored as a hotel, but it's still quirky. Jimmy Buffett lived there in the old days. (They have free offsite parking; you have about a 5 minute walk to claim your car.) The view from the upper floor rooms over the roofs of the Quarter early in the morning is one of the things I love most about the VC.

I also like the Quarter House on Iberville; they have a really t-nincy pool in the courtyard; almost looks like a hot tub. Nice big rooms and a convenient location.

There are several chain hotels that have converted mid-century and early 20th century office buildings in the CBD and lower Warehouse District; those will give you a fairly interesting building but conventionally modern rooms, and close access to the St. Charles Streetcar line.

I have heard really good things about the Domio on Baronne, which is new; it's not in the Quarter, but on the far side of the CBD, on the corner of Howard, fairly close to the Dome.
Converted factory. (See also the Mercantile Hotel, similar vibe, but smaller rooms.)

Do not miss the WW2 Museum; it is wonderfully done.

Also, wear shoes that can get wet & always carry an umbrella; it WILL rain every day at approximately 3 pm, and the streets in the Quarter and CBD will often temporarily flood for an hour or so.

 

[leebee]

Take a cab from the airport. It's easiest, and I think that the price is controlled so you won't get raked over the coals. We have stayed at the French Market Inn on Decatur. It's quaint as you could imagine, and the location is pretty good. Rooms were clean, the staff friendly and helpful, and the whole place was lovely. They are part of a hotel group, so there are sister hotels (Place d'Armes, Prince Conti, Lafayette, and Hotel St. Marie) in a variety of locations and price ranges. We would definitely stay there again.

 

[ReneeA]

In the past year, we've spent 4 nights at the Four Points by Sheraton on Bourbon St and 7 nights at the Omni on Royal.

Loved them both for different reasons...the Sheraton was in the middle of everything. Clean, close, and comfortable. We stayed in a higher room in the back so it was quiet. I'm over the "party" from my 20s/30s and like my sleep. DH and I did a long weekend just the 2 of us in March of last year.

We loved that trip so much and thought our kids would too, that we returned for 7 nights in July. This time stayed in the Omni on Royal with our teens. Loved it!! Historic, quiet and right on Royal St, which is a fabulous place to watch pop up parades for weddings and parties.

As for transportation from the airport, when it was our first trip, DH and I booked a round trip airport shuttle to/from the Four Pounts. The next time with 4 of us, and a little more experience in the city, we used Uber to/from the airport. That worked well, too.

 

[low-key]

My worry would be how to get back to my hotel room after the French Quarter

 

[ReneeA]

My worry would be how to get back to my hotel room after the French Quarter

If you stay on Bourbon St, you just stumble through the door and let the doorman escort you to the elevator and hope to God you remember your room number.

 

[low-key]

If you stay on Bourbon St, you just stumble through the door and let the doorman escort you to the elevator and hope to God you remember your room number.

I would like write it on my forehead

 

[ReneeA]

I would like write it on my forehead

They will do that. For a tip. Everyone is looking for a tip in NOLA and you can get anything your heart desires for $1.

 

[low-key]

They will do that. For a tip. Everyone is looking for a tip in NOLA and you can get anything your heart desires for $1.

my heart desires a lot

 

[ReneeA]

my heart desires a lot

You mayyyy need more than $1.