Road Trip from Orlando to New Orleans

We will be in Orlando next year early October as our daughter will be performing at Disneyworld. We are planning to extend our time in the US. We have been to The States (before kids) and there are some places we will be revisiting. However we have never been to New Orleans and it is a place I would like to discover. How would a road trip from Orlando to New Orleans go? We have 2 young children who will be 8 and 10 at time of travel. We dont have a problem with time spent in the car and I personally believe its one of the best ways to get a feel for a place. Are there any places of interest to a family along the way and is New Orleans a suitable family destination? How long would we need to set aside from the time we leave Orlando to the time we would depart New Orleans (most likely to fly to New York)

Thanks

Linda

Road Trip from Orlando to New Orleans

Orlando is a very long drive from New Orleans. 10+ hours in a car is a bit much with two children, in my opinion. However, if you insist on driving it may be fun to stop over in Pensacola or Destin, beach towns in the Florida panhandle.

Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) offers cheap one-way flights from Orlando to New Orleans so I%26#39;d check them out as well.

Road Trip from Orlando to New Orleans

I%26#39;m sure you will get some saying that New Orleans is not really a family type place but I would have to disagree. There is much there to intrest ';families';.

First the trip will be from 8 to 12 hours depending on how you drive (about 650 miles). I would suggest staying the night at Pensacola, FL. That will be about 3 hours from New Orleans. They have beautiful beaches there. There is also more if you wish to make a day (or more) of it, but it%26#39;s worth the stay if you never seen white sand beaches. There is a nice zoo there but my favorite thing is the Naval Station Museum and the old fort tour there (but mostly the beach). If you decide to stay there I could recommend places to stay and eat.

There is the Greek Church tour at Malbis (just east of Mobile Alabama). It%26#39;s beautiful. It doesn%26#39;t sound like much but I still remember my mom taking me when I was 11. I took my children there when they were about the same age. They loved the art and the ';Grand'; details given to everything. It would be an hour at most and it%26#39;s not out of the way.

You will then have the Battleship park at Mobile. It will easily be visible from the interstate. My boys really enjoyed it (so did I).

New Orleans is rich in history. There are numerous meseums, art galleries, their zoo (which is suppose to be one of the best in the US), the Aquarium of the Americas and more. There are street preformers on Royal and Decatur that would interest all. There is enough there to keep you busy for several days.

I%26#39;m also considering the road trip next year, so I%26#39;d love to hear any suggests as well :) wow, 10 hrs, that%26#39;s pretty long...don%26#39;t know if I want to do that :(

When I was a little younger, my family used to road trip to Orlando almost every year in fact - we loved Disney!

Near Mobile there is the fabulous Bellingrath Gardens - it%26#39;s a nice family destination. http://www.bellingrath.org/ There are also lots of beaches stretching the I-10 route from Florida to Mississippi/New Orleans, and any of those beach towns would make a great place to stop and spend a little time i.e. Orange Beach, AL.

Thankyou for your prompt replies. LOL, 10 plus hours in a car is nothing to us, we are from Australia!!! Lots of wide open spaces between cities...we are so used to it and so are our kids. Having said that I wouldnt really want to drive it just for the sake of it, only because we have a limited amount of time in the country and we want to make the most of every second. I like things off the beaten track a bit and we wouldnt mind taking say 2 days to reach our destination. Was just googling stuff and found a place near New Orleans that allows you to rent a cabin and feed aligators from the porch?? Is that safe?! My son would love this!!! Also the Battleship place how far away is that? Places like the Greek Church you described sound lovely too.

Thanks again

Linda

Lindann - If the weather cooperates, it might be a refreshing stop to stay in the Destin area. It is quite different from Glenelg - there are no camel rides, for example, and there are few historical buildings at the Destin beach (everything is relatively new). (can you tell I love Glenelg? We have good friends in Glenunga whom we visited 3-4 years ago who took us to Glenelg). Lots of great shopping in the Destin area - be sure to see the town of Seaside. Save your ';history'; for New Orleans - you%26#39;ll have your fill there!

Enjoy your trip!

I think New Orleans is very much a family destination. You just need to use some common sense. For example you may not want to take your kids down Bourbon Street at night. Otherwise there is a lot to see and do that would interest kids in the 8-10 range.

It will be about a 10 hour drive from Orlando to New Orleans,the terrain very flat, not very scenic. I%26#39;ve driven from South Florida to New Orleans several times with my family. If your children are good travelers, which I gather from your post they are, it should be a breeze. Our highway (interstate) system has numerous of places to stop, grab a bite to eat, and rest areas are spaced every 30 miles on the average.

New Orleans is definitely a great place to take both yourselves and your children with PLENTY for them to see and do. I%26#39;d suggest skipping right past those Florida ';snooze'; towns and give yourself more time in New Orleans.

I totally agree that road trips are the best way to get a feel for a place. This summer will mark the third time in 5 years that our family will make a road-trip from NOLA to southwestern Colorado...one of the reasons for driving being that my kids (now 7 and 13) are exposed to changes in the terrain, accents, culture, etc. I actually make them turn off their iPod%26#39;s, DVD players, and any other portable stuff so that we can talk! (ok, so they%26#39;ll probably appreciate that more when they%26#39;re all grown up ;-)

That being said, you won%26#39;t notice as much of a dramatic change coming from Orlando to NOLA. The drive should be easy for you...I too consider my kids to be good car travellers, and the 10 hour drive to/from Orlando has not been difficult at all for them.

If you have limited time (you didn%26#39;t indicate how many days) also consider that Southwest Airlines offers one-way flights from Orlando to NOLA. Right now, you can get a rate of less than $100 per person in October. The flight is not quite 2 hours long, which would give you much more time to see the area. October is typically beautiful weather and there is a LOT going on that time of year...much to do for families!

The Battleship Alabama is in just east of Mobile Alabama9 (about 2 hours and 15 mins from New Orleans). It%26#39;s about 45 minutes from Pensacola and about 15 minutes from the Malbis Church. You should be able to find info about this on line. It%26#39;s all on the way to New Orleans. It would be easy to set aside a day (or 2) for all of this.