We Did New Orleans in a Weekend, and the Aquarium Stole the Show
- Karla Lee
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
A short, easy family weekend in New Orleans, anchored by an afternoon at the Audubon Aquarium, plus exactly how we booked the flight, the hotel, and the car.
There is a thirty-foot tunnel at the Audubon Aquarium where the water closes over your head and a ray glides across the glass like it owns the place. My kids went quiet with wonder.
While we were in New Orleans picking up my daughter from Xavier University, we spent a little time in New Orleans. The city nicknamed "The Big Easy" was easy to do with kids.
Start with the aquarium
The Audubon Aquarium sits right at the foot of Canal Street, and it now shares one building with the Audubon Insectarium, so a single ticket gets you both. Give yourself about three hours. They open at ten and close at five. If you purchase admission to the aquarium, you can bundle admission to the zoo for just $5 additional dollars.
The big three for us were the Gulf of Mexico tank, the walk-through tunnel through the Maya reef, and the shark touch pool, which is thrilling for kids of all ages. I didn't expect to enjoys the insects but the Insectarium side has a butterfly garden with hundreds of free-flying butterflies, and a Bug Appétit counter where the brave ones can taste something with more legs than lunch usually has. My review of that part is that I watched.
With kids, nonstop is not a luxury. It is a strategy.
How we got there: nonstop on Breeze Airways
As a Delta girl, I am now a huge fan of Breeze airways. The flights were a great price, the plane was clean, and the crew was amazing.
We flew nonstop on Breeze Airways, and it will be hard to get to New Orleans from Orlando any other way. No connection to sprint to, no second chance for a bag to get lost, no negotiations at a gate in a city you did not plan to visit. Book the nonstop. Thank yourself later.
That flight made me feel like it won't be so hard if my daughter decides to head to New Orleans full time as a freshman in a few years. I will just be one hour and fifteen minutes away.
Where we stayed: the JW Marriott on Canal Street
When we dropped my daughter off four weeks prior, we stayed in multiple hotels including a Residence Inn in Metarrie (we wanted a two bedroom suite), the JW Marriott (we were miserable at the Residence Inn) AND the Ritz Carlton (for a little luxury). Of those three hotels, I was surprised that the JW Marriott on Canal Street won us over as the place we wanted to return to the most.
The hotel was modern with the perfect amount of luxury and it put us within walking distance of the aquarium and at the edge of the French Quarter, which meant fewer car rides, fewer parking struggles, and more just stepping out the door into the city. In New Orleans, walkable is worth more than almost anything else on the brochure.
The rental car: Costco Travel
I always book rental cars through Costco Travel, and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen. The rate came in lower than booking direct every time I compared, with none of the membership-upsell games at the counter. Just a better number for the same car. If you have a Costco membership and you are not booking travel through it, you are missing out on great deals.
The Audubon Aquarium was one of the most memorable parts of the trip and I am glad we got to do it as a family. But don't take my word for it. Princeton wants to tell you all about it.
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