Discussion
Anyone been? Is Louisiana USA regarded as a holiday destination?
My 16yr old son has qualified for the finals of a weightlifting competition held in Louisiana USA. We would love to take him but it's a long way to go for a 3 day event, so is it a place that we could build a holiday around and stay for a while, or would it be better to fly on to another state for a holiday?
My 16yr old son has qualified for the finals of a weightlifting competition held in Louisiana USA. We would love to take him but it's a long way to go for a 3 day event, so is it a place that we could build a holiday around and stay for a while, or would it be better to fly on to another state for a holiday?
Are you serious? New Orleans has to be a top destination in the USA. There's food, culture, music by the bucketload and the Mississippi River. Plenty to see and do, and that's just one city. There's Baton Rouge and Lafayette and others too. I'd love to go.
Edited by LunarOne on Friday 19th May 22:43
LunarOne said:
Are you serious? New Orleans has to be a top destination in the USA. There's food, culture, music by the bucketload and the Mississippi River. Plenty to see and do, and that's just one city. There's Baton Rouge and Lafayette and others too. I'd love to go.
Thanks, the competition is on Baton Rouge, however I have never been to that part of America, it seems that it could be a good event to build a holiday around. I'll have to research what's there and things to do.The Gauge said:
LunarOne said:
Are you serious? New Orleans has to be a top destination in the USA. There's food, culture, music by the bucketload and the Mississippi River. Plenty to see and do, and that's just one city. There's Baton Rouge and Lafayette and others too. I'd love to go.
Thanks, the competition is on Baton Rouge, however I have never been to that part of America, it seems that it could be a good event to build a holiday around. I'll have to research what's there and things to do.New Orleans on the other hand is fantastic and well worth a visit.
Geekman said:
Baton Rouge is a horrible place, by far the worst place I've ever visited in the US. I imagine there might be OK parts of it but I've never seen those.
New Orleans on the other hand is fantastic and well worth a visit.
I think if we'd maybe stay in New Orleans and get the Greyhound to Baton Rouge for the day of the competition, which takes 1hr 30mins, then return to New Orleans. New Orleans on the other hand is fantastic and well worth a visit.
Saying that, we aren't into music so have no interest in doing any music trips that you might associate with that area. Is there still plenty to do/see for non music lovers or should we look at travelling on elsewhere (not interested in theme parks either, so that might rule out Florida).
Texas isn't far away, but in not sure of that is a holiday destination.
Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 21st May 10:16
The Gauge said:
I think if we'd maybe stay in New Orleans and get the Greyhound to Baton Rouge for the day of the competition, which takes 1hr 30mins, then return to New Orleans. We aren't into music so have no interest in doing any music trips, would New Orleans still be OK for say 10 days or should we look at travelling on elsewhere (not interested in theme parks either, so that might rule out Florida).
What sort of things are you looking to do? Maybe Texas would be better? Space Center at Houston, San Antonio is a cool predominantly Hispanic city, Austin has ladybird lake for some paddle boarding/kayaking. Just outside the city you’ve got ranches.New Orleans is all about music and food. It’s also not that cheap any more so if you’re not into live music it’s probably just going to come across as a bit of a s
t hole with not much to entertain you. It’s essentially a dysfunctional and broken city filled with superb bars and restaurants.I think you’re going to get really bored of NOLA in a couple of days never mind 10.
Geekman said:
The Gauge said:
LunarOne said:
Are you serious? New Orleans has to be a top destination in the USA. There's food, culture, music by the bucketload and the Mississippi River. Plenty to see and do, and that's just one city. There's Baton Rouge and Lafayette and others too. I'd love to go.
Thanks, the competition is on Baton Rouge, however I have never been to that part of America, it seems that it could be a good event to build a holiday around. I'll have to research what's there and things to do.New Orleans on the other hand is fantastic and well worth a visit.
djc206 said:
What sort of things are you looking to do? Maybe Texas would be better? Space Center at Houston, San Antonio is a cool predominantly Hispanic city, Austin has ladybird lake for some paddle boarding/kayaking. Just outside the city you’ve got ranches.
New Orleans is all about music and food. It’s also not that cheap any more so if you’re not into live music it’s probably just going to come across as a bit of a st hole with not much to entertain you. It’s essentially a dysfunctional and broken city filled with superb bars and restaurants.
I think you’re going to get really bored of NOLA in a couple of days never mind 10.
Regarding NOLA, I have to agree. I went to NOLA for a day last year and it just felt....dodgy. That may have been the fact I was visiting as an away fan for the Tampa Bay - NOLA NFL game and got heckled a few times. I went to Bourbon Street to check it out and it didn't seem like anything too special, could smell weed everywhere and generally felt uncomfortable.New Orleans is all about music and food. It’s also not that cheap any more so if you’re not into live music it’s probably just going to come across as a bit of a s
t hole with not much to entertain you. It’s essentially a dysfunctional and broken city filled with superb bars and restaurants.I think you’re going to get really bored of NOLA in a couple of days never mind 10.
75Black said:
Regarding NOLA, I have to agree. I went to NOLA for a day last year and it just felt....dodgy. That may have been the fact I was visiting as an away fan for the Tampa Bay - NOLA NFL game and got heckled a few times. I went to Bourbon Street to check it out and it didn't seem like anything too special, could smell weed everywhere and generally felt uncomfortable.
Bourbon street is bloody awful. It’s got a couple of good bars on it but by and large it’s been turned into a vegas style venue for stag and hen parties. I would go so far as to suggest you’re best never setting foot on it!I love the city and the more I go the more I find that my first impression of it as dangerous because of its general condition is slightly out of touch with the reality of it, sometimes…
I have friends who live in Gentilly and although some of the blocks there look rough as to me I’ve found people to be super friendly and eaten the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Without someone local to show me around though I dare say I’d probably just stick to the usual spots because I am not able to judge what’s rough and what’s really rough just by appearance there mostly because it’s all rough!
Louisiana usually vies with Mississippi as the poorest state in the US which is quite ironic as its where most of the Gulf oil come ashore. I spent much of my 30's there as we had a large US operation based near Lafayette and I had a team there. Didn't ever make it to Baton Rouge but I would imagine its not that different to Lafayette. Nice enough place if you know the locals but not really touristy. The food and music are the best things about Cajun life. Drive-through Frozen Daiquiri bars tell you all you need to know about the area. Norleans (as the locals say) is much like San Francisco, you either love it or hate it (it's possible to see either side of the coin in both). If you're not into food & music I'd say you were limited. Florida is driveable for a few nights change. Texas is a couple of hours from Baton Rouge but it's huge and Houston's a bit of a soulless city IMO. You can get to Central America easily enough from NO or Houston if you wanted a 2-centre holiday.
Thanks for the advice, sounds like we might be better just visiting to Louisiana briefly for his competition and then moving on. One option might be to fly to New York for a few days, then a 2-3 days in New Orleans to take in his competition, then move on again.
Florida could be our third stop, but non of us have any interest in the Disney theme parks. Never been to Florida, Is it the kind of place you could spend say 5 nights relaxing in a villa with a bit of sight seeing before flying home?
Florida could be our third stop, but non of us have any interest in the Disney theme parks. Never been to Florida, Is it the kind of place you could spend say 5 nights relaxing in a villa with a bit of sight seeing before flying home?
ruwokeenuff said:
Geekman said:
The Gauge said:
LunarOne said:
Are you serious? New Orleans has to be a top destination in the USA. There's food, culture, music by the bucketload and the Mississippi River. Plenty to see and do, and that's just one city. There's Baton Rouge and Lafayette and others too. I'd love to go.
Thanks, the competition is on Baton Rouge, however I have never been to that part of America, it seems that it could be a good event to build a holiday around. I'll have to research what's there and things to do.New Orleans on the other hand is fantastic and well worth a visit.
Maybe it's because I was there (many times) for work but it's god awful. New Orleans is a run down hole, still in a mess after the hurricane. Texas street is as sleezy as you'd expect. And it's certainly not a 'safe' state to wonder about. Louisiana, Alabama and Florida... all along there is just awful.
My 2ps worth anyway!
My 2ps worth anyway!
fatbutt said:
Maybe it's because I was there (many times) for work but it's god awful. New Orleans is a run down hole, still in a mess after the hurricane. Texas street is as sleezy as you'd expect. And it's certainly not a 'safe' state to wonder about. Louisiana, Alabama and Florida... all along there is just awful.
My 2ps worth anyway!
I agree with NOLA I'd never go backMy 2ps worth anyway!
Avery island is a fun visit though
Mississippi is very good though Alabama was fine for me but we didn't spend loads of time there though
OP, I live in The South (Charleston SC). I don’t think you’ve said what time of year the competition is? That might influence things. Summers are stinking hot and humid. From about now to November is hurricane season, just an fyi.
I’ve not been to New Orleans but friends have and as some have said already it can be a bit trashy.
I think a lot of the coast around there isn’t up to much. I think some of the Florida ‘panhandle’ might have some ok small towns on the beaches, Destin? What sort of things might interest you? There is apparently a good race track and motor museum in Alabama, Barber Motorsports. It’s a bit of a stretch but there’s Atlanta is you want a big city vibe and close to there is Road Atlanta racetrack. Google those places to see what events are on. In Florida I believe there are some nice places down the Gulf Coast side that are like the Orlando theme parks.
I’ve not been to New Orleans but friends have and as some have said already it can be a bit trashy.
I think a lot of the coast around there isn’t up to much. I think some of the Florida ‘panhandle’ might have some ok small towns on the beaches, Destin? What sort of things might interest you? There is apparently a good race track and motor museum in Alabama, Barber Motorsports. It’s a bit of a stretch but there’s Atlanta is you want a big city vibe and close to there is Road Atlanta racetrack. Google those places to see what events are on. In Florida I believe there are some nice places down the Gulf Coast side that are like the Orlando theme parks.
geeman237 said:
OP, I live in The South (Charleston SC). I don’t think you’ve said what time of year the competition is? That might influence things. Summers are stinking hot and humid. From about now to November is hurricane season, just an fyi.
I’ve not been to New Orleans but friends have and as some have said already it can be a bit trashy.
Thanks for the info, we would be going on August 2023, so it's a last minute thing as far a planning goes.I’ve not been to New Orleans but friends have and as some have said already it can be a bit trashy.
From what I've read, Louisiana and New Orleans are perhaps pass through and look places, not holiday destinations, so I've had a bit of a rethink...
I'm thinking of flying into NY for 2-3 nights, then a flight to the venue in Baton Rouge Louisiana, stay there for a couple of nights for the competition, then maybe have a week all inclusive in Cuba for a relaxing holiday.
It initially seemed a shame to miss New Orleans out seeing as we are so close, but I'm not sure it's the right place is for us, and with my son being only 16 I think he would love NY and we would all get to relax in an AI holiday in Cuba.
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