Headed to NOLA for Bachelorette party

Bethybird

Starting to help plan a bachelorette party for my sister-in-law and we're headed to New Orleans. Looking for any and all suggestions of where to stay and what to do! We are targeting February...don't know if it is better to hit it during Mardi Gras or go before it starts. Thanks in advance!

Rdh2MrsOMFS

I would not go downtown for a bachelorette party during Mardi Gras.  It's seriously miserable.  They're are so many people--It's impossible to get a drink at the bars.  I would suggest getting a suite at the royal sonesta, which is on bourbon street.  They have great balcony suites.  Do dinner at Dickie Brennan's, Nola restaurant, Stella, Couchon.  For dancing, the casino club, Masquerade has a great atmosphere.  Also, Cat's meow, Razoo, bars on bouron are fun.  Pat O's has great hurricanes.  Also, for late night, the Gold Mine on St. Peter is fun!...... have a blast!

NOLAbridealmost

Just so you know, Carnival starts on January 6 and lasts until Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday) which is February 21.  There will be major parades and mardi gras related activities starting in January and really ramping up during the two weeks prior to February 21.  There will be no Mardi Gras related celebrations of any kind after midnight on Fat Tuesday and the French Quarter gets completely shut down at midnight that night (don't worry! It reopens for business in the morning). 

If you want a Mardi Gras experience with smaller crowds I'd recommend the Saturday/Sunday of the 10th and 11th.  If you want full-on Mardi Gras, come the Friday/Saturday/Sunday before the 21st. The crowds will be considerably larger and more wild that weekend. 

The weekend after Mardi Gras will be much, much cheaper than the weeks leading up to it.

NOLAbridealmost

http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/mardi_gras_2012.html

This is a helpful link for planning your trip around the parade schedules. 

oohsnapash

Just hosted a bachelorette party in town for my BFF from Dallas.  We stayed at the Astor Crowne. Order a Shark Attack at Tropical Isle.... they were a HIT!

BRIANNAT711

I would only recommend a Mardi Gras Bachelorette Party if you and your friends enjoy being sandwiched between literally 100,000 people who are all drunk, staggering, grabbing at you, beligerent, urinating in public and possibly vomiting on your shoes. I only say this because I am from New Orleans and this has been my FQ Mardi Gras experience every year. The bars as PACKED! And drink and hotel prices are higher, if you still want the experience without so much of the headache, I would suggest going a week or two before actual Fat Tuesday. There will still be parades and you won't have to deal with quite as many drunk people sloshing around in horse poop ( FYI: the NOPD are mounted during Mardi Gras and the stench of horse manure is everywhere) Not trying to completely discourage you because there is definite FUN to be had, it just may be more than you bargained for trying to keep your group together amoungst the debauchery that particular day and 4-5 days leading up to Mardi Gras. Hope this helps. Happy Bachelorette.

drinkdeck

Hey you should check out Drink Deck New Orleans and the VIP School Bus. Drink Deck is a travel and discount guide to the best bars in NOLA and you can use it to create a bar crawl in different neighborhoods across town. Discounts range from $10 off up to 30% off your bill on food and/or drink. VIP School Bus can be your party hopping transportation! You can get a Drink Deck for each person in your party and use the cards along the way. VIP School Bus also offers a package that includes Drink Deck!

Have fun!