If you’re looking for kid friendly things to do in New Orleans, here are 4 places to go.
This summer my family took a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. I always wanted to go but for years put it off and visited other places. Now that I finally went, I’m mad I didn’t go sooner. Our family vacation to Nola was perfect in every way. We are literally trying to figure when we can go back.
Before any planning happened, I was skeptical to bring our teenage son for fear that he wouldn’t have anything to do. Or find any of the activities interesting. Ya’ll know how teenagers can be. So, I decided to do a little research before booking our trip.
And by research, I mean, I went to Tik Tok to watch other people’s reviews on New Orleans. I watched tons of videos on where to eat and what to do in New Orleans. There were quite a few videos on plantation and swamp tours, the world war II museum, the Jazz museum, and visits to the french market.
I saved a few activities and restaurants and asked my son did any of those activities look fun to him. I asked Dad too, but Dad is a bit more easy to please. My son said yes to many of the places I saved. So, Dad booked our Airbnb, plane tickets, and I booked all of our excursions.
KID FRIENDLY THINGS TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS
These are the top 4 family activities we did that my teenage son loved.
Cajun Pride Swamp Tours
Cost: $29
Website: cajunprideswamptours
One of our most favorite kid friendly things to do in New Orleans was take a swamp tour. I encourage every family to take one. Not only was it educational but it was pretty cool. There are quite a few swamp tour companies. However, we chose Cajun Pride Swamp Tours.
The tour was about an hour long. And our captain was funny yet knowledgeable. We sailed through the Louisiana swamps and got to see alligators, wild pigs, and a huge family of raccoons. We also got a history lesson on how people lived in the swamps.
This was a fun and interesting activity. My son loved it and wanted to do it again. Its perfect for all ages.
Tijon Perfume Lab
Cost:$99
Website: Tijon
At Tijon you can make your very own perfume and cologne from scratch. Even if the guys didn’t want to do this activity, I told them they can drop me off and I would do it by myself.
And shout out to the woman on Tik Tok who recommended going to a perfume lab. This was a really cool activity for the family.
This activity is more for teens rather than small children.
The perfume lab provided us with beakers, droppers, and lab coats. I felt like a chemist. We were allowed to smell a slew of different oils to create our fragrance. The teachers walked us through how many drops were needed to mix our scents.
We were able to create 3 scents and choose which one we liked the best. After mixing different oils and choosing the scent we liked the most, we named our scent.
Then we poured our perfume/cologne into the bottles given to us. And we had our very own custom fragrance.
This was a 10/10 totally recommend for teens and adults.
JamNola
Cost: $31
Website: Jamnola
Jamnola was a fun kid friendly thing to do in New Orleans. It was also an educational experience. The name stands for Joy Art Music New Orleans. And its a cultural funhouse. You get to see and interact with 17 exhibits. While learning about the music culture and legends from Nola.
In the beginning of the tour you are given a guide who walks you through the first 3 exhibits. After, you are allowed to explore on your own. Each exhibit features sculptures, paintings, and photos from local artists.
The experience is supposed to last for an hour. However, we went through all of them in half the time. If you have small children then it may take you longer.
Each exhibit is so cool that you’re definitely going to want to take photos and video of everything.
Legendary Milkshake Bar
Cost: Varies
Website: Legendairymilkshake
While this isn’t necessarily an activity but its a nice resting place to beat that Nola heat. And its something the family would enjoy.
The milkshake bar is a popular sweet treat place in Nola. They whip up extravagant shakes that are photo worthy. Plus your sweet tooth will thank you.
It’s also a good place to go for you and your family to chit chat and relax after all those activities. I loved the banana fosters milkshake and my son loved the mint chocolate chip brownie shake.
The shakes are very rich and fulfilling. So, you may want to take a slow walk after.
Overall, we enjoyed our vacation. One of the places we didn’t have time to checkout was New Orleans Audubon aquarium. We heard nothing but good things. We just didn’t have time to fit it in.
There were plenty more things to do. And we plan on doing more on our next visit. I hope you find one of these activities to be a good choice for your family.
FOr more of my travel adventures, checkout my trip to Arizona.
