New Orleans Day Trips in 6 Days on a Budget
Six Days: The Full River Road, Baton Rouge and Lafayette Loop
Six days from New Orleans covers the full core loop: the swamp tour, Oak Alley and Whitney on separate days, then Baton Rouge and Lafayette as their own day trips, one rental car carrying you through all four driving days without a second pickup.
Shorter or longer trip? The 4-day itinerary stops after Whitney Plantation; the 7-day version adds a Gulf Coast beach day on top of this same spine. The New Orleans day trips guide covers the full cost math behind each stop.
Book these before you go:
- Jean Lafitte swamp tour with hotel pickup : from $32 a person; book ahead March through August.
- Oak Alley entry tickets : $27 grounds-only or $30 with the Big House tour.
- Whitney Plantation tickets : $25 self-guided audio or $32 guided.
- Rental car pickup at MSY : keep the same car through Day 6, this trip needs it for four separate days.
| Day | Focus | Distance / drive time | Cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive, settle, pick up rental car | - | Rental from $37-38/day |
| 2 | Jean Lafitte swamp tour | 15 mi / 25-30 min | $32-90, plus $30 for pickup |
| 3 | Oak Alley Plantation | River Road, ~65 min | $27-30 |
| 4 | Whitney Plantation | River Road, ~65 min | $25-32 |
| 5 | Baton Rouge (State Capitol) | 80 mi / 1-1.5 hrs | Free deck, gas and parking |
| 6 | Lafayette, Cajun Country, then depart | 135 mi / 2h15 | Meals plus attraction entries |
Day 1: Land, Settle, and Pick Up the Rental Car
Check into a hotel with self-parking or a nearby garage; four of your next five days involve driving out and back. Pick up the rental car this afternoon so Day 2 starts moving instead of waiting at a counter. Confirm your swamp tour pickup time, then keep the night simple. The full city guide covers French Quarter and Garden District detail for a fuller first evening.
Day 2: Jean Lafitte Swamp Tour, There and Back
A short drive or hotel pickup reaches Barataria Preserve in Marrero for a 1 hour 45 minute pontoon tour, from $32 a person, through the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park wetlands. Airboat operators run $90 or more for a faster, louder ride with less actual wildlife-viewing time. Back in the city by early afternoon, with three River Road and gateway-city days still ahead.
Day 3: Oak Alley Plantation, the Oak Canopy Day
The drive out on Highway 18 takes about 65 minutes. Grounds-only admission is $27; add the Big House tour for $30 to see the antebellum interior behind the quarter-mile live-oak canopy. Give it 90 minutes to two hours, then head back for an evening off from driving before tomorrow’s second River Road day.
Day 4: Whitney Plantation, a Different Story Entirely
Whitney sits about 65 minutes out on the same River Road corridor as Oak Alley, but the visit is not a repeat. The self-guided audio tour ($25) or guided version ($32) center the entire experience on the enslaved people who worked the plantation, using first-person accounts and memorials rather than a planter-family house tour. Whitney’s visitor info has current hours and ticket tiers.
Day 5: Baton Rouge and the Free Capitol Deck
Baton Rouge is 80 miles and 1 to 1.5 hours via I-10. The Louisiana State Capitol, the tallest state capitol building in the country, has a free observation deck; check its current status before you drive out, since the deck has closed for renovation work in the past. The Old State Capitol and LSU’s campus round out a half-day, and you’re back in New Orleans by dinner.
Day 6: Lafayette and Cajun Country, Then Depart
Lafayette is 135 miles and roughly 2 hours 15 minutes via I-10 direct, a genuinely different food culture from New Orleans’s Creole cooking. Vermilionville and Acadian Village recreate 18th and 19th century Acadian life, and boudin, cracklins and zydeco round out the visit before the drive back for your flight out. Return the rental car with a full tank; MSY-area gas runs at a premium.
Should Baton Rouge and Lafayette be combined into one day?
No, not if you want to see either properly. Baton Rouge alone takes a half-day for the Capitol deck, the Old State Capitol and LSU’s campus; driving another hour and 15 minutes to Lafayette the same day leaves almost no time in Cajun Country before everything closes for the evening. Keep them on separate days.
Visit Baton Rouge’s Capitol page and Lafayette Travel’s listings both lay out current hours before you commit to either day.
How much does a rental car for six days actually cost?
A compact car for six days typically runs $220 to $250 total including gas, well under six separate guided day-tour prices, which would easily clear $600 to $800 per person across the same stops. The math favors renting once you’re covering four driving days instead of just one.
Pack a printed map for River Road and the Lafayette drive. Cell coverage drops out in stretches on both routes, and a missed turn off I-10 can add 20 minutes you don’t have on a departure day.