New Orleans in 3 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
Three days in New Orleans: the budget version
Three days extends the 2-day plan with a third day built around the cemetery question every visitor eventually asks: pay roughly $33 for the mandatory St Louis Cemetery No. 1 guide, or walk in free at No. 3 or Metairie instead. It adds the riverfront, a cheap ferry ride, and a second live-music neighborhood, no rental car anywhere on the plan. Day one and two run the same $35-95 as the shorter version; day three adds $25-75 depending on which cemetery option you pick.
| Day | Focus | Rough spend (1 person, excl. lodging) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Jackson Square, St Louis Cathedral, French Market, Frenchmen Street | $35-55 |
| Day 2 | St Charles streetcar, Garden District, National WWII Museum, Preservation Hall | $75-95 |
| Day 3 | Cemetery choice, Woldenberg Park, Canal St Ferry, Bywater/Marigny | $25-75 |
Book these before you go:
- National WWII Museum ticket : a multi-building campus, not a quick stop; buy ahead to skip the box-office line.
- St Louis Cemetery No. 1 guided tour : mandatory if you want this specific cemetery, about $33, no walk-in option at any price.
- Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery walking tour : the practical way to see Lafayette No. 1’s tombs from the gates while it’s closed to independent access.
- Preservation Hall: no advance ticket exists for general admission, arrive 30-45 minutes early instead (preservationhall.com ).
Getting in without overspending
MSY airport sits about 15 miles from the Quarter. A taxi runs a flat $36 for 1-2 riders (dropping to $15 a person for 3+), rideshare runs $35-55, and the cheapest option is the RTA 202 Airport Express bus, $1.25 flat fare, about 43 minutes to Canal Street, though it’s a daytime-only service, so check the schedule against your flight time on norta.com . Skip a rental car for all three days; nothing on this plan needs one.
Day 1: French Quarter, free and cheap
Start at Jackson Square, free, any hour, then St Louis Cathedral, free, open 9:30am-4pm daily. Walk the French Market for a free browse, then beignets at Cafe du Monde, $3.60-5.43 for three, cash only, and note it closes nightly (11pm Sunday-Thursday, midnight Friday-Saturday), not a 24-hour spot. Lunch is a po’boy, $8.50-15. Spend the afternoon on Royal Street’s free galleries rather than Bourbon Street’s daytime bar strip. In the evening, Frenchmen Street’s clubs run free at the door in the Marigny; tip the band $5-10 a set, cash.
Day 2: Garden District, streetcar, and the one paid splurge
Ride the St Charles Streetcar, $1.25 or a $3 day pass, into the Garden District. Walk Prytania Street and Washington Avenue’s mansions for free; Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 stays closed to independent access in 2026, viewable from the gates on a guided tour if that interests you. Browse Magazine Street at no cost, then spend the afternoon at the National WWII Museum , $36 adult, a half-day-minimum campus. In the evening, Preservation Hall, $15-20 standing, arrive early, or a budget dinner instead.
Day 3: The cemetery choice, the river, and Bywater
Morning is the cemetery decision. Pay roughly $33 for a licensed guide into St Louis Cemetery No. 1, mandatory since 2015 and the more famous of the two, or walk in free at St Louis Cemetery No. 3 or Metairie Cemetery, both open to independent visitors at no charge. Either way, spend the afternoon at Woldenberg Park along the Mississippi riverfront, free, then cross to Algiers Point on the Canal Street Ferry, a cheap round trip with a skyline view worth the fare. In the evening, wander the Marigny and Bywater for a second, quieter live-music strip than Frenchmen Street, and a cheap dinner away from the Quarter’s tourist pricing.
Is a paid cemetery tour worth it on a budget trip?
Only if the history genuinely interests you. St Louis Cemetery No. 1 holds Marie Laveau’s reputed tomb and the oldest above-ground crypts in the city, worth the $33 guide fee for a specific reason to see it. If you just want the above-ground-tomb experience generally, St Louis Cemetery No. 3 or Metairie Cemetery deliver it for free.
Do these three days need a rental car?
No. The streetcar, the ferry, and walking cover everything here, and French Quarter and Garden District parking cost more than the transit fares for the whole trip combined. Save the rental car for a separate day-trip plan; the New Orleans as a base guide covers exactly that.
Carry cash for the ferry, the cemetery guide’s tip, and the Frenchmen and Bywater bands; three days at these prices runs a genuinely affordable trip. For more room, the 5-day plan adds a full food-and-neighborhoods day on top of this same spine.