Mississipi River & Southern States

funkydresser

Has anyone ever visited the Southern States of USA, if so could you please tell me of the do's and don'ts.

Aso its been my dream to travel aboard a Paddle Steamer on the Mississipi River any information regarding this would be gratefully accepted.

bcl999

Only been to Georgia, I'm afraid, but loved it and would go back in a a second.

Don't they teach the ditty "mi-SS-i-SS-i-PP-i" nowadays? It's a great help in remembering the correct spelling.

nw_man

funkydresser wrote: »

Has anyone ever visited the Southern States of USA, if so could you please tell me of the do's and don'ts.

Aso its been my dream to travel aboard a Paddle Steamer on the Mississipi River any information regarding this would be gratefully accepted.

Had 5 days in New Orleans in January, including a trip on a Mississippi paddle steamer, what do you want to know exactly ?

funkydresser

Thanks for your response

Can you let me know who you booked your Paddle Steamer trip with?
Is New Orleans safe at nights, I have heard a few different stories?
How far from hotel in New Orleans to the Paddle Steamer?

What else did you do in New Orleans?

kaspar

i went to New Orleans and had a brief road trip to Baton Rouge and somewhere in Mississippi.

New Orleans is great, lovely town. Think you will be fine at night. I wandered around late at night and had no problems in the downtown.

I recommend going on one of the swamp tours where you see alligators on one of those boats powered by a huge fan. They are about 20 mins outside of New Orleans and will collect you from your hotel.

Other attractions seem to include huge old country houses where they used to have cotton plantations etc.

nw_man

funkydresser wrote: »

Thanks for your response

Can you let me know who you booked your Paddle Steamer trip with?
Is New Orleans safe at nights, I have heard a few different stories?
How far from hotel in New Orleans to the Paddle Steamer?

What else did you do in New Orleans?

The paddle steamer is easy to sort. Go to the riverfront not far from Harrahs casino/hotel and they have a booth. If I recall correctly its called the Natchez or something similar. You really cannot miss it.

Think its about $25 per person or similar for a 2-3 hour trip up and down. You can also buy a ticket that includes lunch onboard if required.

We enjoyed it.

You ask how far is it from the hotel to the paddle steamer... well I have no idea what hotel you are staying in ! We stayed at Wyndham Riverfront ( about 10 mins walk from the French Quarter ), and its about 10 mins also to the steamer jetty.

Can also recommend the hotel.

Is New Orleans safe at night ? Are you going to be walking around with your wallet / handbag waiving high in the air shouting ' I'M A TOURIST ' ? I think its probably not safe then, no.

But, if you are sensible and take the usual precautions then its fine. We had no problems.

sunshinetours

Been down to Mississippi and stayed in Jackson area and travelled down to New Orleans for a day or so. Some lovely areas and some not so great areas as with anywhere. New orleans should be fine if you stick to the touristy areas at night and foolow the usual common sense rules that should apply to anywhere in the world (not woakking around waving your money or rolex on your arm for instance)

Depending on where you are from and what you are used to just be prepared for a very different outlook on life to say urban UK areas. We saw chain gangs on the side of the road, we drove into a mall car park near Jackson and were told we were in the wrong mall and should be the other side of town lucky by a friendly black man (and yes the colour is very relevant as you may be able to guess why we were at the "wrong" mall apparently)

Probably researching a bit of local culture before you go won't do any harm as there is still very much a black and white divide in many areas of the deep south

funkydresser

Thanks all for your helpful comments, I am so looking forward to going ton the paddle steamer. Does anyone know the best time of year as regards to humidity etc.

kaspar

funkydresser wrote: »

Does anyone know the best time of year as regards to humidity etc.

this should help,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT001370

torbrex

I spent 9 days over the New Year period in New Orleans a few years ago (before Katrina) and had a very relaxing time.
There are plenty of organised tours, I can def recommend the swamp and the graveyard tours. There are also quite a few museums with the D-Day and Louisiana State museums worth a look. The Audubon Aquarium on the riverfront is ok, I did not go to the zoo but heard good reports.
The nightlife in the French Quarter is vibrant and there is a wealth of restaurant and bars with live music every day.
If you go at Mardi Gras time be prepared for steep price rises and huge crowds, if not you can still see the floats at the museum on Newton st.

N9eav

funkydresser wrote: »

Thanks all for your helpful comments, I am so looking forward to going ton the paddle steamer. Does anyone know the best time of year as regards to humidity etc.

The summer is always hot hot hot, Autumn is nice and cheaper too, say end of sept-oct
The people in the south are very friendly and the food is just..... very fattening ... but delicious. Fried is the order of the day...

Fly to Atlanta cheaply and drive up to Chattanooga and Nashville. Just a thought