The perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip takes you between two of the most unique cities in the United States.
A 510-mile Austin to New Orleans road trip will take you from the Capital city of Texas, along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and across Louisiana. You will pass historic towns and cities brimming with culture unique to the region, and stunning lakes and natural areas filled with its iconic wildlife, as you travel through the Deep South to “The Big Easy”, New Orleans.
If you want to plan the perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip itinerary to make this a dream vacation, we strongly suggest reading on.
A Perfect Austin To New Orleans Road Trip: How Far Is It, How Long Will It Take To Get There & What Is The Best Route?
A perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip covers 510 miles and takes 8 hours to drive. The best route for this drive is also the shortest, quickest option, and one that is very easy to follow.
You begin by heading south on I-35 to the edge of the city limits, where you will use Exit 230 to join Texas State Highway 71 going southeast. Follow this to the town of Glidden, where you will merge onto the I-10 going east. You then simply follow this for the remaining 420 miles to your destination in New Orleans.
Best Time For The Perfect Austin To New Orleans Road Trip
The best time for a perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip is between early February and late May. This period will avoid hurricane season, which hits the Gulf of Mexico between June and October, and have you traveling when the region experiences nice warm weather that is not too hot.
It also gives you the chance to be in New Orleans during one of its most legendary events, the Mardi Gras festival, which takes place between late February and early March every year. It also ensures you will avoid the overly large crowds that develop throughout the rest of your route during the summer.
For those who don’t want to travel during this window, another great time to drive to New Orleans is late October. That’s because it has similar weather conditions to our original suggestion at this time, and New Orleans is also known as one of the very best places to spend Halloween in the United States, especially if you are interested in ghost tours.
Best Places To Stop On An Austin To New Orleans Road Trip
With a perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip taking 8 hours to drive, some people will consider driving it in one go. However, we recommend making at least one extended stop on the journey to ensure you have enough time to take in all of the sights and sounds along the way. While there are several good places where you could do just that, there is one better than any other, and that is Houston, Texas.
Houston, Texas
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the 4th most populous in the United States overall. This, combined with its location near the middle of the route, makes Houston a great option for breaking the drive into two reasonably sized stretches. Situated on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, it is a city bursting with stunning natural locations, historic landmarks, and entertainment attractions for you to explore.
Perhaps its most famous attraction is the headquarters of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Road trippers interested in space can learn about topics including outer space, how rockets work, and what we have discovered about our galaxy, while exploring one of the most famous sites linked to space exploration on Earth. You can even utter the infamous “Houston, we have a problem” line on site if you like.
Outside of this, attractions like some of the best beaches in the Deep South, an incredible selection of fabulous restaurants and food trucks serving traditional southern and Mexican cuisines, including The Houston Sauce Pit, which frequently ranks as the best vegan BBQ in Texas, and even bars and various other amenities, mean no Austin to New Orleans road trip is complete without a stop in Houston.
Best Hotel To Stay At In Houston, Texas – The Lancaster Hotel
The Lancaster Hotel is a stunning 4-star hotel in Downtown Houston that’s listed as both a Historic Hotel of America and a Texas Historical Landmark. Each of its beautiful, spacious rooms is beautifully decorated and equipped with comfortable furniture, a seating area with a sofa, a flat-screen TV, a work desk, ironing facilities, air conditioning, and high-speed Wi-Fi that’s also available throughout the hotel.
In the communal areas, you will find a fitness centre, a bar, a coffee shop, and a restaurant serving American cuisine. A choice of a complimentary breakfast buffet or a cooked-to-order breakfast is offered every morning, and car and multilingual concierge services are available to provide all you need to explore Houston in style.
Top Attractions On An Austin To New Orleans Road Trip
Cedar Creek, Texas
Cedar Creek is a wonderful small town, not too far from Austin, with plenty to offer for those who love the great outdoors. McKinney Roughs Nature Park offers scenic hiking and cycling trails and a science centre where you can learn about the local wildlife.
The Dinosaur Park is an outdoor museum and sculpture park featuring both scale and full-size replicas of the many dinosaur species that once inhabited the area, as well as countless informative displays and a varied, affordable gift shop. Zip Lost Pines then provides a high-octane experience where visitors can soar high through the trees on zipwires.
The Gas Station, Bastrop, Texas
The Gas Station is a unique attraction that will appeal greatly to fans of Horror movies and BBQ, as it is the gas station from the original 1974 movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”. Having fallen into dilapidation, it has since been renovated and turned into a horror museum by Ari Lehman, the actor who played the original Jason Voorhees in the 1980 movie “Friday the 13th”.
Complete with fresh BBQ just like in the film, it provides a great opportunity for passers-by to grab some tasty refreshments for the long drive ahead, pick up some souvenirs, and snap some photos of the many cool horror displays set up at this iconic horror location. Anyone with a little more time on their hands can even rent one of the on-site cabins and treat themselves to a once-in-a-lifetime horror experience.
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a medium-sized city on the Texas-Louisiana border established as a pioneer settlement in 1838. One of the most historically significant places in the United States, the Spindletop Gusher was discovered here in 1901, leading to the unearthing of a ginormous underground oil field that sparked the nation’s evolution into one powered by oil.
Anyone interested in the famed Texas oil industry will be delighted by attractions like the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, where you can see a recreation of a local town at the beginning of the Texas oil boom, and the historic McFaddin-Ward House, which has been turned into a museum demonstrating how the pioneers of the Texas oil industry lived.
Even if you aren’t interested in learning about the Texas oil industry, attractions like The Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Dishman Art Museum, and countless historic buildings make Beaumont an ideal place for those who appreciate Texas’s artistic and architectural legacy.
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles was established in 1861 and has grown into the sixth-largest and fifth-most populous city in Louisiana. One of the most important cultural, educational, and industrial hubs in the state, it is particularly famed for its collection of scenic aquatic areas, which draws people from far and wide to engage in activities such as boating, fishing, and swimming.
Another huge draw to Lake Charles for many is its links to the gambling industry, as it is home to some of the best casinos and card rooms in the Deep South, including legendary establishments such as Horseshoe Lake Charles and Golden Nugget Lake Charles.
Other popular attractions in Lake Charles include the Mardi Gras Museum, where you can learn about the festival our final destination is synonymous with, the 1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center, and the Imperial Calcasieu Museum. These will help you delve into the art, culture, and history of both Lake Charles and the surrounding region.
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is the 4th most populous and 5th largest city in Louisiana, the largest city in Acadiana, a region best known as Cajun Country, and was ranked the happiest city in the nation in 2014. It was established in 1821 as Vermilionville, before changing its name in 1884 to honour General Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, a French nobleman who assisted George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.
It is home to a diverse population that includes two of the biggest Cajun and Creole communities in the United States. This makes Lafayette a great place to learn more about these two unique and distinctive cultures. Countless historic houses and churches, as well as the LARC Acadian Village, which features a complete recreation of a 19th-century settler village in the area, provide plenty of opportunities for a first-hand learning experience.
Other popular attractions in Lafayette include the Lafayette Museum and Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum. Being the location of the 2nd biggest university in the state, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and its large student population, gives the city a vibrant, youthful feel. Add in its countless bars, shops, and restaurants that all exude the region’s unique culture, and it's easily one of the best places to stop on an Austin to New Orleans road trip.
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,000-acre wildlife preserve on the banks of the Atchafalaya River and a perfect spot to get out of your car and enjoy a bit of nature on an Austin to New Orleans road trip. Founded in 1986, it was created to preserve the unique habitats of the region, which includes beautiful bayous and enormous trees, as well as the diverse array of wildlife that calls them home.
This includes more than 200 species of birds, like American woodcocks, bald eagles, Mississippi kites, ospreys, swallow-tailed kites, and wood ducks, over 85 species of fish, such as bluegill, channel catfish, crappie, crayfish, largemouth bass, red ear sunfish, and warmouth, and amphibians, mammals, and reptiles including beavers, bobcats, coyotes, coypus, deer, foxes, Louisiana black bears, minks, muskrats, opossums, otters, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, and squirrels.
It has developed a reputation as an extremely popular destination for activities like birdwatching, hunting, fishing, photography, trapping, and research.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital, third-largest, and second-most populous city in Louisiana, and its founding in 1699 makes it the oldest city in the state, as well as one of the oldest in the nation. Located on the east bank of the Mississippi River in south-central Louisiana, Baton Rouge has a unique culture that is a blend of Cajun and Creole you’re unlikely to find elsewhere, creating a one-of-a-kind experience.
Its architecture, museums, art, history, bars, restaurants, and cuisine are all dripping in this unique Baton Rouge culture, making it an experience that is easy to embrace. It also offers a great selection of attractions not linked to its culture, including the Louisiana State Capitol, which differs greatly from the types of buildings you will find in most other capital cities across the country.
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain covers 631 square miles, making it the tenth-largest natural lake in the United States by area and the fourth-largest located in one state. It is also crossed by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which is the longest continuous bridge over water on Earth at 23.88 miles. This makes it a final stop on an Austin to New Orleans road trip that will be enjoyable for all kinds of people.
You could make a scenic drive across the causeway to take in the stunning panoramic views as you go, with the shoreline barely visible in any direction. Alternatively, you could explore the shoreline itself and embrace its wildlife and lake views before you get to the big city.
Final Thoughts On The Perfect Austin To New Orleans Road Trip
That concludes our guide to planning the perfect Austin to New Orleans road trip itinerary. You should now know when to travel, what route to use, how long it will take, where to stay, and all of the things to see along the way to make it a dream vacation. If you need help deciding what to do in Austin before you leave or the best places to stay in New Orleans when you arrive, we have guides dedicated to helping you out there as well.
All you have left to do now is decide what to take with you, and then you can start getting everything budgeted for and booked. Then you can sit back and look forward to enjoying it all for yourself as soon as possible.
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