Road Trippin'- 5 Great Trips from Tulane

Because so many of our students come from great distances to attend Tulane (the average incoming freshman will travel 940 miles!), one really cool part of being a Tulanian is the ability you will have to explore a totally new and different part of America by way of the good 'ol college road trip. In this blog, I will give you five great Tulane road trips which I participated in during my time as an undergraduate here. This post was brought about based on my weekend a few weeks ago, Memorial Day, which I spent in arguably the most popular Tulane road trip destination, Pensacola Beach, FL. The Gulf South, and the South in general, offer some incredible spots and weekend trips. Everywhere from Memphis to Dallas to Baton Rouge to Gulfport/Biloxi, there are some incredible sights, sounds, (football games!) and trips to be had in this great region of Americana.

So, crank up a road trip play list (or, if you were in college back in the 2000s like I was, burn a road trip CD), gas up your car, and grab a group of your friends to head out on these great trips, all an easy drive from New Orleans.

Here I am with former admission staffer Kasey
in Navarre Beach, right next to Pensacola Beach.

1) Pensacola Beach, FL- This one is probably the most popular Tulane road trip. Pensacola Beach, located on the very western point of the Florida Panhandle, is only a three hour drive away from Tulane. Now, I have been to a number of beaches in my day, ranging from the west coast to the Caribbean, and let me tell you one thing- Pensacola Beach tops them all. If you haven't been, you may balk at that statement, but I will assure you, you will be hard pressed to find waters as blue and sand as sugary white as you'll see in Pensacola. It seems odd, but if you have been, you can attest; Pensacola is beautiful. There are a number of great hotels and condos that are easy to rent for Tulane students over a weekend or Spring Break. Pensacola (and Destin, the beach a bit past Pensacola) are also very popular places for Tulane's fraternities to spend their spring formals. For the past 25 years, my fraternity has rented a block of rooms at a hotel somewhere near Pensacola, and the whole group and their dates head to the beach for a great weekend. Pensacola is also home to some great restaurants, the National Naval Aviation Museum, (if you have a rainy day (or even if not) go check it out, you will be wildly impressed) and a very popular LGBT Memorial Day celebration.

The fishing in Gulf Shores is great! 

2) Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, AL- These twin beach towns around two and a half hours from Tulane are also very popular with Tulane students. This area of the Alabama coast is truly were you will find some of the best southern hospitality anywhere. You'll get the same beautiful beaches you find in Pensacola, coupled with some incredible sporting activities. The area is known for great golfing as well as some of the best deep-sea fishing off the Gulf Coast. I was there a few years ago and caught some pretty amazing red fish. There are two can't-miss spots: One is the Florabama, a.k.a. the last great American Roadhouse. The other is LuLu's at Homeport, a great little marina restaurant owned by the sister of the King of the Gulf Coast, Jimmy Buffett.


3) Austin, TX- I have always considered Austin to be the New Orleans of Texas. It's funky, fun, has great food and awesome music, kind of like us. It is around 8 hours from New Orleans, so its a solid, but worth it, road trip. You will inevitably have a friend or two from Austin that goes to Tulane, and over some fall break, spring break, Hurrication or long weekend, you'll want to accept their invitation to head to Austin for a weekend. Bourbon Street becomes 6th street, the fly becomes Baron Springs, and you'll trade in your flip flops for cowboy boots. I went a few times in college and always had a blast. You can spend your whole weekend eating exclusively at food trucks and you'll be glad you did.

A few of my buddies and me in Barton Springs

4) Lafayette, LA- Lafayette is the ultimate center of Cajun culter and life in Louisiana, and the whole USA for that matter. It is only three hours from New Orleans, and is a great spot to spend the weekend checking out some of the stuff that makes this place famous: Boudain Sausage, Zydeco Music and the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. It's actually the largest swamp in America, and its a blast. A few years ago, a bunch of my fraternity brothers and I rented two huge houseboats and drove them way out in the bayou, and spent the weekend out in the swamp fishing, eating and relaxing. When I say you'll get to experience the different culture down here, I really mean it! Beware of the gators... or don't; gator hunting (and eating) is a just a regular part of life down here.

Here are the house boats we rented outside Lafayette out in the swamp. It was really fun. 

Here we are hiking in Tuinca Falls,
near St. Francisville

5) River Road and St. Francisville, LA- If you are more in the mood for a historical and gorgeous road trip, this is the one for you. Tulane is located a few hundred yards from the mighty Mississippi River, a river both known for its historic precedence and its modern infrastructural. River Road parallels the Mississippi River and is dotted with some of the most incredible plantation homes you will ever see. You can spend a few days perusing the historic homes which date back hundreds of years to the Antebellum south; each has their own history and beauty. The most famous are the Destrahan Plantation and Oak Alley, where Interview With the Vampire was filmed. Both are just a short drive from Tulane. Should you continue on River Road for a few hours, eventually you'll reach historic St. Francisville. It's a very cool old southern town home to many famous plantations. Nearby is Tunica Falls, a great and challenging waterfall hike that my friends and I tackled two summers ago. If you take the "primitive trail," be prepared for a serious hike!



There are a bunch of great places I didn't include here, so there is definitely room for a Road Trip Part II blog coming someday. That would include spots like Fairhope, AL, Lake Martin in Alabama, Destin, FL and a number of other great places. For now, enjoy these five great destinations. Enjoy the trip!

Another one out in the swamp near Lafayette 

Here is my buddy Jeff and I at Oak Alley a few years ago.