New Orleans & Gulf Shores RV Itinerary With Kids
Updated: 11 hours ago
We’re taking our motorhome south for Thanksgiving! Our family RV itinerary brings together Nashville, five days in New Orleans, and some relaxation time on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, with four kids, our dog, and plenty of meals coming out of our little kitchen.
Music helped shape this trip. Our older boys both play multiple instruments and perform in several bands, including Jazz, so Nashville and New Orleans immediately caught our interest. Add Louisiana’s wetlands and a campground near the beaches and trails of Gulf Shores, and we have quite a bit to look forward to.
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This is our plan before traveling during Thanksgiving, in November 2026. I’ll update this same post with our experiences, photos, campground reviews, and the things we’d change after doing the trip ourselves.
Our RV route at a glance
We’re traveling in our 36-foot motorhome, and towing our car for outings once we’re settled at each campground.
Our route takes us from Cincinnati to Nashville for a weekend of hands-on music exhibits and unusual cars, then to New Orleans for four full days of live jazz, French Quarter exploring, and Louisiana’s wetlands, followed by three full days of beaches and coastal trails in Gulf Shores.
This plan makes this a 16-night trip.
Our original campground subtotal was $1,220, which needs updating for the flexible overnight stops, but for now, this is our approximate expense.
Why we chose Nashville, New Orleans, and Gulf Shores
Our two older boys are multi-instrumentalists. Between them, they play piano and percussion, including vibraphone, marimba, timpani, and drum set, and participate in University youth bands, marching band, and jazz bands.
That makes live music a personal part of this trip. I’m curious what they’ll notice when they hear musicians playing together in New Orleans, and what they’ll want to try in Nashville’s interactive music exhibits.
New Orleans also gives that music some context. Jazz developed there around the turn of the twentieth century, with Black musicians central to its development and influences from blues, ragtime, brass bands, and African and Caribbean musical traditions. The National Park Service’s history of early New Orleans jazz describes how closely music was connected to community life, celebrations, and parades.
Gulf Shores adds the outdoor time we love: beach walks, coastal habitats, and several days based in one campground. After our summer long RV trip across the U.S. and Canada, I’m excited to explore a different landscape together.
We’re hoping for comfortable weather in late November, but we’ll bring layers and let the forecast guide our beach plans.
Nashville with kids: our weekend plans
We’ll leave Cincinnati late on a school day, and choose somewhere to stay overnight along the way. Splitting the drive will make the start of the trip more manageable.
Saturday and Sunday give us time for two outings, vegan food, and some time at Nashville KOA Resort.
The interactive GRAMMY Museum Gallery
We’re planning to visit the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, particularly its GRAMMY Museum Gallery, which is included with museum admission.
The interactive activities are what caught our attention: visitors can experiment with instruments and explore recording, mixing, and other parts of making music.
Our older boys already spend plenty of time practicing and performing. Giving them a chance to explore the recording side and letting the younger two experiment alongside them feels like a good use of our Nashville afternoon.
Sunday: Lane Motor Museum
Lane Motor Museum is our other planned outing.
Its collection includes microcars, amphibious vehicles, prototypes, and unusual designs. I like the questions those vehicles raise: Why did someone build it that way? How does it work? Would any of us actually want to drive it?
We’d also like to catch one of the museum’s weekend vehicle demonstrations, depending on the program during our visit.
Afterward, we’ll grab lunch and leave room to enjoy the campground.
Vegan lunch in Nashville
We are aiming at exploring two restaurants that have entirely vegan food menus - first, we'll be visiting the Sunflower bakehouse, where they serve sandwiches, burgers, and various hot meals, but we're hoping to also try out the famous King Cake in its vegan version. The second restaurant is the BE Hive, which serves Deli sandwiches with house-made vegan meats and cheeses, plus items we can take back to the RV
We’ll check opening hours before visiting and share what we actually order after the trip.
Nashville attractions we considered and passed on
With a short stay, we narrowed the plans to the places that interested our family most:
National Museum of African American Music: We considered its connections to jazz and other musical genres, then prioritized the GRAMMY Gallery’s instrument-playing and recording activities. We'll still have vast Jazz experience in New Orleans, so hopefully, we won't regret passing on this one.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Historic RCA Studio B: These are separate locations; country music is a smaller interest for us, so we left both out.
Grand Ole Opry: Our musical preferences and limited time put it lower on the list.
The Parthenon and Centennial Park: The museum outings appealed more strongly to the kids.
Adventure Science Center and soundBox: We’ve enjoyed similar activities elsewhere, so we prioritized other experiences in the limited time we'll have.
John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge: We considered the views, and we might still be able to visit, but only if we end up with free time on our hands.
Choosing how much time to spend sightseeing versus enjoying the campground comes up on almost every trip; I’ve written more about that in our comparison of Jellystone and KOA campgrounds for families.
Breaking up the drive to New Orleans
We’ve allowed another overnight between Nashville and New Orleans.
We’re intentionally keeping its location flexible. Weather, traffic, and how everyone feels can change how far we want to drive, especially with the motorhome and towed car, and the flactuating chilly weather late in November.
Closer to departure, we’ll choose a suitable overnight stop along the route. I’ll add where we stay and how the driving split works out after the trip.
New Orleans with kids: our four-day itinerary
We’ve chosen five nights in New Orleans, giving us four full days for activities, separate from arriving and leaving.
That distinction matters with four kids. We want time for the places we’re excited about, meals everyone can eat, and breaks between outings.
Full day | Main plans | Vegan food plan |
Day 1: French Quarter and live jazz | Bourbon Street, Royal Street, Jackson Square, French Market, riverfront, and a possible Preservation Hall concert | Meals From the Heart for lunch and vegan beignets; dinner before the concert |
Day 2: Louisiana wetlands | Wetland Trace boardwalk in Jean Lafitte, followed by Thanksgiving at the campground | Packed lunch and our own Thanksgiving meal |
Day 3: City Park | Optional City Putt, then Celebration in the Oaks with Storyland, rides, and garden lights | Sweet Soulfood before the evening outing |
Day 4: Vue Orleans and Frenchmen Street | Interactive exhibits and city views, followed by dinner with live music at The Maison | Vegan jambalaya or a vegan hot-sausage po’boy |
We’ll adjust the order around weather and concert availability. The wetlands are our provisional Thanksgiving outing, and City Park’s holiday event opens during the latter part of our stay.
Day 1: French Quarter stops and Preservation Hall
Our French Quarter outing has a specific route, with food and music built into it.
We’ll begin with a short daytime look at Bourbon Street, then head along Royal Street toward St. Peter Street, browsing galleries and shop windows. If we come across musicians performing outside, we can stop and listen.
Next is Jackson Square, where we’ll see the artists around the square and St. Louis Cathedral from outside, before continuing toward the French Market.
The market is also our lunch stop. Meals From the Heart Cafe has a dedicated vegan menu, including artichoke-and-chickpea “krab” cakes, po’boys, and vegan beignets. It serves a mixed menu, so we’ll order specifically from the vegan section.
I want food to be part of exploring New Orleans, and finding vegan versions of local dishes is such a great culinary experience we look forward to together.
We’ll finish the walk beside the Mississippi River, with time for a break before any evening plans.
For a concert, Preservation Hall is our first choice. It welcomes all ages and presents short live-jazz performances in a dedicated music venue. Its café is next door; we’ll plan our meal separately.
The venue says it usually releases its schedule roughly two weeks before the performance month, so we’ll choose a show once the relevant tickets are available. We may move the concert to another day depending on the lineup.
Day 2: a bayou boardwalk and Thanksgiving at the campground
We want to spend part of this trip in Louisiana’s wetlands, and Wetland Trace in Jean Lafitte is our planned outing.
Its boardwalk passes through cypress swamp toward bayou and marsh, with benches, covered pavilions, and overlooks. We’ll take our time looking for wildlife, while keeping the walking distance flexible.
The landscape itself is the reason we’re going. Wildlife sightings will depend on conditions, and we’ll see what turns up.
One important planning detail: apparently, most of Barataria Preserve’s trails are currently closed for repairs, including Bayou Coquille. The National Park Service’s conditions page directs visitors to nearby Wetland Trace and lists the boardwalk as open daily. We’ll check for changes before driving out.
We’re keeping this as our lighter sightseeing day, with a packed lunch and Thanksgiving dinner back at the campground.
Having our kitchen with us makes holiday meals much easier. We can cook food everyone enjoys and eat when we’re ready, which is a pretty good arrangement with six people.
Day 3: Storyland and Celebration in the Oaks
Celebration in the Oaks opens on November 27, 2026, during our New Orleans stay.
We’re planning its walking experience, which currently advertises access to Storyland, Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, and the Botanical Garden, along with unlimited rides, including the holiday train. We’ll confirm the ticket inclusions when booking.
Storyland is mostly for our younger two. Combining it with rides and lights gives the rest of the family more to enjoy alongside them.
We may add a round at City Putt beforehand if everyone feels like playing mini-golf. That would be an optional extra with separate admission.
For food, we’re considering Sweet Soulfood on North Broad Street. Its vegan food makes it an appealing stop for our family, and its current opening hours mean we’ll need to eat before the evening event. We’ll check the holiday schedule and bring vegan snacks for later.
Day 4: Vue Orleans and live music on Frenchmen Street
Our final full day starts with Vue Orleans.
Its activities include a ship-navigation simulator and interactive displays about the city, followed by panoramic views from the observation deck. Much of the interaction is digital, so we’re approaching this as a chance to try the activities together and get a different perspective on the city and river.
This is also the indoor outing we can move earlier if rain changes our outdoor plans.
Later, we’ll head to Frenchmen Street for dinner and an early live-music set at The Maison.
Its posted menu lists vegan jambalaya and a vegan hot-sausage po’boy. That gives us actual meals to order while listening to the band, and we’ll recheck availability before reserving.
The Maison welcomes children before its late-night age restriction, although some ticketed shows have separate rules. We’ll choose a suitable early set once the calendar is available; traditional jazz and swing are part of its usual earlier programming.
An evening eating together while hearing musicians play feels like a good way to finish our time in New Orleans.
What we decided to skip in New Orleans
We considered the New Orleans Jazz Museum, but its exhibit-focused visit felt like a weaker fit for this trip than live performances and interactive activities.
The Jazz National Historical Park program we found for our dates was a ranger talk, so we left it out of the main plan.
We also passed on Audubon Park, with City Park already giving us a substantial park outing, and Mardi Gras World, because float-making ranked lower among our family’s interests.
Those decisions leave us more time for the experiences we’re actually excited about.
Gulf Shores with kids: beaches and coastal trails
After New Orleans, we’ll head to Gulf State Park Campground in Alabama.
Our current outline allows four nights here, although we’re still reconciling the coast stay with the extra New Orleans night. We want enough time to explore and return to a beach or trail the kids particularly enjoy.
The campground is near Middle Lake, approximately 1.5 miles from the beach, so we’ll use our car for beach outings and choose walks from the park’s trail map.
Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion
The Beach Pavilion gives us an access point for time on the sand, a shoreline walk, and a picnic.
We’ll let the weather decide how much time we spend there. I can quite happily picture a beach afternoon with everyone in sweatshirts.
Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail
We’re looking at Rosemary Dunes and the Gopher Tortoise Trail within the Backcountry Trail network.
The park has paved paths and boardwalks through several coastal habitats. We’ll choose manageable sections using the trail map, accounting for parking and the walk back.
Being able to shorten or extend a walk is useful with our family, especially when someone discovers something worth stopping for.
Lake Shelby and Gulf State Park Pier
Lake Shelby is another possible stop for a walk and birdwatching, potentially paired with a nearby trail.
We’d also like to visit the Gulf State Park Pier for views of the shoreline and time watching the water and seabirds.
Our provisional coast plan is simple:
Day | What we’d like to do |
First full day | Beach Pavilion and a possible pier visit |
Second full day | A Backcountry Trail walk and lakeside stop |
We’ll rearrange those outings around wind, rain, and how everyone feels.
Vegan meals during our RV trip
Eating out is part of the trip, and having our kitchen along makes the rest easier.
We’ll keep familiar meals available for travel days, pack lunch for the wetlands, and plan our Thanksgiving meal at the campground. For the city outings, we’ve identified places with specific vegan dishes so we can build meals into the day.
My plant-based RV pantry system explains how I organize ingredients for family travel, and these vegan one-pot meals for RV camping offer practical options for evenings back at the bus.
I’ll add the restaurants we try, what everyone orders, and which meals work particularly well on this route.
Returning home through Birmingham and Bowling Green
Our return route currently includes Birmingham South RV Park in Pelham, followed by Bowling Green KOA Holiday before heading home to Cincinnati.
We’re planning two nights near Birmingham to break up the journey, with that day’s activities still open. The final dates will depend on how we adjust the route after adding the extra New Orleans night.
Next up: taking this plan on the road
🚌 I’ll update this post live, as we travel, sharing our experiences and how the plans work for our family, including: 🏕️ The campgrounds: our experience staying with four kids and our dog. 🎷 The outings: what holds everyone’s interest, from our youngest to our teens. 🌱 The food: vegan meals we try, cook in our RV, and places we’d return to. 🗺️ The changes: what we skip, discover, or decide to do differently.
Have you explored New Orleans or Gulf Shores with kids? Tell me what your family loved in the comments - I’m still making room for good suggestions! 🙂
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