We love to visit cities just as much as we love to go to state parks, national parks and national forests. Finding campgrounds in a city is usually very difficult and sometimes non-existent. If you do find them, they’re usually very expensive as well. So, when I found the New Orleans KOA Holiday, I was ecstatic to see that it was reasonably priced and within the city limits of New Orleans.  

New Orleans KOA Holiday is in the southwest area of New Orleans and only 13 miles from the French Quarter. It’s right across the street from the Mississippi River which offers a bike/ walking trail along the river. It’s only 12 miles to City Park. The park is a must stop for those looking to get in some time with nature while visiting New Orleans. You can read our “guide” on what to do in New Orleans with children, here. 

Cost

Our nightly rate averaged out to $72.20. This included our 10% discount for being KOA Rewards members. This also includes the $3 extra per night, per child fee. 

Amenities

The site was a full hookup site and was completely paved. It was a wide concrete slab that was for both the rig and a camp side patio. The campground has a pool, playground, dog park, and laundry room to name a few. They also offer a concierge service and will book most tours you would like to do in New Orleans. There’s no extra fee for this service either. 

Another nice feature/ service is the shuttle to the French Quarters. They have their own van. One of the campground employees will drive you to the French Quarter and will pick you up. They have two different time slots that you can choose from. The cost was $15/ per person. 

I noticed many parking lots and facilities while on our sightseeing tour. Most of them were open air, so bigger trucks shouldn’t have a problem. I don’t know the prices of them. I would imagine they were about the same as paying for the shuttle. The shuttle offers a great advantage. You have peace of mind knowing your vehicle is safe back at the campground. 

The other advantage of the shuttle is you get a little history of the city from the driver’s perspective. Both our drivers were very knowledgeable about the city. They had both lived there for quite a while and were happy to share their suggestions and answer any questions. 

Grounds

New Orleans KOA Holiday is a smaller campground compared to other KOA’s we have been to. It’s two streets and just one loop. It’s actually a U as there is only one entrance and exit.  The grounds were always clean, and they were actively being maintained while we were there. The sites are somewhat spacious for the most part but not private. There wasn’t much grass between sites. Again, the concrete slab was also your patio. It sounds like that is for the better as the person who helped us into our site mentioned fire ants. We were there when it was a little cooler, so we didn’t notice any. 

The roads are all paved as well. They have a few potholes in them but from what we learned, New Orleans roads don’t last very long. It’s a constant struggle to keep the roads of New Orleans maintained. The roads are perfectly fine for RVs. I only mention this in case you have a child like us, who likes to skateboard or bike ride. 

Like most KOA’s we’ve stayed at, there is no gate. However, at night they do have a security guard at the front of the campground. This adds an extra layer of safety considering you are still right in the city. The campground itself was quiet at night though, and all our neighbors were very friendly. 

Cons

I don’t have many cons about our stay at the New Orleans KOA Holiday. The only thing I can think of is the noise. The airport is not very far away at all. You can hear every plane take off and land until late at night. It was cool seeing fighter jets take off from the airport though. Talk about loud noises. 

Trains were another constant noise maker. The campground is also around the corner from a rail yard. Apparently, the law requires locomotives to sound their horn 15-20 seconds before a road crossing. The required signal pattern is two long blasts, one short blast, and one long blast. This is fine, except there are a lot of road crossings as they leave the yard. It was cool at first, then annoying, then it became background noise. Just give it a couple of days.

Also, both noise makers went away at night. I would say around 11pm we would stop noticing both the trains and the airplanes. They would pick back up around 6 or 7 am though. We were able to sleep through everything though. 

Conclusion

All in all, we had a really nice stay at the New Orleans KOA Holiday. It was the perfect location for exploring the city. There are others closer and one right in or right outside the French Quarter. I believe that one sat below the interstate though. They were also much higher in price. 

Because it’s a KOA, we knew there would be stuff for our son to do. The playground, gaga pit, and giant connect 4 kept us entertained on the one day we hung around the campground. The pool seemed to be open, but it wasn’t as warm as we would’ve liked for us to go swimming. Their website did say it closed in November, but it seems that may change depending on weather. 

If you’re looking to explore New Orleans and want to stay close, or in this case in the city, the New Orleans KOA Holiday is a perfect place to call home. It’s not too far from I-10 and it’s easy to get to from the interstate. If we return to New Orleans, the KOA will be our go to. 

I hope you all enjoyed this review. If you did, please consider giving the post a like below. Also, feel free to comment if you stayed here or at another campground in New Orleans. 

You can also check out our post on things to do/ things we did in New Orleans, here. Our full YouTube is also available on that post. 

Until next time, God bless and stay safe!