Carnival 2027 in New Orleans runs from Twelfth Night, Wednesday 6 January, to Fat Tuesday, 9 February 2027, according to New Orleans & Company, the city's official visitor guide. The season starts quietly and builds, and the last week before Fat Tuesday brings the superkrewe parades, the balls and the biggest crowds of the year. On those days, getting from the airport, your hotel and a dinner reservation to the right side of a parade route is the whole game.
Elly8.net books Mardi Gras transportation the way people who come back every year do it: a chauffeur at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), a car by the hour on parade nights with drop-offs and pickups planned outside the closed streets, and an Executive Sprinter when the group is large. New Orleans prices are fixed and all-in, and the price list does not change for Carnival.
How do you get around New Orleans during Mardi Gras?
On parade days, on foot for the last few blocks and by car for everything else. Parades close their routes for hours, so a pre-booked chauffeur drops you on the near side of the route and collects you at an agreed corner afterwards. Taxis and app rides are scarce when a parade ends, which is when a waiting car is worth most.
The problem is simple to describe and hard to solve on the night. A parade takes over a long stretch of street for hours, side streets fill with people, and crossing the route by car is not an option until it clears. Taxis and app rides converge on the same few open streets as a parade ends, and app pricing follows demand. Parking near the routes is limited and closely enforced during the season.
A chauffeur already parked on your side of the route, a few blocks from your viewing spot, solves most of it: you walk to the meeting corner and the car takes the open streets to your hotel or to dinner, at a price fixed when you booked.
See New Orleans prices and reserve
The 2027 Carnival calendar
The official visitor guide lists the season from 6 January to 9 February 2027, and its Mardi Gras parade schedule already shows the 2027 parades by date, with a note that final 2027 parade dates and routes are still to come. On the current listing:
- Twelfth Night, 6 January. The Phunny Phorty Phellows, the Joan of Arc parade and other early krewes open the season.
- Late January weekends. Krewe du Vieux and krewedelusion are listed for Saturday 23 January, followed by parades on 24, 29, 30 and 31 January.
- The final stretch, 3 to 9 February. The listing shows Druids on Wednesday 3 February, Muses on Thursday 4 February, Hermes, Le Krewe d'Etat and Morpheus on Friday 5 February, Iris, Tucks and Endymion on Saturday 6 February, Thoth and Bacchus on Sunday 7 February, Proteus and Orpheus on Lundi Gras, Monday 8 February, and Zulu and Rex on Fat Tuesday, 9 February.
The last weekend and Fat Tuesday are when hotels fill and every car in the city is busy, so book the airport legs and the parade nights together, and early. The desk adjusts pickup times once the schedule is confirmed.
For official information on routes and on traffic and transportation impacts during the season, the City of New Orleans publishes a Mardi Gras page through NOLA Ready, with a parade tracker and guidance for spending the day along the route.
Arriving at MSY for Carnival
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is in Kenner, about 16 miles (26 km) from the French Quarter, roughly 26 minutes on a clear road along I-10. On the Friday and Saturday before Fat Tuesday, and on Ash Wednesday when everyone leaves, the road and the terminal are far busier than that.
Your chauffeur tracks your flight, meets you inside arrivals with a name board, helps at the carousel and walks you to the car. Waiting is complimentary after a tracked landing, which matters on a day when inbound flights are full and bags come out slowly. App rides at MSY pick up on the middle curb outside Level 1 Baggage Claim, with Lyft through Doors 7 to 9 and Uber through Doors 9 to 11, according to the airport's ride app page; a pre-booked car skips that queue on a busy arrival afternoon. See meet and greet for how the hand-over works.
| MSY to the French Quarter | Business Sedan | Business SUV | First Class SUV | First Class Sedan | Executive Sprinter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One way | US$170 | US$225 | US$275 | US$300 | US$445 |
| Round trip | US$325 | US$430 | US$525 | US$570 | US$850 |
Prices are per vehicle and include the chauffeur, taxes, standard gratuity and airport meet and greet; tolls, parking and waiting beyond the included time are billed at cost. For every airport option, see MSY airport transfers.
During the final weekend, a hotel next to a parade route can be cut off from cars for hours. If a parade is rolling past yours on arrival, the chauffeur gets as close as the closures allow and helps with the bags for the last stretch.
The parade-night plan with a chauffeur by the hour
Before the parade. Choose your viewing spot, then tell the desk where you are staying and where you want to watch. The chauffeur drops you on the near side of the route, early enough to walk in before the side streets fill. Families with children and guests who do not want to stand for hours usually choose a spot close to the drop-off.
During the parade. The car holds on an open street a few blocks away. You agree a meeting corner you can find in the dark with a crowd around you, and a time. If the parade runs late, you text the chauffeur.
After the parade. Walk away from the route to the meeting corner rather than waiting at the barricades. The chauffeur then takes the open streets to your next stop: dinner in the French Quarter or Uptown, a ball, a balcony party or the hotel.
For a parade followed by dinner, the evening out and event night package keeps one car and chauffeur for five hours, from US$475 in a business sedan to US$950 in an Executive Sprinter. For a looser plan, book a chauffeur by the hour from US$95 an hour in a business sedan, with a three-hour minimum. The chauffeur follows local rules on drinks in vehicles throughout.
In the French Quarter. Many Quarter streets are narrow, one-way or closed to cars at busy times, and Carnival weekends are the busiest of all. Rather than trying to reach a blocked door, the chauffeur agrees a pickup point at the edge of the Quarter, often on Canal Street, Decatur Street or Esplanade Avenue, depending on the hotel and the closures that night.
Balls, krewes, corporate hosts and groups
Carnival is also a season of balls and private events, many of them formal, with every guest arriving and leaving at once. A First Class sedan or SUV for a couple, or an Executive Sprinter for a table of friends, means one arrival and one pickup at the time you choose. Our event transportation page explains how the desk times arrivals and staging for galas.
Groups are where a pre-booked car makes the most difference during Mardi Gras. An Executive Sprinter carries up to 12 passengers with bags, and one vehicle keeps a family, a wedding party or a team together on nights when finding two or three cars at once is hard. See Sprinter van with driver and group transportation. Larger groups looking for a bigger vehicle can see party bus rental.
Companies that host clients for Carnival weekend, and hotels and agencies booking for guests, can run every car under one reference. A corporate account puts the weekend on one monthly invoice, travel-agent accounts let agencies book for clients, and hotel accounts serve concierges arranging cars for guests. NDAs are available on request. Elly8.net provides transportation, not security.
Carnival prices in New Orleans
Every package below is per vehicle, fixed and all-in:
| Package | Business Sedan | Business SUV | First Class SUV | First Class Sedan | Executive Sprinter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By the hour, as directed (3-hour minimum) | US$95 per hour | US$120 per hour | US$145 per hour | US$155 per hour | US$190 per hour |
| Evening out & event night (5 hours) | US$475 | US$600 | US$725 | US$775 | US$950 |
| Full-day chauffeur (8 hours) | US$700 | US$885 | US$1,070 | US$1,145 | US$1,400 |
| Corporate roadshow day (10 hours) | US$855 | US$1,080 | US$1,305 | US$1,395 | US$1,710 |
For a long Saturday that ends after Endymion or a ball, the full-day chauffeur or the ten-hour day is simpler than adding hours as you go. Parking, tolls and extra waiting are billed at cost. The rates are the same as in any other week; what changes is availability, so reserve now for the last weekend.
Honest alternatives: walking, the taxi flat rate and the bus
New Orleans is a walking city. If your hotel is in the French Quarter or the Central Business District and you plan to watch nearby, you may not need a car at all for the parades themselves.
From the airport, the comparison is easy because MSY publishes its taxi fare. According to the MSY taxi page, a taxi from the airport to the Central Business District or the French Quarter costs US$36 for up to two passengers, and US$15 per passenger for three or more; taxis load on the Arrivals Curb outside Level 1 Baggage Claim, Door 7. For two people with light bags, that is excellent value, and we would say so.
| Option | Cost | Best for | Weak point during Carnival |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSY taxi (flat rate) | US$36 for up to two; US$15 per person for three or more | One or two travellers, light bags | Queues at peak arrival times; no car waiting on parade nights |
| App ride (Uber, Lyft) | Dynamic, set by the app | Off-peak trips away from the routes | Scarce and surge-priced when a parade ends |
| RTA Airport Express (202) | US$1.25 | Budget travellers going downtown | Stops and luggage; ends at Elk Place or the Union Passenger Terminal |
| Elly8.net chauffeur | MSY from US$170; by the hour from US$95 | Groups, families, late flights, balls, parade nights | Book early for the final weekend |
The bus fare is from the airport's public transportation page, which says buses leave from Level 1 Baggage Claim outside Door 2. The pre-booked car earns its cost when you land late, when you have more luggage than a cab takes, when you need child seats (available on request), when a group needs one vehicle, or when you want a car waiting on the right side of a parade route at the end of the night. For the general comparisons, see chauffeur vs taxi and chauffeur vs Uber and Lyft.
Beyond the parades
Many Carnival visitors give one quiet day to the River Road. The signature New Orleans day trip, six hours along the Mississippi to the plantation sites west of the city, costs from US$525 in a business sedan to US$1,050 in an Executive Sprinter, with the chauffeur waiting while you tour. The private city highlights tour, from US$380 in a business sedan to US$760 in an Executive Sprinter, covers the Garden District, the lakefront and City Park at a slower pace; see private city tours.
Some guests drive in from nearby cities rather than fly. Elly8.net also covers Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas and Austin, and a city-to-city car service can bring a group to New Orleans at a fixed quote through the web booker. More on the city itself, including the convention center and the Superdome, is on our New Orleans car service page. Flights and hotels can be booked through our travel partner BookingWorldwide.net; Elly8.net books the car.
How booking works
Rides in New Orleans are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Partner vehicles are four model years old or newer, and seven or newer for Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Bentley. Elly8.net is a member of LWD, LAI, HWD and VWD: LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory.
- Enter the pickup and drop-off, with your flight number for the MSY legs, or your hotel and the hours for parade nights.
- Choose the vehicle: business sedan, business SUV, First Class sedan or SUV, or Executive Sprinter.
- Press Reserve now on the New Orleans price list, or use the web booker for any address that is not on the list. Confirmation arrives by email.
Tell the desk which parades you plan to watch and where, and the chauffeur plans the drop-off and the meeting corner around the route.
Frequently asked questions
When is Mardi Gras 2027?
The Carnival season runs from Twelfth Night, 6 January 2027, to Fat Tuesday, 9 February 2027, according to New Orleans & Company. The biggest parades come in the final days, from Wednesday 3 February to Fat Tuesday. The official parade schedule notes that final 2027 dates and routes are still to be confirmed.
How much is a car service for Mardi Gras?
Prices do not change for Carnival. A chauffeur by the hour costs from US$95 in a business sedan to US$190 in an Executive Sprinter, with a three-hour minimum. The five-hour evening out package runs from US$475 to US$950, and MSY to the French Quarter from US$170 to US$445, all-in per vehicle.
Can the car take me to the parade route?
The chauffeur drops you on the near side of the route, as close as the closures allow, and holds on an open street nearby. You agree a meeting corner a few blocks away and walk to it after the parade. No car can cross a route while a parade is rolling.
Can you pick me up at a French Quarter hotel during Carnival?
Yes, when the street is open to cars at that time. On busy nights the chauffeur often meets you at the edge of the Quarter, on Canal Street, Decatur Street or Esplanade Avenue, depending on your hotel and the closures. The desk confirms the meeting point before the day.
Is a taxi cheaper from MSY?
For one or two travellers with light bags, usually yes: the MSY flat rate to the CBD or the French Quarter is US$36 for up to two passengers, plus tip. A pre-booked car makes sense for groups, late arrivals, extra luggage, child seats, or when you want the same chauffeur for the rest of the weekend.
Can a group stay together in one vehicle?
Yes. An Executive Sprinter carries up to 12 passengers with bags and costs US$190 an hour in New Orleans, or US$950 for the five-hour evening out package. One vehicle keeps a family, a wedding party or a team together on nights when cars are scarce.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancel more than 72 hours before pickup and it is free. At 72 hours or less the fee is 10%, at 48 hours or less 50%, and at 24 hours or less, or a no-show, 100%. Refunds go to the original card. Pickup times can be adjusted through the 24/7 desk when parade times change.
When should I book for Fat Tuesday weekend?
As early as you can. The rates do not change, but the best cars and chauffeurs in New Orleans are booked for the final weekend well ahead. Since cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup, an early booking carries little risk.
