Private New Orleans City Tour
Private New Orleans City Tour
With a Native Behind the Wheel
Three hours in a luxury SUV or Sprinter. Your chauffeur is your guide. Six stops, beignets included, from $480 for three hours.
What a private New Orleans city tour with Jazzy is
A Jazzy city tour is three hours in a private luxury vehicle with a chauffeur-guide who drives and narrates. The route runs the French Quarter and Jackson Square, the Garden District along St. Charles Avenue, historic Tremé, St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, Bayou St. John and a beignet stop at Café Du Monde in City Park. It is priced per vehicle, by the hour, with a three-hour minimum: a sedan is $160 an hour ($480 for the three-hour tour), an SUV $190 ($570), an Executive Sprinter seating up to fourteen $275 ($825). There is no fuel surcharge and no gratuity added to a tour; the published price is the price.
The person guiding you is the person driving you. Jazzy's chauffeur-guides are long-time New Orleans natives: people who grew up in these neighborhoods, drove them for years before they narrated them, and know which block of St. Charles has the oak worth stopping under. Because one chauffeur-guide handles a group of up to fourteen, there is no step-on guide, no second vehicle and no hand-off. For fifteen to thirty guests, the tour runs on one Executive Bus with your guide aboard.
Pickup is wherever you are: a hotel, the cruise terminal, a residence, or the airport. Most guests book the tour on their first full day, before the Quarter is familiar; cruise passengers book it as a shore excursion between the ship and a late flight. Either way the vehicle stays with your group for the whole three hours, and the route bends to what you want to see.
The route: six stops in three hours
This is the standard route. It is the starting point, not a script; every stop can be swapped or extended.
1.The French Quarter and Jackson Square
Every tour starts where the city started. Bienville laid out the Vieux Carré in 1718, and the grid you ride through is the same one. From the car you see St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo and the Presbytère framing Jackson Square, the Pontalba buildings on either side, and the Royal Street galleries and courtyards a walking tour cannot cover in the same three hours. Your chauffeur-guide stops for photos at the river and the square.
Source: National Park Service, Jean Lafitte French Quarter Visitor Center
2.The Garden District along St. Charles Avenue
The tour turns uptown on St. Charles Avenue, riding alongside the St. Charles streetcar line, which the RTA operates as the oldest continuously running street railway in the world, dating to 1835. The Garden District mansions, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and the oaks over the neutral ground are the stretch guests most often ask to slow down for. This is the stretch a private vehicle changes entirely: you stop where you want, not where a bus schedule allows.
3.Historic Tremé and Congo Square
Tremé is one of the oldest African-American neighborhoods in the United States, and Congo Square inside Louis Armstrong Park is where enslaved and free people of color gathered on Sundays to drum, trade and dance. The National Park Service's New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park sits here for a reason. Your guide connects it to the music you will hear in the Quarter that night.
Source: National Park Service, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
4.St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
The above-ground tombs on Esplanade Avenue are the reason people call New Orleans cemeteries cities of the dead. St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 opened in 1854 and, unlike No. 1, can still be visited without a licensed-tour restriction, which is why the private tour uses it. The Archdiocese of New Orleans manages the grounds and publishes hours and access rules.
Source: New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries (Archdiocese of New Orleans)
5.Bayou St. John
Bayou St. John is the waterway that made the site worth settling: it gave the French a back door from Lake Pontchartrain to the river before the port existed. The Pitot House, a Creole colonial plantation home on its bank, is one of the few of its kind left in the city. Most visitors never see this stretch. It is the quietest fifteen minutes of the route and, guests tell us, the one they remember.
6.Beignets at Café Du Monde in City Park
The tour ends in City Park, 1,300 acres that predate Central Park, at the Café Du Monde location beside the Casino building, where the line is shorter than the French Market original. Beignets and café au lait are included in the pace of the tour, not rushed. From here your chauffeur returns you to your hotel, the cruise terminal or the airport.
Source: New Orleans City Park
What guests say about the chauffeur-guides
Verbatim from Google reviews of Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle. Rated 5.0 across 250+ reviews.
“Just found this area for reviews. We were first connected with Jazzy & Judah back in 2017 through a now-friend resident of NOLA. We now consider Judah a friend as well. Service has been impeccable. We have used Jazzy multiple times for airport transport & going to/from more distant restaurants. We suggest that family members also use the service. Highly recommend for any NOLA visitors! (Edit: reviewing our vacations, it seems our history together goes back to 2014! Still incredible service. April 2026...Daniel was our driver back to airport. On time & helpful as expected. We never have a concern with JAZZY. In addition, Daniel taught us even more about the city. Great experience!”
“Prompt, professional, kind and friendly. Our driver Judah was excellent & shared New Orleans history and recommendations.”
“As a travel agent, I partnered with Jazzy Limousine and Shuttle Service to handle my clients’ transfers to and from the Amtrak station in New Orleans, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the experience. From the very beginning, Jazzy was easy to work with, especially when my clients’ original train was canceled and rescheduled two days later. Even as the new departure continued to face delays, their team stayed on top of everything without missing a beat. What really stood out was their level of care and attentiveness. Around 1 AM, after I had finally dozed off for a quick nap, Jazzy texted me to let me know they noticed another delay and had already adjusted the pickup time to 2:35 AM. That kind of proactive communication gave me peace of mind, knowing my clients were being monitored and taken care of in real time. When my clients arrived, they had nothing but great things to say. Their chauffeur Stacey was incredibly helpful, he called when they arrived to guide them on where to exit since certain doors were locked, assisted them through the station (which was especially helpful since many were first-time travelers there), and helped with their luggage so they could finally relax after a long day of travel. This is exactly the kind of partner I value, reliable, communicative, and genuinely invested in the client experience. I will absolutely continue working with Jazzy Limousine and Shuttle Service for future trips.”
“We so enjoyed Daniel’s sharing of New Orleans history, great suggestions for restaurants, his punctuality and expert driving skills during rush hour traffic.”
“Wyatt was a great guide!! Personable and patient!! Perfect for us!!”
New Orleans city tour pricing
Tours are priced per vehicle, by the hour, with a three-hour minimum. The vehicle and chauffeur-guide stay with your group for as long as you book.
No fuel surcharge, no gratuity added. The rate is the rate.
| Vehicle | Guests | 3-hour tour | Each additional hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan | 1–2 guests | $480.00 | $160.00/hr |
| SUV | 3–6 guests | $570.00 | $190.00/hr |
| Executive Sprinter | 7–14 guests | $825.00 | $275.00/hr |
| Executive Bus | up to 23 guests | $1,050.00 | $350.00/hr |
| Executive Bus | 32+ guests | $1,350.00 | $450.00/hr |
Optional gratuity is offered at AddOns checkout and defaults to none. Groups between 24 and 31 are quoted on the vehicle actually assigned.
Get your city tour quote
Pick a date, a start time and your group size. The price you see is the tour price.
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A New Orleans city tour bus with your own driver-guide
Groups looking for a city tour bus with a driver usually mean one of two things, and Jazzy runs both. Up to fourteen guests ride in an Executive Sprinter: forward-facing captain's seats, luggage space, and the same chauffeur-guide at the wheel for the whole route at one flat price. Fifteen to thirty guests ride in one Executive Bus, so a wedding party, a conference group or a family reunion stays together rather than being split across two cars.
The difference from a scheduled hop-on bus is that the vehicle is yours. It leaves when you are ready, stops where your group asks, and the guide is talking to your group and nobody else. Groups of six booked in an SUV are upgraded to a Sprinter at no charge when luggage needs the room, which is a standing Jazzy practice, not a favor.
If your group is arriving on a cruise ship or a late flight, the city tour can begin at the terminal and end at the hotel, so the transfer and the sightseeing happen in one booking. See cruise port transfers and Sprinter van service for the vehicles.
Customize your New Orleans city tour
Tell us what you care about when you book. History, architecture, food, music, the macabre. The chauffeur-guide builds the three hours around it.
Magazine Street
Six miles of boutiques and galleries. Add a stop or a full hour; your chauffeur waits.
The National WWII Museum
Consistently the city's top-rated museum. Drop-off and pickup timed to your visit.
Plantation Country
Oak Alley, Laura or Whitney on River Road. Quoted as a four-to-six-hour route.
Food stops
Po-boys, gumbo, a cocktail bar with a courtyard. Your chauffeur-guide knows which ones are worth the detour.
Haunted and voodoo history
Marie Laveau, the LaLaurie house and the Voodoo Museum, woven into the Quarter leg.
Photo stops
The river, the streetcar, an oak-lined block in the Garden District. Ask and we stop.
Why New Orleans rewards a guided tour
New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718, ceded to Spain, returned to France and sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Each of those governments left buildings, food and law behind, which is why the Quarter is Spanish in its balconies and French in its street names, and why the city has civil law where the rest of the country does not. A guided tour with someone who grew up here turns that layering from trivia into a route you can see from the window.
The city is also larger than visitors expect and its landmarks are far apart. The Garden District is three miles from Jackson Square; City Park is four miles the other way; the cemeteries are scattered. Walking tours cover one neighborhood well. A private vehicle covers the city in the same three hours, with the guide filling the drive between stops, which is where most of the stories are.
For the official visitor context, New Orleans & Company, the city's destination marketing organization, publishes current festival dates, neighborhood guides and visitor statistics at neworleans.com. Jazzy plans tours around that calendar, and around the parade closures the City of New Orleans posts, so a booking during Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest still runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a private New Orleans city tour?
Tours are priced per vehicle by the hour with a three-hour minimum: sedan $160/hr ($480 for three hours), SUV $190/hr ($570), Executive Sprinter $275/hr ($825), Executive Bus up to 23 guests $350/hr ($1,050), Executive Bus 32+ guests $450/hr ($1,350). There is no fuel surcharge or gratuity added; optional gratuity defaults to none at checkout.
Who is the guide on a Jazzy New Orleans city tour?
Your chauffeur is your guide. For groups up to 14, one licensed chauffeur-guide drives and narrates the entire route; there is no separate step-on guide and no second vehicle. Jazzy's chauffeur-guides are long-time New Orleans natives with years behind the wheel in the city before they ever narrated a tour.
Where does the tour pick up?
Anywhere in New Orleans or Metairie: your hotel, the cruise terminal, a private residence, or Louis Armstrong International Airport. Pickup and drop-off are included in the package.
How long is the New Orleans city tour?
The minimum is three hours, which covers the full six-stop route at a comfortable pace with photo and beignet stops. Every additional hour is billed at the vehicle's hourly tour rate, so longer plantation or custom itineraries simply run on the clock.
Can I customize the route?
Yes. The six-stop route is the starting point. Add Magazine Street, the National WWII Museum, a food stop or a plantation; drop anything you have already seen. Tell us your interests when you book and the chauffeur-guide builds the day around them.
Is a New Orleans city tour by car better than a bus tour?
For groups of up to 14 it is a different product: a private vehicle stops where you ask, covers more ground than a walking tour, and the guide is speaking only to your group. For 15 to 30 guests we run one Executive Bus with your guide aboard, so the group stays together at one price.
What happens on a parade or festival day?
Parade routes close St. Charles Avenue and parts of the Quarter. Your chauffeur-guide re-sequences the route around the closures on the day; the tour still runs. If you are booking for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest or a Saints home game, tell us and we plan the pickup point accordingly.
Related services
Frequently booked alongside Tabasco factory tour transportation and plantation tours.
Book Your Private New Orleans City Tour
Three hours, six stops, your own chauffeur-guide. From $480 for three hours. Pickup anywhere in New Orleans or Metairie.