Overview
Immerse your students in the sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans. Explore the Jazz Museum, cruise down the Mississippi on an evening riverboat, and take a guided tour of the famed French Quarter. No visit is complete without world-famous beignets at Morning Call. Students also join a Cajun/Creole cooking class, where chefs prepare classic dishes and share the city’s food history, and venture into Louisiana’s swamplands on a guided boat tour to spot alligators and native wildlife.
Itinerary
Day 1
Travel to New Orleans, LA
Lunch
Mardi Gras World visit
Venture into the world of Mardi Gras floats, sculptures, and props, where craftspeople are at work building colorful, otherworldly centerpieces for the annual street celebration. You'll learn about Mardi Gras's history and the skill and effort that goes into bringing these pieces of art to life.
Dinner
Day 2
Breakfast
New Orleans Jazz Museum visit
Tap your feet, feel the beat, and get to know the musical genre considered to be the most influential of all time. Visit dynamic interactive exhibits, view the world’s largest jazz artifact collection, and learn the in-depth history of how jazz originated in New Orleans.
French Quarter walking tour
Go to the heart of New Orleans' most vibrant neighborhood, the French Quarter. You'll learn about its 18th and 19th-century Creole architecture, colorful history, and rich cuisine. Your walking tour guide will even share tales of voodoo and vampires that bring this neighborhood’s past to life.
Lunch
Preservation Hall concert
Experience a live acoustic jazz ensemble in this historic and intimate establishment. Listen to the music that courses through this colorful city from a special collective of New Orleans jazz practitioners, playing traditional tunes.
Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium visit
Explore marine ecosystems and insect biodiversity at the only establishment in the U.S. with both a major aquarium and insectarium under the same roof. You'll view rare species like the white leucistic alligator and walk through a Japanese-inspired butterfly garden with hundreds of butterflies.
Mississippi River Jazz Dinner Cruise
Experience the meandering, graceful current of the Mississippi River while live jazz music plays. Aboard a classic steamboat, one of the last true steam-powered vessels, you'll feel life slowing down as the beauty of the river and New Orleans' skyline fills your view.
Day 3
Breakfast
Whitney Plantation visit
Learn about the lives of the enslaved people forced to cultivate sugar and rice told in their own words. You'll explore this plantation that brings to life the people who lived here through memorial artwork, museum exhibits, restored buildings, and hundreds of first-person narratives.
Lunch
Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA visit
Stroll through this garden where spectacular nature and unique sculptures gain equal attention. You'll explore over 90 different pieces of art, made of bronze, granite, steel, mirrors, and more, in every form imaginable alongside Spanish moss-laden live oaks, lagoons, magnolias, and camellias.
Beignets at Morning Call
Bite into the treat known the world over as the New Orleans pastry—beignets! Sink your teeth into these warm, doughy pastries covered with powdered sugar that people have been enjoying since the 18th century.
Dinner
Ghost Tour
Explore the side of New Orleans that wakes up at night on this ghost tour of spooky tales and historical anecdotes. With over 300 years of history, rich in diverse cultures, and well-preserved architecture, this city holds a vortex of spooky stories that are both entertaining and haunting.
Day 4
Breakfast
National World War II Museum visit
Understand America's road to WWII. You'll build empathy for the soldiers who fought in it and learn how this global crisis changed the world. Explore nine immersive galleries and experience this chapter in history through personal narratives, evocative artifacts, and immersive environments.
Lunch
Garden District Course Leader-led walking tour
Discover one of the great gems of New Orleans, the Garden District, where towering antebellum mansions, oak-lined streets, and beautiful 19th-century gardens abound. You'll learn about the diverse architectural styles that line the district, from Greek Revival to Georgian, Italianate to Queen Anne.
Audubon Zoo visit
Learn how special and unique bayou wildlife is at the award-winning Louisiana Swamp, located in this 58-acre zoo. You can walk directly through habitats, learn about the wildlife specific to Louisiana, and view the rare white alligator and Amur leopard, in addition to over 1,700 other animals.
Cooking demonstration with dinner
Watch a top chef at work and learn about the vibrant history of this influential food, a unique fusion of French, African, Creole influences. Afterwards, you'll enjoy a classic New Orleans, Cajun-Creole meal with its bold flavors and unique blend of spices.
Day 5
Breakfast and hotel check-out
Swamp tour
Get to know the deep roots of Cajun culture through this private swamp pontoon tour as you float past moss-draped cypress trees, turtles, and alligators. Your tour guide will regale you with in-depth knowledge of the swamp's ecosystem, flora, and local Cajun culture.
Lunch
Depart for home
Dinner
Already Included
Transportation to & from your destination
Hotel accommodations
Meals (unless otherwise noted on your itinerary)
WorldStrides Course Leader - a dynamic destination expert who brings learning to life by leading your group's activities and discussions
Admissions to top attractions (details in itinerary)
WorldAssist staff members available 24/7/365 should your group need extra help
Free high school credit for students who choose to complete WorldStrides free online coursework post-program
Professional development credits (CEUs) for educators
Field Research Guide (Discovery Journal)
Scenes from New Orleans
Health & Safety
Additional health and safety measures may be available within your respective destination. Refer to your program-specific materials for complete details.
Financial Assistance
Financial Assistance
WorldStrides provides over $2.5 million in financial assistance each year to thousands of families. Families with annual adjusted gross incomes of less than $85,000 may qualify. One simple call to Customer Service and you’ll know how much may be available for your trip even before signing up. Please note: financial assistance is given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Payment Plans
Advantage Payment Plan
At program sign-up you can opt to pay in full, or break up the cost of your trip with the Advantage Payment Plan. This plan allows you to pay a small initial deposit, then have your remaining payments spread out into affordable monthly amounts.
EZPay
We offer an EZPay option, which is a simple way to pay for your WorldStrides program by scheduling hassle-free, automatic drafts from your checking account. With EZPay, you'll never be late or miss an installment.
Fundraising Tools
Our easy-to-use tools put students in the driver's seat of their own fundraising efforts. Students can send e-cards, share links on social media, and even send out printed letters through WorldStrides' Gift of Education program. In one click friends and family members can make a direct donation to the trip - with 100% of the money raised going to offset their trip price. Thousands of students pay for their entire trip each year through the Gift of Education.
Also, WorldStrides makes program-specific scholarships available as well as other scholarship resources. Ask your Account Manager for more information about scholarships and fundraising tools.