New Orleans, Key West, Havana, Kingston Jamaica or Savannah ?

[KurtNYC]

I have to use some mileage before it expires and I like to travel in early March. I have never been to any of the cities on the list and I am open to your favorite also. I don't think my freg flyers will get me to Cuba (yet) but having been to none of the cities, I know jack squat about them except that they will be warm enough in March.

I love food so NOLA sounds attractive but again I just know too little about the options in the other cities to ignore them. I wouldn't be in NOLA, or the others, until after Mardi Gras (3/4), most likely would fly on that Thursday 3/6.

Any personal experiences or recommendations you can share are appreciated!

[femmocrat]

1. I have only been to Key West and Savannah from that list.

Key West is a blast, IMO. It just depends what you like to do when you vacation.

[handmade34]

2. Love NOLA!!

goofing with my daughter there last month...




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[Sancho]

3. Depends on what you want to do...

bar hopping fun, sailing, diving, fishing...Key West is hard to beat for just a party. Frankly, beach fun in March is all over Florida. Clearwater, Panama City, Daytona, Miami...pick your poison. It won't be cold.

If you want a big adventure - get a few friends, go to the BVI's and charter a sailboat. If you have some $'s, Atlantis and Paradise Island in Nassau can be a fun weekend.

Savannah's ok, but more historical.

NOLA is best at Mardi Gras.

[RebelOne]

4. You would love Key West. It's a fun town.

When I lived in South Florida, I would go down there at least once a year to party. Jamaica is a lot of fun also. But you must go to Montego Bay.

[NightWatcher]

5. From Sav, lived in NOLA, frequent KW, been to Jamaica once

I'd have to pick Havana.
When else would you go to Cuba?

KW and NOLA are great for food and alcohol.

[mrmpa]

6. Savannah for St. Patrick's Day...............

I've not been there for that event, but when I've visited there, I loved it. I have many friends who have been to Savannah for the March celebration and they have raved about it.

[OriginalGeek]

12. One of the biggest St Paddy's day celebrations in America

We love Savannah but we may be biased as we had a cousin who lived there and we could visit and stay at his house. Savannah does allow open containers in public so you can get those beers to go and visit all the cool shops.

Haven't been to the keys since I was 10 so I really want to go. Didn't get a chance to enjoy the good stuff then.

[Behind the Aegis]

15. It is much fun. I have been twice for St. Pat's Day.

I still vote NOLA.

[mrmpa]

17. I love NO too.............

my first visit was 1 year before Katrina. It was wonderful.

[KamaAina]

21. St. Paddy's Day in NOLA doesn't suck, either

although I hear they had to stop throwing cabbages and potatoes from the parade floats a while back. (No, really.) Damn litigious society!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. Absolutely New Orleans. It is the best city in the US. It has

it's own unique architecture, culture, food, music, and ambiance.

Don't know where you live but if it is anywhere up north - Nola is So liberating because there are Zero rules ! Zero. Lived there for 3 years and miss it every day.

If you go - I don't Know if you can afford it or not you HAVE to stay in the French Quarter. The rest of the city is very cool -- but there is nothing like being in the Quarter. Seeing what local life is like early in the morning - waking and walking and seeing locals walk their dogs and Bourbon St drunks still up looking for their cars - buying a fresh baked croissant or beignet with strong, perfect coffee or a big breakfast for close to nothing at any corner store.

Eating the most perfect Gulf fresh, fresh, fresh fried shrimp on the freshest, softest roll you could imagine )that is all local and delivered by one vendor across the city.)

Hearing or viewing the barges on the nearby Mississippi

Walking on the street and seeing these picture perfect little shops and happening upon a local hangout bar with a cool jazz guy and drinks like you have never tasted.

It has so much soul....plus the souls of 1,300 people washed out to sea with Katrina...you can feel it.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. PS...Entree's from one of my favorite

restaurants.. Louisiana Bistro on Dauphine in French Quarter





Drum Pontchartrain

louisiana gulf puppy drum topped with sizzled
blue crab meat and a lemon-caper beurre blanc

$28

Creole Surf and Turf

crawfish tail scampi over spice roasted prime
filet on roasted garlic mashed potatoes
$36

Louisiana Seafood Couvillion

an ever-changing mix of fish and shellfish with andouille
sausage simmered in a creole-style tomato sauce over rice
$27

Grilled Lamb au Poivre

black pepper grilled lamb loin with wisconsin cheddar grits,
cornmeal crisp haricot vert and chef's "bastardized" bbq sauce
$29


Dirty Bird

held over by demand from the Bitch Please menu.
crisp oil-poached duck confit with dirty rice and a
mysterious dark goo

$26
Crab and Asparagus Salad

jumbo lump blue crab meat and crispy panko crusted
asparagus spears with mixed greens, applewood smoked
bacon and lemon pepper aioli

Pork Chop

spice rubbed grilled double-cut pork loin chop
smothered with tasso red-eye gravy on a sweet potato hash
$27

[KurtNYC]

23. making me hungry

maybe I could do a cooking class (where you eat at the end) there. And I would definitely not be there until after Mardi Gras so the hotels look affordable then (and no "4 night minimum&quot .

[Laura PourMeADrink]

32. If you decide on New Orleans ....here's hotel ideas

Here's a list of great French Quarter hotels - filled with history and New Orleans charm. You get the whole experience compared to a chain hotel - plus much safer the farther you are from Canal St. I have stayed
in all of them.

pricey but quintessential New Orleans
http://bookmaisondeville.com/

Same ambiance - more reasonable:

http://www.maisondupuy.com/

http://www.bourbonorleans.com/

http://www.hotelprovincial.com/

http://www.frenchquarterhotelgroup.com/ (St Helene)

cheaper = funky but very cool - especially with a balcony - was House of Rising Sun
http://www.villaconvento.com/

If you can afford front balcony room - excellent, central people=watching place
http://www.905royalhotel.com/


PS Don't forget VRBO too

[Art_from_Ark]

36. I wonder if T. Pitari's is still in business?

Back in the '60s, when I was a little kid listening to WWL every night on a little transistor radio, the radio station offered a free tourist brochure to anyone who sent off for one. So I did. The brochure was sponsored by T. Pitari's restaurant, and it featured a menu which included such exotic dishes as hippopotamus meat and turtle soup au sherry.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. I am biased, but NOLA.

If you go after Mardi Gras, you can get great deal on rooms. Prices all over the city will drop. If you want a real party, but not as large as Mardi Gras, go for St. Pat's day! You can see the Irish and Italian celebrations which include parades in the French Quarter, complete with floats and beads...and you don't have to get nasty to get the beads! Check the NOLA sites to see when the parades are actually being held.

I live din NOLA for 5 years, have been gone for three, but I still look to it as my home. It is a fantastic city with a bit of everything for anybody. What floats your boat? I can tell you if it is there (if I remember).


I VOTE NOLA!!!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. I agree - St Patty's is a great weekend to go - second only to

Halloween weekend.

gone for 3? That is when I was there - lived there three years in the Quarter - ending Jan 2011

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Halloween is a HOOT!

Of course there is also the Swinger's Ball. I can't remember when that is, but it usually started around the bar where I worked. Halloween is wild.

We moved in Feb 2011. We moved from the Faubourg Marigny, so just outside of the FQ. We were 8 blocks from the French Market. We must have missed each other. Do you not live there anymore either?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

13. no, but my heart is still there. Ever since

my first weekend, when I heard commotion outside and ran to my balcony and it was a parade of bikers - all nude.

It totally amazed me how every single weekend there was something going on. Like the international tuba festival. Ha....thousand of tuba players everywhere !

where'd you move to? Me...to TX...where the biggest thing happening is a tractor pull.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. I feel the same.

My partner and I went in 2002 and fell in love with the city. Right after we moved in (May 2006), I was sitting on my porch talking to my mom on the phone ad a parade went by. My mom asked what the noise was, and I said it was a parade, for what, I had no idea. For all I know, someone got an "A" on a paper. LOL!

I always liked the Red Dress Run.

We moved back to NE OK for my partner's work. It is a small town and it has its upsides too, but I so miss NOLA. We haven't even been back yet. I told my man, "We have to go to NOLA this year!" We actually have a commissioned oil painting of our NOLA home hanging in our den.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. Wow..just looked up hotels for KurtNYC - didn't know Maison de Ville reopened

We spent the night after 9-11 there and were the only people in the restaurant. chef locked door and opened his secret stash of special wines. It was a very strange time back then. who knew how much it would change the world

yes.. Red dress run ! can't believe how used to be a handful of guys - now thousands

want a pic of your pic !

[Behind the Aegis]

37. Here's the painting...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Oh BTA...love it ! Was that your house?

I lived in different types of apts in Quarter but this style here is my favorite. Used to love, just sitting on the stoop and having neighbors drop by for drinks.

[Behind the Aegis]

48. Yes, that was our home for 5 years.

The diversity of homes on our block was so interesting, but it is like that throughout the city and it makes NOLA so beautiful. It was a converted shotgun home, so we had both "sides." It was fun sitting on the porch and chatting with people as the walked by, especially tourists.

[In_The_Wind]

16. I liked Key West more than New Orleans or Savannah.

Savannah would be better in April or early May.

[JoeyT]

18. I'd vote for NOLA

Should you happen to get tired of the part of the city you're in, you can go two or three streets over and it's like being in an entirely different city because of all the cultures blending together. I don't think you could run out of stuff to do if you lived there for decades.

[DFW]

19. Of those cities, I have only been to two

Namely New Orleans and Havana.

From what I have heard, I think I would choose Savannah, although I heard Key West is nice, too.

[a kennedy]

20. Savannah has a wonderful St. Patrick's Day celebration.....

http://www.savannahirish.org/ I heard it's like the 3rd or 4th largest in the country??

here's another site: http://www.savannahga.gov/index.aspx?NID=961

[Kaleva]

22. I've been to Key West and Kingston. Both fun places!

[Rowdyboy]

24. Experience New Orleans. Stay in the French Quarter. Park your car and walk everywhere....

Buy a muffaletta at Central Grocery, grab a beer and sit and watch the river while listening to live music. Get homemade ice cream
at the French Market and stroll down Decatur. Breakfast at Croissant d'Or or Johnny's Poboys for under $10. Art and antiques on Royal (pronounced royale), bars (gay and straight but no one seems to care much) on Bourbon, and fried oysters or soft shell crab at Masperos (circa 1800), Felix's or Acme. Ride the streetcar down St Charles (bring a camera-the houses are like wedding cakes) and at the end of the line have a chili cheeseburger at the Camellia Grill. Stop at the Audabon Zoo on your way back.

In March its still cool and comfortable, flowers are blooming and its great for lovers. Weekend artists around Jackson Square are usually pretty interesting. Dinner at Irene's for excellent food, ambience and service for a VERY reasonable price.

I've never been to any of the really expensive restaurants because it's just not necessary but if you have the bucks to drop I'm sure they are excellent. Bring some $1 bills for the street people (my favorite last trip had a sign "Really Bad Advice $1). You can usually find really good street performers (magicians, musicians etc) in front of the Cathedral.

You can tour the old Ursalines convent, the old federal mint, the Cabildo, art museums and (my favorite) a fully restored city plantation-the Hermann-Grima House (roughly 1840's).

For a unique and relatively inexpensive lodging in the Quarter here's just one suggestion....

http://www.thecornstalkhotel.com/



Let me know if you decide on New Orleans and I can suggest more...../

[KamaAina]

34. The Camellia Grill is not the end of the line

the streetcar continues up Carrollton to Claiborne, past my old place, three blocks from the actual end. Not much to see up there, though, so you might as well get off at Maple and get the chili cheseburger.

[Rowdyboy]

35. Correction happily recieved...The Camellia is as far as I've ever made it

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2014, 04:45 PM - Edit history (1)

before starvation drove me to seek fresh food!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. Have stayed at the Cornstalk - it is a good choice. Any room upstairs

has access to that top balcony. It's a great central location too.

I agree with you - don't have to spend a lot of money for great food - even corner convenience stores have great food.

Acme/Fenix idea - bit too touristy for me but just my humble opinion. Good fried shrimp = French Market Restaurant on Decatur.

[Rowdyboy]

46. Agree on Felix and Acme being "touristy"....and I forgot one of my favorites....Coop's Place

on Decatur. Some of my favorite fried chicken anywhere and the prices are wonderful.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

47. True Dat !!

[pipi_k]

25. Off the Florida Keys

there's a place called Kokomo....

That's where you wanna go

To get away from it all...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. my vote for one of the happiest songs ever. Think I used to think it was a real

place - but looked it up and it's like "nirvana" isn't it?

[Moondog]

26. For early March

Key West, or Kingston. Weather matters.

[MrScorpio]

27. I've been to Savannah and NOLA… I'd go some place that I've never been...

Key West!

[GoCubsGo]

28. I have only been to New Orleans and Savannah.

If I had to choose between those two, it's NO, hands down. I've been to Savannah several times. Not impressed with it. It's good for a day or two, but not much beyond that. I'd rather go to Charleston, SC ANY DAY. Way more to do there, and to food is great! Loads of excellent restaurants. People have already put up a good case for New Orleans, so I have nothing to add to that.

Judging by the way things have been lately, I don't think you are going to meet your "warm" criterion in anywhere but Key West and the Caribbean. I live about 100 miles from both Charleston and Savannah, and it's been abnormally cold here. I don't know if it's going to be warm enough to suit you come March, given the crazy winter we're having.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

43. I agree..Savannah is pretty - but more like somewhere you might

wanna go with your mom and dad. Charleston is hipper. then Key West. then Nola. IMHO

[fizzgig]

29. go sit on a beach

i know that's all i've been fantasizing about for the last few weeks.

[mainer]

30. I would try Havana -- before it's ruined by Americans

but if your frequent flyer miles don't work there, then I'd go with Key West or Savannah.

Key West for great counterculture vibe and party atmosphere. And the Hemingway house!
Savannah for fascinating history and great old houses.

Both towns are eminently walkable and have decent restaurants. Just be sure to choose a hotel in the town center, so you won't need a car. I can recommend hotels in both towns.

[avebury]

31. The way the weather has been this year,

I would pick someplace in the Caribbean to hopefully guarantee having warm and sunny weather.

[alphafemale]

38. Savannah is absolutely stunning in March.

Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2014, 12:13 PM - Edit history (1)

But avoid St Patrick's weekend. Unless you enjoy large throngs of drunken idiots.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. love the title of your post ! :>)

[alphafemale]

45. aaAaaAaarrrgggg!

Typed at the end of a break at work. Fixing.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

44. Havana Cuba or, Kingston Jamaica. Get out of the Country. I guess Kingston since you don't

have enough frequent flyer miles to get to Cuba.