I have 22teens downtown NOLa. They want an afternoon trip to the ocean. Beach if possible. We have no transport and little funds. Need answer today yet. How do I get this done?
Former New Orleans resident here. Don’t listen to the teens. There aren’t any decent ocean beaches anywhere close to New Orleans, at least not the kind they are thinking of. The closest beaches with sand and swimming are around Gulfport, MS but the water is brown and the sand is nasty. The closest good beaches are around Gulf Shores, AL but there is no way you are going to go that far and back with 22 teens today.
You are already in a world class tourism city and there is way more than enough to do in many trips there alone. Tell them to be quiet and stop wishing for things that aren’t available.
I think your best bet would be to try and get to a beach on Lake Pontchartrain instead of the Gulf. From downtown N.O., Pontchartrain Beach is only about 7 miles away and is, according to Google maps, accessible by bus.
Just for yucks, find Shell Beach on a map, about 20 miles southeast of New Orleans. It is totally unrewarding, has no beach. It faces an island in Lake Borgne. But the trip there will give you a glimpse of the real backwoods rural Louisiana. A few charter fishing outfitters down there, and the houses are up on stilts. Nitty gritty tourism for people who can go a whole day without a pizza.
I strongly suspect it was named Shell Beach because it was once an offloading facility for the Shell Oil Company, but I’m not sure of that.
Just have them download Boom Beach, and it will keep them occupied all day.
Gulf Shores or Pensacola, and there’s no cheap way to get there. Rent a bus or go to a waterpark.
New Orleans resident. You’re SOL.
According to this page, Pontchartrain Beach is temporarily closed. I don’t know if that information is up-to-date.