6 Best New Orleans Pub Crawls (2026 Guide)

New orleans pub crawl season in the French Quarter never ends.

Most crawls run close to two hours and cover four stops with a guide leading the way. I crossed Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street, and the French Quarter on one Friday night, and the gaps between guides showed fast.

Some know every bartender by name. Others just point and walk.

This guide ranks the city’s pub crawls on guide quality, bar selection, and whether the shots deliver, so you book the right night instead of a forgettable one

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A good pub crawl doesn’t need a plan. It just needs good company and a few good bars.

If you want a bit more history with your drink, try a Cocktail Tour instead. Feeling a little braver? A Haunted Pub Crawl adds a ghost story to every stop.

New to the city? Start with our Things to Do in New Orleans guide.

For the full lineup, see our guide to the Best Tours in New Orleans.

Best New Orleans Bar Crawls Compared

These crawls were compared for route, atmosphere, and value — covering the full range of guided bar experiences New Orleans has to offer.

Best New Orleans Pub Crawl On This Page

Short on time? These are the standout pub crawls in New Orleans for travelers who want a great night out, sorted.

1. New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup
2. True Crime Pub Crawl in New Orleans
3. Frenchmen Street VIP Live Music Pub Crawl in New Orleans
4. New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour
5. New Orleans VIP Bar and Club Crawl
6. New Orleans: Guided Bourbon Street Bar Crawl with Shots

New Orleans Pub Crawl Reviews

From high-energy Bourbon Street stops to laid-back neighborhood bars, here’s the full breakdown of every pub crawl we reviewed in New Orleans.

Tour 1: New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup

🔴 Meeting Point: Coyote Ugly Saloon, 225 N Peters St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
🔴 Departure Time: See booking details
🔴 Duration: 2 hours (approx.)
🔴 Guide: English, live guide
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: Souvenir crawl cup, welcome shots, drinking games with included alcohol, drink specials, professional guide

Book this one if you want Bourbon Street handled for you, start to finish. It earns the top spot because it does exactly what it promises: four stops, a souvenir cup, and a guide who keeps the group moving.

That’s the whole appeal.

This crawl works best for solo travelers and first-time visitors who don’t want to plan a bar route themselves. Multiple crawlers on this tour, including solo bookers, mention meeting people they kept in touch with after the night ended.

That’s not an accident. Guides here are trained to introduce people, not just walk them from door to door.

Reviewers name Jason more than any other guide, and the pattern holds. He runs drinking games, keeps first-timers comfortable, and treats every stop like it matters. Not every guide on this route gets that kind of praise.

The tour departs from Coyote Ugly Saloon at 225 N Peters Street, and the two-hour run covers four venues in the French Quarter and on Bourbon Street itself. Expect welcome shots early.

That sets the tone fast.

Where the New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup beats a straight walking tour is energy. This one is built for people who want a party, not a history lecture, though a live music crawl later on this list handles that mood better.

Skip this if you’re traveling with anyone under 21, since the bars enforce that strictly. Only book if you’re comfortable in a group that can run up to 25 people.

Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours out, so there’s little risk in locking in a slot early. For a first Bourbon Street night, this is the one to book.

Tour 2: True Crime Pub Crawl in New Orleans

🔴 Meeting Point: Bon’s New Orleans Street Food, 620 Decatur St Unit 1B, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
🔴 Departure Time: 6:00 pm
🔴 Duration: 2 hours (approx.)
🔴 Guide: English, live guide
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: Licensed guide, alcoholic beverages, parking fees

Skip the first crawl on this list if you’d rather learn something between drinks. This one earns its place by treating the French Quarter’s crime history as the main event, not filler between rounds.

The bars still pour, but the stories carry the night.

Guests gather at 6:00 pm outside Bon’s New Orleans Street Food, right across from Jackson Square, and the route hits stops like May Baily’s Place, a former brothel with a genuinely strange backstory. This works best for true crime fans, history buffs, and anyone who’s already done a standard Bourbon Street crawl and wants something with more substance.

Reviewers consistently single out specific guides by name. Wesley gets praised for pacing and humor. Gomez gets credit for tailoring the tour when groups run small. Jamie draws repeat mentions for respecting the victims in the stories while still keeping things lively.

That consistency matters.

One reviewer noted the tour leaned more toward hauntings than true crime on a couple of stops, which is worth knowing going in if you booked expecting straight crime history. The gruesome details are real, but expect some ghost story crossover along the way.

Unlike the flat-out party pace of the previous crawl, the True Crime Pub Crawl in New Orleans slows down enough to actually absorb what you’re hearing.

Only book this if you want narrative with your drinks. If you’re after pure nightlife energy, look elsewhere on this list.

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Tour 3: Frenchmen Street VIP Live Music Pub Crawl in New Orleans

🔴 Meeting Point: 435 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA (in front of the Dragon’s Den)
🔴 Departure Time: See booking details
🔴 Duration: 3 hours (approx.)
🔴 Guide: English, live guide, musician-led
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: VIP wristbands, one New Orleans cocktail, admission tickets, gratuities

Frenchmen Street beats Bourbon Street for anyone who actually cares about the music, and this crawl proves it. At three hours, it’s the longest on this list, and that extra time goes toward live jazz, funk, and blues instead of more bar-hopping filler.

That trade-off is the whole pitch.

Guides here double as performers. Reviewers mention Andre and Pandi taking the stage mid-tour, sitting in with the bands at stops they’d otherwise just be narrating. That’s a different kind of expertise than a standard bar guide brings.

Group size runs larger than most crawls on this list, up to 28 travelers, which changes the feel. A few reviewers wished for smaller groups to make conversation easier, and that’s worth knowing if you prefer a tighter crowd.

The included cocktail comes at one stop only, so don’t expect drinks at every venue the way the Bourbon Street option delivers them.

Some travelers noted a stop or two without a live band playing when they went, which the tour handled with a quick pivot rather than letting the night stall.

Where the Frenchmen Street VIP Live Music Pub Crawl in New Orleans wins over a straight bar crawl is atmosphere. This is New Orleans nightlife with a soundtrack, not just a route between shots.

Guide Andre shows up in enough five-star reviews that requesting him, where possible, is worth the extra effort.

Tour 4: New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour

🔴 Meeting Point: Sidewalk in front of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar, 941 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
🔴 Departure Time: See booking details
🔴 Duration: 2 hours
🔴 Guide: English, live guide
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: Tour guide, walking tour, drinks, gratuities recommended

Warning: this one leans heavier on history than hype, and that’s exactly why it works. New Orleans: Drunk History Walking Tour treats voodoo, ghost stories, and the Ax Man’s reign as seriously as the drink stops themselves.

That balance is rare.

The tour departs from the sidewalk outside Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar at 941 Bourbon Street, not from inside it, so don’t wander in expecting your guide there. Guests get two hours of walking through the Vieux Carre, stopping at bars along the way rather than building the whole route around them.

Coty and Jaime come up again and again in reviews, and both earn the same praise: sharp storytelling, real historical knowledge, and enough personality to make two hours of walking feel short. One reviewer compared Coty directly to a guide from a rival tour the night before and called this one better told.

That’s not a small claim.

This suits history buffs and paranormal enthusiasts more than straight partiers. If you want nonstop bar-hopping, the pace here is built for listening, not chugging.

The rating sits at 4.3, lower than some crawls on this list, and a few reviewers flagged inconsistent guide quality as the reason. Ask about your assigned guide when you book if that matters to you.

Wheelchair accessibility is confirmed here, which isn’t true of every crawl in this guide. For background on the neighborhood these stops move through, the French Quarter’s official visitor guide is worth a quick read before you go.

The extra history trades some raw party energy for stories you won’t get from a standard bar guide, and for the right crowd that trade is worth it.

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Tour 5: New Orleans VIP Bar and Club Crawl

🔴 Meeting Point: French Quarter, New Orleans, LA, USA (exact location emailed after booking)
🔴 Departure Time: 8:00 pm
🔴 Duration: 3 to 7 hours (approx.)
🔴 Guide: English, live host
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: Alcoholic beverages, drink specials, party games, skip-the-line entry

Fair warning on this one: results depend heavily on your host and your group. The New Orleans VIP Bar and Club Crawl pitches itself as skip-the-line access to the city’s hottest clubs, and when it delivers, it delivers big.

When it doesn’t, reviewers aren’t quiet about it.

The exact meeting point isn’t fixed. You get it by email after booking, which is unusual compared to the fixed Bourbon Street addresses on the rest of this list. Departure runs late, at 8:00 pm, with a run time that can stretch anywhere from three hours to seven depending on the night’s format.

That range is real, not a typo.

Praise centers on the karaoke stops and the flip cup games, with several travelers calling this the highlight of their whole trip. Complaints center on watered-down shots and hosts who lost track of the group. One reviewer described a 20-minute search just to find their guide again.

That gap between best and worst experiences is wider here than anywhere else on this list.

This suits larger groups and bachelorette parties looking for a genuine club night, not a curated bar tour. It’s not wheelchair accessible and not recommended for pregnant travelers.

Dominique earns consistent praise for reading the room and keeping people together, so if you can request a specific host at booking, do it.

Tour 6: New Orleans: Guided Bourbon Street Bar Crawl with Shots

🔴 Meeting Point: Coyote Ugly Saloon, Bourbon Street (big purple table inside)
🔴 Departure Time: See booking details
🔴 Duration: 2 hours
🔴 Guide: English, live guide
🔴 Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before the experience
🔴 Includes: Walking tour, local guide, souvenir cup, welcome shots, tips

This one sits closest to the classic Bourbon Street formula, and it earns its spot for keeping things simple. New Orleans: Guided Bourbon Street Bar Crawl with Shots covers welcome shots, a souvenir cup, and a straight walk down Bourbon Street with a guide who knows the route.

Nothing about it tries to be clever.

Meeting happens inside Coyote Ugly Saloon at the big purple table, same starting point as the top pick on this list, though the route and pacing differ once the walk begins. Karaoke shows up as a stop here, which not every crawl includes.

Reviews are thinner than some other options, with 17 total, but the pattern holds steady. Jason gets named again as a strong guide, consistent with his reputation across other crawls on this page.

One reviewer described a guide who barely interacted with the group and pushed a stop at a fetish-themed bar that felt out of place for a standard bar tour. That’s worth knowing before you book, since it’s not the experience most reviewers describe.

Best suited to first-timers who want a no-frills Bourbon Street night without extra history or music layered in. Anyone 21 and over can join, but this isn’t for those wanting a quieter pace.

Only book this over the top pick on this list if the timing or availability works better for your schedule, since the core experience runs close to identical.

FAQs (6 Best New Orleans Pub Crawls (2026 Guide))

How long does a New Orleans pub crawl usually last?
Most run between two and three hours, depending on the tour.

Standard Bourbon Street crawls clock in around two hours with four stops, while music-focused options on Frenchmen Street run closer to three hours to leave room for full sets at each venue. A few VIP club crawls stretch even longer, sometimes up to seven hours, since those follow a looser nightlife format rather than a fixed bar route. Check the French Quarter visitor guide for typical bar hours if you’re planning your night around a crawl.

Are drinks included on New Orleans pub crawls?
Most crawls include at least one welcome shot or drink, with additional rounds available for purchase.

A souvenir cup often unlocks drink specials at partner bars beyond what’s included upfront, but not every stop pours a free drink. Some crawls include only one specialty cocktail across the entire route, so it helps to check what’s covered before assuming the whole night is open bar. Reviewers consistently note that drink quality varies by venue, so pacing your expectations bar to bar is worth it.

Is there an age requirement to join a pub crawl in New Orleans?
Yes, most pub crawls require guests to be 21 or older.

Since these tours move between bars and clubs serving alcohol, operators generally don’t accommodate anyone under the legal drinking age. Bring a valid passport or ID card, since venues along Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street check at the door. For current Louisiana drinking laws, the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control has up-to-date guidance.

Can I cancel my pub crawl booking if plans change?
Yes, most tours allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time.

This gives some flexibility if weather shifts or your schedule changes last minute, though refunds typically aren’t available for cancellations made after that window or for no-shows. A few operators note they may cancel or combine small groups if headcounts drop close to departure, so it’s worth confirming your reservation the day before. Check the National Weather Service New Orleans forecast if storms are a concern for your travel dates.

Are these tours wheelchair accessible?
Accessibility varies by tour, so it’s worth checking before booking if mobility is a concern.

Some crawls, particularly the history and true crime focused walking tours, note wheelchair and stroller accessibility along with service animal allowances. Others, especially the bar and club-hopping formats, are explicitly not wheelchair accessible due to venue layout and crowd density. The historic streets of the French Quarter also present uneven surfaces that can complicate mobility regardless of the tour’s official accessibility rating.

What should I bring on a New Orleans pub crawl?
Comfortable shoes, a valid ID, and a bit of cash for extra drinks are the essentials.

Most of the walking happens on the uneven brick and cobblestone streets of the French Quarter, so shoes built for a couple of miles of walking matter more than anything else. A physical or digital ID is required at every stop, and while some drinks are included, having cash or a card on hand for extras or tips keeps the night moving smoothly. New Orleans heat and humidity can be intense even in the evening, so light layers are worth considering depending on the season.

How much do New Orleans pub crawls typically cost?
Most run somewhere in the $25 to $60 per person range, depending on inclusions and group size.

Standard Bourbon Street crawls with a souvenir cup and welcome shots tend to sit at the lower end, while music-focused or VIP club experiences with more inclusions price higher. Private or small-group formats can run well beyond that range. Exact current pricing shows up when you check availability through the booking link on each tour.

Plan Your Trip

To make planning your trip a little easier, here are a few travel resources we recommend. For tours and activities, compare prices and availability on GetYourGuide and Viator. Both offer a wide range of experiences, verified customer reviews, and flexible cancellation on many bookings.

If you’re traveling internationally, it’s also worth considering Faye Travel Insurance to help protect you against unexpected medical expenses, trip cancellations, delays, and lost luggage.

Planning a longer stay? Learning a few words of the local language can make your trip even more enjoyable. Babbel offers practical language courses that can help you communicate with confidence and get more from your travels.

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New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup Rating & Criteria

New Orleans Bourbon Street Bar Crawl w/ Shots & Souvenir Cup is the #1 Ranked Tour in 6 Best New Orleans Pub Crawls (2026 Guide) based on a dynamic blend of category-specific criteria.