New Orleans

New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana in the United States. You can abbreviate it as "NOLA" on your sign; getting in is usually easy while getting out can be trickier.

New Orleans is of course amazing. The French Quarter is full of hobo kids as well as drunken vomiting tourist frat boys. A friendly place. Don't let the bullshit ("ever since Katrina it's been very dangerous") scare you -- yeah, there are gang war neighborhoods, but if you just hitchhike in you can hang out in the French quarter and be fine. Even if you are in a gang neighborhood, people usually leave travellers alone -- if you have a bag/backpack and a cardboard sign, don't worry about bad neighborhoods -- you're basically a bum!

Hitchhiking out

West toward Baton-Rouge, Lafayette, Houston, TX

Get the streetcar (tram) that goes on Canal Street (which runs from the Mississippi river and all the way to a cemetery). It costs $1.25 for one ride or $1.50 for a transfer ticket if you get another bus before it. Take it until the last stop (Cemeteries, far from the river, and you'll see tombs everywhere).

From there, even though it's tempting to get straight to the I-10, walk up to City Park Ave, turn right on it and then take a left on Canal Blvd. You'll see a small loop with 2 bus stops on it (don't walk too far, take the 1st loop). Here, take another bus, the E1 route of the Jefferson Transit. It costs $1.50 for which you should have exact change because the driver does not provide any. The E1 route is often called the Veterans' bus since it goes far on Veterans' Blvd.

You need to get off before the I-10 on Veterans' Blvd. It's about a 15-25 minute ride. DON'T GET OFF AT THE FIRST UNDERPASS, THAT IS THE CAUSEWAY. You'll be on a long boulevard for a while and you'll see the highway at some point. Just hop off before you pass under it or tell the driver you are a hitchhiker and need to hitchhike to Baton-Rouge and he'll tell you the spot. Look at the map and you'll see where the I-10 and Veterans Blvd intersect. You need to stop just before it.

There you walk to the on-ramp to I-10 West. Use a sign! You'll see lot of gas stations on the way.

I used the above guide and got a ride north towards Mississippi in about 2 hours. i was there from 8 in the morning. Very nice location--Ottes (talk) 00:48, 12 July 2013 (CEST)

East towards Mobile, AL; North towards Hattiesburg, MS

Take either the 62 or the 64 bus to where Bullard avenue meets Interstate 10 (get off at the McDeath's). On the south side of the interstate there's a nice long on-ramp with plenty of cars going not too fast, and space for them to pull over (a hard shoulder).

Once out of the city, it's a good idea to stop at the I-10/US-190 junction in Slidell. There is a large truck stop there and plenty of rides across the country.

Eating

There are loads of free food options in New Orleans if you're into that sort of thing. The Hare Krishna dinner (Sundays at 8PM at 2936 Esplanade) is even better than Hare Krishna dinner usually is, and they basically leave you alone religiously unless you're actually interested.

This link is a bit out of date, but it shows lots of places that serve free/cheap food! trash:New Orleans