First Time at Essence Fest Part 1: Getting Around New Orleans

I have returned from the Mecca of Black Girl Magic! Essence Festival 2018 was an experience unlike anything else I've ever witnessed. It was my first time experiencing the fervor of Essence Fest as well as visiting New Orleans. I had thought my festival days were behind me, but last August I saw Girl's Trip and was absolutely enchanted. I promptly ignited the group chat with my former college roommates, begging them to share this experience with me. The fabled charm of the Crescent City and the allure of being surrounded by empowered Black women was impossible to pass up. Within a week, my own "Flossy Posse" had assembled and we promptly booked our flights, purchased the festival tickets, and booked a charming hotel in the Garden District. 

My and my cutie patootie roommates from USF. We had planned a "yellow" day - surprisingly, mustard yellow was THE color of the festival, we saw it everywhere!

When I began my trip I arrived with an open heart, crawfish on my mind, and fantasies of joining an impromptu second line parade on Bourbon Street. Little did I know how woefully unprepared I was for the magnanimity of the festival and the city itself. Although my trip was enjoyable, there was a steep learning curve that comes with doing something entirely new in a city I know nothing about. While the experience is fresh in my mind, I want to share my advice for fellow first-timers on how to make the most of your first time at Essence Fest. This is the first half of a two-part blog, in this post I'll be talking about how much Essence Fest costs (tickets, hotel, and flight) and how much I spent on food, (the many) drinks, as well as transportation. 

How Much Did Essence Festival Cost?

Essence Concert Tickets

The concert tickets themselves cost about $212 for the full 3-day lineup. These were nosebleeds seats of course (I am just a struggling copywriter after all), all the way at the top of the Mercedes Benz Superdome - but I didn't give a damn, I was excited to just be a part of the magic. What I didn't realize when I purchased the tickets was that the coordinating workshops, demonstrations, and panel discussions that occur during the convention portion of Essence Festival were free and open to the public (more on that later). Much love for all the performers (Jill Scott, I see you boo!), but I was actually more interested in the panels and speakers than the concerts. TBH, I had known that earlier, I wouldn't have bothered buying the concert tickets at all.

The Hotel

My roommates and I stayed at Hotel Indigo, conveniently located on St. Charles and Jackson right across from the streetcar. We booked one bed (King size) and also requested a little cot sleeper (which was perfectly comfortable) for the 4 days and 3 nights that we would be there. We arrived Thursday and checked out on Monday at 11 AM.

The total cost of our stay was $936.95 and split between the three of us was a very reasonable $312.31 per person. Keep in mind that we booked this nearly a year in advance, I'm sure it would've been bananas expensive otherwise. The breakdown in the nightly price was as follows:

(I'm not sure why they listed Friday and Saturday like that)

The Plane Ticket

If you've never used the Skyscanner app, you're missing out sis. Once again, keep in mind that I bought my flights super early. I was able to book a nonstop roundtrip flight to MSY airport from MIA for $217. Even though I had to pay for luggage separately, I only had one checked bag which cost $50 ($25 each way). In total, I spent $267 on my flight expenses which was extremely reasonable.

Transportation

If you're going to visit New Orleans, for Essence Fest or otherwise, renting a car isn't necessary. I thought their public transportation system was great, and we were able to navigate most places with a combination of the streetcar and ride-sharing. I was very fortunate that Lyft had a promotion running during the span of Essence Fest that gave me a whopping 25% off rides because of my 5-star status. 

The Streetcar

The New Orleans public transportation system: RTA (the Regional Transit Authority) has a fantastic phone app called RTA GoMobile. It shows arrival times for the streetcar or bus, features a real-time map showing the precise location/stop of the streetcar, and allows you to buy passes directly through your phone (although you have to make an account to do so - I was too lazy and didn't bother). It was incredibly useful and this is an absolute must for anyone visiting New Orleans. 

The streetcar has several ticketing options to choose from to make it more cost-effective of paying for every single ride: 

• Single Ride (one way) cost $1.25  
• All-Day Pass cost $3 - Allows you to make transfers to other streetcars or buses and hop on and off as you please. 
• 3-Day Pass costs $9 - We didn't buy one because but you had to purchase these at certain locations (like Walgreens) and you couldn't buy them directly from the bus/streetcar which was inconvenient for us. 

It was a no-brainer, the all-day pass was the most convenient and cost-efficient option. We bought these each day directly on the streetcar. They're valid for 24 hours after the time of purchase (since the streetcars operate 24 hours - man I love this city). We didn't end up taking the bus because the streetcar took us nearly everywhere we wanted to go, but it was nice knowing we had the option if we had needed to. Our total cost for the streetcar for the duration of our trip was $12.

Ride Sharing

It was a bit harder tracking these costs since my roommates and I split the rides, and some of this was done through the Cash app and Venmo. We took Lyft at least once a day, usually towards the evening when we were on a time crunch or just feeling lazy from stuffing our faces all afternoon. To get the most accurate number of how much it cost me, I referenced my Mint account and it seems like I spent around $100 total. This also includes the pricey cost of the solo ride back to the airport and considering that I was there for a solid 4 days and 3 nights, this isn't bad at all. However, most rides didn't cost more than $8 in total. If were to start arbitrarily rating things about New Orleans, I would give their accessibility an A. Things are surprisingly close to one another and our longest trip was maybe 15 minutes because of traffic and rouge pedestrians (why does New Orleans even bother having "walk" signals???). 

Dining in New Orleans

My roommates and I are recent graduates and very young in our careers (not even going to mention crippling amounts of student debt) so our budgets were meager. I accounted for each meal costing about $30 (including a drink) and budgeted for $90 a day for food. We steered clear of fancy places and had a decent mix of dining at hole-in-the-wall dives and cute cafes. Prices are pretty reasonable in New Orleans: I was able to get a delish and filling meal at Deanie's (a local chain) of a catfish po'boy and side of crawfish etouffee for about $15. A hip & trendy market/cafe called Mayhaw, in downtown New Orleans, cost $12 for a fancypants artisan plate of crab cakes and roasted veggies (and MAN it was delicious). This is where my roommates made a new best friend, Kevin, a bartender who gave us free drinks, joked around with us, and recommended things to do around the city. 

This is Kevin! Sit at his section of the bar if you want to be treated like royalty. Be sure to pay him a visit if you ever visit Downtown New Orleans.

According to Mint, I spent about $150 on food and drinks over the course of the entire weekend. One reason we were able to keep costs down was by aggressively seeking happy hours that included food and drinks. We actually were able to eat at Emeril's - yes that Emeril's - for $10. My recommendation: skip the tourist traps and gimmicky drinks on Bourbon Street. By eating at places off the beaten path, we enjoyed some great Cajun-style seafood for a reasonable price. 

Stay tuned for my next post for a detailed guide on what to do, what not to do, and what to expect when you attend Essence Festival for the first time. Follow these tips and I double pinky promise you'll have a great time - with a lot fewer hitches than my trip.