OT: NYE in AA and travel plans to Nola?

Submitted by WichitanWolverine on
Does anyone know of any good parties in the area for New Year's Eve? I haven't been here for a New Year's since I was an underage student so I don't know what the bar scene looks like. Does anyone have any recommendations for bars with drink packages or anything like that?

On a side note, for those heading to the Sugar Bowl, are most of you driving? Airline tickets from DTW to Nola are outrageous between the 2nd and 4th right now, so I was just curious to see how many of you were driving.

Thanks for any input.

profitgoblue

December 6th, 2011 at 5:21 PM ^

CRex posted the following in a previous thread that was subsequently unpublished:

"If you're flying on the 2nd, it's 317 dollars from Metro to New Orleans.  From State Stree to Bourbon Street is 1,052 miles.  Google Maps shows no tolls.  My math me burning 59 gals of gas each way (plus incident gas driving around town.  Although I'll be most drunk and taking mass transit/cabs).  So that's 235 on gas (assuming an average of 3.99 since I have to feed my V8 premium).  Three of my passengers (not my wife) will likely toss in 50 each for gas per trip.  So I'm paying 85 on each leg of the trip.  That leaves me with 230 or so each way to cover wear and tear.  So I'm saving enough to buy 2 new tires, so that's a decent amount saved.  Also assuming my wife spends nothing on transit she had a savings of 647 dollars by not buying any airline tickets.  So as a unit we save 1/38th of what my car cost new in exchange for using 1/50th of the warrant (100k warrant).  Not a bad deal.  

If you do the trip in a normal car instead of a 420 HP midlife crisis sedan the savings are even greater since you burn less gas and regular is cheaper.  

Google Maps shows no tolls on the route I found."

 

Wolvermarine

December 6th, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^

I will be driving down there.  As a student I will have plenty of time off so I plan to leave AA around the 27th.  

 

I am picking up a friend in Arkansas on my way down to meet a couple other guys in New Orleans.  

 

Luckily I drive a Honda Civic that gets almost 35 highway mpg, so the total round trip should cost me less than $200 in gas.  

 

 

aaamichfan

December 6th, 2011 at 5:34 PM ^

I've spent a couple NYE's in Ann Arbor, and it's really not that special. The students are all gone, and unless you have a group of friends in the area, it isn't that great. There are some good parties in metro Detroit, but it just depends on what you're looking for. It would be a much better idea to just go down to NOLA a couple days early.

Michael Scarn

December 6th, 2011 at 5:36 PM ^

My bar plan for NYE in NOLA

1. Pregame aggressively

2. Stumble down Bourbon Street to wherever seems best

3. Hand Grenades

4. Drunken Go Blue chants and singing of The Victors

5. ???

6. Profit

BrownJuggernaut

December 6th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^

What I did was look at the two hotels that the Michigan Tour is booking and try to find a cheaper (but good) hotel nearby. The two hotels are on Canal Street right across from each other. I'd do that if you're not going to stay in those two hotels. That way you're close by to any friends who might be staying in those hotels.

Raback Omaba

December 6th, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^

I have done the Road Trip to New Orleans many times from Detroit and as recently as 12 months ago. It is a great trip and you get to see some cool places that you may not otherwise get to see (parts of MS/AR.) The drive is approximately 16-18 hours depending on stops and can be done in one day, but one must leave very early in the AM and arrive late at night to do that.

I recommend stopping in Nashville/Memphis for the night and enjoying some good BBQ. The drive is nice, especially throughout Alabama and Tennessee. I always make it a point to stop in Tuscaloosa and check out their campus/stadium as well (I drove back to Detroit on the Iron Bowl Saturday a few years back which was pretty cool.)

Also, as far as cost savings go - gas is always significantly less expensive the more south you go - very inexpensive in TN, MS, and LA so factor that into your costs as well.

 

Safe travels!

SFBlue

December 6th, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^

I bit the bullet and bought a one-way from Grand Rapids for $500 (being there for the holidays jacked me on Sugar Bowl fare, for sure; flight back to California is less than half as much).  Might be cheaper to train to Chicago and fly out of there, if anyone is on the west side of the state.  It looked like hotels are wide-open in terms of availability, but a decent place starts at $250 a night.  None of that really matters, as this was an imperative for me: the best city of all the BCS bowls, hands-down.  Looking forward to being in Nawlins' amost as much as the game itself.

Can't wait to paint Bourbon Street BLUE

CRex

December 6th, 2011 at 7:41 PM ^

NYE in Ann Arbor is a waste of time.  That whole giant complex of clubs (Circus, Millenium, etc) has some lame buffet and is only about 60% full.  Mostly made up of people I'd rather not hang out with.  I bailed at 11 PM or so on that one.

Live at PJs was better but it wasn't special.  It was a DJ, drinking, and they had those mini champagne bottles.  That's basically NYE in Ann Arbor.  They get the Champange, do the 10..9..8...7 thing and have some no name live DJ or band.  If you're lucky the place is 80% full.  

Definitely head to NOLA early.  If you want to economical, the entire Gulf Coast tourism industry went to hell after the BP oil spill.  We're actually driving down to Clermont Harbor (in Mississippi) and spending time on the Gulf Coast there for cheap.  Then it is a 1 hour drive into NOLA on New Years Eve for our real hotel an the partying.  So you can extend your trip cheaply by vacationing along the Gulf Coast.  

goblueram

December 6th, 2011 at 7:44 PM ^

-NYE in Ann Arbor.

-Driving on the 1st down to Nashville, spending the night and hitting the bars there. 

-Hopefully not killing myself because of country music.

-Finishing the drive down to New Orleans on the 2nd.

-Boozing heavily that night.

-Boozing heavily before the game.

-Michigan wins.  More boozing ensues.

-Drive back to Ann Arbor on the 4th. 

Feat of Clay

December 6th, 2011 at 8:38 PM ^

Can't help with NYE but i've taken The City Of New Orleans (Amtrak) to NOLA and it's a great trip. You sleep through most of it. Don't know about the return trip though; we went one-way.

Stephen Hawking

December 6th, 2011 at 10:06 PM ^

If it's feasible for you to drive over to Chicago I would definitely suggest it. I was finding round trip airfare from Chicago Midway to New Orleans for about $380. However, that was on Sunday when I booked mine so prices may vary.

emozilla

December 7th, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^

Coming down NYD, only way I could find a ticket that was cheaper than the entirety of my season tickets -.-. Flying through LaGuardia which just has to be the most back-assward way to get from Detroit to New Orleans. Has anyone started setting up some Bowl watching meetups for the Jan. 2 bowl games?

mark5750

December 7th, 2011 at 2:08 AM ^

Just casual observations from someone who enjoys vacationing there every couple of years and hasn't been there since 2009...Canal Street is kind of centrally located between Bourbon Street and the Superdome.  Everything is walking distance in the French Quarter so no public transit necessary.  A lot of places along Bourbon Street have drink specials to bring in customers during the day so pre-gaming is less important.  One I remember is a bar called Razoo which when I was there had good atmosphere charged what is in my experience city prices for beer but during the day had a three for one special so it made it closer to reasonable.  The city allows you to walk down the streets with open containers and a big mistake that is common is that just because of that and the fact that the bead deal isn't restricted to Marti Gras causes people to think they can do what they want.  Don't be confused, the local police are not there to play and you will go to the Orleans Parish drunk tank.  If you want to do a little bit more than just get bombed for your stay one of the funner things I did was go on an airboat swamp tour. IIRC it ran about $40 or so which makes it reasonable if you have the ability to go on vacation this time of year.  Not sure if that goes on in January or not though.  I hope this is of at least a little help for those of you lucky enough to go.