New Orleans to Mobile drive: Distance, time & best stops

Planning a New Orleans to Mobile road trip itinerary

The New Orleans to Mobile drive connects Louisiana’s most exciting city to the Alabama coast.

New Orleans resolutely refuses to feel like any other American city. From the raucous hedonism of Bourbon Street to the European-influenced charm of the French Quarter, New Orleans is mesmerizingly unusual to hang out in.

Top New Orleans experiences include French Quarter food tours, haunted pub crawls, jazz cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez and cemetery walking tours.

For other attractions, try the National WWII Museum, the Vue Orleans observation deck and the urban enslavement tours at Hermann Grima House.

If looking for New Orleans accommodation, the pool and jazz bar-equipped Royal Sonesta in the French Quarter is a great option. The Virgin Hotel downtown has a huge sense of fun, too.

The Alabama Gulf Coast port city of Mobile has a perhaps unexpected party spirit. This is best explored in the bars, or at the Mobile Carnival Museum.

You can also head on board the USS Alabama battleship or visit the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. The latter includes a ship simulator, where you can have a go at steering a ship through the Gulf.

Mobile experience options include a downtown food tour and a wildlife kayaking tour.

Top Mobile accommodation picks include the personality-packed Fort Conde Inn and the riverside Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza.

New Orleans to Mobile AL distance and driving time

By car, the distance from New Orleans to Mobile is 144 miles. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and eight minutes. The quickest route is along the I-10.

The best stops to add to a New Orleans to Mobile road trip itinerary are Gulfport MS, Biloxi MS and Pascagoula MS.

Best stops between New Orleans and Mobile: Gulfport MS

Gulfport is the second biggest city in Mississippi, and the best reason to visit is the boat trip out to Ship Island. This barrier island has the best beaches in the state. However, there’s plenty of fun to be had in the city itself. The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center allows children to learn through play, the Gulf Islands Water Park has a great collection of water slides and Traintastic is an oddly-endearing model railroad museum.

To track down Gulfport accommodation bargains, look here.

New Orleans to Mobile road trip attractions: Biloxi MS

Biloxi on the Mississippi coast is best known as a casino destination, but there’s plenty to keep non-gamblers interested. The Biloxi Lighthouse opened in 1848, and is now open for public tours. The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum covers the region’s history, and looks at just how big a business fishing is. You can also take a cruise on one of the schooners moored outside the museum.

Also in Biloxi is Beauvoir, the lavish home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. The mansion is open for tours.

For Biloxi accommodation, try the Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort for entertainment and the South Beach Hotel and Suites for beachside location.

New Orleans to Mobile drive: Pascagoula MS

For most visitors, Pascagoula MS is mainly about the beach. But you can also venture inside the Round Island Lighthouse, which has been standing since 1859.

Even more historic is the LaPointe-Krebs House, which was built in 1757 and is the oldest building in the state. For bigger thrills, head to the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch. Here, airboat tours head over the alligator-filled swamps.

Find Pascagoula accommodation deals here.

The USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.
The USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. Photo by JP Valery/ Unsplash.

More New Orleans road trips

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More Mobile AL road trips

Atlanta to Mobile AL | Mobile to Biloxi | Birmingham AL to Mobile AL | Mobile to Destin |  Mobile to Gulf Shores | Houston to Mobile AL | Jackson MS to Mobile AL | Memphis to Mobile AL | Montgomery AL to Mobile AL | Nashville to Mobile AL | Mobile to Orange Beach | Mobile to Orlando | Mobile to Pensacola | Tallahassee to Mobile.