Nola Tour Guy

A locally owned New Orleans walking company

Nola Tour Guy runs its own walking tours in New Orleans, with its own named guides, on a "pay what you feel" basis. The homepage headline is "Locally owned and operated since 2012", and the site calls itself "the only locally owned and operated FREE (pay what you feel like) Walking Tours of New Orleans". The about page describes it as "a worker-owned, New Orleans based, tour company". Its tours cover the French Quarter, the Garden District, Bayou St. John and St. Louis Cemetery #3, the Faubourg Marigny and Frenchmen Street for jazz, and Congo Square and Armstrong Park for the voodoo walk. All are in New Orleans.

The company was started by David G. Hedges, whom the about page describes as a Chicago native who first reached New Orleans at 19 "via hitchhiking and freight trains". It says he got his tour guide license in 2011 and "found that many existing tour companies were based out of state and offered only a cookie cutter, watered down version of New Orleans' unique history."

The about page introduces the rest of the team with short biographies, among them Eric Spinrad; Sal Geloso, a jazz musician who leads the jazz tour; Sandy H., who holds a master's degree in history; Daniel and Sean Chick, both New Orleans natives with history degrees, Sean a published Civil War historian; Laura Harris; Dartanya Croff, whose work centers on Black history and African spiritual traditions; and Playdoh Kolo. The site describes the group as "a collective of passionate guides, both men and women, who are experts in the history of New Orleans", and states its values plainly: "we believe that Black Lives Matter; we believe that Bulbancha is Still a Place; we believe in the rights of Women and LGBTQ+".

7 free tours and the rest of the range

The booking page says the company "offers seven free 'pay what you feel tours'": French Quarter, St Louis Cemetery #3, Historic Garden District, Jazz Music, Voodoo, Cocktail and Ghost.

• Free French Quarter Tour, "Daily at 10am", described as "300 years of history on a walking tour of New Orleans oldest neighborhood".
• Historic Garden District Tour at 3pm on scheduled days, through what the site calls "one of the largest collections of well preserved antebellum era mansions in the world".
• Free Cemetery Tour at 1pm, an "hour-long tour" through Bayou St. John and St. Louis Cemetery #3, which the site dates to 1852, passing the site of "New Orleans' largest Voodoo ritual conducted by Marie Laveau II".
• Frenchman Street Jazz Tour with Sal, through the Faubourg Marigny, covering figures such as Kid Ory and Danny Barker and ending on Frenchmen Street.
• Voodoo Tour, which the site says shows "how Voodoo has been a source of resistance for New Orleans Black population".
• Ghost Tour, which the site says focuses "more on true stories then tall tales": the Axeman of New Orleans, the Beauregard-Keyes House, the Lalaurie Mansion, the trunk murders and the funeral procession in Pere Antoine Alley.
• Cocktail Tour, a "more laid back exploration of New Orleans History" with a couple of classic cocktails.

The homepage also notes "We offer one tour in Spanish", the Tour Gratis por el Barrio Francés. Beyond the guided walks there are free self-guided tours with "written directions and a custom Google Map", and "affordably priced GPS enabled audio tours". The site stresses there are "no novelty 'ghost' or 'vampire' tours only the real history", and the ghost page says "All our tours, even our ghost tours, are based on real stories".

Meeting points and practical details

The booking page names a meeting point for each tour except the ghost walk. The French Quarter tour "meets at 10am at Washington Artillery Park 768 Decatur", next to Cafe Du Monde and across from Jackson Square, and guests are told to walk up the steps. The Garden District tour meets at 1500 Washington Ave near the corner with Prytania, which the site says is "3 miles from the French Quarter and is accessible by streetcar". The cemetery tour meets at 3421 Esplanade Avenue, about 2 miles from the French Quarter, and the site warns that "St. Louis #3 Lacks shade, please plan accordingly." The jazz tour meets at Cafe Envie, 1241 Decatur Street; the voodoo tour at the gates of Armstrong Park where St Ann Street meets Rampart Street; and the cocktail tour at Pirate Alley Cafe, 622 Pirates Alley. On every tour, "Your guide will have on a black and white hat that says 'Nola Tour GUY'."

Walk-ups are accepted ("We gladly accept walk-ups"), but the site strongly recommends booking online through FareHarbor to make sure a tour is still running. Group size is limited: "You are not allowed to reserve more then six adults on a Free Walking Tour", and the company "reserve[s] the right to ask large groups of over six adults to leave our free tours."

The homepage shows a Google rating of "EXCELLENT" based on 172 reviews, and one quoted review mentions a group of 7 people and a French Quarter tour that "took about 1h30".

Paying, booking and private tours

The model is explained on the homepage: "We are so sure you will love our tours you will gladly pay what you feel the tour is worth ($20-25 per person is suggested)." The ghost tour page and the homepage's cemetery section suggest $15-25 per person, and the jazz tour page suggests $25. The ghost tour page adds: "Due to issues with no-shows we now require a booking fee to make reservations", without giving the amount. To cancel a booking, guests are asked to email Nolatourguy@gmail.com, text 504-300-9489 or use WhatsApp.

Private tours cover the French Quarter, cocktails, voodoo, the Garden District, the cemetery and jazz, and "with a private tour you get to pick when". The site says a private tour "is more affordable then you might think", offers "special rates for students and non-profits", and can help arrange transportation. Requests go to the same email or phone, and the company says it will "reply within 24 hours".

What the site leaves open

The booking fee's amount, and whether it is refunded on cancellation, are not stated. Private tours are priced by quote only. Tour lengths are given only for the cemetery tour, and the Garden District days sit behind the booking calendar. The site says nothing about wheelchair access or step-free routes, though it does flag the French Quarter meeting point's steps and the cemetery's lack of shade.

Nola Tour Guy suits visitors who want history told by named local guides with academic and musical backgrounds, across a wider set of themes than a single French Quarter walk, and at a price they set. Groups of more than 6 adults will need a private tour, and anyone who wants a fixed, published price in advance should ask for a quote first.