Royal Carriages

I would’ve really liked to go on the tour I booked tonight. The website says they operate till midnight, and the website definitely took my money for an 11pm ride, but when we arrived (five minutes early) tonight, nobody was there, and after waiting twenty minutes, nobody showed up, all the phone numbers went straight to voicemail, and a nearby business owner came out to let us know that Royal Carriages had closed up shop two hours earlier. I’ve left them a message asking for a refund. We’ll see what happens. Incredibly disappointed in a business that doesn’t honor its hours while still allowing people to send them money.

Our carraige tour was for 30 minutes for a group of 4. It is more of a private tour therefore if you only have a group of 2, are solo, or have 4 people in your group you are paying for the carraige and not per person.
Sandy the mule was well trained and mild mannered. They are so well trained when the carraige in front moves up, they also inch forward. At first it scared us but they know not to go off on their own.
The guide was friendly and offered choices in terms of routes for the tour which we appreciated. She was very informative and patient even when the cars behind kept honking their horns because they wanted to get through.
While there are countless carriages lined up by Jackson Square if you are looking to not share your carriage with strangers this is the route to go.

If I could give negative stars I would. These people should be shut down for animal abuse. The animals look extremely tired and dirty. Most of them look like they are going to die. These pathetic human beings ride these animals so hard they have actually ridden some of the animals to death. Check the news articles. Do not support these people.

I have been on a few carriage rides over the years. Some were good and some were boring and some driver/​guides were annoying. Last night, a carriage ride was part of my bachelorette party. I’m not sure our driver’s name but the mule was Mack. She and Mack made a great team. He was a very well kept mule and was very good. He didn’t spook easy and seemed to really pay attention to what he was doing. The driver/​guide was super nice and unlike a lot of driver/​guides, not annoying or obnoxious. She went a different route than I’ve been in the past, sharing different history than I’ve heard in the past. This carriage ride was great!

Our carriage tour was FANTASTIC. The driver obviously really cared about our mule, Pretty Lady. She even told us about their care, which is extensive and includes months-​long vacations! Wish I got those haha
Our tour guide was very friendly and gave us a wonderful tour of the french quarter and the graveyard. It was drizzling (and sometimes pouring) and she had umbrellas and towels at the ready for us. She extended our graveyard portion a bit because we were enjoying hearing all the great stories and history. She had a lot of really fascinating information and stories to share about the city as well.
At the end of the tour, there was a jerkface laying on his horn non-​stop and refusing to go around us (even with her and cars behind him waving him on) and she handled it very professionally. We did not, and definitely took the opportunity to flip him off, but she was calm, professional, and even very funny during the whole ordeal. It was raining very hard at the end of the tour and she actually even just let us hang our for about 15 minutes until the rain slowed up a bit.
We had a great time and would HIGHLY recommend this tour… Especially if you get the female guide with Pretty Lady!

Totally recommend this one! Our tour guide was so awesome! I wish I remembered her name our horse was named Blue

Mark gave us a great tour of the French quarter. This was a unique way to learn more about a part of the city. Mark the tour guide was very knowledgeable about his city. The part where we went to the grave yard was the best to me. It was cool to see that the actor Nicolas Cage has already purchased his future burial grounds. The hotel for the dead was a lil creepy though lol. First time ever seeing a grave yard above ground.

Husband and I along with friends approached RON and his mule and carriage to inquire about a tour. He said they were watching the temperature to ensure it did by go up too much to take the mule out. He checked the temperature and said it was close to the cutoff and said he wanted to wait a bit. I gained so much respect for him immediately for not wanting to endanger the mule in the heat. Meanwhile, I notice «Mid City carriage tours» RUNNING their miles pulling the large carriages with people in the 90+ heat. I was so mad. We waited and then went out. Ron spoke gentle to the mule and we walked/​trotted at a nice pace. He grew up in NOLA so his stories were genuine. He even shared his childhood stories. Highly recommend a company that has their animals best interest first.

I have only taken two tours, both were excellent. The fares were different, as one tour was in a large carriage and the second was just my friend and myself. The guides were amusing and informative, the tour was visually entertaining, the carriage itself very comfortable. We were disappointed at the end of the ride — wanted it to go on and on!

Carlo knows everything there is to know and the carriage ride is a must for any NOLA trip.

Jackson Square tour was mediocre and too short — Did not live up to expectations. I was really excited about this carriage tour, which appeared to be a good deal ($ 18/​person). But the tour lasts less than 30 min and is not very thorough. It takes you past the house of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and the Ursuline Convent. The convent has an incredibly fascinating history, but our guide skipped over it. I guess w only 30 minutes they have to pick and choose… But still I think there are a lot more interesting portions of New Orleans to cover than the home of Brad Pitt.
At least it was nice to get off our feet for a while and we didn’t need to reserve tickets in advance.

To be honest… I’m not sure which carriage company we took… I remember our driver was a woman and the actual guide was a man. It was already dark so I’m not sure if that affect my enjoyment but I just felt like I rode around places I had already seen on foot and didn’t really learn anything new or exciting. Plus the roads are bumpy and uncomfortable.

Such a great tour! Was hesitant to pay $ 50 for the tour, but my dad pretty much made us do it and I’m so glad he did! We learned a lot about New Orleans and it made us appreciate it even more!

Carlo was a great driver. We’ve taken the tour before and took relatives on this visit. A cool and quick way to learn about the area. Carlo was lively, knowledgable and entertaining.

So I wanted an enjoyable tour — not just a carriage driver droning on about boring people, places and things… so I took the time to walk down Decatur and talk to each driver. After talking to 5 or 6, I met Adam, and I knew we’d found our tour guide!
Our group had a FANTASTIC time with Adam as our driver/​narrator (and our mule Marie as equally as lovely). Adam was extremely entertaining, informative and knowledgeable and our one-​hour ride through the French Quarter, Marigny, etc. was truly one of the highlights of our trip to New Orleans!
Highly recommend!

I took a Royal Carriage ride at Jackson Square in New Orleans, LA on 4÷15÷2015. It was my 1^st ride there. My mule’s name was Big Mama and the drivers name was Sandra. I did a ½ hour tour for $ 18.00. Sandra gave a great narration as we viewed the French Quarter from a slow leisurely pace. Plus, I took photos.

While its rather expensive for an hour it’s a great way to get a decent tour of the French quarter and surrounding area. Paid 180 for 4 of us but it was good use of time and allowed us to see restaurants and shops which we made a note of to visit later as they were off the beaten path of the common tourist. The mules seemed to be taken care of and the driver genuinely cares about his mule.

I have watched these poor mules as they are worked to death on the streets of New Orleans. One fell over and died on January 19^th at the intersection of Royal and Governor Nicholls Street. Do not patronize this cruelty.

I can’t believe I’ve never done this before. I actually grew up in New Orleans, but never took a carriage ride — either because it was «too touristy» or because I thought it was too expensive. It was $ 36/​passenger/​hour without tip, which is a great deal.
I’m actually not much of a history buff, and I grew up in New Orleans, but I learned a lot while enjoying the ride tremendously. Mark, our driver, and Peaches, his friendly mule, took us up through the French Quarter, into Treme, and around back through the Marigny.
Mark is a great storyteller. He kept us informed with the foundational bits of history, and entertained with the obscure and interesting. We visited Marie Laveau’s tomb, which is something I’d expect, but Mark also pointed out Nicolas Cage’s tomb (look it up). We learned where the slaves used to gather to dance and party on their one day off every week. That tale segued into a history of Rock ‘n Roll, including the first ever recorded use of the term «rock» to describe music — in New Orleans, of course.
Altogether, the hour we spent was a great addition to our visit. It added a different kind of spice to our trip. Highly recommended!

I really loved this carriage ride. I think with the negative reviews that exist, it really does boil down to which guide you have. I literally walked the area on Decatur (in front of the cathedral) for about 5 – 10 minutes while I stalked the guides to see what their sitch was. Trust me. if you find one that is sketchy or is drunk, keep walking. There are some that are actually sober and know what they are doing.
We had a great guide who drove us around NOLA, especially in the areas I was unfamiliar with, especially the Treme and the Marigny which are now my fave spots! Our ride was supossed to be half an hour but was actually an hour. The ride was comfy, we had a blanket to keep us warm, and it was more than just the traditional touristy stuff you normally get on these tours. We got personal stories about houses in the area, some ghost stories, and fun facts that made us more interested in searching for more areas to visit in NOLA.
Our ride cost us $ 90 (per ride, not per person) and was totally worth it!