A BYOB Bus to Mid-City's Cities of the Dead
An evening bus from the French Quarter out to Mid-City's cemeteries, with time on foot among the tombs and your own drinks aboard.
NOLA GhostRiders runs this evening cemetery tour by bus. The route leaves the French Quarter along Esplanade Avenue for what the operator calls the old edge of town, now the neighborhoods of Mid-City and City Park, with live commentary on board. Drinks are bring-your-own, and the operator's posted rule is that anyone disruptive will be asked to leave the tour. The one stop the listing names is the Masonic Cemetery, given thirty minutes with entry included.
Three departures are on sale, at 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM, each about two hours. As of October 20, 2026, the booking calendar sells the 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM nearly every night, while the 5:00 PM is not offered Monday through Wednesday. All three are still open for October 31. Adult seats on the 5:00 PM and 11:00 PM cost USD 30, and the 8:00 PM costs USD 45, or USD 50 on Fridays and Saturdays. Children aged 6 to 11 pay less on every departure, and the operator lists the tour as ages 6 and up.
Cemetery and Ghost BYOB Bus Tour in New OrleansTwo-hour BYOB bus tour from 1140 Decatur Street to Mid-City cemeteries, with 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM departures.www.viator.comOut Esplanade to the Masonic Cemetery
The listing's first stop is the Masonic Cemetery in Mid-City, founded in 1865 by the Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana Free and Accepted Masons. Its description sets it apart from the Catholic cemeteries that dominate the city, and credits its elaborate tombs partly to lodge members pooling money for large group tombs. The plot is triangular, cut in two by Conti Street, and the listing reads its angled walkways as an echo of the Masonic square and compass. Two accounts from 2026 matter here: one group's first stop was the Odd Fellows cemetery, and another group could not get into the first cemetery that night.
A Beignet Break and the Dueling Oaks
The listing has the bus passing City Park without stopping, yet travelers' accounts from 2025 and 2026 describe two stops on this part of the night. One is a beignet and restroom break that travelers name as Morning Call. The coffee stand's own site places it at Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue, at the end of the streetcar line, and lists it open from 7 a.m. to midnight every day. The other is at the old dueling oaks in City Park, where the guide tells the tree's story in the dark. City Park Conservancy posts the park's hours as 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, so on the 11:00 PM departure the City Park part of the route falls after those hours. Reviews from June and September 2026 also mention guides handing out ghost-hunting gadgets such as EMF meters.
The Second Cemetery Is Yours to Wander
Travelers in 2026 describe a second cemetery after the City Park stop, a newer site built around a large mausoleum with indoor and outdoor sections. Two of them describe exploring it on their own for about twenty-five minutes. Reviews split on how that lands. Some liked the free time among the tombs after dark, while others wanted more ghost stories and found the night heavier on burial customs and cemetery history, which is what the operator says the tour covers.
Pick the Hour for the Crowd You Want
With drinks on board, the crowd sets the tone. Accounts from 2026 describe loud music and heavy drinking on some departures, including a Saturday 11:00 PM run in April. One traveler moved from a later booking to 5:00 PM in April 2026 and found the tombs easier to see and the footing easier to judge. An August 2026 traveler's 5:00 PM was cancelled, and that traveler rode at 8:00 PM instead. The listing marks the tour suitable for all physical fitness levels and does not mark it wheelchair accessible. It involves boarding a bus and walking cemetery paths, at night on the later departures, and the operator's site and booking page carry no accessibility statement. The listing also mentions infants riding on laps, though its prices start at age 6.
Check-in is at Voodoo Tavern & Poboys, 1140 Decatur Street, and both the listing and the operator ask you to arrive 30 minutes before departure. That block is part of a Sewerage and Water Board project replacing the 24-inch water main under Decatur Street between Dumaine and Governor Nicholls streets, and the board was still posting work notices for it in August 2026. Travelers in November 2025 and October 2026 describe construction fencing around the meeting point, so allow time to find the group. The listing includes drop-off at its meeting points, and travelers describe ending where they started. Through this listing, cancelling at least 24 hours ahead gets a full refund, while the operator's own direct terms are stricter. The tour can be called off for bad weather or too few riders, and tips for the guide are not included. All three departures are off on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and Mardi Gras, February 9, 2027. The bus brings you back to Decatur Street with the rest of the French Quarter night still ahead.