Ghost tour New Orleans: four story tours compared

The most-reviewed walk is sold as the New Orleans Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire Historic FQ Tour. Its listing calls it an immersive storytelling experience through the historic French Quarter, with tales of ghosts “and the stories that made them”. If the phrase you typed was haunted ghost tour New Orleans, this is the listing with that name and the biggest review count: 3,256 reviews at 4.5, $33, 1.5 to 2 hours.

The French Quarter Ghost Tour with Interior Visit is the cheapest of the four at $30 for two hours, and it names a licensed guide. The listing describes ghost stories told at French Quarter locations it calls haunted. The title promises an interior visit; the description does not say which building, so read the listing first if the indoor stop is why you are choosing it.

The Ghost, Crime, Voodoo, and Vampires Guided Tour changes its story selection every week. Tales may feature vampires, star-crossed lovers, true crime, ghosts and Voodoo, which makes it the closest fit for a ghost and vampire tour New Orleans visitors want with some true crime mixed in. It costs $37 for 1.5 to 2 hours and holds 4.7 from 198 reviews — the highest rating of the four, from the smallest number of reviews.

The nearest thing to a ghost bus tour New Orleans has on this site is the New Orleans Cemetery Tour at Night. It is an after-dark bus tour with access into an above-ground cemetery, a lesson in using an EMF detector, and the history of the city’s burial practices. It costs $36 for two hours and holds 4.5 from 1,789 reviews, the second-largest review count on this page.

The listing does not name the cemetery. If a particular one matters to you, the 55-minute guided walk inside St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is a separate listing at $25; the cemetery tours guide compares both, with the city-and-cemetery bus.

The four listings carry 6,357 reviews between them. The spread in ratings is narrow, 4.5 to 4.7; the spread in review counts is wide, from 198 to 3,256.

That gives two honest ways to read them. More reviews mean a longer track record: the Haunted Ghost, Voodoo & Vampire tour has the most, at 4.5. A higher rating from fewer people is a smaller sample: the weekly-stories tour has 4.7 from 198. There is no single best ghost tour New Orleans answer in these numbers — there is the most-proven one and the highest-rated one, and they are $4 apart.

At $30 to $37 for 1.5 to 2 hours, a ghost tour New Orleans guides lead costs roughly $15 to $25 an hour. The French Quarter Small-Group Storytelling Walking Tour costs $33 for two hours and rates 4.8 from 1,498 reviews — a little higher than any of the four ghost tours.

So the honest split is this: if you want French Quarter history told well, the storytelling walk has the better rating for the same money (see the French Quarter guide). If you want ghosts, Voodoo and vampires, these four are the tours that carry those stories, and Free cancellation is on all four listings, so booking early costs nothing if plans change.