Plan with Rovo. Drive with your favorite map.
Houston to New Orleans covers about 350 miles and 5.5 hours, running almost entirely east on I-10 through Beaumont, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge before crossing into New Orleans.
It's one of the simplest interstate drives in the region — one highway the whole way, no connections to track. The stretch through the Atchafalaya Basin between Lafayette and Baton Rouge runs on an 18-mile elevated bridge with no exits, so it's worth using the restroom and topping off before you reach it.
The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge — about 18 miles of elevated highway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge with no exits — is the one stretch to plan around. Fuel up in Lafayette before crossing it, since there's nowhere to stop until you're on the other side.
Plan This Route with Rovo →No. The entire route runs on I-10 through Texas and Louisiana, and none of it is tolled. (If you detour onto the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway once you're in the New Orleans area, that bridge does have a toll, but it's not part of the direct I-10 route.)
Yes — at 5.5 hours on a single interstate, it's a straightforward one-day trip with no route decisions to make along the way.
Leaving before 7am clears Houston's morning rush on I-10 East, and also gets you through the Atchafalaya Basin bridge and into Baton Rouge before that city's afternoon congestion builds.