A Carnival-season move comes down to three things: which parade routes sit between your old place and your new one, what day and time those parades roll, and where the truck can legally park. I'm Adonay Pineda, and AD Movers has planned Mardi Gras moves in New Orleans around the parade calendar since 2013. This guide lays out the routes on both sides of the parish line, the dates to aim for and the ones to skip.
Carnival season runs from January 6 (Twelfth Night) to Fat Tuesday, so its length changes with the calendar; in 2027, Fat Tuesday falls on February 9. For most of those weeks the city moves normally during the day. The squeeze comes in the last two weekends before Fat Tuesday, when big parades roll most nights and the truck has to work around closed routes and parked crowds. Moving during Mardi Gras in New Orleans is very doable once you know where and when those closures happen.
Closures follow the parade routes, and the routes shift a little from year to year, so check this season's maps before you lock a date. These are the ones that matter for a moving truck:
Areas that stay open on most parade days: Lakeview, Gentilly, New Orleans East, Harahan and River Ridge, and the West Bank outside NOMTOC's day in Algiers. The catch is the drive between them. A move from Lakeview to Gentilly is easy on a Bacchus Sunday; a move from Lakeview to the Garden District that same afternoon is not.
The right date depends on one question: does your pickup, your drop-off or the drive between them touch a parade route?
A Monday through Thursday move in January, before the nightly parades start, has open streets and the most crew openings. The rate is the same as any other day; what you gain is an easy route and a choice of start times.
The two weekends before Fat Tuesday carry the big parades: Endymion in Mid-City on Saturday, Bacchus Uptown on Sunday, and several nights on Veterans in Metairie. Morning moves still work in most areas; plan to be unloaded well before the first parade of the day lines up.
Fat Tuesday is the hardest moving day of the year here, and the Monday before it is close behind. Unless both addresses and the drive between them sit well away from every route, move the Thursday before or the week after.
Plenty of New Orleans leases end on the first of the month, and February 1 lands inside Carnival season most years. If your lease ends then, book four to six weeks ahead, and ask your landlord if you can move a day or two early to stay off a parade weekend.
Every Carnival-season booking gets the same steps before the truck leaves:
No. AD Movers does not charge a Mardi Gras surcharge, a weekend surcharge or a fuel surcharge. Local moves are hourly at the same rate every day of the year. What Carnival can change is the clock: a detour around a closed route adds drive time, which is why we pick routes and start times with you before move day. The final price is confirmed before the crew arrives, and nothing is added without your OK.
Get a ballpark price for your Carnival-season move at admoversla.com/moving-quote/ in about 60 seconds, no phone call needed. Put both addresses in and we'll tell you if either sits on a parade route.
Yes. For most of Carnival season the city runs normally during the day, and neighborhoods away from the routes, such as Lakeview and Gentilly, stay open even on big parade days. The planning is in the date and the drive: we check both addresses against the parade schedule before booking and pick a start time that has you unloaded before the routes close.
Uptown parades close Napoleon Avenue and St. Charles Avenue down to Canal. Endymion closes Orleans Avenue, Carrollton and Canal in Mid-City. Zulu runs Jackson Avenue to Orleans and Broad on Fat Tuesday. In Metairie, Veterans Memorial Boulevard closes between Bonnabel and Clearview. Check nola.gov and Jefferson Parish for this year's maps.
Four to six weeks ahead if your date is February 1 or falls on one of the last two weekends before Fat Tuesday, since those dates fill first. For a weekday in January, two weeks is usually enough. Booking earlier mostly buys you a choice of start time, which matters more during Carnival than any other part of the year.
No. Local moves are hourly at the same rate every day, with no Carnival, weekend or fuel surcharge. A detour around a closed route can add drive time, so we plan the route with you first. Get a ballpark price at admoversla.com/moving-quote/ in about 60 seconds; the final price is confirmed before move day.
We reroute. Earhart Expressway, I-10 and Claiborne get us around St. Charles on Uptown parade days, and West Esplanade or Airline Drive keep us off Veterans in Metairie. If a closure makes the move impossible that day, including a parade pushed onto your date by rain, we move your date at no charge.
After, if you can. From Ash Wednesday on, the barricades come down, the routes reopen and the calendar loosens up. Across the whole year, October and November are the easiest months; March and early April are next; avoid August–September and Mardi Gras weeks. The week after Fat Tuesday leads straight into that spring window.
Yes, on parade days. Most Metairie krewes roll westbound on Veterans Memorial Boulevard from the Bonnabel area to Clearview, and on Mardi Gras Day Argus runs east from Clearview. Homes north and south of Veterans are reachable, but the crossing is the problem, so we plan the drive on West Esplanade or Airline and finish before the parade lines up.
Fat Tuesday is February 9, 2027, and Carnival season starts on January 6. Endymion rolls the Saturday before and Bacchus the Sunday before. If you can choose, move on a weekday in January or in the week after Ash Wednesday, February 10, and keep the last two weekends and Lundi Gras off your list.
Get a ballpark price in about 60 seconds. We check your pickup and drop-off against this year's parade routes, pick a start time that beats the closures, and move your date at no charge if a parade takes it.
Carnival timing sorted? Check hurricane-season moving for summer dates and our crew-written moving tips. Costs are covered at how much movers cost in New Orleans.
AD Movers is a licensed & insured New Orleans moving company providing local and long-distance moving across the areas we serve.
