Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Akers is a remote community in southeast Louisiana about 40 miles northwest of downtown New Orleans. Akers sits on a narrow strip of land that separates Lake Pontchartrain on the east from the smaller Lake Maurepas on the west. The community is located along Interstate 55, which connects it to Hammond to the north and LaPlace to the south, both about a 20-minute drive and filled with plenty of lodging options.
The LaPlace Holiday Inn Express is a 91-room hotel that puts you within striking distance of both Akers and New Orleans. The hotel is located where I-10 meets with U.S. 51, close to the New Orleans airport. The hotel is not far away from Cajun Pride Tours, where you can sign up for local, guided tours of the nearby swamp, hurricane disaster area and historic plantations from the Old South.
This Quality Inn, also located at the I-10 and U.S. 51 juncture in LaPlace, offers a free hot breakfast buffet, free high-speed Internet and other services. Its location puts it near all sorts of attractions, such as the Belle Terre Country Club, an 18-hole golf course that caters to both beginners and experts.
Head north of Akers to check in at the Colonial Inn of Hammond, a 45-room lodging that offers basics such as cable television, high-speed Internet and a free continental breakfast. The hotel is also pet-friendly. Guests have a number of restaurant options less than two miles away, including a couple of steakhouses, a Mexican restaurant, a Japanese restaurant and a seafood eatery, as well as fast food options. An Amtrak station is just two miles away.
This Microtel Inn is located a little closer to Akers in the Ponchatoula area, the last part of major civilization before you get into the Joyce Wildlife Management Area to the south. The two-floor, 52-room hotel has basics such as a complimentary breakfast and cable television. Its location near Lake Pontchartrain makes it an ideal spot for wildlife activities, such as Mockingbird Swamp Tours, where guests get to see alligators and view semi-tropical gardens in the wilderness via six- and 14-person boat tours.