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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Shreveport
Give Shreveport 2 nights as a Red River casino-and-museums stop on I-20, not a destination trip: downtown riverfront plus one Bossier casino night.
Shreveport is Louisiana's third-largest city and the main city of the Ark-La-Tex, a three-state region where Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas meet. It pairs a small downtown riverfront with riverboat casinos, a free art gallery and a science centre, and it works best as a 2-night stop on the I-20 drive between Dallas and Jackson rather than a standalone trip. Bossier City sits directly across the Red River and holds most of the casino hotels.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (heat and humidity), late Feb Mardi Gras weekend if you want quiet
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $60–100 excl. bed · Mid $110–180 excl. bed · High $200+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $3–6 |
| Po-boy or plate lunch | $10–18 |
| Boiled crawfish, per pound (in season) | $6–10 |
| Draft beer at a bar | $5–8 |
| 5 km (3.1 mi) rideshare3.1 mi (5 km) rideshare | $10–16 |
| Museum entry (most city museums) | Free–$15 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SHV · Shreveport Regional Airport
- 5 miles west of downtown at I-20/I-220; nonstop to Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, plus seasonal Orlando-Sanford
- DTN · Shreveport Downtown Airport
- Small field about a mile north of downtown; personal aircraft and charters only
Typical fares
- SHV airport → downtown, taxi
- $15–25, about 15 min (check)
- SHV airport → downtown, rideshare
- usually $15–25 (check)
- SporTran bus
- free of charge (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
A car is the practical choice: I-20 and I-49 cross the city and the I-220/LA-3132 Inner Loop rings it. SporTran buses cover most of Shreveport and parts of Bossier City and are free of charge, but routes are slow and thin in the evening. Rideshare (Uber, Lyft) works well downtown and at the airport; taxis are few.
See and do
Known for
- Riverboat casinos on the Red River
- R.W. Norton Art Gallery
- Louisiana Hayride and the Municipal Auditorium
- Mardi Gras krewes Gemini and Centaur
- Red River Revel and Mudbug Madness festivals
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bossier City | Drive or rideshare across the Red River, 5–10 min from downtown | About 15 min |
| Mansfield, Louisiana | US-171 south by car, about 40 min | About 45 min |
| Logansport, Louisiana | US-84 west by car, about 45 min | About 50 min |
| Coushatta | I-49 south then LA-1/LA-6, about 1 h | About 1 h |
| Ruston | I-20 east by car, about 1 h | About 1 h |
| Arcadia, Louisiana | I-20 east then LA-9/LA-147, about 1 h | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Downtown Shreveport riverfront
- Walk to the aquarium, Sci-Port, artspace and the two downtown casinos; quiet at night outside casino floors.
- Bossier City (across the Red River)
- Casino hotels and the Boardwalk shopping area; 5–10 min by car from downtown Shreveport.
- Youree Drive / South Shreveport
- Chain hotels, malls and restaurants; needs a car for everything.
- Airport area (west, near I-220)
- Cheapest beds and free hotel shuttles; nothing walkable.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank youEnglish is the everyday language here |
| Where is the bathroom? | Where is the bathroom? |
| How much is it? | How much is it? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
| To this address, please | To this address, please |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer heat and humidity from June to August; plan indoor stops midday.
- The Municipal Auditorium area is fine by day but avoid it after dark.
- Casino floors are 24 h and cash-heavy: set a limit before you walk in.
- I-49 through downtown has been under construction: use I-220/LA-3132 to connect the two sections.
- Tornado season runs spring and late autumn in this part of Louisiana: check warnings.
Shreveport has pockets of property crime; stay in well-lit areas downtown and in Bossier City at night, keep the car locked, and avoid the Municipal Auditorium block after dark.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Shreveport yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Riverboat casinos on the Red River
- R.W. Norton Art Gallery
- Louisiana Hayride and the Municipal Auditorium
- Mardi Gras krewes Gemini and Centaur
- Red River Revel and Mudbug Madness festivals
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Shreveport-Bossier official tourism site: www.shreveport-bossier.org/
- SporTran (Shreveport public transit): www.sportran.org/
- Wikivoyage: Shreveport, revision 5331833 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5331833
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Shreveport
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
No embassies in Shreveport; most countries keep consulates in Houston, Dallas or New Orleans and embassies in Washington, DC.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink, 15–20% taxis.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/shreveport). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.