The fair place to meet is Orlando, FL — the city closest to the midpoint of New Orleans and Tampa. From the farther side that’s about 11 hr 10 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Orlando, FL
From New Orleans
11 hr 10 min
533 mi to Orlando
From Tampa
1 hr 56 min
77 mi to Orlando
Tampa has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 9 hr 14 min. The alternatives below can even it out. New Orleans and Tampa are about 481 miles apart.
New Orleans and Tampa are about 481 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Orlando, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 11 hr 10 min of driving on the New Orleans side and 1 hr 56 min on the Tampa side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Orlando suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Orlando doesn't have what you're after, Birmingham and Atlanta are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between New Orleans and Tampa.
Orlando is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. Part of Central Florida, it is the fourth-most populous city in the state and its most populous inland city, with a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census. Read more →
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Read more →
Tampa is a major city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Hillsborough County. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.