Home > New Orleans > Experience Cajun Country: Swamp Boat Adventure and Plantations Full-Day Tour from New Orleans
USD $171.00
Experience Cajun Country: Swamp Boat Adventure and Plantations Full-Day Tour from New Orleans
New Orleans, United States of America
A grand mélange presentation of Cajun and Creole cultures starting with a boat tour of the cypress swamps. Enjoy a traditional lunch at one of the oldest Plantations in the south, Oak Alley Plantation, followed by a guided tour of this grand mansion. Later in the afternoon visit Laura, a Creole Plantation and her historic slave quarters surrounded by sugar cane fields. The small-group atmosphere with maximum 13 people ensures a more personal experience.
You'll start your day driving out to Cajun Country, where you'll go through wild cypress swamps, over the Mississippi River on an impressive suspended bridge, and along vast sugarcane fields, as the guide tells a unique story of the odyssey of the Cajun people.
Next you'll take a narrated boat tour (about 1.5 hours) on winding bayous in remote cypress swamps. Your Cajun guide, also an alligator hunter and fur trapper, will share his knowledge of the swamp including reptile habits, healing plants and exotic birds. After this peaceful ride, explore his picturesque swamp zoo on Bayou Boeuf. A delicious lunch is included at Oak Alley Plantation's Cajun restaurant with a chance to experience traditional cuisine of this region.
After lunch be prepared for a pilgrimage back in time. From the River Road you will see and hear all about Whitney, Josephine, and Evergreen Plantations. A guided tour of Oak Alley Plantation to admire this jewel of Greek Revival architecture. Free time to walk under a spectacular canopy of 28 giant live oaks.
Next visit Laura, a Creole Plantation and her historic slave quarters surrounded by sugar cane fields. The guided tour transports you with dramatic detail into the charmed yet tragic lives of four generations of Creole owners and their slaves.
Upgrade to the High-Speed Airboat option, to experience a thrilling ride as you comfortably glide over marshes and into deep, secluded bayous.
Loved the boat tour, only our small group in the boat and the guide was very interesting and knowledgeable. Both plantations were gorgeous. Lunch was good, but it is a set menu. We were not fond of our driver, Johnny, he was a pretty aggressive driver and a bit rude when he was gathering our group at each location.
Review by: Don, June 2018
First off, Tours by Isabelle is basically a tour organizer, meaning, this company will organize transport and contract outside tour vendors and consolidating it into a day's worth of tours. This is important to understand since I am reviewing both the company itself and its tours it contracted. We had a guide that stayed with us the whole day and was also our driver employed by Tours by Isabelle. The first stop was the swamp tour which was run by another company not sure what the company was and we had a guide from that company take us on the airboat. Second stop was Oak Valley plantation led by their own guide again followed by lunch at the plantation. Last stop was Laurel Plantation their in-house guide was the best of the three. Trip ended and I was back at my hotel at around 5:30pm.
Review by: karen l, June 2018
excellent
Review by: Erik, May 2018
This was a fantastic way to see some history and nature just outside New Orleans. Our guide was wonderful, and we got to see Alligators right off the side of the boat. The plantations are beautiful, but a sobering reminder of our country's history. It was a wonderful way to spend a little time outside of busy New Orleans, and is a great addition to any trip to the Big Easy!
Review by: Rushabh J, April 2018
Excellent tour - highly recommended for anyone who doesn't mind getting their shoes a bit dirty in the swamps and playing around with the crocs... LOL just kidding! It's a fabulous site to go check out the plantations!!
Review by: Terry O, April 2018
Gene the driver was knowledgeable and engaging throughout the entire tour. Providing ongoing historical information personal stories of New Orleans.
Review by: Concordia C, April 2018
excellent tour, our guide was well versed on the local wildlife. We saw birds and animals and several gators lots of fun
Review by: klista12, April 2018
Even though this tour is a full day,, it is amazing and worth the price._br/_ My swamp boat captain Derek was a joy! He goes above and beyond to make sure we had a beautiful ride on the bayou. saw plenty of alligators, he lets you drive the boat,, he tells stories and is a credit to this tour operation._br/_ Both plantations were lovely.. I learned a lot about life in the past. Had a perky speaker ,, Bree,, she had great knowledge and shared it all with us!_br/_ Ginny, took us all around ,, she was the van operator and I would like to note.. that she gave the entire tour in English and in French ,, and didnt miss a beat. Another wonderful tour operator,, I thought she would get tired of speaking 2 languages but she was amazing.. If you can walk a lot,, take this tour!
Review by: tim36r, April 2018
What a great way to experience the Cajun area. Our tour guide Ginnie provided history and information all of the time we were travelling. Next we went deep in the swamps by airboat not only seeing alligators but also learning about their survival struggles and conservation initiatives.
Review by: Michael B, April 2018
Great tour the highlight being the Laura Plantation. _br/_ We had a great tour guide on the bus Gene Reyes he had great info on the tour and New Orleans generally.
Review by: Vi, April 2018
This was a great tour! Our tour guide John, was knowledgeable, funny, he was awesome! The airboat swamp tour was fun and we got to see a lot of alligators up close. The lunch at Oak Alley plantation was delicious, better than I expected. Our guide at Laura plantation was animated and very knowledgeable. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because our time at Oak Alley was very rushed and we did not have enough time to tour the whole property.
Review by: Gary D, April 2018
The tour guide and driver were great. It was a long trip 3 Hours each way and traffic held us up longer which not the flaunt of the tour company. The guide was informative but he had the translate in English and Spanish so each stop on the walking tour took extra time. The walking city tour was extremely busy with several tour buses arrived at the same time.
Review by: Craig T, April 2018
Great day tour, our guide was very informative and funny. Lunch was great.
Review by: Peter S, April 2018
Swamp boat tour was a bit disappointing - not much wildlife to see. Otherwise, plantation tours were very good. Excellent guide for Laura Plantation Bree. Excellent guide Ellen from Tours By Isabelle.
Review by: Ken O, April 2018
What a pleasant trip! John was a great driver and all the tour guides were informative. Celeste at the Laura plantation was particularly energetic and fun.
Review by: Robert C, March 2018
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our tours and experience with Viator during our wonderful stay in New Orleans! Using Viator made it all very easy and convenient.
Review by: Kristian W, March 2018
This was a well run and worthwhile tour which was good value for money. The pick-up was well organised and the guides were very knowledgeable. It's a full day tour taking in two plantations, their stories being quite interesting. A nice lunch is included. There's also a swamp tour - I recommend upgrading to the airboat ride as it's a LOT of fun. I would have no hesitation recommending this tour.
Review by: DORINDA D, March 2018
What a great day! We were fortunate to have Ginnie, our tour guide/driver, who provided us with so much information of the area, including all the history we would need to appreciate the area. Those that provided the tours at all 3 sites were so knowledgable and obviously proud of their roles in ensuring we had a positive experience. The lunch at Oak Alley was far better than we could have expected. It is a long day but we covered alot of territory and would highly recommed this tour ran by Tours by Isabelle.
Review by: Stewart C, March 2018
The tour was very enjoyable. The guide Kat Fields was well prepared, informative and very helpful. The swamp boat part as great.
Review by: Alan K, March 2018
All was great our guide, was terrific...,friendly smart and fun!
Review by: Anne R, March 2018
Giselle was a very knowledgeable and classy guide. She made the best of our tour getting off to a 30-minute delayed start, and kept us entertained and laughing for the entire day. We got to see baby gators, a few mamas and some beautiful birds along the way on our airboat. I'd suggest a hooded windbreaker for the ride, but what a ride! The plantations were great, and vastly different from each other. I have to hand it to Camille at Laura Plantation. She packed so much information and entertainment into our tour of that Creole plantation, she was AMAZING.
Review by: jstec, March 2018
The tour guide was very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The tour itself was very good. However, due to the early morning time around 9 am and the month March, there were no many alligators when we went on the air boat. Nevertheless, it was worth doing so anyway. Overall, this is a great tour at a very reasonable price.
Review by: Margy, March 2018
Loved visiting the two Plantations which were very different from one another. The lunch was delicious and fit nicely into the whole day. Enjoyed the boat trip on the bayou and even saw a couple of alligators who normally are scarce this time of year.
Review by: Timothée L, March 2018
Everything’s was perfectly orchestrated and the really long day I was promised was eventually extremely comfortable._br/_ The comments of our guide were really great, the swamp tour quite interesting (maybe a little bit calm) and the two plantations, absolutely extraordinary! Unmissable!
Review by: Wendy H, March 2018
Great tour, even though the weather was freezing!
Review by: DONNA A, December 2017
This tour was absolutely superb. The swamp boat could not have been more surreal - with blue skies above and the stillness of the bayou whilst watching the varying birds flying overhead. Oak Alley plantation was something else again and to stand on the balcony with the avenue of oak trees stretching below was awe inspiring. The lunch was amazing and the vegetarian dish was the best encountered during the entire trip to NOLA. The cocktails were fantastic. Finally the stop at Laura plantation gave yet a further insight into the plantations of old including the information surrounding the experience of the slaves which was truly heart rendering in places but something that we felt should not be missed. _br/_ This tour is highly recommended for those who wish to experience the history pertaining to such a culturally diverse area
Review by: mhern101, December 2017
Great experience. Tour guide was knowledgeable and kind. Great food for lunch. Swamp tour was fun. Both plantations were great.
Review by: Jo Ann P, December 2017
Amazing tour. Great guide and a lot of fun. Definitely recommend!
Review by: Katri K, December 2017
Was too cold, no alligators seen, otherwise OK.
Review by: DARYL W, December 2017
Tour was great! Viator was helpful to arrange pickup location, swamp boat tour captain was awesome even though it was late season and not many alligators were visible. Plantation tours were good but felt a little rushed. Tour guide was great and went out of her way to get us to our hotel, Can't thank her enough
Review by: CINDY M, November 2017
This was a GREAT tour. Lots of history and lots to see. It was cold weather during the Swamp Boat Adventure so the alligators were underwater. BUT the ride was very informative and the view was beautiful. The Plantation tours were great except for the fussy, very young children. This isn't the Tour Company's fault. Parents, I know you want to give your children an awesome learning experience but when they are 4 and under, they can't stay interested very long. The crying, loud whining and temper tantrums thrown by ALL the small children made it hard to hear the tour guide. Again, this was a GREAT tour.
Review by: Heather S, November 2017
An excellent tour. We enjoyed our boat trip on the bayou, and even saw a small alligator. Our guide, Brian, has spent his life fishing and trapping, and his knowledge was tremendous. Visiting the two very different plantations gave us great insight into the lives of both the owners and their slaves. Very poignant, sad stories amid beautiful homes and gardens. We now have a better idea of the distinctive history of Louisiana. Our driver, Joseph, was excellent. He kept up a continuous narrative on the lengthy trip, was very knowledgeable and was EASY TO UNDERSTAND. This is very important because other guides often had a very strong accent, spoke quickly and swallowed their words. He really made the trip interesting for us. HIghly recommended
Review by: Gerald L, November 2017
We really enjoyed the plantations. The guide tour expert new their history.
Review by: Julie G, November 2017
The tour was amazing, we enjoyed the whole day. We were picked up on time from our Hotel by our driver Kat and headed to the Bayou for our Air Boat ride. Kat was great, she talked about the area, the history and the changes from cyclone Katrina. It was quite a cold day and got very cold on the water, so make sure you have warm clothing for that. The areas we went were absolutely beautiful and our guide was very informative, from there we went to Oak Alley Plantation with the guides all wearing period costumes and was a very interesting and informative tour. The grounds and history of this Plantation was very great. We lunched here at the Cafe/Restuarant, the food was really good. Next onto Laura Plantation which is a different style of big house more of the Creole period and ownership. Our guide on this tour was awesome, only young but very informative and passionate about what he does, where he comes from and the history that has made his home state of Louisiana what it is. Back in the small bus for the drive back to New Orleans and Hotel with Kat filling us in on a little more New Orleans and Louisiana info. Perfect day from start to finish, I would highly recommend it.
Review by: tridant, November 2017
Great day and I would like to thank all of the tour operators for a great experience and highly recommend doing the tour
Review by: G V Ramesh P, November 2017
John our tour guide is a local with decades of knowledge about this area, and he was more than willing to share all of it with our group of 11 people. He also tailored his advice and tips to each group member depending on their own interests. He even told us a lot about New Orleans itself in the process of pickup and drop off. The swamp tour and the plantations are definitely worth a visit. Lunch was fantastic. I would strongly recommend this high-end tour over the less expensive but vastly larger groups in crowded boats that I saw along the way.
Review by: Lisa S, October 2017
This tour was the highlight of my trip. I love the two plantation tours - so very different they gave me a great perspective. Our guide on the swamp boat was wonderful - enjoyed every minute!
Review by: Angela P, October 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Phyllis D, October 2017
Our tour guide Joseph was great - extremely knowledgeable about the area and history. Airboat tour of the swamp was fun, but take a light coat on cool days. Its quite windy. We saw lots of gators! The two plantations have distinctly different styles which was interesting to see. Lunch at Oak Valley was delicious. Its a long day but worth it.
Review by: Maire, October 2017
Enjoyed the tour. air boat is noisy and its much colder than I expected the ride is fast . Sights are beautiful..
Review by: Kate R, October 2017
Our tour guide was Billy and he was awesome! He spends the day driving you around to the various locations, all the while stopping at a few extra spots, offering recommendations and insights into his city. The airboat ride through the swamp was amazing and our boat Captain was a hoot. We fed the gators and took a thrilling ride through the bayou. It was beautiful and peaceful. Oak Alley was gorgeous as well as Laura. Lunch was an excellent combination of many different Cajun dishes. Tour guides at Oak Alley were in period dress and were very knowledgeable. The tour guide at Laura was fantastic, she really knew a lot about the home and family. Would recommend, especially to experience Louisiana outside of New Orleans. This day was the favorite part of our trip.
Review by: Sheena D, October 2017
This was an excellent value. The guides were great at all stops, and the amount of information the driver gave us was almost overwhelming. The lunch at Oak Alley was delicious, and the chance to see the differences between two plantations was interesting. I would recommend this tour a thousand times over.
Review by: Evelyn K H, October 2017
We loved the plantations and enjoyed the boat ride, although the latter was not particularly interesting. Our guide, however, was good and the overall experience was great. Tours are great when you don't have much time and want to get a nice survey of an area. This one met our expectations and was a good value.
Review by: Jackie P, October 2017
This was a fun filled and informative day for our foursome. The swamp air boat was a good experience. Oak Alley was a beautiful home and grounds. Tour was a little too crowded, but the guide was very informative. Lunch was just so so. The highlight was Laura, the Creole Plantation. Our guide, Al, was very, very good. We learned so much about this property as well as plantation life in this area.
Review by: Brian S, October 2017
An exceptional tour. Cecile, our guide, was in top form. Would recommend this to everyone.
Review by: Brenda S, October 2017
a great trip. included so many interesting sights and information. very fun.
Review by: Kelly W, October 2017
The boat tour was great. He had names for most of the gators we saw. It was the first week of hunting season and he told us the big guys know to hide, but he knew were a nest was located and we got to see the babies out and he fed the mom. The plantations were good, the food was better than I had expected and the grounds were beautiful. The tour at the laura plantation was very riveting. My mom, who being from the north and not too into history, was moved to tears as she didn't have much of an idea of what slave life was like. The bus was very comfortable and the driver also gave some great information!
Review by: Tegan H, September 2017
Our tour guide, Billy, was great fun the whole day. He seemed very informed about the things he talked about and had good answers to questions pertaining to those topics. We went out to two plantations the Laura plantation had a much smaller group so it was more intimate and seemed to have more information than the Oak Alley tour which was packed with people. Oak Alley did have a very nice lunch buffet though.
Review by: Jennifer N, September 2017
This tour was the best!! Our boat guide was so informative and enjoyable. We saw several crocodiles! Very exciting. The swamps were beautiful which was not expected by me at least. The plantations were awesome and the tour guides were great. We learned so much. Thank you for giving us such a wonderful experience!!!
Review by: Jacquelyn K, September 2017
This was so a fun day, as well as a bit sad, to see how these plantations worked was great.
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