Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans
Description
This combination tour combines the best of the best! The best swamp tour with the best plantations along River Road. See a variety of wildlife on a swamp boat ride and explore an authentic southern plantation on this tour from New Orleans. See alligators, egrets, raccoons and snakes during your ride around a private Louisiana swamp. 9am and 11am departure times tour Oak Alley Plantation and are 7 hours and 45 minutes in length returning to New Orleans at 4:45pm and 6:45pm respectively. 1pm departure time tours Destrehan Plantation and is 5 hours and 30 minutes in length returning to New Orleans at 6:30pm.
Tour Options
Itinerary
9am & 11am Departures - 7 1/2 Hour Tour Your 1.5 hour Oak Alley experience will include a docent guided tour of the plantation home, a self guided tour of the grounds and many photo opportunities along the way. Save room for a Mint Julep or refreshment from the snack bar.
Although called a lake, this is actually a large lagoon and brackish estuary fed by fresh water rivers and connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Covering 630 square miles (1600 km2) it is one of the largest wetlands in North America.
View the spillway, a flood control operation in the Lower Mississippi west of New Orleans. The spillway, when open, allows floodwaters from the Mississippi River to flow into Lake Pontchartrain and thence into the Gulf of Mexico.
This privately owned wildlife refuge ensures that you won’t encounter any other boats during your peaceful journey into the swamp. Local Cajun captains share personal tales of their own swamp explorations and fascinating information on the plants and wildlife you'll encounter. The primitive beauty of moss draped cypress tress and abundant wildlife guarantees some amazing pictures! Enjoy a beverage and snack from the open air pavilion.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- In order to help protect the French Quarter from vehicular traffic, it is requested that you please walk, if possible, to the convenient tour departure point -- just a short stroll from most downtown hotels.
- Alternate Routes: Due to uneven and narrow paths, alternate routes may be necessary for guests traveling in wheelchairs.
- 9am & 11am = Oak Alley Plantation
- 1pm = Destrehan Plantation
- Oak Alley Plantation is a Smoke Free Facility
Reviews(3,486)
Wonderful experience and super fun boat driver! The boats are good, and Oh My and all Of the wildlife! Just a great overall day and don’t be worried about the heat the bayou is very shaded and boats breeze is great! Be sure you come with a fully charged battery— you will want to video and take lots of photos!!!
Dustin was a great captain! He was funny and knowledgeable and we saw a ton of alligators and other wildlife.
I enjoyed the combo-tour, but would have preferred more specific info. during the plantation tour. Oak Alley is magnificent, but where were the slaves buried after death on that plantation?
Very informative, beautiful environment, swamp tour captain and ride excellent! Would definitely recommend!
WOW. This tour was very easy for travelers, everything is set up for you. I went with my sister, and we were completely new to traveling. It was easy to find the pick up spot, and then from there we could sit back and relax. We learned a lot about New Orlean's history, and the Plantation was beautiful and very informative. The swamp tour was the highlight! We saw tons of wildlife, and the tour guide there was incredible. Overall, it was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend.
Wonderful tour! The tour guides were amazing and we saw such beautiful places! Very knowledgeable about the area and our boat guide knew the swamp inside and out. Would definitely recommend!
I am in the US a fair bit for work and if I am here for the weekend I try to make the most of it! I have been disappointed with most guided trips I take in the US but certainly not this one! This surpassed all expectations and I am so pleased I decided to do it. You start your day at Oak Alley Plantation, a beautiful building and grounds but with a very sobering history. The team did a good job explaining a very difficult history and ensuring the enslaved people’s histories were properly told with honesty and respect. The second part of the trip was a boat ride down the Manchac swamp. This was fabulous and we got to see alligators, racoons and wild pigs up close. Would highly, highly recommend… even the bus journey there and back was entertaining with great narration from Kate (and can’t forget Dominique our great bus driver). 10/10 all round.
This is a great, day long tour. Informative guide (Dionne) who persisted despite little feedback from the clients :-( , and super professional driver (Glen). Oak Alley is a magnificent heritage plantation, fabulous and informative staff. The Swamp tour was our highlight though, so much more than just Gators, and there was plenty of those. We particularly liked the Raccoons.
Would have been a 5 star experience but our Tour Guide, Robert S, was horrible. Knowledgeable no doubt, but he expressed his opinions more than the historic facts. He led it with arrogance and condescending tones towards us. It was incredibly loud and unbearable throughout the bus rides. Would not do it again.
Our tour guide Robert was very detailed throughout the tour, to and from our destination. The driver, Alton was very good at driving us safely to our two locations of our tour and back. I highly recommend using Gray Lines Tours to see the plantation tour and getting a historical insight of how New Orleans came to be. I give 5 stars for professionalism.
