Oak Alley Plantation and Swamp Boat Tour from New Orleans
Description
On this full-day tour, you'll be driven to the Oak Alley Plantation House, then see the Cajuns of the bayou living and surviving in harmony with the swamps. Located about an hour and a half outside the city of New Orleans, Oak Alley is one of the most magnificent plantation tours because of the 28, evenly spaced, huge Oak Trees that go from the river road to the Plantation House. Experience bayou living where here, the waterways are their highways. From the relaxed comfort of our covered New Orleans Swamp Tour Boats, you will drift slowly past a 2000 year old Indian Burial Mound, a Cajun cemetery and Fishing village! You may see the wildlife that made the Barataria Swamps the Crown Jewel of the Louisiana Purchase.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Oak Alley Plantation Tour: The Greek revival home dates back to 1837. Located on the grounds, is a restaurant, blacksmith shop, souvenir shop and antique farm equipment. It is a comprehensive plantation experience. The tour of the Oak Alley’s house is conducted by guides in authentic plantation style apparel. Walking is required for this tour. Plantation house to the restaurant and souvenir shop is about one block in distance. There are benches along the path, shaded by the Oaks.
The New Orleans swamp tour boats are fully narrated and our captains are natives of the Barataria Swamps with a background of gator hunting, fishing and trapping. They will entertain you and amaze you with the ecology of the swampland. They have lived the life! Here, birds, snakes, turtles, fur animals, and gators are the kings of the swamp and easily spotted in spring, summer, and fall. Gators do hibernate during the cold winter months, but lay on the bayou banks on warmer days. So even in Winter, our native Captains can sometimes find a sunning Gator on our tour. The slow drift of our tour boats through moss draped trees and small waterways, will provide ample opportunity for viewing and photography. Your comfort is guaranteed on our tour boats. They have a roof, restroom, cushioned seats, and windows that can be raised or lowered during cold or rainy weather, along with plenty of standing and walking room. These tours are entertaining, educational and exciting.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
**You must be out front of your location at the beginning of the pickup window or the bus will be forced to leave.** For pickups, there will be a 30 minute window. Please be on the lookout for a bus that says Alert Transportation. 8:15 AM pickup will be sometime between 8:15 AM and about 8:45 AM. 10:45 AM pickup will be sometime between 10:45 AM and about 11:15 AM.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Service animals are permitted.
- Emotional support animals are not permitted.
- - Folding wheelchairs are allowed on the bus, but the driver is not allowed to pick up a person to help them gain entrance. The customer must get into the minibus by themselves or with assistance from family or friends.
- - Please note you are not guaranteed to see a gator. They hibernate in winter months but are easily spotted in spring, summer, and fall.
- - When traveling with multiple passengers, you must make one booking with all passengers to insure that you are on the same boat. If you did not book together, you are not guaranteed to be together.
Reviews(403)
I have mixed feelings about this tour. The hotel pickup and drop-off were very convenient, and our bus driver from the hotel to the plantation was wonderful. She did a great job driving while also giving us an overview of the area along the way. That said, for the price of this tour, I think there should be both a dedicated driver and a dedicated tour guide. Asking one person to drive safely while also providing commentary doesn’t seem ideal. The plantation tour itself was led by a plantation employee, so it felt like we were mainly paying for transportation to and from the plantation rather than a guided experience provided by the tour company. The highlight of the day was definitely the swamp tour with Captain Ernie. He was fun, engaging, and genuinely passionate about the land. Hearing his stories made the experience memorable, and my family specifically waited to get on his boat because we had heard such great things about him. One disappointment was that some of the promotional photos showed visitors holding a baby alligator, and I was expecting that to be part of the experience. Unfortunately, that wasn’t offered during our tour. There is an opportunity to purchase lunch and drinks at the plantation, which is convenient if you’re hungry. However, the food was very disappointing. It will do if you need something quick, but don’t expect a great meal. Overall, the transportation and swamp tour were excellent, but I expected more value for the price, especially when it came to the plantation portion of the experience.
Both parts of the tour were great. Wish we could have seen more of the Oak Alley house. The swamp tour with Captain Ernie was terrific! You could tell he knows the ecology and biology of the area. Very educational, and fun. He explained why May-September are the best months for this tour if you want to see alligators. I will never look at a swamp or bayou the same way again. The only thing I would improve on is making sure guests know that the pick-up time is a 30 minute window.
The tour was simply excellent and is absolutely recommended. Organizationally, everything went perfectly. I was the only one on the bus who booked the swamp tour after Oak Alley. I was then directed to another bus on the way, which was not a problem at all. Oak Alley was very impressive. On the swamp tour, we saw so many alligators. This is how I hoped it would be.
The plantation tour was very informative. The house and grounds are beautiful. The swamp tour was my favorite part. Our guide, Captain Bobby, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and gave us quite the show with feeding marshmallows to the alligators, petting them, kissing one on the head, and picking up a baby gator. He’s the guide you want if you do this tour.
Despite the rain - we had a great time at the plantation. Our swamp tour was fantastic - Ernie was great - very knowledgeable and really good fun.
Long ride for a brief experience. Always a possibility of severe thunderstorms curtailing activities. Rough riding van. Bayou tour should be called alligator tour, few other animals. Guides and drivers are patient and entertaining.
Thank you for the feedback. Please keep in mind that we do not have control over the wildlife and weather.
The plantation was beautiful and the guide was very informative. The swamp ride also did not disappoint and we were able to see several gators. I traveled with my husband and brother and our only complaint was that we felt rushed at the plantation especially in the guided tour of the main house.
Multiple bus transfers, with several hours spent on buses. Little time spent at Oak Alley to fully explore site. Wife got sick on bus from lack of A/C and ha had to return to hotel missing the second part of our tour.
Thank you for your feedback. The pickup is a 30 minute window, so we do sometimes have round-up drivers to pick up guests to expedite the pickup process so that we are on time. As for the AC, we do apologize. Will you kindly please give us more information on the driver and bus that day so we can address that problem? As for your wife missing the second part of the tour, we have on file that she was checked in for the tour. If this is inaccurate, please include this in your response. Our email is tickets@louisianaswamp.com or you can call us directly at 504-689-3599. Thank you.
Excellent tour guides for both places. The plantation was beautiful and the swamp was fun. Dewey is the guide to hit up for the swamp!!
I give 5 stars for the swamp tour. Captain Dewey was wonderful. We would definitely do that again. The plantation was disappointing. We only seen three rooms and the curator did not say much about the history. The slave quarters were “recreated”. Disappointing. The ride home we didn’t get dropped off at our hotel (where we were picked up) , we were told to get out and walk two blocks.
