Top Louisiana Day Trips

Gain a deeper understanding of American history on this visit to Louisiana’s only museum dedicated to enslaved people. After you are collected from your New Orleans hotel in a luxurious air-conditioned van, your driver will take you westwards towards the Whitney Plantation. On the way, expect to hear an overview on the history of American plantations before arriving to this impactful landmark.

Enjoy an only-in-New-Orleans experience when you embark on a paddle-wheel boat tour of the mighty Mississippi River. In the evening, hop aboard the Steamboat Natchez or her sister vessel, the Riverboat City of New Orleans, and admire views of the city from the water's edge. This cost-saving package additionally includes a Creole‐inspired dinner (if option selected), plus live jazz music to set the mood.

Discover a different side of New Orleans—and admire a new perspective from the water's edge—on this steamboat tour down the Mississippi River. Board the historic riverboat—either the Steamboat Natchez or her sister vessel—for a morning or afternoon tour. Stroll the deck, admire the iconic paddlewheel, enjoy live music, and snap photos of the picturesque shoreline. This family‐friendly excursion offers an optional lunch (additional expense).

Visit the Whitney Plantation Museum—a former indigo and sugar plantation that is now dedicated to promoting an understanding of enslavement in Louisiana—on this hassle-free trip from New Orleans. Round-trip transit and admission tickets are included for your convenience. Upon arrival, learn about the brutal realities of plantation life through museum exhibits and an audio guide as you explore the site independently. You can also choose to upgrade your experience to include a 90-minute swamp tour.

This tour combines the private Manchac Swamp with Whitney Plantation. A decade ago Whitney Plantation, circa 1752, opened its doors to the public for the first time in its history as the only plantation museum in Louisiana completely dedicated to the history of slavery. The experience at Whitney is a self-paced audio tour. Visitors to Whitney will gain a unique perspective on the enslaved people who lived and worked here through museum exhibits, restored historic outbuildings, and hundreds of first-person narratives. Then it's a short ride to a privately-owned wildlife refuge within the Manchac Swamp, where homegrown Cajun captains will take you on a journey back to the early days of swamp exploration. They'll guide the covered pontoon boat through the mystical cypress swamp while showing off the American Alligator and abundant wildlife. Learn the history of the town of Frenier and the Cajun culture of fishing, hunting, and trapping. Get the camera ready gators leaping up for a snack!

Experience the rich history and vibrant culture of New Orleans from two perspectives on a city tour and steamboat cruise that lets you escape the land-based crowds. Enjoy a narrated coach tour of historic landmarks, including the French Quarter, Jackson Square, and the Garden District. Then, step aboard Steamboat NATCHEZ (or its sister vessel) for a journey along the mighty Mississippi River, complete with live jazz and optional Creole dining.

Exploring New Orleans in the evening can seem like an intimidating quest on your own, but this ghost, voodoo, and vampire walking tour takes you to the city’s eeriest sights at night in the safety of a group led by a guide. Stop by top attractions such as the LaLaurie Mansion and New Orleans Pharmacy Museum while listening to your guide’s detailed stories of the paranormal and beyond.

Get access to a privately owned wildlife refuge on the Manchac Swamp on this day tour from New Orleans. Step aboard a boat and embark on a wildlife tour to a pristine area where no other boats can go; you'll see and learn about swamp flora and fauna. Round-trip transportation from downtown New Orleans makes this trip an easy option to get out of the city for the day.

Put New Orleans in context without the self-drive hassles on this enriching full-day tour. First, immerse in the city’s dark history on a self-guided tour of the Whitney Plantation, with time to explore the museum independently. Next, pass by the Evergreen Plantation, where Django Unchained was filmed, and board an airboat for a high-speed swamp adventure. Your package includes small-group transfers from most New Orleans hotels.

Experience the grandeur of New Orleans’ antebellum south on a half-day tour of Oak Alley Plantation. Journey through time to the manicured estate and into the gorgeous home, built in 1839. View stunning architecture, oak-lined esplanades, and enduring sugar cane fields while learning about the plantation’s fascinating – and often somber – histories from local guides. Upgrade your experience to include a pontoon swamp tour.

Visit a former plantation and ride through the swamp during this two-in-one tour. Start with a visit to Oak Alley Plantation for a tour of the antebellum mansion. Follow the oak-shaded paths to the blacksmith shop during your free time. Lunch is available to purchase at the restaurant on-site. Next, head to the dock for your swamp tour. Search for alligators and other wildlife and stop for photo ops while aboard an airboat. Round-trip hotel transport provided from New Orleans.

Gain deep, meaningful insights into American history on this combination full-day tour. After being collected from your New Orleans hotel in an air-conditioned van, you’ll arrive at the Whitney Plantation and tour Louisiana’s only museum dedicated to enslaved people with an audio guide. Afterwards, head back to the city and join the Soul of New Orleans tour, for a deep dive into the move from plantation to city life, showing how enslaved people turned their struggle into the powerful music, food, and culture that still defines the city today.

Learn more about a side of Louisiana’s history that should never be forgotten. Tour plantations with a guide who can share more about what life was like for enslaved people in the South. Admission to Oak Alley Plantation is included, and you can feel free to pick your guide’s brain about the things you see on the tour.

Gain a deeper understanding of American history on this two-in-one visit to Oak Alley Plantation and a Louisiana swamp tour on this day-long trip from New Orleans. You’ll pass other notable sites including Evergreen, Laura, and St. Joseph Plantations before exploring Oak Alley Plantation at your own pace. Afterward, join an airboat swamp tour and pass the site of the 1811 German Coast Uprising of enslaved people.

Tour the Oak Alley Plantation, named for the alley of centuries-old oaks leading up to the antebellum Big House. Follow the oak-shaded paths to the blacksmith shop and a souvenir shop during your free time. Alcoholic drinks and lunch are available to purchase at the restaurant on-site, with round-trip hotel transport provided from New Orleans. Upgrade your experience to include a 3-hour city tour of New Orleans with a stop to tour the above ground tombs at St. Louis Cemetery No. 3.

The Whitney Plantation Museum is known for being the site where one of the biggest slave rebellions in the United States occurred. Find out about the history of slavery and the stories of those who lived on the plantation by going on this self-guided tour. To help you save time traveling on public transport and get to the museum with ease, pickup is included from New Orleans.

Experience New Orleans’ wild bayou country first-hand on an exciting, family‐friendly airboat ride. This boat tour winds through the mossy cypress swamp near Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, named for the 19th-century pirate and smuggler. While onboard, enjoy lively commentary from a local guide as you admire lush, forested shoreline and spot local wildlife. Gators appear most commonly in the summer months, so keep your eyes peeled.

Leave New Orleans behind for a half-day excursion to Laura Plantation—with all the driving and logistics taken care of. After being picked up from your hotel, travel to Laura Plantation to learn about what life was like on an old sugar plantation, both for owners and enslaved people. Hear the history and culture of Louisiana Creole women. On the roundtrip drive you’ll see several other plantations as well as scenic Lake Pontchartrain.

Visit either St. Joseph Plantation or Oak Alley Plantation with this full-day tour from New Orleans that allows you to skip the hassle of renting a car. With door-to-door service from your hotel and departure at mid-day, you can visit your choice of plantation and have a free morning in New Orleans. Both plantations provide guided tours and time to explore the grounds on your own.

Uncover Louisiana’s rich and complicated past on this small-group plantation tour. Travel along Lake Pontchartrain to the Whitney Plantation, where a self-guided app offers powerful insight into enslavement and history. Then explore the Creole heritage of Laura Plantation with a guided visit. Along the way, stop for photos at Evergreen and other historic sites, passing through scenic sugar cane fields and iconic oak-lined roads that tell stories of the South.

Explore Louisiana’s bayou landscape–and avoid a basic, beginner-friendly itinerary–on this kayaking tour of Manchac Swamp, designed for experienced paddlers and including round-trip transfers from a central meeting point in New Orleans. Spend four hours on the water with a local naturalist guide, keep a lookout for wildlife, and learn about the local wetland ecosystem along the way.

Soak up the atmosphere of the bayou on this 8-hour cultural tour from New Orleans. Visit the Oak Alley Plantation House, dating from 1837, and view the stately row of 28 evenly spaced mature oaks that line the driveway. Follow your guide, dressed in period costume, through the mansion, the blacksmith shop and the onsite restaurant. You'll also learn about life in the bayou's waterways aboard a swamp and wetlands boat tour. See the amazing variety of flora and fauna native to the area and hear about life in the Barataria Swamps from your native guides. Round-trip transportation from New Orleans is included.

Experience the elegance of New Orleans’ antebellum south on this full-day historical plantation tour. In a small group, visit Destrehan Plantation, Whitney Plantation, then Houmas House Plantation, where you’ll view stunning architecture, oak‐lined esplanades, and former slave quarters while hearing fascinating – and often somber – pre‐Civil war histories from expert guides. You'll also enjoy a private, unlimited gourmet buffet luncheon, served exclusively for your group at Houmas House.