Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans
Recommended by 95% of travelers
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New Orleans, USA
- 7 hours 45 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Experience different sides of Louisiana and its complicated history on this plantation tour and swamp boat ride from New Orleans. On this full-day journey, visit Oak Alley Plantation or Destrehan Plantation (depending on the time chosen), where you learn about antebellum life. Next, head into the marshy swampland for a boat ride and some wildlife spotting. Enjoy guided commentary as you snap photos of alligators, raccoons, snakes, and native birds.
- Experience two different sides of New Orleans with one simple booking
- Take a short coach ride across the mighty Mississippi River
- A great experience for history buffs and nature lovers
- Convenient meeting location and transfer from the French Quarter
What's Included
- Swamp Boat Tour
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Narrated by a local guide
- Round trip transportation
- Tour of either Oak Alley or Destrehan Plantation
- Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off
- Food & Drink (Available for Purchase)
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Gray Line New Orleans400 Toulouse St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
Departs from the Gray Line Lighthouse at Toulouse St. and the Mississippi River (at the Steamboat Natchez Dock), just one block from Jackson Square in the French Quarter. Please arrive 15 minutes before boarding to check in.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Your tour offers a morning or afternoon start time. You’ll start by boarding your air‐conditioned coach in the French Quarter. Admire the scenery of the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline as you head first to either Oak Alley Plantation or Destrehan Plantation. Oak Alley is one of the most beautiful plantation homes in the lower Mississippi Valley. As you marvel at the unbelievable alley of 28 magnificent Oak trees, your guide will reveal the fascinating stories of the home and its history. If you choose to visit Destrehan, you'll learn the history of this famous plantation that was once a major producer of indigo and sugarcane.
After your plantation tour, return north by coach to Lake Pontchartrain and Manchac Swamp, where you’ll board an open‐sided, covered boat – good for touring during any season. This privately‐owned swamp is a great venue for uninterrupted wildlife spotting. Glide along the water, viewing the lush greenery and with abundant local wildlife, including alligators, egrets, raccoons, snakes and giant nutria. Get great photos and gain insight about local history and wetland preservation from your local guides.
This tour returns you by coach to the French Quarter.
After your plantation tour, return north by coach to Lake Pontchartrain and Manchac Swamp, where you’ll board an open‐sided, covered boat – good for touring during any season. This privately‐owned swamp is a great venue for uninterrupted wildlife spotting. Glide along the water, viewing the lush greenery and with abundant local wildlife, including alligators, egrets, raccoons, snakes and giant nutria. Get great photos and gain insight about local history and wetland preservation from your local guides.
This tour returns you by coach to the French Quarter.
1
Oak Alley Plantation
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Lake Pontchartrain (Pass By)
I-10 Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge (Pass By)
2
Cajun Pride Swamp Tours
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers
Supplied by
Frequently Asked Questions (9)
Q:What is the departure point for the Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans?
A:The tour begins at the Gray Line "Lighthouse" Ticket Office in the French Quarter at Toulouse Street & the Mississippi River - at the Steamboat Natchez Dock (400 Toulouse Street.)
Jun 2021
The answers provided are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 3,513 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Alexander_S, Sep 2026
Great experience, seeing and learning more about New Orleans history and culture. Well paced tour, enough time to explore Oak Alley without feeling rushed.
Dione was a great tour guide, knowledgeable and lovely to be around.
Ryan_S, Sep 2026
This was amazing. Wonderful tour guides, wonderful lessons, wonderful experiences. My wife has a tendency to get motion sickness and I still highly recommend this tour. She joked that the bus ride was worse than the swamp boat for her motion sickness. Overall 10/10 no notes. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable, friendly and engaging I would have listened to him for hours. It’s a long day but it is worth every penny and every minute.
Lynne_C, Sep 2026
Great day out, made even better by the tour guides , Robert on the full tour and Tom on the swamp tour.
Ansyn_C, Aug 2026
It was absolutely incredible, start to finish. Our chaperone John was so cool and hilarious.
Oak Alley Plantation was gorgeous, and our tour guide of the “Big House” Presley(?) was a ton of fun, energetic, and knowledgeable.
The swamp tour was so amazing, we actually got rained out by a thunderstorm, but in the short time we were there we saw so many gators, raccoons, pigs, birds, and even got to watch the captain feed gators jumping out of the water.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
It is a day seeing two of the many sides of our Southeast Louisiana culture. Thank you for joining us on this adventure. Our guides love to send our guests home with great memories.
Margaret_F, Aug 2026
Very informative trip plantation was interesting & really enjoyed the swamp part of it.
Would recommend it
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Recommendations mean so much. Thank you/
dennis_e, Aug 2026
I would have given 5 stars, but our tour guide Kate would not STFU she LITERALLY talked from the time we left the parking lot all the way to the plantation. Then all the way from the plantation to the swamp tour. She just talked, and talked, and talked some more. She didn't even give anyone a chance to ask questions. Our driver Alton was good. The Oak Alley Plantation was not as good as the Whitney plantation. Captain Dan was amazing on the swamp tour! He was the best part of the whole tour. He was very knowledgeable, and funny, and very passionate about his job.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
All guests have preferences on the amount of information they expect to receive, we try to please as many people as possible. It appears that Captain Dan was just right for your visit.
Vivian_L, Aug 2026
Awesome deal, all day tour for less than 150. The history lessons from bus tour guide, Dionne, and Oak Alley tour guides - PRICELESS. The swamp tour was awesome. I enjoyed watching the other tourists excitement!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
New Orleans finest - always at your service!
Sarah_T, Aug 2026
Provided by Grayline tours Nee Orleans.
Coach trip firstly to plantation - we chose Oak Alley. Lovely drive along the River Road. Plantation is great - actually had longer than we thought we’d get - 2.5 hrs. Had a timed entry tour of the ‘big’ house - took about 30 mins. Plenty of time to explore outer areas of the plantation, including the slave housing, the cafe is lovely & the gift shop worth a visit.
Following this we were taken to the Cajun Pride Swamp tour company. Excellent swamp tour where we saw plenty of Alligators, Raccoons & Hogs. Our captain was brilliant - great humour & good knowledge of swamps.
Our bus tour guide was lovely but we found the commentary a little difficult to follow as it was slightly disjointed & lacked clear flow. However, her knowledge was clear & we still learned a lot.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Making memories through history and storytelling is essential to a good tour. From drivers, to guides, to swamp boat Captains, we have set that high bar. They know each guest has goals when taking a tour, and they love to help them accomplish them.
ravikanth_r, Aug 2026
Great trip overall with well planned structure and execution. On time and detailed walk through. The swamp trip was amazing with lot of wild life!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
We are delighted to read your review on this special one day tour. Two sides of Louisiana seen in a day!
David_S, Jul 2026
Great trip, if you are looking to get out of New Orleans and see and learn about Louisiana's history/nature life; this is a great way to do it.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the great review.
Linda_b, Jul 2026
Kate and Glenn were great team. Kate provided lots of detailed information and Glenn drove safely (he even avoided an accident that could have resulted from a careless driver entering the freeway without looking! The swamp tour was especially great.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
What more can we provide than information, humor and safety too? Thank you for recognizing Glenn's professionalism.
Alice_S, Jul 2026
We were so glad we could combine two things we wanted to do into one tour! The Plantation was a beautiful building with lovely landscape gardens. I would note there isn't too much about the history of the enslaved, I have heard Whitney Plantation is better for this and I think if we were to book again we might swap the plantation to learn more history - but from a visual point of view it was beautigul.
The swamp tour was an experience! We saw so many gators but also other wildlife, raccoons, wild pigs, birds, turtles, fish! The only thing about this tour, was the feeding of marshmallows to the gators... wasn't sure how right this was. But other than that - we thoroughly enjoyed it!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Alice, so glad to hear from you about your Plantation/Swamp tour. Where Oak Alley is more architectural and agricultural, Whitney looks are the lives who lived and worked on a plantation. It sounds like the inhabitants of the swamp were showing off the day you visited. And about the marshmellows - you cane be sure that items provided to wildlife have been investigated so no harm will come to our neighbors.
Florice_C, Jul 2026
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!!!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
You are so right about the possibilities of great photos and videos. Thank you for braving the heat for this exceptional adventure.
Larretta_M, Jul 2026
Dustin was a great captain! He was funny and knowledgeable and we saw a ton of alligators and other wildlife.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review of the tour and of Captain Dustin.
Stephanie_S, Jul 2026
Very informative, beautiful environment, swamp tour captain and ride excellent! Would definitely recommend!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Your recommendation is priceless!
Michele_P, Jul 2026
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.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Michele, we always welcome input from our guests on not only the sites but the staff as well. The Tour Manager has already read and addressed the comments.
Roberto_W, Jul 2026
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.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
5 Stars for Professionalism is a real honor. Thank you from all of us and especially Robert and ALton.
Roxie_F, Jul 2026
The Oak alley tour was so beautiful and I learned so much. Our tour guide who traveled from Gray line to Oak Alley was so knowledgeable and sweet. Her name was Dionne and she was a native to New Orleans who knew everything about New Orleans and its history.
Oak Alley plantation was absolutely beautiful and so many beautiful Oak trees that I couldn't count. There were a lot of beautiful photo opportunities. We went to the restaurant at Oak Alley and the food was delicious. We had fried green tomatoes and gumbo. Soooo Yummy.
When we got to the Swamp tour "Cajun Pride" it was so fun. We had a great Swamp captain named Tom. He was the coolest. We got to see many Alligators, raccoons, boars, turtles, and birds. We were able to hold a baby Gatorade and we watched Captain Tom feed them. Captain Tom also had the best stories and accent. We loved him and the tour. Soooo much fun.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
We are so proud to hear of your experiences on interactions with staff on the full day tour. Thank you so much for recognizing our guides by name.
Val_A, Jul 2026
It was good, the tour guide was knowledgeable but not very expressive and got mixed up in her presentation.
The tour guides at the plantation were excess we had ample time to see everything and eat.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the input. Although the guide's name is not shared, we appreciate knowing how to make each tour better.
Christine_L, Jul 2026
Great tour informative and interesting
Robert gave a running commentary the whole trip letting you know the history of the plantation and swamp
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks so much.
Jennifer_L, Jul 2026
We had a fabulous time. The guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. There was a good balance between history of the area and searching the swamp for alligators
Response from Host, Jul 2026
All round great review - thank you.
Maricela_S, Jul 2026
Visited the Oak Alley Plantation and then our tour guide and driver Jane and Duane took us to the Cajun Pride swamp tour, everything was wonderful! Our guides took care of everything and made our trip stress free and interesting with all the Louisiana facts and stories on the way over there. I Definitely recommend this experience!
jon_g, Jul 2026
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and our bus driver was great. Everyone at the plantation and on the swamp tour were great. I would highly recommend this experience
Jennifer_M, Jun 2026
This was a beautiful tour! Our guide, Kate, had lots of knowledge and there was plenty of time to explore. The bus ride was smooth, thanks Donald! Captain Dustin was fantastic on our swamp tour!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Our whole staff, and our guides, are pleased to know that you had a fantastic experience.
Dainer_B, Jun 2026
Our bus driver Dwayne did a great job getting us to where we needed to be and slowing down at important spots so we could look at the sites. Our bus tour guide Jane had great stories and history that made the trip seem quick. I learned about New Orleans on our way out. Tomas our boat Captian at the Swamp Tour was so much fun! Informative, answered so many questions and gave is a new perspective on life in the swamp, while keeping our trip fun.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you so much for your 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a wonderful experience with our team. Your kind words mean the world to us, and we cannot wait to welcome you back again soon!
Rose_L, Jun 2026
Tour guide was excellent . Bus ride was smooth and comfortable. The tour at Oak Alley and the swamp boat tour was awesome. I would recommend it to everyone.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Your recommendation will help us share this "day in Louisiana" with so many new guests.
Luci_E, Jun 2026
Always enjoy history and the birth of our nation. Very informative about the families and their backgrounds and what they produced on the Plantation.
The swamp tour was one of the best I have been on. It had rained so much activity in the swamp. Our guide was very knowledgeable and genuine. This is definitely a must do.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
We love to be a "must do". Thank you Luci!
Holly_H, Jun 2026
Outstanding experience. We toured Oak Alley, beautiful plantation and had a great lunch on property. Next was a swamp boat ride. The captain went out of his way to show us wildlife. The Grayline tour lady was very friendly and knowledgeable! She made the bus ride enjoyable.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Providing an awesome experience is important to us. Thank you for sharing all this information.
Jeremy_J, Jun 2026
Lots of fun facts about the area and the different plantations. Swamp tour was great for the kids and others who haven’t been around the swamp!!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks so much Jeremy
Hannah_D, Jun 2026
Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and made the drive to the plantation (almost 2hrs) full of knowledge of the city, and the history of slavery. The plantation (we went to Oak Alley) was more glorified than I thought it would be, if I had to change anything about this trip I would’ve chosen to go to Whitney instead, learn more about the experience of the slaves, learn their stories.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for all you comments. We like to know how our guests enjoy different experiences and if our tour guide provided the additional information.
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