Top New Orleans Day Trips

Experience the civilized and the wild on a plantation tour and educational swamp boat ride from New Orleans. On this full-day journey, visit Oak Alley Plantation where you'll learn about antebellum life and stroll down its iconic tree-lined esplanade. 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.

Go beyond the French Quarter and discover the unique Cajun and Creole cultures of New Orleans during this full-day swamp and plantation tour. Venture deep into the bayous, with a small group limited to 12, to see Cajun living and spot wildlife like alligators and pelicans on your high-speed airboat ride. Then, admire the beautiful architecture and learn about the history of Houmas House and Laura Plantation. Gourmet, unlimited buffet lunch at Houmas House is included.

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.

Visit the Whitney Plantation Museum, a former indigo and sugar plantation on the River Road now dedicated to promoting an understanding of slavery in Louisiana. Learn about the realities of plantation life through museum exhibits and recorded narratives as you explore the restored structures and historical slave cabins. Download the Whitney Plantation app for the self-guided tour of Whitney Plantation Museum.

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. Then, 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.

The Steamboat Natchez is taking some time off, but her sister vessel will be taking her place. You’ll get the same authentic experience of New Orleans at night on this romantic riverboat cruise! Journey through time on a paddle-wheel boat ride along the mighty Mississippi. Stroll the deck, cozy up with family and friends, and delight in the sparkle of the urban shoreline at dusk. This excursion includes a Creole‐inspired dinner (if option selected) and live jazz music.

The Steamboat NATCHEZ is taking some time off, but her sister vessel will be taking her place. You’ll get the same authentic riverboat experience, journeying back in time to when cotton was king and New Orleans was a budding port town that dazzled visitors with its colorful Creole culture. Board the historic riverboat for a morning or afternoon float down the mighty Mississippi. Stroll the deck, admire the iconic paddlewheel, enjoy live music, and snap picturesque shots of the beautiful urban shoreline. This family‐friendly excursion offers an optional tableside lunch (additional expense).

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 most eerie sites at night in the safety of a group with a knowledgeable guide. Stop by top attractions such as the LaLaurie Mansion and New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, all while listening to your guide’s detailed stories of the paranormal and beyond.

Gaze at the spectacular sights of New Orleans from the comfort of a luxury coach on an unforgettable 3-hour city tour. With a professional guide, cruise past historical highlights like the French Quarter and the Garden District while listening to illuminating commentary. See the the lakefront area and the 17th street canal where the canal bank was breached by hurricane Katrina, and delve into the city’s rich history as you take a tour of the best museums in New Orleans. Enjoy the convenience of round-trip transportation from your hotel in Downtown New Orleans on this informative tour.

Delve into the history of slavery and the plantations of Louisiana on this small-group tour from New Orleans. Drive past Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River to the Whitney Plantation’s Louisiana Museum of Slavery. Learn about the lives of the enslaved people who worked there and on plantations throughout the South during a tour of the museum and restored buildings. Next, head to the Creole-style St Joseph Plantation for a tour of the working sugar plantation where the movie ’12 Years A Slave’ was filmed.

Experience the grandeur of New Orleans’ rich and conflicted past on a small‐group plantation tour. Take a journey through Laura Plantation and St. Joseph Plantation, spying other historic plantations as you travel the Great River Road. View stunning architecture and enduring sugar cane fields while learning about the plantations’ fascinating—and somber—histories from expert guides.

Travel into the bayou on this combination swamp and plantation tour by 16 passenger Airboat. See the oldest documented plantation in the Mississippi Valley and visit the slave revolt museum located on the grounds. After the tour explore the grounds on your won and enjoy lunch (own expense) if time permits.

Discover more of Louisiana on a small-group half-day tour to the Whitney Plantation from New Orleans. Ride by minivan past the marshes of Lake Pontchartrain and along River Road, passing filming locations for the popular TV series ‘Queen Sugar’ and other productions. Then, join a guided tour of the Whitney Plantation and learn about the history of the enslaved and free people who once lived on the plantation.

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 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 all New Orleans hotels and some rentals.

Steep yourself in American history on this half-day tour of Oak Alley and Laura plantations that comes with convenient transport from downtown New Orleans. Both 19th-century plantations offer fantastic views of the Mississippi River. Snap shots of the famous canopied path of southern oaks that give Oak Alley its name, and gain insight into the women-run Laura plantation, where slave cabins still stand.

Explore Louisiana’s unique history and ecology on this combo day tour from New Orleans. Travel along the oak-lined River Road to Destrehan Plantation, where you can tour the 1787 sugar plantation home, grounds and slave quarters while learning about life in the antebellum South and the site’s changing role during the Civil War. Then, venture into the bayou on a narrated swamp cruise through wild wetlands that are home to turtles, otters, snakes and famous Louisiana gators.

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.

Explore the famous Oak Alley plantation and its surroundings on this half-day tour. Learn about life on the plantation during the 1800s as guides in era-appropriate clothing show you around the Big House, the slave cabins, and the grounds. Discover the films and TV shows that the plantation was featured on and then spend some time exploring the exhibits before heading back to the city.

Discover New Orleans’ top attractions and the grandeur of antebellum history on this combined city and plantation sightseeing tour. Start with a bus tour, including the French Quarter, the Garden District, the Ninth Ward, and City Park. Absorb the sights and sounds of the city as you learn about its fascinating history from your friendly local guide. Then head to Oak Alley Plantation to view stunning architecture, oak-lined esplanades, and enduring sugar cane fields.

Experience the elegance of New Orleans’ antebellum south on this full-day historical plantation tour. In a small group, visit Destrehan 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.

Explore Louisiana wildlife and culture outside of the Big Easy on this full-day trip from New Orleans to the country town of Vacherie. Zoom across a swamp on a 6 or 9-passenger open-air speedboat with ample opportunities for viewing wild animals in their natural habitat, and then tour an antebellum plantation home with a classic alley of oaks when you return to shore.

Spend three hours getting an insider's look at this historic city. Rout the famous cemeteries, iconic plantation homes and Hurricane Katrina landmarks with you professional guide. Learn about Creole history and tradition as you explore the city during this tour that's perfect for first-time visitors, families and history lovers.

Take a wild ride through the bayous of Cajun Country on this airboat adventure from New Orleans. In a small group, wind through tree‐lined swampland and spot abundant local wildlife, including nutria, alligators, and giant catfish, and stop at Destrehan Plantation to get a taste of the elegant antebellum south.

Travel through the bayou on this three-hour New Orleans city tour with optional swap adventure. Journey with your professional guide in a comfortable air-conditioned minibus as you learn about the history, culture and highlights of southern Creoles. You'll see major city highlights, plus areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and have the opportunity to add an optional swamp tour to this already comprehensive trip.