New Orleans Airboat Ride

Drive-out approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the embarkation point of your airboat from your New Orleans hotel. Depending on the option you selected, board a large airboat holding 15 to 25 passengers or a small airboat limited to six to eight passengers for a more intimate, personalized experience. Set out on a 20,000-acre (8,095-hectare) tract of tidewater cypress swamp close to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Your flat-bottomed airboat is powered by an aircraft propeller to allow a fast, fluid trip through the shallow marshes. Feel the wind on your face as you zip into bayous lined with mossy cypress and tupelo-gum trees and your pilot points out a stunning variety of wildlife. Prepare to see plenty of alligators in the warmer months (and warmer days in winter), some of which may be out sunning themselves on rocks! Your guide may even feed the gators, affording you amazing photo opportunities. Also keep your eyes open for turtles, snakes, egrets, herons and ibis. You may even catch sight of a hawk, owl or bald eagle. In the cooler months, look for white-tailed deer, raccoons and the large rodents known as nutria. Your morning or afternoon airboat tour ends at the embarkation point. Be sure to check out the indoor exhibits of alligators — including an albino alligator — before making your way back to downtown New Orleans on your own. Note: This tour does not include hotel pick-up or drop-off unless hotel pickup and drop-off is selected at checkout. If you have selected hotel pickup and drop-off please specify your hotel details in the 'special requirements' field at the time of checkout or advise the local operator directly after booking.