Experienced guides take you on a spectacular journey through the paths less traveled for a one-of-a-kind experience in Louisiana. You can dip your paddle in one of three different locations around New Orleans. Whether you choose the bayou, the swamp our the river, adventure awaits. BOOK NOW
Louisiana Swamp and Recommended Swamp Tours
Have you ever visited the swamp by boat or hiked along its walking trails? Have you ever seen Louisiana's egrets, herons, pelicans and alligators in their natural habitat?
Just a short drive from New Orleans are a number of picturesque Louisiana swamps, filled with exotic wildlife and beautiful plantlife – not to mention Cajun culture. The best swamp tours in New Orleans, featured here, offer fascinating guides who grew up in these mysterious swamps. They know how to maneuver through these ancient waterways and, just as important, they know how to weave a yarn.
Get outside the city for a couple of hours and explore the undeveloped reaches of Louisiana, dripping with Spanish moss and dotted with gnarled cypress trees. You're sure to encounter swamp wildlife like alligators, wild boar, huge cranes and other magnificent bird species, nutria, mink, racoons, turtles and snakes. You'll learn about the pirates that once hid in these wild and pristine river swamps and hear legends of swamp monsters. You may even get to hold an alligator and pose for a selfie. After your first New Orleans swamp tour, you'll want to go back again and again to keep exploring. More Swamp History
Best Swamp Tours In and Near New Orleans
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Cajun Encounters Swamp Tours
To allow for a quieter and more personal experience. Cajun Encounters uses smaller boats accommodating up to 24 passengers. With vast knowledge of the swamp and its wildlife, Cajun Encounters will take you through the back bayous for a real Cajun experience. BOOK NOW
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Gray Line Swamp Tours
Discover the beauty of the bayou with a tour on a custom-built swamp boat. Gray Line New Orleans, the world's leader in sightseeing, has been showcasing New Orleans to visitors from around the world since 1924. Hop on and enjoy touring New Orleans' many beautiful and interesting attractions. BOOK NOW View Coupon
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Honey Island Swamp Tours, Inc.
Nearly 70,000 acres of the Honey Island Swamp are a permanently protected wildlife area, surrounding you with the beauty of nature and the area's local creatures. Honey Island's guides truly love the swamps, have a great sense of humor and can answer all of your questions. Check out HoneyIslandSwamp.com for pictures and more information on taking a Honey Swamp Tour. Book Now View Coupon
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Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours
Journey with us – Cajun-style – on a 1-hour-45-minute boat tour through the heart of South Louisiana's swamplands. Real-life adventure awaits the whole family from the comfort of your swamp boats. Explore meandering bayous filled with moss-draped cypress trees, fascinating plant life and the creatures who make their homes there. You might even meet a few swamp people! BOOK NOW
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Cajun Pride Tours
Join Cajun Pride Tours for an educational adventure through the Louisiana bayou. Swamp creatures, unafraid and responsive to the boat captain's call, frequently come directly to the boat. On Manchac Swamp tours, you learn about the Louisiana Wetlands, the inhabitants of the swamp, as well as the unique history of the Cajun town of Frenier. Choose between a 3-hour city tour, a 4-hour Manchac swamp tour or single plantation tour, or relax on a 6-10 hour combination tour.
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Airboat Tours by Jean Lafitte
When you climb aboard one of Jean Lafitte's airboats, you're in for a wild ride. The native captain will educate riders on the Cajun way of life while gliding down the Louisiana swamp with 450 horsepower. Sounds like fun to us! BOOK NOW
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Airboat Adventure Tour by Gray Line New Orleans
Get your Cajun on with an exciting and fast-paced ride through the marsh bayous, wetlands and waterways surrounding the town of Jean Lafitte. BOOK NOW View Coupon
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New Orleans Airboat Tours, LLC
See the beautiful bayou waterways as you've never seen them before with the knowledgeable, storytelling captains of New Orleans Airboat Tours, LLC! Operated by three generations of fisherman, here's your chance to see egrets, gators, and swamp irises while hearing fascinating tales about Cajun history and culture. BOOK NOW View Coupon
About the Swamps
New Orleans is a city surrounded by swampland, virtually making it a low-lying island. In fact, it is second only to Death Valley as the lowest area in the country. The swamps of New Orleans are among its most beautiful attractions. The bayou is often considered a dark, foreboding territory which offers some of the wildest nature to be found on earth. Although considered mysterious by many, the swamps should be appreciated for their natural beauty and amazing plant and animal life. The list of wildlife in a cypress swamp is long (it is not uncommon to see alligators), and it is said that a list of the different shrubs and vines would fill a telephone book!
Swamps were long considered forbidden lands by some, and in the last several hundred years, many have been drained for their tremendous agricultural potential and for the value of the cypress wood. They were also drained by settlers who wanted to convert them into land for homes, and by lumber barons who exploited the area for its timber resources (cypress has always been in great demand because of its rot-resistant qualities).
As settlement spread, fewer places were left to hunt, fish, and enjoy nature. Eventually, swamps were recognized as a retreat for wildlife and a place where Louisianians could find solitude and enjoy a variety of recreational activities.
Our area swamps have also given rise to several legends. It is said that Jean Lafitte, the noted pirate and hero of the Battle of New Orleans, made a living off pirate booty worth millions buried in the marshes. The most famous stories of all swamp lore are the reported sightings of the legendary Bigfoot (a.k.a. the Honey Island Swamp Monster.) Sightings of the shy giant have been reported as far back as the earliest recorded contact with native Indians.
