Two iconic activities to do while visiting New Orleans, and the bus trips saved us having to drive to them, particularly as it was mid-summer so very hot and humid. We enjoyed the boat ride and saw lots of alligators, plus birds and tortoises. We also enjoyed the Oak Alley Plantation trip, with the opportunity to see the grand house and other plantation buildings. There was a tour of the mansion with guides in beautiful period costume, which was very interesting and a welcome relief from the heat, as the building is air-conditioned. It was quite a sobering experience to see the tragic contrast between the lives of the plantation owners and their slaves. Recommended!

Bit disappointed. The swamp tour produced only alligator sightings, which is always great. But the description led me to think that there would be other wildlife, i.e., birds, snakes, raccoons, etc. We was one small egret. Our captain fed the alligators, though I can't imagine feeding them marshmallows is a good thing! When we were in Florida, we took an air boat tour which allowed us to view the alligators in their natural habitat. We were not allowed to feed them, which I thought was nice in respecting the natural relationship between man and nature. We were, however, allowed to feed the captive gators that they kept in their sanctuary, and the food consisted of well-rounded pellets made up of fish and other natural foods that make up a wild alligator's diet.

Oak Alley Plantation is stunningly beautiful and somber at the same time. The stark contrast between the majestic home and the slave quarters was visible and palpable. I was happy for the learning experience that helped all of us, including my 12-year-old son, understand just how our country was built on the backs of painful labor executed by slaves. The bus driver shared many stories on the ride to the plantation and seemed knowledgeable. However, there were a few discrepancies in his stories that my son questioned me on, i.e., the bus driver indicated that Archimedes was an Egyptian, to which my son said to me, I thought he was Greek? There were other small discrepancies that he whispered about, which caused the bus driver to reprimand us publicly over the loud speaker for talking. This embarrassed my son and quashed his spirit. We truly were whispering. But I did explain to my son that we needed to be respectful and considerate nonetheless, and we sat in silence for the remainder of the trip. But in truth, his questions didn't take up more than minutes of an hour-long ride to the plantation. In large part, we were completely silent the rest of the time.

Great trip saw many alligators

Great tour seeing alligators and feeding them was amazing, guide was fantastic very knowledgable

The boat on the swamp was very good and the captain very informative and personable, but the schedulling was terrible. We departed on the bus right on time but when we arrived at the boat duck we waited for 35 minutes to board the boat. On the return we waited another 30 minutes before returning to New Orleans. Neither time for no apparent reason. I wish the operators would ralize that as vacationers our time is limited and we have a lot better things to do than waste an hour waiting for who knows what.

The swamp tour was great. Fun and very interesting. Glad I was in a real boat instead of any air boat.
The plantation tour was a disappointment. Much too rushed - long bus ride, quick tour of plantation house and no time to explore the grounds and out buildings which looked interesting. If you have a car go on your own.

very nice tour

If you don't do anything else in New Orleans you must take this tour. First the Swamp and Bayou tour. You board the boat and you get to see the nature and its best! Beautiful trees, flowers etc. Then you get to see the alligators. Yes they come right up to the boat where you if you want feed the alligators marshmallows off of long stick! The guide was really good explaining the difference between the a bayou and a river!
Oak Ally very moving experience the mansion is original and we learned about the family who lived there. In front of the mansion is this row of Oak trees. The guide explained what each room was used for and how the house was ventilated.
There was also a self guide tour of the slave quarters. Oak Alley Plantation was built and maintained by slaves. Their housing condition were horrendous in contrast to the residents of the main house. In memorandum the last hut has the name of the slaves who resided at Oak Plantation! If you want to know the history of this region this is a must tour!

Packaging these two tours over two day's time was a good idea and a good deal. My family was looking to not pack too much stuff into each day on this trip, as we wanted also time to relax. The swamp tour was great. Our guide was really good. I definitely recommend the pontoon-type boats over the noisy and honestly obnoxious air boats that were zipping around us when we were out there. The plantation tour was a little too short. We had just barely two hours time to take in everything offered at Oak Alley and be back on the bus. This was not quite enough time to see everything, let alone explore the gift shop and/or enjoy the restaurant. This is the only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5.

One word, GREAT. Our driver Gerald was one of the best, his knowledge of New Orleans in itself, made ride seem so short, never dull. The plantation was amazing with very knowledgeable staff