Is a Swamp Tour Worth It in NOLA? What You Need to Know

Wondering if a New Orleans swamp tour is worth it? You’re in the right place – read on for our recommendations.

You don’t have to go far from downtown New Orleans to find the bayous, wetlands, and marshlands that fill the Mississippi Delta around the city.

And after you’re done wandering through the French Quarter, biking through the Garden District, or discovering NOLA’s unique cemeteries, you simply must head out to the bayous for a swamp tour.

A swamp tour offers a fun way to experience the unique ecosystem of the Louisiana bayous. As you glide through the murky waters, you’ll be surrounded by dense vegetation and the sounds of wildlife, from the calls of birds to the splash of an alligator. The swamps are evoke a feeling of mystery, with Spanish moss-draped cypress trees and winding waterways creating a beautiful world to explore.

And of course, most people do a swamp tour to see alligators in the wild, and the bayous of New Orleans delivered dozens of alligator sightings.

So, the answer to the question of whether a New Orleans swamp tour is worth it is: 100% definitely! We loved doing our swamp tour and it was one of my kids’ top 3 favorite activities in New Orleans.

In this post, we’re going to discuss various options for different types of swamp tours, what it’s like going on a swamp tour, and which tour we recommend.

No Time to Read? This is the swamp tour we did and loved

Airboat vs Flatboat

There are two different types of boats that you can go on for a swamp tour. The first is a flat-bottomed boat. These boats are a little bit bigger, often have a roof, and go slower – almost like a cruise through a swamp.

They are best if you have young children (under 48 inches tall), pregnant women or people with back problems, or just want the assurance of not getting wet.

The other option is airboats, which are an exciting ride in and of themselves, as you can quickly zip across the water (going up to 35 mph) and the boat can do impressively sharp skids around corners.

They are also smaller and more easily maneuverable, getting into smaller waterways that the flatboats can’t go into. You might get a little bit splashed or sprayed on the sharp turns that an airboat makes.

However, you do need to be at least 48 inches tall, and pregnant women and people with back and neck problems shouldn’t go. Additionally, airboats are not covered, so if it’s going to rain you should pick up a poncho at the tour gift shop before heading out (and be prepared to get wet).

The airboats are also extremely loud and you should definitely wear the headphones they provide.

Additionally, consider the weather. If you’re visiting in summer, an airboat is going to feel amazing in the hot weather. In winter, even though New Orleans generally isn’t cold, it will still feel chilly on the airboat, so warm clothes, hats, and gloves would be advisable.

What We Did: I waited until the last minute to book our swamp tour, and thus was discussing the options with an Uber driver when we were in NOLA. He said the airboat was definitely the way to go, so we booked this airboat swamp tour, and I have to agree – airboats are SO FUN.

Pickup vs Drive Yourself

All the swamp tours are at least a 20-30 minute drive from the French Quarter, and so you’ll either need to have your own vehicle, or book a tour that offers a shuttle to/from downtown. I would not recommend relying on taxis or Ubers for transportation.

You could *probably* find someone who would take you down, but almost certainly no Uber will accept the ride to pick you up.

If you don’t have a vehicle, you’ll need to pay attention to whether the tour offers a shuttle or not. The tour we did does have a shuttle option.

Season of the Year

Keep in mind that the time of year you visit can affect your experience. In winter, the cold weather makes the alligators less active, so you might not see as many. But in spring, summer, and fall, they’re much more active, and you’re likely to spot quite a few.

Even in winter, though, it’s likely to see alligators. We saw a ton of gators on our tour in April, but even if we hadn’t, the experience of exploring the bayous and wetlands would still have been worth it for me.

Wildlife You Could See

While alligators are certainly the main attraction, there are many animals that you could possibly see on the tour. These include turtles, deer, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, minks, and snakes.

For many of these animals, it is most likely to have an animal sighting in early morning or late evening (we went out at 2pm and only saw the gators)

How Long is a Swamp Tour

Swamp tours generally last just under 2 hours. IMO, this is a perfect amount of time – you have enough time to explore a variety of different waterways and see a lot of alligators, but it’s not so long that you get tired or bored.

Get more details and read reviews for this swamp experience here

What Our Swamp Tour Experience Was Like

We did a swamp tour leaving out of Barataria Preserve, to the southwest of the French Quarter.

When it was time, we were directed onto our small-group airboat (holding up to 16 passengers) by our chill and relaxed driver, who was a New Orleans native and a swamp expert.

We started cruising across a large lake and then quickly turned into a more narrow bayou, and started through the waterways. The scenery was gorgeous – Spanish moss falling from live oak trees as we wound our way into smaller and narrower bayous.

Pretty quickly we started to see some alligators, and we got to see them swimming around the boat and along the shores of the waterways.

A note about the alligator interaction: Basically all the swamp tours in New Orleans throw marshmallows from the boat to attract the gators to swim closer, and this is what we experienced on our tour. I had talked to a national park ranger at the Jean Lafitte National Preserve, as I was concerned that this was bad for the alligators.

The ranger I spoke with was totally unconcerned with this and told me it wasn’t a big deal for the alligators. But be prepared for quite a bit of marshmallow throwing.

Anyway, because of the marshmallows, the gators were quick to swim over to the boat and we were able to have some really interesting up-close encounters with them. We saw alligators of all sizes – some very large (the biggest was over 12 feet long!) and others that were super little.

It was so crazy to see these fearsome reptiles just gliding through the water towards us, their eyes peaking up above the surface.

In total, we probably saw somewhere around 30 alligators during the tour.

After exploring the bayous for a while, we swung into some marshland areas. Marshes are areas that are continually flooded, and are often filled with grasses. We went through some sections that were just grassy marshes, and others that had some cypress trees in them. These areas were so beautiful.

Truly, exploring the bayous, marshlands, and swamps was a huge highlight for me, even more than seeing the alligators. I LOVED the scenery – it almost felt otherworldly.

My younger daughter’s favorite part of the excursion was probably the chance to hold our guide’s pet baby alligator. This alligator was so tiny (and harmless), and you could carefully hold it in your hands.

Before we knew it, it was time to wrap up and head back to the dock.

So, Is a Swamp Tour Worth It?

100% absolutely. This is a must-do activity in New Orleans, especially if you have at least 2 days in the city, as it does take about half your day.

Kids will definitely love the tour, but it’s plenty exciting for adults as well.

>>Get more details, check prices and availability, and make your swamp tour reservation herre