Experience 2 typical Louisiana features—plantation homes and bayous—on a guided day trip from New Orleans with hotel pickup. Tour Oak Alley Plantation, with entry tickets, included, and look out for wildlife on a boat trip through the swamplands. Start with a pickup from your French Quarter hotel. Head out of New Orleans and travel to Oak Alley Plantation, one of the best-known in the area. Built in 1837-39, the plantation is famous for its alley of 28 evenly spaced live oak trees. Take a guided tour of the historical plantation and gain an educational insight into the times of slavery. Afterward, enjoy a fully narrated boat tour of the swamps. Keep a lookout for alligators, turtles, water birds, and other local wildlife. Listen as your captain tells stories of local Cajun and Creole history, and the people who live in the Bayou area. Finish your tour with the return journey to New Orleans, where you’ll be dropped off at your French Quarter hotel.

Explore New Orlean's history on a guided tour of Oak Alley Plantation, named for the double row of southern live oak trees that date back to the 18th century. Learn all about plantation life from your traditionally-dressed tour guide and see antique farm machinery up close.  Benefit from pickup at your accommodation in New Orleans, and then make your way to the Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie for your guided walking tour of its grounds.  Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, Oak Alley was named after the 28 huge oak trees that line the road leading up to – and pre-dating – the plantation house.  Admire the Greek Revival architecture of the main plantation house, built in the 19th century for one of the wealthiest families of the South. See original features, including antique farm machinery, and avail of amenities such as a restaurant and souvenir shop. Throughout your tour, be led by a guide wearing authentic plantation-style clothes and hear about the first example of Antebellum restoration along the legendary River Road.

Embark on a half-day tour to the Oak Alley Plantation from New Orleans. Pass under the alley of 250-year-old Oak trees and uncover the history of the Old South on a guided tour of the plantation. Oak Alley is one of the most photographed plantations; it has been the setting for motion pictures such as “Interview with a Vampire" and “Primary Colors.” This visit is a fantastic educational tour to experience with friends or family. After exploring the plantation, treat yourself to a refreshing snack at the on-site café and ice cream parlor. End your tour whilst enjoying the views of live oak trees stretching from the mansion to the gently flowing Mississippi River.

Discover Louisiana on a guided day trip from New Orleans to the historical Oak Alley Plantation, with entry tickets included, and a bayou airboat ride. Benefit from round-trip transportation from your New Orleans hotel. Start your experience with hotel pickup, and relax on the drive to Oak Alley Plantation. Enjoy a guided tour of the plantation home by guides in period dress while you hear and learn about the times of slavery.  Take in the house's Greek Revival architecture, the antique farm equipment exhibits, and walk around the grounds where 28 evenly spaced, huge oak trees grow. Browse the blacksmith shop and souvenir shop, or stop for a snack (at your own expense) in the restaurant. Continue onto Barataria Basin for an airboat tour of the bayou swamplands, where your local captain will guide you through the swamps, marshes, and lakes. Travel at high speeds for an exciting ride, then slow down to spot local wildlife on this exciting airboat experience. Look out for alligators, birds, and other animals. Every airboat tour is unique, so you never know what you’ll see. Even in winter — when alligators hibernate — you’ll have a good chance of spotting these reptiles.  Back on dry land, return to the bus for the drive back to New Orleans, where you’ll finish off your trip with a convenient drop-off back at your hotel.

Explore Louisiana with a visit to the Oak Alley Plantation, followed by a swamp boat tour. Enjoy a guided day trip from New Orleans for a day you won't forget. Begin your day with a pickup at your New Orleans hotel. Enjoy the views as you head out to the Oak Alley Plantation, where you will be led on a tour by guides in period costume. Explore the house and its grounds as you learn about the history of the plantation. Next, head out on a boat tour to explore the Louisiana bayous. Relax in the covered boat and tune in to your guide’s commentary about the local culture of the wetlands.  Cruise past a Native American burial mound, a Cajun cemetery, and a fishing village. Drift down narrow waterways and pass moss-covered trees. Be on the lookout for wildlife, including snakes and alligators. Back on dry land, you will board the bus to return to New Orleans, then you will be dropped off at your hotel.

Choose to visit the Laura Creole Plantation and see The Maison Principale (Big House), The French Jardin, The Plantation Kitchen Garden, The Banana Grove, and the original 1840s Slave Cabins where The Legendary Tales of Compair Lapin (known in English as Br’er Rabbit) were first recorded. Take time to browse through local arts, crafts, and souvenirs in the historic gift shop. Visit the new museum exhibit and learn about the daily lives of free and enslaved people on the sugar plantation. Take the option to explore the Oak Alley Antebellum Plantation, named after the avenue of 28 giant oaks which leads up to the house. Step inside to gracious interiors that echo the romance of another era, where gleaming hardwood floors and shimmering chandeliers reflect both streams of sunlight, and the venerable history of this magnificent home. Discover the story of those who were enslaved on this sugar plantation from approximately 1835 to the end of the Civil War. See The Confederate Commanding Officer’s Tent exhibit and The Sugar Cane Theater which tells the story of sugar's impact on the people of Oak Alley, through video and exhibit. Or take the opportunity to explore the Whitney Museum Plantation, a site of memory, with the focus on lives of the slaves and their legacies. Experience the world of an 1830's sugar plantation through the eyes of the enslaved people who lived and worked here. Enjoy a 90-minute walking tour and gain a unique perspective on the lives of the enslaved people, learning their stories through the real oral histories recorded by the Federal Writers Project during the Depression. See the earliest and best preserved raised Creole cottage in Louisiana, all built by slaves. Admire the original structures and authentic representations nestled in a working sugar cane field.

Meet your guide in New Orleans, then leave the city behind as you travel back in time to the Oak Alley Plantation. Passing by the impressive Lake Pontchartrain. See the plantation's quarter-mile-long alley of oak trees, each over 250 years old, and the cypress trees which border the Mississippi River. Explore the plantation with your guide, and listen to stories of its history dating back to 1839. Learn about the site's former uses and residents, and visit the plantation's on-site exhibitions, Slavery at Oak Alley, Blacksmith Shop, and Sugarcane Theater, to learn more about its past.  Afterwards, travel past several of the area’s plantations as you head to the Manchac Swamp. Explore this privately-owned wildlife refuge, and hear about the legend of the Rougarou werewolf. Take a boat ride across the swamp, and get up close to alligators and other wildlife.

Visit two historic plantations on the Great River Road on a full-day trip from New Orleans. The Mississippi River properties to choose from include Whitney Plantation, Laura Plantation, and Oak Alley Plantation. Perhaps the most photographed plantation over the years, Oak Alley has been the setting for such motion pictures as Interview with a Vampire, Primary Colors, and the wedding of Bo and Hope from the daytime soap opera, Days of our Lives. Experience the grandeur of New Orleans’ antebellum south and take a journey through time to the manicured estate and into the gorgeous home, built in 1839. View stunning architecture, oak‐lined esplanades, and enduring sugar cane fields while learning about the plantation’s fascinating – and often somber – histories from expert guides. From its 28 magnificent Oak trees, each over 250 years old, to its open spaces, to its hidden nooks and crannies, Oak Alley’s Landscape tells the story of a plantation in its evolution. In 2014, the Whitney Plantation opened its doors to the public for the first time in its 262-year history as the only plantation museum in Louisiana with a focus on slavery. Through museum exhibits, memorial artwork, restored buildings, and hundreds of first-person narratives, visitors to Whitney will gain a unique perspective on the enslaved people who lived and worked here. Generations of Africans and their descendants were enslaved here to establish and maintain indigo, rice, and sugar crops. The early owners of Habitation Haydel, later known as The Whitney Plantation, became wealthy producing indigo before the plantation transitioned to sugar in the early 1800s. Whitney is also significant because of the number of its historic outbuildings which were added to the site over the years, thus providing a unique perspective on the evolution of the Louisiana working plantation. The “Big House” is one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Creole architecture and one of the earliest raised Creole cottages in Louisiana. The Whitney Plantation Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Laura Plantation tour, a Creole plantation, is based upon 5,000 pages of documents found in the French National Archives and upon Laura’s "Memories of the Old Plantation Home," in which she details 250 years of true-life stories of the Creole women, children, and enslaved people who lived and worked here. A new, permanent exhibit honors the men, women and children who were enslaved here, including detailed biographies of former slaves who fought for the freedom in the Union Army during the Civil War. Your experience includes a guided tour of the "Big House" and gardens and self-guided tours of the daily life of those who worked the Laura Plantation and original its 1840s slave cabins. The West African folktales of Compair Lapin (later known as Br'er Rabbit) were recorded here over 140 years ago.

After being picked up from your hotel in New Orleans in a 13-seater high-roof van, your enthusiastic historian driver-guide will take you on a scenic narrated drive out of New Orleans, preparing you for a pilgrimage back in time.  After crossing over the Mississippi River on a high bridge, you will arrive at a remote swamp to board a small airboat. With your Cajun boat captain, glide comfortably over marshes and deep into secluded bayous. Discover the swamp’s fascinating fauna and flora, including alligators, turtles, and exotic birds.  Next, you will drive upriver through sugar cane fields to arrive at Laura Plantation. Enjoy a guided tour of this Creole plantation dating back to 1804. Hear the compelling stories of Laura's family saga, as well as stories of the West-African, enslaved people who worked on this sugar plantation. At the end of the tour, visit the museum exhibit dedicated to "Slavery on Laura Plantation" in a restored overseer's cottage. Back on the old River Road, you will pass by Felicity Plantation, where "12 Years A Slave" was filmed, and St Joseph Plantation, where the "Queen Sugar" TV series was filmed. Stop in front of Oak Alley Plantation to admire its parallel rows of centuries-old oak trees. After crossing over the Mississippi River on the Sunshine Bridge, you will arrive at the iconic "Sugar Palace", Houmas House Plantation. Lunch will be served in their elegant dining room, with genuine Cajun cuisine. Then, enjoy a guided tour of the mansion with a guide dressed in Antebellum costume. After the tour, enjoy some free time to stroll around the splendid gardens, before you return to New Orleans. Sample Lunch Menu (subject to seasonal changes) Luncheon includes home-baked bread and butter, iced tea or soft drink, dessert, and coffee.  Choice of Entrees: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (gluten-free without croutons): Served with tender romaine lettuce, croutons, and parmesan cheese Crown Jewel Hamburger: Grilled 7oz burger topped with cheese, bacon, mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and onion served with French fries Shrimp Po Boy: Shrimp, crispy fried and served on New Orleans French bread with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and Creole mayonnaise Breast of Chicken (gluten-free without grits): Skin-on breast of chicken, served with stone-ground grits, roasted veggies and rum-spiked Houmas House beehive honey glaze Vegetarian Pasta: Veggies and baby heirloom tomatoes with fettuccine pasta and parmesan cheese Choice of Dessert: White Chocolate Bread Pudding Turtle Creole Cream Cheese Cheesecake

Take a guided narrative tour down to Plantation Country in a 14-passenger bus and explore Laura, Oak Alley, or Whitney Plantation. Enjoy a convenient pickup between 8:00 and 8:30 AM from downtown hotels and head out for a 90-minute tour of the plantation of your choice. At the Laura Plantation, awarded the title of top travel attraction in Louisiana, you’ll visit the Big House, the French Garden, the Kitchen Garden, the Banana Grove, and the original 1840s slave cabins. Take time to browse through local arts, crafts, and souvenirs in the historic Laura Plantation gift shop. Don’t forget to visit the new museum exhibit about the inhabitants’ daily lives on the sugar plantation.   Oak Alley Plantation includes visits to the gracious interiors of the Big House as well as to the Oak Alley exhibit, that shares the stories of those who were enslaved on this sugar plantation from approximately 1835 to the end of the Civil War. Learn about health care, punishment, and life after Emancipation, as well as sugar’s impact on the people of Oak Valley. Finally, visit one of the few remaining 1890s-era forges of its type in Louisiana.   Whitney Plantation is the site of the last surviving example of a true French Creole Barn, what is believed to be the oldest detached kitchen in Louisiana, and an excellently-preserved Creole cottage. Through restored buildings, museum exhibits, memorial artwork, and thousands of first-person slave narratives, Whitney Plantation gives a voice and respect to the slaves who lived, worked, and died here.   Finish your day with a Louisiana swamp tour. The Cajun Captains will navigate their way through the back swamp. Learn about Louisiana Wetlands, the inhabitants of the swamp, and the history of the Louisiana Bayou and swamp exploration days.