Top 13 Swamp Tours in the USA

1.New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour with Transportation

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5,399 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $70Our pick

Honey Island Swamp boat tour from New Orleans with transport, a quiet 22-passenger boat, Cajun village views, and wildlife spotting.

“We traveled in a covered boat through a beautiful swamp, filled with alligators, turtles, snakes and adorable raccoons. Even though it rained (more like a mist) we didn't care. I loved learning about the people, the community, the history, even how to catch a crawfish. Our guide Will was fun, knowledgeable and kept us well-entertained. The bus ride to the swamp was about 40 minutes but our driver Derek kept us amused with his strong opinions about food and restaurants and his stories about New Orleans. About my only criticism--and this is small--I would like to have had a choice about where to pick up the bus. We walked nearly…”

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2.Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3,303 reviews · 7 hours 45 minutes (approx.) · from $131

Swamp boat plus Oak Alley or Destrehan from New Orleans. See alligators, wildlife, and antebellum plantations on a full-day tour.

“Bus ride to plantation particularly for out of town visitor was relaxing. Plantation house, garden were magnificent. Slave homes, stories and exhibitions enlightening. Tour guides very informative and relevant. Swamp tour was an interesting and informative experience. Great day!”

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3.New Orleans Self-Transport Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,824 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $37

Small-boat Honey Island Swamp tour from Slidell. Cajun stories, close wildlife viewing, and a boat-only village. 2 hours, $37.75.

“Jody was the best tour guide I would recommend him being your tour guide. I enjoyed the whole experience and would definitely would be visiting again.”

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4.New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,855 reviews · 1 hour 40 minutes (approx.) · from $35

Cruise the Barataria Swamps on a roofed, narrated boat from Marrero, passing Cajun and Indigenous landmarks while watching for gators.

“This was amazing!! The captain was entertaining, knowledgeable and very had a great sense of humor. We saw lots of alligators and the weather was perfect.”

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5.Large Airboat Swamp Tour with Transportation from New Orleans

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,832 reviews · 4 hours 15 minutes (approx.) · from $90

Speedy airboats, wildlife spotting, and easy hotel pickup in New Orleans, with a 2-hour ride through the Barataria Preserve.

“The tour was great from pick up to drop off. We were promptly picked up in a large shuttle bus and safely transported to the tours. We did the 10:20 trip which after pic up and arrival we learned we still had ~40+ mins before the actual tour started. I would recommend bringing lunch of at the very least snacks. There is also some snack food for sale in the gift shop. The tour was fabulous. Our guide was great and was a wealth of knowledge. It was 49 degrees so we only saw two small gators but still had a fabulous time and would do it again. My son…”

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6.New Orleans Manchac Bayou Swamp Cruise W/ Optional Pick-Up

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,587 reviews · 1h 30m · from $35

Pontoon ride through Manchac Bayou with narrated Cajun lore, wildlife sightings, optional New Orleans pickup, plus Oak Alley stop.

“Amazing experience. My only recommendation, if you're planning to go on this tour, is to book your transportation from New Orleans in advance. Uber/Lyft has a hard time getting to this area.”

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7.Bayou Swamp Tour and Oak Alley Plantation Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,147 reviews · 7h 30m · from $125

Ride Manchac Swamp by boat to spot gators and birds, then tour Oak Alley’s live oaks with guide and hotel pickup.

“Big Joe was the bus driver. He was very accommodating about pick up and gave us interesting commentary on the drive with information about sites along the way. The swamp tour was beautiful and so interesting and we saw a lot of animals and a lot of alligators. The tour at Oak Alley was exceptional And the grounds, slave quarters information and the house were memorable to see. The guide who took us through the house was fantastic. It is a tour combination. I would recommend to anyone who comes to New Orleans.”

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8.Oak Alley Plantation & Airboat Swamp Combo Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 906 reviews · 8h 30m · from $160

Guided Oak Alley Plantation history plus a high-speed Barataria Basin airboat ride, with hotel pickup and wildlife spotting from New Orleans.

“Fabulous day, interesting to learn about the sugar cane plantation and insight into slavery, really knowledgeable, guides. We followed this with a swamp tour with Dewey as our guide. What an awesome experience. Dewey was fun, engaging, and nothing too much trouble, he took us to where he knew the gathers would be and he didn’t disappoint, we even held a baby gator! Great day !!”

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9.From Lafitte: Swamp Tours South of New Orleans by Airboat

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 792 reviews · 105 minutes - 4 hours · from $59

Ride a US Coast Guard certified airboat through Lafitte wetlands. See Sugar and Flour albino alligators, plus gators, turtles, birds, and canals.

“love love loved this trip.. not much more to say really except for that we would do it again.”

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10.Guided Swamp Cruise by Tour Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 570 reviews · 100 minutes - 4 hours · from $35

New Orleans guided swamp cruise in the Barataria marshes. Spot alligators and birds, learn Cajun life. 100 minutes on the water.

“This tour was amazing from start to finish our driver Keith was hilarious on journey from hotel pick up to the swamp tour he was brilliant and the tour itself was amazing the captain Ernie was excellent very knowledgeable about the area and gave us lots of great information about our surroundings the Bayou/ swamp was an incredible environment to see such a beautiful place and I loved gliding through the water looking at the beautiful trees and plant life we saw a few awesome birds and off course the highlight of the trip was seeing all the alligators I was prepared for us to maybe not see any due…”

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11.Bayou Tour in Jean Lafitte National Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 428 reviews · 1h 30m · from $32Best value

Ride a pontoon boat through Barataria Preserve in Jean Lafitte Park, spot alligators and more, and hear swamp legends from local guides.

“It was amazing. The plant and animal life were gorgeous and our tour guide was great, had a sense of humor qnd very knowledgeable. would definitely do this again.”

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12.Swamp Boat Ride & Oak Alley Plantation Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 383 reviews · 7h 30m · from $131

A single day pairing Oak Alley’s iconic Greek Revival Big House with a narrated Manchac Swamp pontoon ride, with drinks and snacks available.

“History of the plantation and loved the swamp tour”

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13.Swamp Tour on Covered Pontoon Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 283 reviews · 90 minutes - 3 hours · from $35

Ride a covered pontoon into New Orleans bayou, spot alligators and birds in tidewater cypress swamp, with expert Cajun-style guides.

“We had so much fun!! We saw about 6 alligators and 2 racoons. The kids loved it.0”

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