We did the Garden district city and cemetery tour and Val was amazing! She was informative, engaging, and kept us on-time without feeling rushed. She was a wealth of fun and interesting knowledge about NOLA and she was never dull or boring. We stumbled upon a 2nd line and just went with it! And despite the bruising sun, we had a wonderful walk throughout the garden district, learning fun facts about different architectural designs and cultural facts. And how could we forget the amazing St. Louis #3 cemetery! Gorgeous views of the different sites. We had a real blast! Stacey was a great driver and also so pleasant. She got us through some bumpy roads. They made a wonderful team! Would love to join them again. read more

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We booked our tour via Viator as they had a good cancelation policy. You could give them 24 hours notice and get a full refund. The other tour groups are non refundable and due to the ever changing winter weather you never know. As it turns out there was no rain on the forecast. It was just going to be cold so we bundled up. The tour was done by Grey Line Tours. It was fabulous. We were instructed to meet at the Natchez dock at the lighthouse. We checked in at the lighthouse and were told to go to stand in lane 1. Note, go to the bathroom before showing up. There isn't one close by and none in the bus. The process was easy to check in. You were given a QR code, but they just checked off your name instead. The bus was heated and not too hot. It was very comfortable and I was able to take off my jacket and I was ok wearing my sweater. The tour guide used a mic and talked the whole time. It was a lengthy ride. Pointing out other plantations and other roadside finds. He gave us history and background. Everything could be heard clearly too. That was a big plus with such a large group. When we got to the plantation and swamp he let those guides take over and he just waited around till we were done. If we had questions he was available and some took him up on that offer. I would highly recommend this tour company. It exceeded our expectations. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Tour bus - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

What a great tour! I admit this was not my choice in my group but I'm so glad that they said it was a must do, which is absolutely true! Tour guide gives great information on the way to Oak Alley Plantation and once you get there you have a tour and about an hour and a half to walk around and go to the restaurant if you want to. We did and it was good and also go to the gift shop they let you try some alcohol and some brittle. Which I ended up buying it was good. Oak Alley is a place they filmed part of "Interview with a Vampire," so cool, as well as "The Skeleton Key," "True Detective," (parts anyway), and "The Long Hot Summer." Take the time to get photos and videos from the front. So worth it. You get to view the slave quarters as well. Then you get to go on the Swamp Tour which was so funny because our tour guide was that hilarious! Shout out to Brandon! He should be an improv actor (I mean they do films out there), because when I asked if he was ever given a script for the tour his response was, "hell no." Haha! Has the face for tv/film as well for any agents or producers out there. Anyway, you see SO MANY alligators and get to hold a teeny tiny baby one which is so cute! Overall was a great day despite the rain! read more

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We LOVED the tour of the swamp (Cajun Pride) and Oak Alley plantation. Kate is so full of knowledge, we were hanging on every word. Alton is a great driver and even slowed down a bit when an alligator was spotted hanging out by the roadside. What a beautiful and interesting place, full of history. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Baby Alligator - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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We booked the Whitney Plantation + Swamp Boat tour via Groupon. Our tour guide Robert was a native New Orleanian who was able to answer every question about the city & gave us the detailed history while traveling to both locations. He has built relationships with the staff at both locations so that made our activities that much smoother. Our driver, Dominique, was a safe and friendly driver. read more

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I did the plantation and gator tour with this company. We started out with the plantation and it was gorgeous, the tour guides there were awesome, the food at the restaurant at the plantation was great, and I felt more educated. Then, we went to the alligator swamp tour, which was very cool, just a little bit more crowded on the boat than I would've liked. The bad part is that our bus broke down on the way home and the AC failed. As a result, we sat in a crazy hot bus on the side of the freeway for about an hour waiting for a new bus. This, however, seemed to be out of our tour guide's hands, which is the reason there isn't a lower rating. read more

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I booked w/ Grayline on Travelocity for our trip to NOLA. We went on the big boat swamp tour (not a fan boat). We went through a lot of paper to make it on to the boat; it was silly. We took our printed online voucher to a ticket stand in the french quarter. They gave us two paper tickets per person. We used one ticket to get on a charter bus. The bus took us to the launch point of the tour where we exchanged our 2nd ticket for a wrist band to get on to the boat. Can't you find a more efficient system than this? The charter bus had very narrow seats. My husband and I are no longer thin like we used to be, and it was uncomfortable for us to sit together, but there wasn't room for us to sit in separate rows because there were other people on the bus. The bus also had a leak in the cooling system and kept dripping on my arm the whole way there. When I booked online, there were lots of pictures of people holding small alligators, and I thought this was going to be included with our tour. It was not. There is a gift shop once you get to the boat launch that was cute. Inside was an albino alligator in a pool (but the pool was depressingly small). They did take fun photos before getting on the boat in front of a green screen (additional cost to take printed photos home---thing disney roller coaster rides). Once we finally made it on to the boat, it was heavenly! We had amazing views. We were visiting in March, and the weather was perfect. We were able to see several gators and a blue heron. Our boat captain was a cool cajun and had interesting local facts (some more dubious than others). I'm glad that I didn't go on a fan boat because one went by us. It was really fast and very LOUD. It definitely would have triggered a headache for me. The big boat was perfect. We were able to move slowly through the swamp and see cool stuff. read more

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I loved our tour in NOLA. We had time to get down and see some things. The tour guide was excellent. You want good local facts and stories and some humor and we definitely got all of that. Great price and very easy to find. I'm read more

During our New Orleans trip, we booked the evening Riverboat Jazz Cruise (about $50/person through Orbitz). While I enjoyed the 2-2.5 hr cruise, I kind of wished that there was more information given regarding the history of New Orleans and the Mississippi R. Yes, someone gave a 5-10 minute speech about what we were going to see during the tour, but I would have liked to learn more. Perhaps, having QR codes, posted in various areas of the boat, linking to prerecorded audio discussing New Orleans history could accomplish this without sacrificing the jazz band. Perhaps, I'm asking for too much. While I'm not a huge fan of jazz, I thought the band was pretty good, and the band definitely had me tapping my foot during various parts of the trip. Overall, I thought the boat was in pretty decent shape and the crew was pretty nice (especially the two ladies working the bar on the second level). While we enjoyed the night cruise, I think that I would have enjoyed a daytime cruise instead. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Gray line was a great tour company. The shuttle bus to the swamp tour location was great. He was super informative about where the best Mardi Gras parade spots were. The swamp tour guide was funny and very informative. read more

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While in New Orleans we wanted to get as much touring in as possible. When I'm alone for business all I want to do is get the work over and go home, but with my wife with me she wants to spend time sightseeing. So she picks a Grayline tour of New Orleans and cemeteries. She has always had a fascination with old cemeteries. Don't worry about me, I've learned never to turn my back to her. LOL. So the tour... Gail is our tour guide and Donald is our driver. Anywhere you sit is a good seat for the tour. Where off and Gail is like an encyclopedia of New Orleans. She has information on the history of New Orleans from the very beginning. I love this stuff. I'm a history buff so I'm hanging on her every word. First stop is an old cemetery. This, I agree but doesn't get me as excited as Mrs. E. I'm just busy not letting her get behind me. Just Kidding. But really some interesting facts. One was that everyone is buried in a Crypt. I thought it was because of the water table but it's actually for land management. It gets so hot inside the crypts that bodies are actually cremated in about a year. Again, Gail was chock full of information. Back on the bus and off to a park. In this particular park was a Cafe Du Monde. At this location they do accept credit cards, and also a bathroom stop. Gail rounds us all up like a mother hen and away we go. I don't want to leave Donald out. Although he was very quite he handled the bus smoothly and efficiently. Although he had to maneuver traffic occasionally we hardly noticed. We heard all about many of the things that went on during hurricane Katrina and the devastation that hit New Orleans. We went to several areas of New Orleans from poor sections to affluent areas. Gail was amazing. She seemed to have facts about nearly every building in New Orleans. I can't say enough about Grayline Tours and especially our tour guides Gail and Donald. If you are in New Orleans I highly recommend Grayline Tours, but you must must make sure Gail is your Tour Guide and Donald is your driver. You will not regret it. read more

We booked our plantation tour with Gray line tours and it was awesome. Our tour guide was Alton. I highly recommend him because he's phenomenal and was a great historian up and back. We learned all about Louisiana and it's rich history and culture. He was also very careful to make sure that none of us wandered off and got left behind. Can't wait to book another tour in the near future. Thank you Gray line tours and Alton. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - The beautiful scenery on our way to the plantation - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Took the Original Craft Cocktail tour with Robi. 3 drinks were include and 2 were an option to purchase. First drink was near where we started at Gray Lines-Natchez Jazz Punch. 2. Bayou Bash at Court of Two Sisters. 3. Sazerac at Peychaud's. 4 Green Fairy (absinthe) at a bar in Pirate's Alley. 5. Moscow Mule at Fritzel's This tour is worth every penny. Robi was entertaining and receptive to questions. Lots of information learned. It's not a pub crawl! Tip your guide! read more

We used Gray Line Tours in February 2020 just before the pandemic hit to visit the Whitney Plantation for a bachelorette party. Booking was easy online and when I picked up the tickets at will call and showed them my AAA card, I received the discount as a refund back on my card. Kindrell was our bus driver and tour guide and I remember him being very funny and loved his anecdotes and ramblings about the giant mosquitoes Louisiana gets and alligator facts. We chose the Whitney Plantation because the reviews were the best. We drove by a few other plantations before arriving at Whitney. We got dropped off before Oak Alley but when we were picked up, we drove to Oak Alley to pick up the passengers that went there. Oak Alley was definitely prettier than Whitney because of the giant oak trees that line the walkway, but Kindrell said we got the better tour at Whitney. If you want Instagram worthy pictures, you might want to visit Oak Alley. On the drive back, we basically all fell asleep. When we got back into the city and neared the drop off destination, he told us about the Hard Rock Hotel collapse in October 2019 and how there were still three bodies of construction workers that they haven't been able to recover. Since then, the three bodies have been recovered and the building has been demolished. Crazy how it took almost a year to recover the bodies and start demolition! read more

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We arrived about 15-20 minutes before we due to arrive. There was a little sitting area and at 10:45 we went to the bus that was leaving for the swamp tour. We thought the bus leaves at 10:45 but it didn't not leave until well after 11. We made the mistake of sitting underneath the air conditioning and we're quite cold. The bus driver was great with his information. When we arrived at airboat adventures, we had to wait around until 12 before we could finally go on the tour. We visited the albino alligator whom everyone thought was fake because it didn't move while we were present. We took pictures on a green screen (which ended up being $35 and included one big picture and two small wallet size pics plus a frame for the wallet sized one). We declined as we didn't feel that was worth the money. We were expecting a bit more out of the tour. Most of it was "look at this, this is what hurricane ida destroyed last year." While yes that was cool information, it was mostly the only information we received. We received more of a history lesson about Jean lafitte on the bus than we did on the tour. We saw about 5 crocodiles and a crane. The airboat tours purposely kept spraying us with the swamp water, which was not pleasant at all. We saw the "spot" that inspired the movie the princess and the frog. We felt like we spent more time on the bus than we did on the tour. The tour company was great, so if we were to come back, we would definitely use again, just definitely not for a swamp tour. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Three of us took the 2-hour Super City Tour on Sunday. It departed at Noon from the Gray Line Lighthouse Ticket Station at Toulouse St. and the Mississippi River (look for the Steamboat Natchez Dock and the Old Man River Statue). The cost was $44 per person, and as we approached the bus, we were offered ice cold bottles of water. That was a nice touch! We meandered through 15 neighborhoods some of which were the French Quarter, Jackson Square, Central City, the Garden District and Warehouse Arts District. We stopped at the St. Louis Cemetery #2 and at City Park for a bathroom and Beignet Break at Café du Monde, but the advertised feature to see the Besthoff Sculpture Garden didn't work out because (as we were told) the gate was closed? We saw a lot of cool old mansions, learned a lot about New Orleans culture and history, and enjoyed our tour guide's (Huey Pablovich) easy going humorous narration - he was excellent. The bus was comfortable, and the windows were plenty big for photographic purposes. Bottom line? Well, it was OK, but I would have preferred a few more stops along the way for photo opportunities somewhere. read more

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We did the Bonfire Express tour last night. Tim, our tour guide entertained us with the history of the bonfires as well as New Orleans. Every entertaining. The bonfires were crazy. We didn't see elaborate structures, but lots of lmtall pyramid ones. People light fireworks and thrn their pyramids. Very cool! Our bus driver was great and the bus was new and comfortable.onthr way backwe had cookies and eggnog and Tim read us a Cajun story. They were able to let us off at the hotel because it was on the route. It was a perfect night. You donteant to miss this once a year experience. The only thingto make it better was if they scouted out ahead of time the sculpture structures you see on the news clips. Expect some walking! Some people didn't read the description and were a little miffed! We were prepared and it was magical. read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Bonfire - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

We visited from out of town and this was a great way to tour and Alton was a great tour guide! Super friendly and had a lot of tips and information! Def recommend:) read more

We chose the grey line for our plantation and swamp boat tour. We had an amazing time. First off our tour guide was AMAZING! She had the cutest sparkly cheeks (my girlfriend and I can't remember her name) and then there was Darren the driver who was a complete southern gentleman! The guide was knowledgeable and funny, she shared the history of New Orleans and the surrounding area with us on the way to the plantation. Later we went to the swamp for a river boat tour with captain Bishop and he was a great boat driver and told many interesting story out the swamp and NO. We say SO MANY ALLIGATORS ! I would definitely recommend and do it all again give them the opportunity! read more

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Our tour, Alton did a great job. Very knowledgeable and social. Tour was on time and enjoyable.

My husband and I did the Oak Alley Plantation and swamp tour. It was the best. Kate was very knowledgeable and Michael was an added bonus, I mean, a good bus driver is just a +++. The hours just flew by. Totally recommend, you won't regret taking this tour. read more

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I highly recommend gray line tours. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable in the history of new Orleans. We really enjoyed listening to her. The driver did a wonderful job. We did the plantation and swamp tour. Our guide on the swamp tour was great also. read more

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Great job by Alton, our gray line driver to Whitney plantation tour. He made the trip to and from interesting with his knowledgeable commentary - Alton is why I would come back to gray lines. Tour itself was done by the Plantation. The only reason we took it was for the bus ride there, if you have a car drive yourself unless you can get Alton as a driver :) read more

Took the Gray Line twice during our stay in New Orleans. First we took it to Jean Lafitte Swamp tour and Damita was our driver. She did a great job getting us there safely and timely. The other time we took the Gray Line was when I purchased tickets for us to see the plantation. During the drive we heard interesting facts about New Orleans and the tour guide made a point of pointing out interesting sites to us. She was the best tour guide because she was also a teacher! She also helped us to get our tickets for the plantation tour. I just wished that we had more time to visit the plantation because there was so much to see and do! read more

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First of all...Alton was our driver and made the whole trip a 5 star experience. Tremendous knowledge of the city and areas we travelled through. An absolute pleasure. The tour of Oak Plantation was run by the plantation and not Gray Lines...I would say they plantation understates the impact of slavery on the slaves and lightly addresses it. The focus is basically on the house and the owners of the plantation. Gray Line bus was clean and comfortable and we had nothing but first class service. The bus ride to and from the Plantation was worth it alone! Thanks again to Alton who made it memorable! read more

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Very nice Tour. We did two with Grayline. The first tour was the Daytime Riverboat Jazz tour. It was fun! Food was decent. Staff was friendly! Highly recommend. The second tour was the Swamp and Bayou tour. So much fun! A must do! The tour guide was funny, and informative. The kids got a chance to actually hold a baby gator. We watched the guide man feed the gators out in the swamp. It was amazing ! So much fun, both exciting for kids and adults. Definitely a must do! read more

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tour! John our guide he was very involved and engaged, if you wanted something or had a question he made sure you got it read more

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Excellent! We did two tours with them: city and cemetery and swamp and bayou. We had Donald and Grace for the city tour and we learned a lot and had a great time-especially in the garden district. Wish we would have had more time to walk around the cemetery. Then we had Ken the as our driver/tour guide to the swamp and he shared so much educational information. He was a rock star! read more

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My wife and I have attended the last 6 Jazz Fest and used the Gray Line shuttle from the Sheraton Hotel to the Fairground each time. The experience we had on 4/28/23, going to & leaving the Fest was by far the absolute worse experience ever. After fighting through their online system to purchase the tickets, $48, as required. We decided to start out a lil later since we was interested in seeing a later performance by the Wu-Tang Clan. We walked from the Harrah's down to the Sheraton and couldn't believe our eyes. The line for the shuttle was all the way down Canal St, all the way down the next street, then half-way down the next block. After talking with other folks waiting in line, the gentlemen stated that he'd been in line for close to an hour, in the sun, with no shade. I'm a patient person, so we decided to get in line. After waiting in line for about 15 mins, in the direct sunlight, much to our chagrin, dispite having shuttle tickets in our hands, we decided to take an Uber to the Fest to forego the inevitable hour plus wait. Got to the Fest, had a great time, it's time to go back to our hotel. Nightmare part 2 begins... the disorganized, under-staffed employees tried their best, but with the lack of avaliable shuttles, we literally stood in line for over an hour & fifteen minutes... I timed it. I was just grateful that I used the restroom before getting in line. At 57 years old, I'm quite capable of standing & waiting, but I'd rather not. There were a elderly folks line & I felt horrible for them. It was like being tortured. Gray Lines Shuttles should be ashamed of the extremely poor service that they provided for $24 per person. Gray Lines performance was as if they didn't know that folks would be leaving & requiring a shuttle home. They knew how many tickets they sold, they should've been better prepared. Disappointed is an understatement, we'll never use this service again. I wish I could demand a refund for my wasted time & frustration. Do better Gray Lines, you put a blemish on our Jazz Fest experience this year. read more

Marsha is a great tour guide that led us through the cemetery. She obviously truly cares about the cemetery and teaching people about the tour areas. She made sure to warn everyone about staying cool and in the shade. It was a fun tour and totally worth it! These cemeteries are not open to the public so I highly recommend taking a gray line tour! read more

Gray Line New Orleans - Tours Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Alton was our tour guide for the Oak Valley plantation tour on May 1 st He was incredible -so many interesting facts on the trip to the plantation We learned so much about New Orleans!! He kept us entertained the entire trip to the Plantation Highly recommend using Gray Line tours. read more

We were exploring the French Quarter when we came upon the shopping arcade that housed the Gray Line kiosk. The salesperson was extremely friendly and helpful in explaining the different kinds of tours available. As we were pressed for time, we selected the Oak Alley plantation tour ($67pp) though they do offer double plantation tours ($89pp), swamp+plantation tours ($106pp), and other combination tours. With our tickets for the tour booked for the following day and printed out, we were gifted a bag full of small goodies including Cajun spices, sunglasses, brochures, etc which I thought was a nice touch. We met at the ticket office behind the shopping arcade that was shaped like a yellow lighthouse (you can't miss it) where there were several buses parked and ready to go. Gray Line's pricing is relatively fair though if you wanted to save some money, you could also rent a car as tickets to Oak Alley generally cost around $25. The tour does not include lunch but there is a cafe on premises. We ended up purchasing some bread and cheese at a grocery store prior to boarding and had a picnic at the plantation instead. read more

Went to see the Oak Alley Plantation. Susan W was our guide. She rocked it!! She was so knowledgeable and knew everything!! Plus she had great stories and facts. The plantation ride was great! Bus comfortable and nice views. The driver was sweet and slowed down for us to take pics. I recommend highly with this tour company especially if you get Susan!! read more

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I wish I could rate this as a -5. I filed a complaint on the Gray Line Tour Lighthouse Customer Service Agent, Jamie Emerson, for her poor customer through the wed address tours@glnosc.com, and she received her own complaint and called me back to argue with me. So, not only is grumpy Jamie's customer service terrible, she is bias and unprofessional. I have never heard of anyone call to argue with a customer and handle their own complaint. Then, she told me that I could not talk to anyone else, and that she is the only one in management. LIES!!! Whenever you go to the Lighthouse to purchase anything, please beware of JAMIE EMERSON! read more

My boyfriend and I booked the Swamp and Bayou Tour during our time in NOLA and had a blast! Since we booked our fight and hotel through Expedia, we were able to receive a $12.50 discount off each ticket (only available for the 9 AM tour), so the tour cost us $77 in total. Looks like Yelp gets you $10 off the 9 AM tour as well - I would definitely take advantage of the discount! The meet up location for the tour is very convenient - it's a short walking distance from many of the hotels in the French Quarter. We boarded a bus by the Lighthouse ticket office and it took us about 30 minutes to get to the Jean Lafitte swamp. Once we arrived, we were given some time to purchase snacks and/or use the restrooms before our tour actually began. We then boarded the boat and began the tour! The entire tour lasted a little under two hours, and was so much fun! We kept our eyes peeled for alligators (which we fortunately saw plenty) and were told many facts and history tidbits from our tour guide. My favorite part of course had to be the opportunity to hold a baby alligator. Towards the end of the tour, our tour guide brought out a baby alligator and allowed each of us plenty of time to hold it and take pictures of it. The baby alligator was adorable - best part of the tour! At the end of the tour, we docked and hopped back on the bus to return to the French Quarter. I had an awesome experience, and would definitely recommend the Swamp and Bayou Tour to everyone! I would love to check out the other tours that Gray Line offers next time I'm in town :) read more

A few weeks ago, my girlfriends and I took a trip to NOLA and I really wanted to see the bayou while we were in Louisiana. One of the girls wanted to visit a plantation, so it couldn't have been more perfect when we stumbled upon the Destrehan Plantation and Manchac Swamp Tour Living Social Deal through Gray Line Tours. After much research, this was by far the best deal out there and it was great to be able to kill two birds with one stone. As we were in NOLA on vacation and as such, did not have a car, it was convenient that this tour included transportation from the French Quarter to both destinations and back. The Destrehan Plantation is absolutely beautiful and has both an interesting and tragic history. I am fascinated by anything history and while the house is architecturally gorgeous, it really just blows my mind how people lived back then (no plumbing, running water, heaters, ac, medicine, etc) and how much humans have adapted overtime. I love that the plantation has been preserved in its original state and the employees seem to really care about the maintenance and care of the home and its grounds. The Manchac Swamp Tour was equally as wonderful. Our tour guide was hilariously friendly and really provided a lot of information about bayous, the animals in the bayous, the importance of the bayou to the ecosystem, and the history of the Manchac Swamp. While it's easy to imagine a bayou as a murky, ghostly, and scary place, I was shocked at how beautiful and peaceful the Manchac Swamp is. I am so happy that it is private property and as such, can't be ruined and built on. We saw a lot of alligators, raccoons, squirrels, many different types of birds, and the Manchac Swamp Tour's feral kitties. I would have loved to see some turtles and snakes too, but it was a very cold day, so we were lucky to see anything! We were lucky enough to meet and hold Bruce, the baby alligator ambassador for his kind! I was very happy to hear that he has his own large enclosure, they leave him to hunt naturally (though they do make sure he's fed well), and was wearing a muzzle rather than his mouth being taped shut. Kudos to Manchac Swamp Tours for treating their animals well. Overall, I recommend this tour. But I do have to mention how darn cold that bus was. That day in NOLA was rainy and extremely bone chilling cold. I had to wait outside at the window to get my tickets so I practically ran to the bus to warm up, only to find that the air conditioning was blasting, and continued to blast the entire ride to the plantation. I was absolutely miserable, as was everyone else. People were literally wearing their hoods. A few people complained and were told that they couldn't put the heater on because it would fog up the windows for the driver. There are anti-fog sprays and I'm sure other remedies to this, the solution is not to give people frost bite. I'm shivering just thinking about it... read more

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So we used this tour company for all of our sightseeing needs during our vacation in New Orleans. We went on the Super City Tour (which is a must for first timers in the city), The Swamp/Bayou Tour, The Ghost Walking Tour and the Double Plantation Tour. All of these were excellent tours. The tour guides are so informative, knowledgeable and interesting. The buses are very comfortable and easy to ride in. I was surprised to see how many people were on each of the tours, so arrive early if you want a good seat. When we went on the Double Plantation Tour, our tour guide learned that it was our friend's 40th birthday. He made arrangements for my friend to get a special bread pudding dessert at the Oak Plantation Cafe. That was very sweet and very much appreciated. If you want to get to know the history of NOLA, you really should take some of these tours. They are excellent and fairly priced!!! read more

Enjoyed Gail, our tour guide and Donald, our driver were top hosts. Learned so much. First time in New Orleans and would highly recommend the city, cemetery, & garden city tour! Learned so much!!! read more

Took the Voodoo and cemetery tour, given by Marcia. Marcia was a delight to have as our tour guide! It was a fun, short tour walking through one of the smaller cemeteries, St. Louis #1. While this tour lacked a bit on the voodoo side, Marcia provided great local tidbits and seemed to really care about the people laid to rest at #1. We also took her up on her suggestion to have a milk punch and the bbq shrimp po boy at Bourbon House. Amazing!! Thanks Marcia! Hope to see you again!! read more

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Jamie W. (of SF) and I made no plans on what we would exactly do in New Orleans, but as fate would have it, we were there on exactly the fifth anniversary of Katrina. So instead of ambling through the French Quarter first, we made our way down Canal to sign up for the Katrina tour on Toulouse Wharf. I chose Gray Line simply because I had good experiences with their tours in Portland, OR, and down under in Melbourne. As luck would have it, it was a good albeit somber tour of the Lower Ninth Ward and the surrounding neighborhoods adjacent to Lake Pontchatrain. Led by a longtime native with a trace of bitterness still in his voice, the tour turned out to be an unexpected experience - moving, angry, inspiring. There were no great sights, just a sense of decay and disappointment on how slow the rebuild has been with trailers still being used for local services like police stations and libraries. You're driven through Musicians' Village, a reconstruction project led by Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, and you even pass by Fats Domino's bumblebee-hued house (see photo). Rumors of his death were slightly exaggerated. You see the parts of the levees that broke because the concrete is much whiter. The best part of the tour was an unexpected extra, a walking tour of the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood being made over by Brad Pitt's Make It Right foundation where the new houses are green-friendly and designer-contempo. I guess there is something morbid about making money from a devastating tragedy like Katrina (the tour costs $35 per person) - but I have to say I would have never explored these struggling neighborhoods otherwise. Sometimes you just need to be reminded of the transience of your time on earth. read more

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