SELF DRIVING SWAMP & PLANTATION TOUR
Take a chilling trip back in time!
BY BEYOND THE BAYOU TOURS

Customer | Details | Price |
---|---|---|
Person | $90 |
QUICK DETAILS
- Duration: 8.5 hours
- Included: 2 Hour Guided Boat Tour of Honey Island Swamp, 1.5 Hour Guided Tour of Whitney Plantation, Itinerary and Learning Materials
- Not Included: transportation, lunch
- Where to drive: Pearl River, LA for the swamp tour and then Edgard, LA for lunch and plantation
About the Swamp Tour & Plantation Combo
Experience the best of Southern Louisiana as an independent traveler! This self-driving tour is the complete package for an unbeatable price. We do all the legwork, including setting up your reservations and providing a detailed itinerary and directions. All you have to do is enjoy the tour!
Itinerary
8:30 a.m. – Leave New Orleans to drive to Pearl River, LA
9:30 a.m. – Launch time for our two-hour tour of the Pearl River Basin and Honey Island Swamp
12:00 p.m. – Begin the one and half-hour drive up to Plantation Country
1:30 p.m. – Grab lunch at B&C Seafood (closed Sunday)
2:50 p.m. – Leave for Whitney Plantation, just 5 minutes down the road
3:00 p.m. – Begin your two-hour walking tour of Whitney Plantation
5:00 p.m. – Leave Whitney and begin the one-hour drive back to New Orleans
6:00 p.m. – Arrive back in New Orleans after an unforgettable day of nature and culture
About Our Honey Island Swamp Tour
Our tour takes you through multiple ecosystems including marshes, hardwood forests, and swamps with towering cypress trees and Spanish moss. Learn about the wildlife, the pirates that smuggled treasure through here, the local lifestyle and culture, and even the legend of the Honey Island swamp monster.
We glide around river bends at 30 mph for part of the tour, and in other parts, we slowly creep through narrow passageways looking for gators and other creatures. Our quiet and fuel-efficient motor doesn’t scare away the wildlife as airboats do.
We are one of the only swamp tours in the area that doesn’t feed alligators. We are a true eco-tour, and we believe in respecting the environment and teaching visitors about the threats that face this valuable wetland region.
Comfortable padded seating and a maximum group size of six ensures that you can properly relax, avoid the crowds, and ask all the questions you want. We provide a truly educational tour that sends you home with a deeper understanding of what makes the ecosystems here so unique.
The Pearl River is a protected wildlife area, famous for being the most biodiverse region in Louisiana. Keep your eyes peeled for gators, wild boar, great blue herons, osprey, owls, snakes, and turtles.
Birdwatchers love this tour; there are tons of woodpeckers, raptors, and migratory songbirds that live out here.
About the Whitney Plantation
This historic sugar cane plantation is located along the Mississippi on the famous River Road and was originally founded in 1752. After 16 years and $8 million worth of renovations, Whitney reopened its gates in 2014. It is the only museum in America dedicated to telling the story of the African slave trade and what life was like for the people who worked on these plantations. Hear and read stories from people who grew up on this very plantation.
Owner and visionary John Cummings brought a professor from Senegal in as the chief historical adviser. Dr. Ibrahim Seck is an expert in African culture and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and his years of research have made this into the most educational plantation tour available in Louisiana.
It is a beautiful property and an important educational experience for anyone interested in the history of the South.
View a short film and article by the New Yorker here!
About B&C Seafood
This down-home Cajun joint is owned by local entrepreneur Tommy Breaux. You can tell it’s the real deal because of all the local regulars. The prices are very reasonable, and the seafood is caught locally and processed at his own facility. There is no middleman – this is as fresh as it gets! Everything here is homemade, even the bread! Snack on boiled crabs, alligator bites, frog legs, and incredible gumbo or chow down on a soft-shell crab po’ boy. Check out the Gators and historic memorabilia on the walls and pictures from Tommy’s fishing and hunting expeditions.
On Sundays they are closed, so we visit the restaurant at Oak Alley Plantation down the road. See their menu here!