Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours, Louisiana, United States

5Rachel J 5:00 PM Apr 24, 2022

What a fun swamp tour!
I've been on other swamp tours, but this was the best! Our guide, Matt, answered all our questions. The boat was covered with a canopy so we didn't get overheated (Also, to keep snakes from falling on us, according to Matt!) We saw plenty of critters (raccoons, wild boar, alligators, herons, etc.) Some were almost tame, coming to the boat to let Matt feed them marshmallows. Others, we were just lucky to see. Wildlife is unpredictable. Even without the animal sightings, the cypress trees and swamp were just beautiful. So many flowers in bloom. From New Orleans, it was a 45 min. drive, but definitely worth it.

4Sarah S 5:00 PM Apr 24, 2018

Fun, good size boats, more river than swamp
I purposely selected a smaller company for our swamp visit and was happy with the results. This is not a fancy outfit - they take reservations by phone and write your info down on a piece of paper. They do not email you a confirmation, so be prepared to write down or remember your pickup location and time. They take credit card info by phone to hold your reservation, but you have to pay in full in cash or check. (who travels with a checkbook?) We were picked up at the Hilton on Canal St in a 15 passenger van. The driver gave information about Hurricane Katrina damage and recovery on the drive out of town. Dry delivery, but interesting. When you arrive there's a little building with some shirts and snacks for sale, and indoor bathrooms. After you pay (in cash) they load you on a boat - 22 people max. TIP: sit on the starboard side if you can (righthand side as you face the bow). They go down one side of the river and back on the other, and the starboard side is closer to the bank so you can see more. Our guide did a pretty good job of turning the boat around if we were looking at a snake or gator so both sides got to see, but being starboard was definitely better. About half of the tour is along a river - wide and fast. Our guide did a nice job of calling out "Here we go!" everytime he sped up. It was windy at full speed, so TIP: a light jacket was helpful. You spend about an hour going slowly through a more swampy section, which was peaceful and really pretty. We saw alligators, a couple snakes, several types of birds, a raccoon, and two feral pigs. The guide tosses marshmallows to the animals, so if you're very "nature should be left untouched" in attitude this is not the tour for you. (Go to the boardwalk at the Jean Lafitte National Park instead.) In mid-April, it was still too cold for the larger alligators to be active, so the ones we saw were 3-7 feet. TIP: you have a better chance of seeing larger gators later in the day. Upon our return to dock, there was time to visit the bathroom before the van brought us back to town. Our driver was very nice about changing our drop off location to be at the opposite end of the French Quarter from where we were picked up.