old river road plantation adventure

SHORT: An amazing tour, punctual, great historic information and high quality tour guides, bus drivers and good food.Three Girlfriends and I headed down to NOLA on a girls only trip. We wanted to see some of the plantations while we were on our trip and did a bunch of research. We found the Old River Road Plantation Adventure company had some of the best reviews.Our tour began promptly at 7:40 when Richard our driver and historian picked us up directly at our hotel. After picking up the rest of our group (17 people in all) we headed out toward the plantations. Richard did a great job at informing us about different sites we were seeing (levees, water pumping stations, rivers, swamps landmarks etc.) along the way. He gave us a great history lesson on the difference between creoles (city dwellers) and Cajuns (those living outside the city). The information he gave us was a great preparation for the Plantation tours and made the plantation tours even better knowing the history Richard shared.We drove past several plantations along the way to our first stop Oak Ally. At Oak Alley we were given a tour of the inside of the plantation house as well as extensive history of the owners of the home. The tour lasted about 40 minutes. They sold mint juleps here and I was able to cross an item off my bucket list: Drinking a mint julep on a front porch! If only it had been a little warmer......Our next stop was the Laura Plantation-a creole plantation. This plantation type is very common in Louisiana, it isn't the traditional "Mansion" sized plantations you see further east. There was such a stark contrast between Oak Alley and Laura. The tour at Laura Plantation was about 65 minutes long.Both tours offered a little bit of time to explore the property, but not enough to really dive deep into everything each plantation had to offer. I would have liked more time at the plantations, however, that would have turned our 8 hour tour into a 10 hour tour easily!After the Laura Plantation we headed out to Pier 51 in LaPlace for our lunch. Lunch was only for those that did the Swamp Tour (7 of of). We said farewell to the other 10 people and enjoyed a speedy lunch. (Lunch menus were given out on the bus in the morning and turned in to the driver). Our lunch was waiting for us at the restaurant and the servcie was very friendly.At 2:05 our driver from Cajun Pride ours picked us up and took us to the swamp. It was a cold day for a swamp tour and we didn't see much action aside from one alligator, a few racoons, and some various birds. Our tour guide made up for not being able to see wildlife. He filled us in on his life growing up on the Bayou and working the river. He had wonderful stories about past boat tours as well! The swamp tour lasted 90 minutes.We had a little time to explore the gift shop and then it was back to the city.I would recommend using Old River Road Plantation Adventures again. It was easy to make payments, everyone was friendly and it felt clean and safe. The driver called us the day before, as well as an hour before your tour to confirm our pick up times and make sure we knew where he would be and what type of vehicle to look for.

We booked the plantation tour directly with them online and save $5 per person. At the time of booking you have a choice of Oak Alley and another plantation like Laura, Evergreen. Joseph and so on. We decided in Evergreen and Oak Alley.Elmer our tour guide called us the night before and picked us up promptly at our hotel at 7:40am. Elmer is like an encyclopedia and was very informative. While he drove he explained the history the whole way. He was very engaging. And the whole tour he has so much southern hospitality charm.

Took the oak alley/evergreen plantation tour. The bus picked us up at our hotel and the driver was a wealth of information going and coming back. The plantations gave us a feeling of back in time and amazing to see the original slave houses at Evergreen. Both areas are very well kept and a great lesson in life back then.

We visit NOLA every year, but this is the first time we have done a tour outside of the Quarter. This is a great one - they pick you up and drop you off at the hotel, arrange lunch if you're touring all day, and give you great information while ferrying you between stops. Be sure to check out the Laura Plantation to get a view of classic Creole architecture, and definitely do the swamp tour option. Cajun Pride is the company that runs the swamp tours, and they are just great!

We recently spent a week in NOLA, and the 2 plantations/swamp tour day was definitely my favorite. Jean Pierre, our guide, was very knowledgeable and made the hour drive out to the plantations go by quickly. The tours of Oak Alley and Evergreen plantations were top notch with very well-informed guides & time to explore on our own & get some great pictures.After touring both plantations, Jean Pierre drove us to the Cajun Pride Swamp Tours where we ate our delicious pre-ordered lunch of po'boys before our swamp tour (which was awesome).It was a long but great day. I highly recommend this tour combo.Traveled with family (but no children or teens).

We toured Oak Alley and Laura with the added swap tour after the plantations. A minibus picked us up from our hotel. As soon as all passengers were aboard, we left for Oak Alley. Our guide was knowledgable, explaining and sharing information throughout the entire trip. Oddly enough, compared to the tour guides at the featured attractions, the driver rambled along, sometimes seeming to be so excited that he would trip over his words trying to share things with us. Since we added the afternoon swamp tour, lunch at a cute little place was included. The swamp tour operator shuttled us over from lunch so the bus could take everyone else back to the city with the driver returning for us right as the swamp tour ended. Had we rented a car, we would probably have just driven out to the plantations ourselves.

Ok I really hate to be critical when our guide was so great but I would recommend doing things differently. What we did; picked up at our hotel at 7:45am, told we could not bring coffee on the bus, made 4 more stops then drove for nearly an hour. Toured Oak Alley loaded up and toured Laura. Got back to Hotel at 3pm. Very interesting but way too long of a day and we were starving as there is no food options except a little cafe at Oak Alley at 9:20am. If you are going with kids you better pack them some food or you and they will be miserable. Here is what I would have done knowing what I know now. Stopped at Cafe Du Monde for Biegnets and coffee at 8am and driven myself to Oak Alley paid $20 for the tour and driven back to New Orleans and had lunch at Cochon at noon. With plenty of time to stop along the way to take pictures of other plantations and cemeteries. There were several places that I would have loved to stop coming and going but the bus doesn't stop which I understand as we would not have been back until midnight. I also don't think you need to formally tour more than 1 plantation to get a feel for Creole life. I was very disappointment in how whitewashed the slavery history was portrayed at both Oak Alley and Laura. Felt more like white history then real history. I guess my expectations were high and I thought it might rival the Holocaust and Apartheid museums we have been to. All guides talked too much about Code Noir and I would love to hear how the slaves felt about Code Noir.

A truly unique experience. ...The tour takes you to both plantations in a very comfortable bus and our tour guide Richard, was charming and knowledgeable. Oak Alley is visually stunning and the Laura tour was so "real time" because of the great history. ...I feel I was enriched by this tour. ..ps... Please leave your small children behind. ..it is no place for kids who are too young to understand what they are seeing or hearing.

We decided to book this tour because we wanted to see what these old plantations looked like. Boy did they have it good. Located in Vacherie just short drive on a bus. 25 acres and built in 1837 and located on The Millionaire River. The Oak Trees are amazing. They form a canopy over the road going to the house that are about 700-800 feet tall. Truly amazing. This is picture perfect and yes you have seen this sight in many movies. High ceilings, large windows and decorated with painted white to look like marble. Its amazing but also sad too. This plantation enslaved 200 people. There is a small exhibit of this distasteful history. Robert our historian guide was very good. He is so knowledgable of the whole history of New Orleans and these old plantations.

Unlike my normal travel pattern, where I do a hop on hop off bus or venture out on my own a lot, I specifically chose to take several guided tours during my recent visit to New Orleans. On top of my list of things to see/do were a couple of plantations and the swamps. The Old River Road Plantation Adventure allowed me the opportunity to do both - visit my choice of two (of three) plantations, AND go on a swamp tour. This all day excursion was a lot of fun.The best part? The tour guide! Elmer (I think that was correct) served as both tour guide and mini-bus driver. He was extremely knowledgeable about everything Louisiana and provided a well-thought out presentation during all aspects of the ride from the beginning of the trip to the end. In addition to background information on the plantations before and after (carefully planning what to tell before and what after) our visits, we received historical background on New Orleans, the people, the waterways, Katrina, flood control, and much much more. This tour guide gave me more information in a clearly understandable format than the two city tour guides I previously experienced combined! As to the rest of the tour :) I will post a review on each of the two plantations I visited - Laura and Oak Alley - and the Manchac Swamp tour (see Cajun Pride Swamp Tours). I would recommend all three.If you only have time for one day tour, definitely choose this one.

The afternoon tour was great! Bus pick up was right on time & our driver was a wealth of information on the drive out. Oak Alley was stunning and we had a wonderful guide. My one complaint was that we had very little time to explore the grounds or visit the guest shop. Laura was equally spectacular, especially the gardens and our guide, Stephen, was very knowledgeable and entertaining.

Our tour guide, Elmore, was so knowledgeable about New Orleans and the history of the area. The whole drive out to the plantations he filled us in about history of the NO, the wetlands, Creole culture, etc. The plantations themselves were beautifully restored. Take your camera and a full battery!

They picked us up promptly at our hotel at 7:45am for a half day tour of an antebellum plantation of Oak Alley and then for a contrast of architecture and culture the lovely Creole Plantation of "Laura" which was run by women for 80 plus years. I think our tour guide, Richard made it all the richer experience for he was highly cultured and articulate. He gave us 100% of his vast historical and cultural education. He was very kind and considerate. If you get a chance to be on his tour, you will have a wonderful experience and deeper understanding of the culture and history of this great American City, NOLA.

This was our favorite part of our 1 week vacation in New Orleans. We booked online the day before for a 2PM tour. They come and pick you up at your hotel, which is nice if you have only been in NOLA for a day or two and have not gotten the lay of the land yet. Our tour guide, Jean, was wonderful. The 45minute drive from NOLA to Laura plantation went by quick, listening to him give a great history of so many landmarks we passed. I highly recommend Laura Plantation, closing with the Oak Alley Plantation. There was way more content that I thought there would be. I pictured touring the plantations and hearing the history of plantations, but we got full histories on the specific owners, and family stories, etc of these plantations. And you can sip on a refreshing mint julep at the beginning or end of Oak Alley! The $80/person is a bargain for transportation, quality and content.As a heads up, there is a lot of walking. Wear sneakers, not high heels. And if you have any sort of foot/knee/leg problems, you might want to bring your own foldable stool. Since it is so historic, there are a lot of stairs and obviously, you are not supposed to sit on the staged furniture. I will recommend this tour to anyone I know who plans to visit New Orleans or anywhere close in Louisiana.

Enjoyed the plantations and the history of them. Did not enjoy the opinions of the guide about the oil spill and other political subjects.