How are the Swamp tours during Carnival?
Are the swamp tours worth it to go on during Carnival? We’ll be in NOLA from 1/31 to 2/6 and I wanted to do a swamp and/or plantation tour on Fri 2/6 and be back in time for the parades that evening. In winter our the swamps still a cool site to check out and tour or are they kind of quiet and not worth it during the winter season? what is the best time of year to see gators? Are there any cool swamp and plantation tours near each other since we want to be back in the city by 5pm? I was thinking about Zam’s Swamp Tours in Bayour Bouef.
I really just want to see and experiance the cajun culture and swamps and am not sure which tour to pick. If anyone can give some good local advice on what is the best tour for the swamps, plantations, ect…
Was also thinking about one of those disaster tours and a haunted/voodoo type tour. So if anyone knows any good info for that type of stuff it would be appreciated.
I’ve been to NOLA once before in 2004 for Mardi Gras and stayed in the city the entire time, so this time around I was hoping to go explore some sites outside of the city. so any suggestions are welcomed.
oops, sorry I meant Friday 2/1 and not 2/6.
All the tours you mentioned are good actually. I would recommend doing the smaller 6 passenger boats for the swamp tour. They are more fun. You will likely see alligators.
My favorite plantation by far is Houma House.
http://www.houmashouse.com/
The main issue you will have especially on the dates you are there is they close the streets off for the parades and traffic is horrible and its very hard to get around. So you may be able to get out very early in the morning but might not be able to get back to the city until the parades are over. Its really a pain to drive anywhere in the city that week. Its a very hard time to take advantage of all the city and surrounding areas have to offer. Many offices/businesses are closed Monday and Tuesday because people just cant get to work.
Your best bet to do a plantation and swamp tour is perhaps stay one night outside the city and then come back early in the morning before the parades start.
A fun place to stay might be The Myrtles Plantation. Its rummored to be haunted and has accomidation.
http://www.myrtlesplantation.com/