Ultimate Swamp Adventures — Attraction in Westwego

Being from out of state, I’d been told finding a decent swamp tour in New Orleans could be tricky since there are so many companies offering similar experiences. After some research, we booked with Ultimate Swamp Tours, opting for the group pontoon boat with a covered top to save on cost. That turned out to be a smart choice—it started raining midway through, and we stayed dry and comfortable.

We arrived a little early, so there was a short wait, but nothing unbearable. The tour itself was fantastic. Our guide was extremely friendly, talkative, and incredibly knowledgeable about the area’s wildlife and history. One of the highlights was when he called over a raccoon he seemed to know—it came right up to the boat, which was absolutely adorable.

There were other boat options available in smaller sizes, some shared with other groups, and they did mention you could reserve an entire boat for just your party at a higher rate. For us, the group pontoon worked perfectly.

The reason I’m giving four stars instead of five is due to a frustrating booking issue. I had booked the tour with hotel pickup and paid for it (I even have a video of me selecting that option with no hotel pickup being cheaper), but later received a call saying hotel pickup would cost extra because “it wasn’t booked correctly.” I can’t say if it was a system error, unclear instructions, or a money grab but I had proof it was included and my email receipts all say hotel pickup. I considered a dispute with the credit card but given they’re a small business it wouldn’t feel right… I might eat the cost on this one. I didn’t argue, as I was already dealing with a nightmare hotel situation with Harrah’s, but it definitely left a sour note. Thankfully we were going somewhere else in the area so it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.

Check-in was also a bit confusing. While there are signs pointing you up the ramp, once you enter the waiting area, the actual check-in shop is just a plain door with no large or obvious “Check In Here!” sign. A small suggestion would be clearer signage could make the process smoother for first-time visitors. On a lighter note, there’s a cute little turtle in a tank to the left of the door, which was a charming touch.

Overall, the tour itself was great. The scenery was beautiful, the wildlife encounters were memorable, and the guide made the whole trip engaging. While I probably wouldn’t do it again (more because it’s a “one-and-done” type of activity for me as I don’t like doing things twice), I’m glad we went and would recommend it to others visiting New...

OMG! I wanted to do an airboat tour of the bayou on this visit and boy did we have a great time! I got lots of pictures and videos and even got a good fresh water soaking from Captain Tom hitting the waves just right ..😳🙄😜 We didn't see a lot of gators but we saw a few smaller ones...several species of birds...a few turtles and a raccoon that we got up close enough to feed oranges! This was the best first experience ever and well worth the money spent. I'm not sure if this is a normal experience but if you come to New Orleans, take a drive over the bridge and do a bayou tour! Captain Tom is very down to earth and more than likely, he'll have snacks to feed the animals....not sure if I should say that but it worked! The water was cold and the faster he went, the more I wished I had long sleeves but sitting in the sun while he gave us a little history was pretty cool. He did a photo for every couple on the boat to have with the nature and cypress trees in the background that makes beautiful memories. Thanks Captain Tom! If you want to do a tour of the bayou definitely do the airboat! It was exciting! We'll be back or at least do this again for sure. They have a cute gift shop and food/ drinks you can get before/ after your experience....the guys were eating fresh crabs for lunch and while I wanted to ask for a claw...😳...they referred us to a place that had crabs that were delicious! He even told us about the cabins on can rent on the bayou so we'll be looking into those for the next trip...

Have been twice so know it can be a great experience in the Summer BUT… Do not do the airboats when it’s cold! They don’t mention this on the website but you won’t see Gators and the airboat ride is horrendous with wind chill.

Our boat Captain said “We cancel rides when it’s below 40’f but today is 42’f so we ride”. You could tell he didn’t want to be there and the first thing he told us was that we probably wouldn’t see any gators. The passengers had fun for 15mins and then were just freezing even with a lot of layers, we didn’t think to protect our faces from wind chill. Our small 6 person boat didn’t see any Gators but apparently the larger boat did, not sure why the captains don’t contact each other.

The captains were great and did what they could, pointing out birds and getting one of them to come up to the boat for food but the company probably should have cancelled the ride for us.

Also if your group numbers between 6-10 people, make sure you call them to sort your airboat booking. The small airboats are 6 people max despite the website allowing you to book 10 passengers. Don’t book through the website. Our group of 8 was split up because they didn’t have a boat at the time of our booking but if we’d called then they said they did have a boat available later in the day.

It is fun in the Summer or when it’s hot. Just be prepared when it’s between 40f-50f (below 10’c) that the ride is cold and you probably won’t...