Wild Louisiana Kayak Swamp Tours — Local services in New Orleans

fun, Fun, FUN!

First, I need to apologize to Josh. I had promised to leave him a review way back in September and am only now getting to it. Sorry bud...

Ok, so we booked a tour for a Monday morning. We met up at great mixed bakery shop I wanna say around 9. Josh picked us up in the air conditioned van and after a quick discussion to establish which Josh was number 1 and which was number 2 we were off to the swamp. On the drive we learned a bit about Lake Pontchartrain, the swamp, and our dutiful guide. Fascinating as he was we were very excited to get on the kayaks. Immediately as we got out of the van we started to see the wildlife. In fact there was a snake who seemed rather annoyed to have us encroach were he was sunbathing. Speaking of the sun, it was very hot out with zero wind, we had brought our own water and were very glad to have done so. The launch went smoothly and we saw a alligator only a dozen yards from us pretty much at the start. They tend to be a bit shy, so it submerged itself rather quickly as we approached. Along our watery trail we had a few more gators pop up and sink down on occasion as well as having had seen a bunch more wild life. I was particularly surprised to see a barred owl out and about during the daytime. My SO had an interesting interaction with a dragonfly that was worth noting. We saw the saw a dragonfly looking like it was struggling to right itself on the waters surface so we got close and tried to flip it with a paddle... well it turns out that underneath the dragonfly was a hungry fishing spider whom we had interrupted his early lunch. It was a decent size and was quite impressive to see. The entire trip Josh was giving us a good history of the area and explain the different types of flora and fauna as we came across them. Definitely, too many to name now, but a particular praying mantis and a Pileated Woodpecker were of note. I enjoyed the way Josh was a helpful guide when needed, but still allowed us to enjoy the tranquil serenity and natural beauty of the swamp.

The only minor-insignificant-teeny-weeny-itsy-bitsy criticism that I have for the tour was that there weren't any stickers available for purchase as a souvenir, but if we make it back out to New Orleans we will happily jump on another kayak and take...

I booked this tour very much influenced by the reviews here and because I was looking for something more authentic and with close connection with nature and wild life. First time in the US and in Louisiana so I was very much looking forward to a nice experiece. As I read in the reviews here in this tour you would be guided through the swamp flora and fauna, respectfully and attentively, and accompanied by a professional guide. No motor boats and no feedding the animals to get their attention. I was certain it would be just like that and I chose this tour because it felt safe, true and respectful towards the place and its inhabbitants.

Unfortunately my experience was very different from the experience of others here. I was the only one on the tour and the guide - Al - who also said to be the owner of the company did not have a professional atitude at all... Instead of introducing me to the flora and fauna he was more concerned to talk about women and is romances with tourists... not nice!. Unfortunatelly he was also too invested in checking the alligator traps he left to hunt them instead of providing a soft and educational experience. I don't remember reading that seeing alligators being hunt was part of the tour!! otherwise I would have never had book it. Despite the poor conversation all the way, I have to say that the his insistence on checking these traps and showing me the cought alligators was the worst part of the all thing. I had to ask him to stop and end up asking to leave earlier. I was very displeased with the whole tour, with the guide's atitude and the how the booking turned out. But I was happy it finished safely and I could leave. I complaint about it to the third party I booked with, but of course they did nothing about it. It was my worst experience during this trip. According to my experience, I can only advise to be careful...

Super fun swamp kayaking tour! I liked that we weren't touching or baiting any wildlife, just hanging out and seeing them if they felt like showing up. There's some bird boxes around the kayaking path they took us to, to encourage wildlife to nest nearby (and help the wood ducks repopulate).

Our tour guide Smitty was knowledgeable and considerate of his guests' time in planning the route we'd take in the swamp.

A number of notes: This tour is probably a nicer experience for folks who already know how to kayak, even though Smitty was prepared to tow folks / teach them. Everyone in our group knew how to kayak, so Smitty could maneuver around and focus on pointing out wildlife which is fun. They'll offer to bring you to a gas station to use the restroom / grab coffee / trail mix right before / after getting into the water. Nice! Best if you don't schedule something immediately after the tour; if other guests are late, tour guide might offer to stay a little late so you get the full time out on the water. This is a cool tour w local guides, not one of those polished things with scripts and tight timelines. Adjust expectations accordingly + come ready to chill + have a good time. Deeeefinitely bring sunscreen / sun protection. And water. Surprising to me as a tourist, but we didn't need bug spray in early May -- they say the bugs don't start biting until around sunset.

Overall: great time,...