Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

National Parks

Bring your cameras and adventurous spirits as you explore the Barataria Preserve of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Meet your guide at the meeting point or at one of the 8 pickup locations in New Orleans (if transportation option is selected), and travel to the swamp. Tours pick up daily from convenient hotels at 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 12:30 PM. You’ll be taken on a 1.5-hour pontoon boat ride around the waters of the area. Get the chance to spot alligators, local wildlife, and two other friendly creatures, Sunshine the Pig and Patrick the Possum.  Listen to stories and legends told by your informative local guide. Following the tour, enjoy a delicious Cajun lunch at a local eatery down the street, the perfect way to refuel. After lunch, you’ll be driven back to New Orleans and dropped off at the original meeting point or pickup location you have selected.

Cruise through the Barataria Preserve and discover the beauty of South Louisiana in a custom-built swamp boat, as you float through a section of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. Discover how the seafood from Louisiana’s waters provide a wide assortment of delectable local dishes! After a short motor coach ride across the Mississippi River, take a fascinating boat trip into the Louisiana swamps and Bayous. Native guides will reveal the mysteries of the swamps and bayous and you will get to experience the Cajun “Joie de Vivre.” Observe the nesting grounds of alligators, egrets, raccoons, nutria and many species of snakes. Some wildlife is more numerous during the warmer months of the year. Learn why the wetlands are disappearing due to coastal erosion and discover man’s effort to correct the damage it has done and to restore this vital habitat.

Climb aboard a flat-bottomed airboat and prepare for an exploration of Louisiana's wetlands just south of New Orleans. Head 30 minutes from downtown and experience some of the most beautiful and secluded areas of the state while catching glimpses of alligators, turtles and birds. Set out on a 20,000-acre (8,095-ha) track of tidewater cypress swamp close to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Your boat is powered by an aircraft propeller to allow a fast, fluid trip through the shallow marshes. Feel the wind on your face as you zip into bayous lined with mossy cypress and tupelo-gum trees as your pilot points out a stunning variety of wildlife. Prepare to see plenty of alligators in the warmer months (and warmer days in winter) and your guide may even feed the gators, affording you amazing photo opportunities. As you zigzag through the soggy wetlands, keep your eyes open for turtles, snakes, egrets, herons and ibis. You may even catch sight of a hawk, owl, or bald eagle. In the cooler months, look for white-tailed deer, raccoons and the large rodents known as nutria.