Oak Alley and Laura Plantation Tour with Transportation from New Orleans

Posted By : Miguel_A
Fantastic! Our driver D was funny and informative …. She waited and ensured all guests were back on bus before we left … the two plantations were beautiful Laura plantation tour was the best very informative … Oak Vally had the best landscapes for pictures. Overall experience was memorable.
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Posted On : 2024-07-02 10:18:14

Posted By : FL_Sable
I knew I was definitely planning to book a plantation tour during our trip to New Orleans. After researching several tour operators I decided on Cajun Encounters and was very pleased with my choice. The booking process online was very simple. They had several pick up locations and one was just a few blocks from our hotel.

Pick up was scheduled for between 9:30-10am. We arrived at our pick up spot at 9:15 and the driver Dwayne (D Thomas) was already there to great us, we turned out to be the first stop. The mini bus was clean and comfortable. It looked to seat about 29 (12 rows of 2 seats on each side of walking alley with a 5 across row in the rear), but there were only 9 people total on our tour, so we had plenty of space. The air conditioning was cold and powerful. The driver played a light pop radio station (seemed to be a mix of 80s-today, think Michael Jackson/Genesis to No Doubt/Taylor Swift), which was a good choice imo as the demographic of our group appeared to be 40s-60s.

Of the 9 of us, 5 of us were doing the combo Oak Alley and Laura Plantation, while the other 4 were on the Oak Alley full day tour. The 5 of us on the combo tour were dropped at Laura first. The driver confirmed we could leave some belongings (water bottles) at our seats. He then went to Oak Alley to drop the others and came back to Laura to pick us up later and bring us to Oak Alley.

At both stops he went to the ticket counter and arranged our entry. He informed us of when and where we would be picked back up. While there wasn’t a ton of highlights to see on the drive to the Plantation and back to New Orleans, he did come over the mini bus intercom to point out notable things like the Superdome, Lake Ponchartrain, etc. he was friendly, funny, and personable and willing to engage and answer questions, but he didn’t have some rehearsed schtick which I appreciated.

The plantation tours were very enjoyable and I am glad I selected the combo, as all day at Oak Alley would have been too long. In my initial research I had considered renting a car and traveling to the plantations on my own, but I am glad I did the tour with transportation. I would happily recommend this tour operator and our driver (D Thomas) and wouldn’t hesitate booking another tour with them.
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 18:06:48

Posted By : TravelinTheresa
The tour of the 2 plantations were wonderful. Both of our tour guides were knowledge about the plantation they worked for and both spoke in clear and loud voices. My one disappointment was with the Laura plantation. As we were led thru the grounds there were a few buildings that we didn't see. I thought that I could go back and see them after the tour ended. Nope, I couldn't do it. Our guide said that once the tour was done, we couldn't go back and revisit the different buildings.

I reason I gave this tour 4 out of 5 stars is because of our driver. She was sweet and kind, but she tended to talk without her microphone. Thus it was hard hearing her messages at times.
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Posted On : 2024-06-16 19:22:54

Posted By : Chad_S
The driver was excellent. The tours and tour guides were very informative. Sad to think that there was still people living in the slaves buildings until 1977.
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Posted On : 2024-06-12 10:11:27

Posted By : Jan206
An air-conditioned bus dropped us off first at the Laura plantation, then after a guided tour, we were taken to the Oak Alley site. In both places, the guides were knowledgeable about the history, not only of the plantation owners, but also the slave families who lived in primitive conditions near these luxurious houses. Several slave cabins are on view at both sites, along with their history. The Oak Alley gardens are beautiful, and time is allotted to check them out. Both plantations have gift shops and Oak Alley also has a small restaurant with yummy ice cream. In addition to an informative tour at each location, the bus trip provided a glimpse of more rural living outside of New Orleans proper.
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Posted On : 2024-05-30 15:58:34

Posted By : Lisa_G
Tour guide and driver were great! Plantations were both unique but both really informative. Thank you for a great excursion.
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Posted On : 2024-05-03 18:02:21

Posted By : Ruth T
Kiara was amazing! She was super nice, her information was very interesting and kept us really engaged throughout the way. Definitely recommend!
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Posted On : 2024-04-28 21:13:39

Posted By : cindyaG8331KG
Mimi was fantastic! Super knowledgable about the tour, area, and history. We had a great time thanks to her! 100% recommend this tour
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Posted On : 2024-04-19 16:26:55

Posted By : InternationalNewbie
Learned more about slavery and slave and plantation life at the Laura Plantation. Guide was great. Was able to photograph inside and out. No free time to wander about. All guided but well done. Oak Alley Plantation has a good deal of time for self guiding around the entire grounds. Guided tour of the "Big House" was short but well done. A lot more focused on the family that lived there and NO PHOTOGRAPHY inside. A little more like a museum setting.
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Posted On : 2024-04-18 20:17:06

Posted By : Megan_K
The plantations were beautiful! We really enjoyed our tours, especially our guide at Laura Plantation. Very informative! Karen was a great guide with Cajun Encounters. We really enjoyed her stories and information while on the bus. We stood in front of Homewood Suites on Rampart Rd but the shuttle was parked in the back. Thankfully Karen came around and found us!
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Posted On : 2024-03-20 10:25:06