Highly Recommend! Capt. Jacob was amazing! - Capt. Jacob was an awesome guide. He had the answer for every question asked and is very knowledgeable. Got to see plenty of alligators and other wildlife up close. Would definitely recommend!

Excellent Swamp Tour - Very entertaining and educational tour. Enjoyed the humor of our guide, Zander! This is our second swamp tour with this company! Beautiful and very enjoyable!

Best Swamp Tour - Aaron was our guide and he expertly maneuvered the boat so both sides saw everything. We saw raccoons, alligators, regrets, snakes, turtles, and Mama Odie's tree (from Princess and the Frog.) We learned about the swamp from natural mosquito repellent to various plants and how people harvest from that region to eat native plants. This tour beats all! Price, convenient location with amenities and gift shop, and 2 hours with an expert local guide.

Swamp Tour with Mark! - Mark was our Captain/Tour Guide on 11/2/25 @ 2:45pm...He was great! So knowledgeable. He showed us so many things we didn't expect to see, and told us great stories both funny & factual. We loved his tour!

Wade go, Captain Wade! - Cannot recommend this enough if you have a few spare hours while staying around New Orleans - and is excellent value for money. We drove ourselves to the site (about 45 mins from downtown New Orleans) and were immediately pleased with how the place presented and looked professional (we have done similar in Florida before and wasn’t up to this standard). Once on our covered boat, our skipper - Mr Wade - enthusiastically and knowledgably narrated our tour with a lovely, warm tone over two hours on the water, first taking us out into the more open water and reed beds and later into the dense tree-laden swamps. We saw plenty of alligators (including some enticed to the boat with food!), raccoons, boar, egrets, heron, vultures and turtles as well as various other sites and landscapes. A highlight of our whole trip!

Organized, efficient, beautiful, educational. - Captain Jessup was a funny and informative guide. We saw alligators basking, stalking and begging raccoons, wild hogs, snakes, birds, crazy apple snail egg sacks, and an enormous spider. It was great to hear from someone who has lived on/with the bayou since he was a boy. We will do this tour again next time we are in town.

Gators right against the boat! - We saw multiple gators close up. Tour guide was fun and I loved speeding in the boat! W meandered through tight passages in the swamp and raccoons ran up to us and we also sped at a high speed through larger areas. Lots and lots of gators will approach the boat because they get fed by the tour guide.

Bayou Happiness - This was an excellent look into the bayou with lots of wildlife cooperation. We saw alligators, raccoons, herons and turtles. The bayou itself is beautiful and serene.

Over crowded but wonderful tour! - Great tour. Dustin was entertaining and full of great southern information. Loved the scenery and wildlife. The only negative is that they over loaded the boat and we were packed in tight. Dustin could not get the boat up on plane so we kept a slow pace the whole time. We saw other boats that had plenty of room and they all speeded past us. Except for that it was great!

Wildlife encounters what to know and what to expect - We joined the 9:30am New Orleans Self-Transport Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour with Cajun Encounters in mid-October. The location is about an hour northeast of New Orleans, mostly driving along I-10 with a short stretch on local roads. Upon arrival, our reservation (booked via TripAdvisor) wasn’t immediately found in their system. The staff asked if we had booked through their official website, which apparently syncs better with their records. Thankfully she went to the back office and located our booking manually, but this process added a delay, so if you're booking through a third-party site, allow extra time for check-in. Each boat accommodates around 20 guests and most boats are covered, which helps with sun protection. Still sunscreen is a must on sunny days. Our captain was friendly and kept the pace lively, speeding up in wider river sections that made all kids really happy. The tour lasted about two hours and ran on schedule. We saw several alligators that seemed conditioned to approach the boats, followed by raccoons and pigs at different stops, all clearly accustomed to being fed. While our children were thrilled by these close encounters, the animals felt more like part of a staged experience than truly wild sightings, still since we only come here once it was great to see all the animals. The gift shop offers reasonably priced and unique souvenirs if you are into that. Overall, this was a fun and worthwhile short excursion, especially for families with young children. Just be aware that the “wildlife” aspect leans more toward entertainment than authenticity. *****Tips for Visitors***** - Allow Extra Time for Check-In: If you book through a third-party site like TripAdvisor, your reservation may not appear immediately in the tour operator’s system. Arrive early to allow time for manual confirmation. - Bring Sun Protection: Most boats are covered, but sunscreen is still essential, especially on sunny days when reflections off the water can intensify exposure. - Manage Wildlife Expectations: The animals (alligators, raccoons, pigs) are accustomed to the tour schedule and feeding routines. While fun for kids, the experience feels more curated than wild. - Ideal for Families: The tour’s pacing, animal encounters, and friendly staff make it especially enjoyable for families with young children. - Self-Transport Considerations: The drive is straightforward and GPS is reliable, so if you have a vehicle you don't need to pay the extras for the transportation/pick up service.