Airboat and Plantations Tour with Gourmet Lunch from New Orleans

You'll start your day driving out to Cajun Country, where you'll go through wild cypress swamps, over the Mississippi River on an impressive suspended bridge, and along vast sugarcane fields, as the guide tells a unique story of the odyssey of the Cajun people. Next take a thrilling high-speed airboat ride as you comfortably glide over marshes and into deep, secluded bayous. Your Cajun guide, also an alligator hunter and fur trapper, will share his knowledge of the swamp including reptile habits, healing plants, and exotic birds. After your ride, explore his picturesque swamp zoo on Bayou Boeuf.

Discover Laura, an 1804 Creole Plantation and learn about Laura's personal family saga. See how the West-African enslaved's work influenced all segments of the Creole culture, best seen today in cuisine, music, family-centered traditions, architecture and life-style. At Laura's Slavery Museum Exhibit, hear personal stories of individual men, women and children who lived there, illustrating how the lives of the enslaved, both Créole and American, were intertwined with those of their owners.

After a short drive from Laura Plantation, you'll settle into a seated lunch in Houmas House' elegant dining room. After lunch, walk through the 250 year history of this estate and how a succession of owners and the Mississippi River grew this modest manor house into the estate it is today. A collection of art, furniture, and antique artifacts help tell the story of plantation life. 38 acres of gardens surround the mansion.