Bayou Swamp Tours

I was a little hesitant to book a tour here because of the bad reviews, but I figured I'd give 'em a try. Someone suggested I go to Groupon, so that's exactly what I did and ended up saving a few bucks. I made the phone call and made reservations for a party of 4. Located about half hour away from the city center, part of the tour is getting picked up at our hotel. Joe, our driver, was mindful about letting me know where he was so we're better prepared. He came right on time! After a few more rounds of picking up more tourists, we were well on our way. Joe was incredibly entertaining - he basically gave us a tour of every street we drove through: fun facts about cemeteries, pointed out a few famous people's homes, recommended many eateries, etc. He even pointed out a few things while we were on the highway. Really learned a lot during that drive! We arrived about 15 minutes before our boat ride, so we got to take a good look at their shop. Drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike) are allowed on the boat, so Big Bro and Hubbers got a few brews. We were given tickets once our names got called and crossed off on the list. We ended up with Captain Dan who gave us a few safety musts before boarding the boat. Like Joe, Captain Dan was pretty knowledgeable about the swamp. Learned a lot - there aren't just alligators living here - there are also raccoons and wild pigs, to name a couple. Captain Dan got us close enough to both and we watched him give 'em treats, which was cool! He also had a pet baby alligator on board which we got to hold (for photo ops.) Sorta gives you an idea what their skin/scale texture is like. It was a baby, and I imagine it has experienced tourists holding him, so it was pretty calm the whole time. Captain Dan tossed a lot of marshmallows to many of us to toss to the gators in the water. It was entertaining watching them gobble it up! We returned with plenty of time for last minute shopping at their shop. Joe was mindful of making sure he had all his passengers back - we had the choice to be dropped off at our hotel or the French Market (where the original Cafe du Monde stands.) We chose the latter. And just the same, he gave us another "tour" of sorts on our way back. TIP: Check Groupon for savings! I guess I'm one of few who lucked out and had a perfect experience. It was fun and incredibly educational. I would highly recommend this tour!

My birthday wish was to see gators and this place did not disappoint! Picked up at a nearby hotel in downtown NOLA was a breeze. Clean AC VAN. Very professional and knowledgeable tour guide! Thank you Capt Dan! He let us take pics left and right of boat. Lots of wildlife: gators, wild pigs, raccoons, white birds, black birds, turtles, crawfish also part is historic tour! BEST PART: see the pics please!

This is absolutely a scam. I provided my information for a price quote on their tours without reading the awful reviews first, and now they won't stop calling me. Despite blocking every number they use, they continue to call from new ones every day. Save yourself the trouble and avoid this company at all costs.

DO NOT GIVE THIS BUSINESS YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER!! This place is basically a middle-man that charges a fee for booking a tour that you can call and book yourself. I made the mistake of going to the Bayou Swamp Tour Website to gather information for family/friends that are visiting in March. After I tried to review the website, a representative from Bayou Swamp tours called me. They are complete idiots by the way. They were not even listening to what I was saying. I told them I was just trying to get more information about an upcoming swamp tour and they kept trying to push a ghost tour on me. I end up having to hang up on them as they continued to ramble-on. And then 2 minutes later, another Bayou Swamp Tour Rep called me. And then again. And then again. Again the next morning, and then again just now. They are so pathetic and needy, I would not recommend giving these desperate harassers a dime. If you want to do a swamp tour, call the swamp tour direct and book your tour directly through them. You will save time, money, and frustration from being harassed.

Incredibly deceptive. They are nice over the phone, but that's all to sell you their tours. On their website, take note of the RED FLAGS: no pricing details, no physical address or location listed, no descriptions about their refund policy or service fees, nothing. There isn't even an online booking service - it's all over the phone.They are using classic sales techniques that are designed to make you feel like you must urgently buy now, and that you are "special" and they're giving you a "discount" just 'cause they like you.To top it off, the guy on the phone bold-faced lied to me that I would receive a FULL refund, with service fees. When I asked him to double check that he was accurate, he said, "Oh, on second look, it looks like we cannot refund the service fee." It took me several times to get him to tell me what the service fee was (he said $15, but I doubt this, since it didn't make sense with the total price of my reservation).Run far away from companies that do this.

Overall, I would give the tour (and our guide) a 10/10. Beautiful weather, funny stories, awesome facts, and (of course) we saw gators! However, please continue reading. I called the company and spoke to the general manager. She was very kind and definitely helped me with picking out the right boat, time, etc. She stated that depending on where we stayed, they could have a bus come and pick us up and drop us off. Luckily, our hotel was in a location they could do pick up/drop off. Note: $30 per person for pickup included. She mentioned that between 8:45am-9:15am, that our bus would be arriving to pick us up from the location. She STRESSED to be out there at 8:45 for pickup. A bus came around 8:45am and we were told that this specific bus isn't picking us up and there's another bus coming. I called to verify and pretty much got told "the time is between 8:45-9:15 and I needed to wait". Well, our actual bus didn't come until 9:23. I was irritated at this point. Not sure if it was traffic or what, but our boat ride/swamp tour was supposed to start at 9:45. We got there later than 9:45 (sometime between 9:50-9:55) and we found out that we were the only two folks that were late. So yea, not a good feeling when you're holding up everyone else. Plus, we still needed to check in and head to dock. Moving forward, we got there and did the tour. Overall, again, it was an amazing experience. Loved the gators and seeing the rest of the wildlife out there. After the swamp tour was over, we went back to where the buses were located. Unfortunately, there were no drivers anywhere in sight. So everyone was confused and pretty much scratching their heads on what to do. After 15 minutes or so the drivers came back and we went on our way back to the hotels. In the future, I think this company needs to be better prepared and organized. The lack of communication for pick up and drop off, is very frustrating and disappointing. Please, do better!!With reading the rest of the Yelp reviews.. I definitely didn't do my part in researching this business. I will not go back, simply because they 1000% overcharge. For two guests, it SHOULD NOT be close to$200 that we are spending! I learned my lesson with this company.

Amazing amazing amazing! We used the hotel pickup and went on the covered pontoon boat. The hotel pickup was great we learned so much from our driver! The swamp tour was amazing, we saw tons of alligators and birds and a few other animals, my 3 year old couldn't have been happier. I can't recommend this enough!!

CAVEAT EMPTOR! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. This place does NOT provide Swamp Tours. They are a booking agency that will double the price of the Swamp Tour. A Swamp tour is $60, Bayou Swamp Tours will tack on an extra $40. DO NOT USE THEM. Call the company (Airboat Adventures) DIRECTLY to book your tour.

Unprofessional and dishonest experience. Instead of clearly stating the price upfront, they tried to bargain with us, which felt shady. When we needed to reschedule, they were completely inflexible and unwilling to work with us. Customer service was unhelpful, and the overall experience was frustrating. We still didn't get to do the tour! Wouldn't recommend.

My family recently took an amazing swamp tour on a fanboat with Captain Carl who was knowledgeable and entertaining! Although it was winter so gators were not very active, Carl found some and we were able to see them up close. The ride was also thrilling and we all enjoyed it. Carl entertained us with storied of his adventures in the area as well as interesting information. Highly recommend this tour with Carl.