Ragin Cajun Airboat Tours

Date of visit: December 20, 2024This being my second time to New Orleans, I'm not stranger to visiting the swamp, but this was my first time on an airboat and I greatly enjoyed the experience! Captain Mike was a great guide, giving us the lay of the land (or water, I guess!) and mixing in facts about the flora, fauna, and history of the area.Before embarking, the office staff was wonderful as well, guiding us through the waiver process quickly and painlessly before it was time to see some gators! Given the cooler weather today, we didn't get to see as many as I would have hoped, but that was not for a lack of trying and we didn't totally strike out, luckily.To save cost, I went with the large airboat, but given that it was just eight of us total, we still scored a small airboat for the price of the large; made me feel as though I had gotten a free upgrade at the rental car desk! Definitely a worthwhile experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting the area.

Truly an amazing experience. I was surprised when they called me back after 2 missed call. The woman on the phone was very polite and professional. She introduced herself, who she works for, and asked if I have been helped! When I said no, she took care of it. I told her that I wanted to go on a small airboat tour next day and was hoping to get in early morning. She was able to squeeze me into the 10:00am tour. She also assisted me with hotel pickup (additional $25/person). She took my payment over the phone and emailed the receipt, confirmation, plus a text message with hotel pickup details. Our driver, Derek was professional and attentive to detail. He called me directly when there was obstruction in front of my hotel in the French Quarter. He simply had me walk a few feet to Canal for pickup. I mentioned attentive to detail because he would call out our names when we entered the bus to go to and again when it was time to go back to our hotel. When one passenger was not present, he literally went looking for the person. He was very communicative with his team to let them know that he had picked up all the folks and is headin' back. When we arrived at the swamp tour, he gave us the run down where we need to go, what will happen, and that he will be our guy to go back to our hotel. For the swamp tour, Eric was our captain. He was very knowledgeable about the alligators. We felt safe at all times. He also have a sense of humor, but still remain professional. Overall, my husband and I had a great time. Overall experience was easy and stress-free. Also, if you forget things like poncho or waterbottle, they do sell them on site along with snacks, plushies, gifts, and ice cream. They do accept cash or card. There are QR codes to tip your bus driver and swamp tour guide.

Reasons to consider a swamp tour:You get to ride an airboat.You get to see alligators.Reasons to consider Ragin Cajun:They offer a problem-free Groupon experience.They have two friendly cats. Very short wait times for both the boat ride and the ride back.They claim to be the #1 operator.Comfortable a/c shuttle pick-up from hotel (or free parking).They are family-owned and operated. Luling is allegedly the closest Swamp to the city.The captains all have love for the customers, each other, their job, and the gators. Though they have a sign welcoming tips, they didn't beg for them or rattle a big jar in your face.Much more informative than I thought. Lil' Eric was awesome and looked like a mix of Anthony Jeselnik and Bowser from Sha Na Na.Notes: It's not as life-changing or exciting as I hoped, but it was fun, educational, and different. Nobody leaves thinking "that sucked". Front row is best, to be closest to any alligators popping their head up, for leg room, and for general visibility (especially point of view video), so talk up the captain and follow him to the boat. I think it might be more fun if they let people throw a marshmallow to an alligator. They could sell 6 for $5 and I bet people would pay. Cornhole might be a fun option. Especially if they painted alligators on the boards with open mouths and colored the bean bags white like marshmallows.

Had a great time on our first airboat tour. Great guides that were knowledgeable and funny. Got to hold a baby gator and wild boar. Just a great hour or so on the swamp viewing lots of wildlife. Definitely recommend this company.

This place exceeded all my expectations. Sooooo much fun and the guides here were great. Tip them if you have a good time cause I did. Saw plenty of wildlife up close, especially the gators which was super cool. The area they take you around has plenty of variety in terrain. And they do open up the full power of the airboats which is super fun. The location was easy to find and apparently they do pick ups for a additional fee. Bring sun screen, sunglasses, a hat cause youll be out in the sun. Check in was super easy and for the price this place was totally worth it. Its a Louisiana bucket list experience im so happy i got to do. I would absolutely recommend.

We didn't think much of a swamp airboat tour but decided to book it last minute. Ragin Cajun had some good reviews and overall we genuinely had a fun time! I believe our boat guide was Eric and he was knowledgeable and experienced. We saw a pretty good amount of alligators up close. Best part was seeing the swamp at high speed on the airboat to cool down. Definitely hot during August so wear sunscreen, bug spray, hat, and sunglasses. Bring water with you, but they do sell souvenirs and cold beverages at the office too.

Love it best tour around! Book yours if you haven't we had the best time. My parents can now check off the bucket list!

Ragin Cajun Airboat Tours was awesome! We opted to rent a car and drive ourselves, check in process was super easy then waited till our start time and we were off. Boat was great, guide was not hard on the eyes and really knowledgeable. We saw a lot of wildlife, including a few gators, bald eagles and a number of other animals. Upon our return our boat guide took our photo and we hit the gift shop for some stickers and gator jerky. My only recommendation would be blankets, we all had pants and jackets but with the weather and the wind from the boat it was quite chilly.

WORTH EVERY PENNY. I'd have to say this was one of my absolute highlights of my trip to New Orleans last weekend. Seems like there are several options for swamp tours but THIS is the one I highly recommend, and so happy I ended up with.As a solo traveler, I booked via Viator and a company called "Tours by Isabelle" - mainly because I was seeking hotel pick-up and a help with securing a small group airboat booking.Upon arrival, everything went smoothly with check-in (getting waivers signed, assigning you to specific airboats via kitschy-sounding "boarding pass" names). These guys are pros for sure, and "family-owned" you can tell throughout the establishment and workings (including their house cat who roams the premises, ha!) We were able to survey the shop/merch, decor, and had fangirl moment when we encountered the founder, Randy, who was so kind and happily took photos with us.The tour itself was so fun/exciting. You get it all- history of the swamp (including flora/fauna), Q&A re: alligators, alligator sightings, high-speed airboat treks, list goes on.Our operator was Dalton who was AMAZING. SO engaging, sweet, funny, and just so great with our eclectic group from all over the country. We could tell great camaraderie with his co-workers (truly a team) but the fact he gave us such personalized experience knowing he does several a day/week, makes it more special he wasn't jaded, at all. THANK YOU, will definitely be back, this time with friends/family hopefully!

First things first, Eric is the best tour guide!My group of 4 had a great experience in the middle of FEBRUARY. Eric showed us Big Mama (or - I guess more like Big Mama was in the mood to see us) and told us stories about Tripod lol. The staff inside the gift shop was nice too, with their 2 cute cats that roamed around.Expect this experience to take about 2 hours, from pick up to drop off. The earliest tour begins at 10a and our girls were back, using their provided transportation, by 12:30p.