USA · BOAT TOURS IN NEW ORLEANS

15 Boat Tours in New Orleans to Build a Day Around

25 tours  ·  from $32

Good boat tours in New Orleans fill up weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.

New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise with Dinner Option - One hour aboard before the boat moves
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New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise with Dinner Option

1.New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise with Dinner Option

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 7,533 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $58Our pick

Meet at Toulouse Street Wharf in the French Quarter for a one-hour dockside boarding period, then cruise the Mississippi from about 7 to 9pm. Explore the Steamboat Natchez, hear the Dukes of Dixieland, listen to river narration, and add a Louisiana buffet dinner if desired.

“It was wonderful, beautiful night and the dinner was scrumptious. But having to leave a long review isn't the best.”

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New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour with Transportation - What you might see among the cypress and reeds
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New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour with Transportation

2.New Orleans Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour with Transportation

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5,399 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $70Top rated

Ride from the French Quarter to Honey Island Swamp, then cruise narrow waterways on a quiet 22-passenger boat with a local captain. Guides such as Steve, Marc, Scottie, and Jody explain wildlife, Cajun life, and wetland loss. Wildlife sightings vary, especially in cold weather.

“Incredibly beautiful area so close to New Orleans! Excellent bus ride with a great driver. The tour was so well organized. Our Captain Dave was so informative and fun! You could tell he loved his job and where he lives. Saw beautiful birds, wild pigs raccoons, fish jumping and beautiful scenery. And it was December! Always satisfying to see such a beautiful area protected. Well done.”

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New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise - A slow ride down the Mississippi
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New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise

3.New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Jazz Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 5,334 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $43

Cruise the Mississippi River for about two hours aboard the Steamboat Natchez, with live jazz from the Steamboat Stompers, narration from the captain, and views of New Orleans and the Chalmette Battlefield. Add a Creole-style buffet lunch if you want a fuller outing.

“Will come again and also don’t for get to try the chicken salad it was delicious!!!!! Very friendly people…”

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New Orleans: Evening Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Dinner - A newly renovated riverboat, with a seasonal vessel change
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New Orleans: Evening Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Dinner

4.Evening Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Dinner

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 4,548 reviews · 2 hours · from $58

Cruise the Mississippi from the French Quarter aboard the Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS, with live jazz from the Grammy-nominated Dukes of Dixieland, captain’s narration, city views, and optional Creole buffet dinner. Boarding begins at 6pm, with sailing from 7pm to 9pm.

“Everything was nice but I feel like it should be a menu to select from for dinner instead of food just being prepared and served”

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New Orleans: Daytime Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Lunch - Boarding and the calliope concert
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New Orleans: Daytime Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Lunch

5.Daytime Steamboat Jazz Cruise + Optional Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 4,164 reviews · 2 hours · from $43

Spend two hours aboard the Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS, the temporary stand-in for the Steamboat NATCHEZ. Hear live jazz by the Steamboat Stompers, listen to the captain’s narration, inspect the paddle wheel and engine areas, and choose indoor or outdoor seating. Lunch and drinks are optional extras.

“The whole experience was amazing, from start to finish!”

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Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans - Starting in the French Quarter at 400 Toulouse Street
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Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans

6.Swamp Boat Ride and Oak Alley Plantation Tour from New Orleans

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3,303 reviews · 7 hours 45 minutes (approx.) · from $131

Ride from the French Quarter to Oak Alley or Destrehan Plantation, then cruise Manchac Swamp on a covered pontoon boat. Guides such as Dionne, Jane, Robert, Kimberly, and Captain Tom bring local history, Cajun life, wildlife, and wetland care into focus. Expect a full day with snacks available, but no hotel pickup.

“A lovely tour and a lot of history to go through. Excellent tour guides. Unfortunately the system on the bus meant that whenever the tour guide spoke no one else was allowed to speak as it would travel through the bus. This led to some people getting very upset with other passengers and I personally was harassed verbally by another passenger which the tour guides didn’t do anything about. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend the tour just based on that and go with a service that does a private experience. I had to endure that harassment all day and my elderly mother was very upset. The actual plantation and boat tours…”

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New Orleans Self-Transport Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour - Setting out on the 22-passenger boat
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New Orleans Self-Transport Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour

7.New Orleans Self-Transport Swamp and Bayou Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,824 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $37

Make your own way from New Orleans to Slidell for a two-hour Honey Island Swamp boat ride. A guide such as Jody, Emmett, Dustin, or Captain Wade G. leads you through narrow waterways, pointing out alligators, birds, raccoons, wild boar, and a boat-access-only Cajun village.

“One of the most entertaining tours I have taken in years. We saw the usual wildlife - alligators, turtles, a raccoon, a snake, some pigs and quite a few birds - limpkins, Great Blue Heron, anhingas. Captain Jody kept us entertained the whole time with great information woven through stories and jokes.”

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Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Historic Mississippi River Cruise - The narrated ride downriver
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Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Historic Mississippi River Cruise

8.Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Historic Mississippi River Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 1,948 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $47

Board the Creole Queen at 1 Poydras Street for a narrated Mississippi River cruise of about 2.5 hours. Hear stories of the LeMoyne brothers, the Louisiana Purchase, and Hurricane Katrina, then visit Chalmette Battlefield with a National Park Ranger. Food and drinks are available onboard.

“The historian was great. I think his name was Micheal (The lawyer and veteran). He was funny and engaging. The cruise was nice and smooth. The food was nothing to write home about. It was hot but unappetizing in appearance and taste. Don’t get the meal. Just go for the cruise and history.”

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New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure - The boat ride: comfort without losing the view
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New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure

9.New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,855 reviews · 1 hour 40 minutes (approx.) · from $35

Cruise the Barataria Swamps from Marrero on a covered boat with a local captain such as Ernie, Dewey, or Trey. Expect a narrated ride past Cajun and Indigenous cultural sites, with chances to spot alligators, turtles, snakes, and birds. Boats have cushioned seats, restrooms, windows, and room to move.

“Captain Ernie was awesome, gave us a very fun filled tour covering the history of the area and injecting humor along with content. It was 40F out so we didn’t see large alligators, just a small one sunbathing but it was nonetheless a fun educational ride through the swamp.”

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New Orleans Manchac Bayou Swamp Cruise W/ Optional Pick-Up - Frenier, Cajun stories, and the Louisiana wetlands
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New Orleans Manchac Bayou Swamp Cruise W/ Optional Pick-Up

10.New Orleans Manchac Bayou Swamp Cruise W/ Optional Pick-Up

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 1,587 reviews · 1h 30m · from $35

Cruise Manchac Bayou aboard a family-friendly pontoon boat with captains such as Danny, Dustin, Tom, and Brandon. Expect cypress trees, birds, raccoons, wild hogs, turtles, and possible alligator sightings, plus stories about Frenier and Louisiana’s wetlands. Hotel pickup is optional.

“The Manchac Bayou Swamp Cruise is one of those rare experiences that’s equal parts thrilling, hilarious, and oddly beautiful. The guide deserves full credit for that—he wasn’t just knowledgeable about the swamp’s history and wildlife, he knew how to put on a show. In a place where nearly everything looks like it could bite, sting, or swallow you whole, he somehow made the whole thing feel like an adventure rather than a survival exercise. You learn a lot—about the bayou’s ecosystem, the folklore, and even a few outrageous local stories—but you also laugh the entire time. Between the close-up alligator sightings and the guide’s deadpan delivery, you end up with…”

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Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Jazz Dinner Cruise in New Orleans - Live jazz, dancing, and the cypress bar
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Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Jazz Dinner Cruise in New Orleans

11.Paddlewheeler Creole Queen Jazz Dinner Cruise in New Orleans

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 1,469 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $107

Board the Creole Queen at 6:30 p.m. for a 7 p.m. departure and two-hour Mississippi River cruise. Add a Creole buffet, listen to live jazz, order drinks at the cypress bar, and head to the promenade deck for river breezes and nighttime views.

“We had such a great time on our dinner cruise!! The staff was super friendly and fun, the band was lovely! They had a decent selection in the buffet; the food was nice, but not something I personally would seek out again. The view was beautiful from the boat and the trip was certainly a highlight of our vacation!! Next time we're in town, we'd love to do a cruise during daylight to experience the Mississippi even better!”

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Guided Boat Tour of New Orleans Bayou - The guide makes the difference
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Guided Boat Tour of New Orleans Bayou

12.Guided Boat Tour of New Orleans Bayou

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 1,452 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $35

Glide through a 20,000-acre cypress swamp near Jean Lafitte National Historical Park on a 90-minute narrated pontoon ride. Expect alligators, turtles, birds, and seasonal wildlife, with optional hotel pickup. Confirm your boat type before booking, since the large boat is slower than an airboat.

“The beautiful scenery and the calm ride back to the dock was the most memorable part of the experience for me; however, seeing the wildlife interact in its natural environment was about equal. The tour guide had some interesting historical facts, juicy gossip, and fun jokes as well.”

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New Orleans: Creole Queen History Cruise with Optional Lunch - From the Riverwalk to the lower Mississippi
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New Orleans: Creole Queen History Cruise with Optional Lunch

13.Creole Queen History Cruise with Optional Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 1,112 reviews · 2h 30m · from $47

Ride the Creole Queen from the Riverwalk to Chalmette Battlefield while guides such as Charles and Dr. Lauren explain New Orleans history, the river, Katrina, and the Battle of New Orleans. Add the buffet for shrimp pasta, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and other local dishes.

“The guide was an excellent story teller and a pleasure to listen to as he told us about the history of New Orleans”

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New Orleans: Evening Jazz Boat Cruise with Optional Dinner - Dinner first, with a full Louisiana buffet
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New Orleans: Evening Jazz Boat Cruise with Optional Dinner

14.Evening Jazz Boat Cruise with Optional Dinner

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 1,024 reviews · 2 hours · from $60

Spend two hours aboard the Creole Queen paddlewheeler with live jazz from Sullivan Dabney Jr. and the Muzik Jazz Band. Choose the dinner buffet, dance after the meal, then head to the promenade deck for cocktails, skyline views, Jackson Square, and city lights.

“It was a wonderful evening of live jazz and cruising the Mississippi.”

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New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure with Transportation - Cruising through Barataria Preserve
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New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure with Transportation

15.New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure with Transportation

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,008 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $60

Ride from a downtown New Orleans hotel to Barataria Preserve for a narrated swamp-boat trip with guides such as Captains Ernie, Dewey, and Bobby. Expect covered boats, alligators, birds, turtles, Cajun stories, and a chance to see or hold a baby gator, though winter sightings can be thin.

“This tour was entertaining and educational!. I especially loved our boat guide and the baby alligator”

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New in Boat Tours in New Orleans

★ 4.0New Orleans City Tour and Steamboat Natchez Harbor Jazz CruiseFrom $88446 reviews
★ 5.0Honey Island Swamp Boat Tour with Transportation from New OrleansFrom $64361 reviews
★ 4.5Oak Alley Plantation and Swamp Boat Tour from New OrleansFrom $130376 reviews
★ 4.7Swamp Boat Ride & Oak Alley Plantation TourFrom $131383 reviews

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