plantation tour new orleans precruise

We will be cruising with Carnival Nov 1st, however, we will be staying in New Orleans 2 days prior to the cruise. We would like to do some sightseeing and possibly see a plantation. I think it will be busy over Halloween and would like to book ahead. Any suggestions for a good tour company would be appreciated.

I would suggest you rent a car and do it yourself -- you can easily see more than one in a day -- my friend and I saw four :D

I would suggest Oak Alley -- the interior was not that great BUT the grounds are absolutely gorgeous! Laura is a great one for Creole architecture -- and it was very matriarchal!!! San Francisco is great and so is Destrahan.

The great thing is these are all in the same general area -- about an hour or so outside of New Orleans.

I would also HIGHLY recommend eating at Olivier's while in New Orleans. It's a little off the beaten path (but not by too much) but it has the best okra and tomato smothered pork chops I have EVER eaten in my life.

If you need more info, please feel free to ask me :D

We will be cruising with Carnival Nov 1st, however, we will be staying in New Orleans 2 days prior to the cruise. We would like to do some sightseeing and possibly see a plantation. I think it will be busy over Halloween and would like to book ahead. Any suggestions for a good tour company would be appreciated.

We opted for a tour company. The Hyatt where we were staying recommended Cajun Encounters. We took the afternoon one plantation tour. We were given the choice of Laura or Oak Alley. We chose Oak Alley. (They also had full day 2 plantation tours: Laura and Oak Alley). It was a great tour. The house and grounds are really nice! There was a coupon for this tour in one of the tour pamphlets/brochures you can find at the airport or at the hotel.

We opted for a tour company. The Hyatt where we were staying recommended Cajun Encounters. We took the afternoon one plantation tour. We were given the choice of Laura or Oak Alley. We chose Oak Alley. (They also had full day 2 plantation tours: Laura and Oak Alley). It was a great tour. The house and grounds are really nice! There was a coupon for this tour in one of the tour pamphlets/brochures you can find at the airport or at the hotel.

Laura and Oak Alley are both great. If I had to chose one, I'd chose Laura Plantation just because the interior is still set up like it was over a hundred years ago. Oak Alley was redecorated probably in the Fifties. But as I said in my earlier post, the grounds of Oak Alley are just breathtaking so it kind of depends on what you'd like to see most -- if at all possible, I'd do both :D

What I do when traveling is, I go on line, and see if I cant get some tourist info mailed to me before I go, and I always see coupons in the books. It also gives you information about restaurants, tour groups, things to see, and info about your hotel. New Orleans has a great tourist booklet. And New Orleans is full of tourists.

Having a tour guide is great especially if you have even 1 Mint Julep at Oak Alley. I have had some strong drinks in the past but that drink takes the cake. Oak Alley grounds - SO beautiful!! They have a restaurant and gift shop in the back. We had a company function there last year and the food was really good!!

If you drive you will be able to tour multiple plantation homes in one day - just be sure to wear comfortable shoes good for walking on the grass or on gravel as you may have to walk quite some distance from the parking lot. Here is a description of how to do the River Road Plantations including a map which shows how close these plantations are to each other:

http://www.louisianatravel.com/articles/river-road-plantations

You might go to Houmas House for Breakfast or Tea or even dinner - that is the BEST of all the River Road Plantation home restaurants.

I would plan to be at Oak Alley for lunch - their restaurant is good, too.

San Francisco Plantation is another of my favorite plantations. They have used the finest in fabrics in their restoration projects. It is really lovely inside.

If you want, you can even stay overnight in a plantation. This one is very nice and close to NOLA: http://www.madewood.com

Thanks so much for the info. I think we would rather go with a tour company than rent a car. I like stress free traveling and leaving the driving to someone else is much easier. Thanks again, I will check things out.

OP, Google plantation tours to see the names of different tour companies. Then use Tripadvisor to see the reviews of the different companies you found.

I don't remember the name of the company we used, but we did visit Laura and Oak Alley. While Oak Alley does have a small restaurant, they just aren't equipped to handle the bus loads of people. The waiting line was over an hour long so we just grabbed some snacks & drinks.

Be sure to stop for some Beignets at Café du Monde. They are totally delicious donuts!

Since you insist that you must go on a tour, then consider Tours by Isabelle or Plantation Adventure.

http://www.toursbyisabelle.com

I'm recommending Tours by Isabelle because they will do a customized private tour which would be far better than the typical bus tour. But if you just want a crowded bus tour, then this is the company to choose:

http://www.plantationadventure.com/index.php

If you really enjoy visiting historic houses with historically accurate furnishings, you might also visit

The Herman - Grima house 820 St. Louis Street. and the Gallier House 1132 Royal Street. They also do open hearth cooking demonstrations using 19th century methods on Thursdays at the Herman -Grima house - this is very worthwhile to see!

http://www.hgghh.org/

Another great home to visit is this Creole Country Colonial house:

http://pitothouse.org/visit-pitot-house

The first apartment building in the USA:

http://www.louisianastatemuseum.org/museums/1850-house/

The home of a Confederate General:

http://www.bkhouse.org

And this amazing Country Era Place home:

http://www.longuevue.com

All of the above homes are within New Orleans.