Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Louisiana: New Orleans, the River Road and Cajun Country
5 days from New Orleans: three nights in the French Quarter with Tremé, jazz and the Whitney Plantation, then a night in Lafayette for the Atchafalaya swamp and a zydeco dance hall.
5 days · Round trip from New Orleans · up to 12 guests
Costumed performers on Jackson Square in the French Quarter Photo: Michael Gaylard, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackson_Square_Costumed_Street_Performers_-_New_Orleans_Sept_2018.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 5 days, 4 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from New Orleans
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Easy: flat city walking on pavements, about 3 to 5 km on day 2 and less on other days, with up to two hours on your feet outdoors at the Whitney Plantation. The swamp trip is seated in a covered boat. The longest drive, on day 4, is about two and three-quarter hours in three legs. Dancing at the zydeco hall is optional, and you can sit any visit out.
- Meals included
- 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 600 (estimated price)
- Season
- October to May
Highlights
Why this trip
- The French Quarter at 8:30 am with a local guide, before the heat and the crowds
- Tremé and Congo Square, where enslaved and free people of colour gathered on Sundays to play music and dance
- A Creole cooking class where lunch is the gumbo you made
- A concert in the small room at Preservation Hall, then the clubs on Frenchmen Street with your guide
- A morning at the Whitney Plantation, told through the lives of the people enslaved there
- Across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and out by boat into the cypress swamp
- A Cajun dinner and a Friday night in a zydeco dance hall in Lafayette
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 600 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) to your hotel by the French Quarter
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in New Orleans
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), about 25 km west of the French Quarter, where a driver meets you in arrivals for the 30 to 40 minute ride to the hotel.
Evening
Plan to land by about 3 pm so you can settle in, or walk to the river, before the group meets at 5:30 pm; late arrivals are met and brought to dinner. Your See Sight Tours guide runs through the days ahead: the walk in the morning, the Whitney, the road west across the Atchafalaya and the dance hall in Lafayette, and what to expect from the clubs. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of Creole cooking a few blocks from the hotel. Afterwards the guide walks anyone who wants it through the lit streets of the Quarter, past Jackson Square at night and down to the river, and back to the hotel. Bourbon Street is loud and crowded after dark; your guide will tell you where the better music is.
Included
- Pick-up at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
- An evening walk through the French Quarter with your guide
Free time: Free until the 5:30 pm meeting
Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm.
The French Quarter, Tremé and a night of jazz
A day on foot in the French Quarter and Tremé, then Preservation Hall and Frenchmen Street
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in New Orleans
We start at 8:30 am, when the square is quiet and the air is still cool, on a walk with a local guide: Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo, where the Louisiana Purchase was formally handed over in 1803, then the balconied side streets and the French Market. From the Quarter we cross Rampart Street into Tremé, one of the oldest African American neighbourhoods in the country, with St. Augustine Church, founded in 1841 by free people of colour, and the oaks and murals along Claiborne Avenue. The walk ends at Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park, where enslaved and free people gathered on Sundays to drum, sing and dance, a gathering many trace to the roots of jazz.
Afternoon
Late morning we cook our own lunch at a Creole cooking class: gumbo, jambalaya and pralines. The afternoon is free.
Evening
In the evening we go to Preservation Hall for a concert of traditional jazz in its small room on St. Peter Street, then your guide takes the group to Frenchmen Street, where the clubs have live bands most nights.
Included
- French Quarter and Tremé walk with a local guide: Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo, the French Market, St. Augustine Church and Congo Square
- Creole cooking class with lunch
- Preservation Hall concert
- An evening on Frenchmen Street with your guide, cover charges included
Optional experiences
- New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint
- Historic New Orleans Collection
Easier option: Stop after Jackson Square and sit with a coffee and beignets on the square; your guide brings you to the cooking class, or a taxi takes you to the hotel to rest until then.
More active option: In the free afternoon, ride a rental bike along the Lafitte Greenway from Armstrong Park through Tremé to Mid-City and back.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: About 3 to 5 km on foot in the morning, on flat pavements; the concert is about 45 minutes, partly standing.
The Whitney Plantation on the River Road
New Orleans to the Whitney Plantation at Wallace on the River Road, then back to New Orleans
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in New Orleans
- Drive about 2.5 h
We leave at 9 am and drive about an hour and a quarter west along I-10 and then the river road, past refineries, sugar cane fields and the grass levee that hides the Mississippi, to the Whitney Plantation at Wallace. The Whitney opened as a museum in 2014 and tells the history of a sugar plantation through the people who were enslaved there: their own words, recorded in the 1930s, the memorial walls carrying the names of more than a hundred thousand people enslaved in Louisiana, and the Field of Angels for the children who died here.
Morning
We join a late-morning guided tour; the museum runs them through the day, and we arrange the group's visit with the Whitney when we confirm your dates. We take it slowly, and your guide makes room afterwards to talk about what we have seen.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a local place on the river road. We are back in New Orleans by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free, with a streetcar pass for the St. Charles line out under the oaks to the Garden District and Audubon Park.
Included
- Whitney Plantation guided tour, entry included
- Lunch on the River Road
- A streetcar pass for the afternoon
Optional experiences
- National WWII Museum
- Steamboat cruise on the Mississippi
Easier option: Sit out part of the Whitney grounds on one of the shaded benches; the vehicle waits close by.
More active option: Walk the Garden District and Magazine Street from the streetcar, about 5 km.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 2 hours on foot at the Whitney, outdoors on paths; bring a hat and water. The Whitney lists hours of 9:30 am to 4:30 pm with last entry at 3 pm; we confirm opening days and the group visit when we book. If it cannot take the group on day 3, we visit it on day 2 and walk the French Quarter and Tremé on day 3, so the pairing runs the other way.
The Atchafalaya swamp and a Lafayette dance hall
New Orleans to the Atchafalaya Basin near Henderson, then Breaux Bridge and Lafayette
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lafayette
- Drive about 3 h
We leave at 7:30 am and take I-10 west past Baton Rouge, with a coffee stop, then out across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, which runs about 29 km over swamp and open water. At a landing near Henderson we board a covered flat boat at about 10 am for two hours among the cypress and tupelo: herons and egrets all year, alligators on the banks in the warm months, and a boat captain from the basin who explains how the river and the people here live with each other.
Afternoon
Lunch is in Breaux Bridge, crawfish in season or a Cajun plate lunch. Early afternoon we visit Vermilionville in Lafayette, a living history village on the Bayou Vermilion about the Acadians, Creoles and Native people of the region, with old houses, music and craft, and stay until it closes at 4 pm.
Evening
After check-in and a rest we have a Cajun dinner together, then go on to a zydeco dance hall, where a band plays Creole accordion and rubboard music and the floor fills with dancers of every age. Your guide will get you dancing, or not.
Included
- Drive across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge with your guide
- Swamp boat trip in the Atchafalaya Basin, about 2 hours
- Lunch in Breaux Bridge
- Vermilionville living history village
- Cajun dinner in Lafayette
- A night at a zydeco dance hall, cover charge included
Easier option: Skip Vermilionville and rest at the hotel before dinner; at the dance hall, take a table and watch, and the vehicle can bring you back early.
More active option: Join the dance lesson some halls give at the start of the night, then dance the whole set.
Free time: Late afternoon rest before dinner
Activity: Seated on the boat; about two hours on foot at Vermilionville, which lists hours of 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday to Sunday (we confirm seasonal hours). The dance hall is loud and late, and you can leave whenever you like; some halls admit only guests aged 21 and over, so carry photo ID.
Lafayette back to New Orleans and home
Lafayette to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
A slow breakfast in Lafayette, with time for a short walk downtown to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and the great live oak beside it, or a last coffee and boudin from a Cajun grocery if your guide can find one open on the way. We leave at about 10 am and drive back east on I-10, about 210 km and two and a quarter hours, across the Atchafalaya bridge once more, with a stop on the way. The vehicle goes straight to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), arriving around 12:30 pm, and your guide sees the group to departures and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm. If yours leaves earlier, ask us about a transfer from Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) instead. If you would like more time in New Orleans for the music or the food, we can book extra nights at the same French Quarter hotel and take you to the city instead of the airport.
Included
- Drive from Lafayette to New Orleans with your guide
- Drop-off at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
Optional experiences
- Extra nights in New Orleans, booked on request
Easier option: Stay at the hotel over a long breakfast instead of the downtown walk; the vehicle collects you at the door.
Free time: Early morning free in Lafayette
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm.
- New Orleans3 nights
- Lafayette1 night
- New Orleansend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: October, November, March, April and May bring warm days that suit walking; December to February is mild with some cool, damp days. Alligators bask in the swamp from about March to October and are mostly out of sight in winter, when herons, egrets and the cypress forest are the draw. Autumn departures carry a hurricane-season weather plan.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want New Orleans properly, with three nights in one hotel, rather than as the last stop of a long drive
- Music lovers who want traditional jazz and a real zydeco night with the tickets sorted
- Anyone who wants the history of slavery told through the people who lived it
- A first taste of Cajun country, its food and the swamp, without hiring a car
- Solo travellers who would rather not go to clubs alone
- A short trip to add after our Nashville to New Orleans music trip
Not for you if you want
- Travellers looking for antebellum mansion tours: the River Road visit is the Whitney, which focuses on the people who were enslaved
- Anyone who wants Bourbon Street nightlife as the centre of the trip
- Travellers who dislike heat, humidity or loud late nights
- Anyone wanting resort time or beaches
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
4 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- New Orleans3 nights
- Lafayette1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 4 nights: 3 in New Orleans in or beside the French Quarter, 1 in Lafayette
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at and drop-off to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the group, with a seat for every guest and room for luggage
- A covered swamp boat in the Atchafalaya Basin
- A streetcar pass in New Orleans
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, with local guides where they add most: a New Orleans guide for the French Quarter and Tremé walk, and a boat captain from the basin on the swamp trip
Activities
- New Orleans: a French Quarter and Tremé walk with a local guide, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Congo Square, a Creole cooking class, a Preservation Hall concert, an evening on Frenchmen Street with cover charges
- River Road: the Whitney Plantation
- Cajun country: a swamp boat trip in the Atchafalaya Basin, Vermilionville in Lafayette, a zydeco dance hall night with cover charge
Meals
- Breakfast daily (4)
- Lunch on days 2, 3 and 4 (3), including the Creole cooking class
- Welcome dinner in New Orleans and a Cajun dinner in Lafayette (2)
Not included
- Flights to and from New Orleans
- US visa or ESTA
- Travel insurance
- Lunches on days 1 and 5
- Dinners on days 2 and 3
- Drinks, including drinks in music clubs and the dance hall
- Tips for your guide, driver and boat captain
- Optional activities: the National WWII Museum, the Jazz Museum, steamboat cruises
- Hotel surcharges in Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest weeks, where a departure overlaps one
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 600 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the New Orleans and Cajun country tour price include?
Four hotel nights, breakfast daily, three lunches and two dinners, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every visit in the day plan: the French Quarter and Tremé walk, a cooking class, Preservation Hall, Frenchmen Street cover charges, the Whitney Plantation, a swamp boat trip, Vermilionville and the zydeco dance hall.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, so we fit around one table at the cooking class, in one swamp boat and in the small room at Preservation Hall, and walk the French Quarter without a flag or a microphone.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from arrival to the airport and handles tickets, timings and evenings out. A local New Orleans guide leads the French Quarter and Tremé walk, and a boat captain from the basin runs the swamp trip.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. The longest walk is about 3 to 5 km on flat pavements on day 2, and the Whitney visit is about two hours outdoors on paths. The swamp boat is seated. Dancing is optional, and you can sit any visit out and rejoin the group later.
I'm travelling solo. Do I have to pay a single supplement?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 600 more. If you would rather share, tell us when you request to book and we will try to pair you with another solo traveller of the same gender; if we cannot, we tell you before you pay. Evenings out are with the group, so you never walk into a club or dance hall alone.
When is the best time to visit New Orleans and Cajun country?
October to May, when days are warm rather than steamy. Spring brings crawfish season and alligators back on the banks; winter is mild but can be damp, and the swamp is more about birds. June to September is hot and humid, and the hurricane season runs to the end of November.
Why the Whitney rather than one of the grand plantation houses?
Because the Whitney tells the plantation's history through the people enslaved there, using their own words, memorials with their names and the buildings they lived and worked in. Most River Road houses still lead with the owners' story. We visit it the day after Tremé and Congo Square, so the two days speak to each other.
Will we see alligators on the swamp tour?
Very likely from about March to October, when they bask on the banks and logs. From December to February they are mostly out of sight in the cold, and the trip is about herons, egrets, cypress and the people who fish the basin. The boat is covered either way.
What is a zydeco dance hall, and do I have to dance?
Zydeco is the Creole dance music of southwest Louisiana, played on accordion and rubboard, and the dance halls fill with couples of every age. You do not have to dance: take a table, listen and watch. Some halls give a short lesson at the start of the night.
Do I need a visa to visit the US?
Canadian citizens do not normally need one. Most other visitors need an approved ESTA or a US visa before they fly, so check your own requirements early. The visa or ESTA is not in the price.
How does booking work?
Pick a start date and request to book; no payment is taken at that point. We confirm your place, your room and the price within 24 hours, then send the day-by-day plan and, once confirmed, the hotel names. Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes, from CAD 3,525 for the small group.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 6,345 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, tickets and transfers.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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