Most people who visit New Orleans don’t make it out to the swamps on a tour, which is a shame. The Crescent City has a lot to offer, but is surrounded by beautiful swamps and bayous full of wildlife. A guided kayak swamp tour is a fun and easy excursion that you can do in a morning or afternoon. Read more about our New Orleans Kayak Swamp Tour >

How Do I Get From New Orleans to the Kayak Tour in the Swamps?

Our guided kayak swamp tour launches from our private dock right outside the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area. You can drive there in about an hour from New Orleans, or book the kayak tour with transportation from the Kayak Swamp Tour page. A few swamps are a bit closer, and while some of the areas make for a great kayak, we found that the tours were a bit inconsistent due to boat traffic from other swamp tour companies and housing developments along the river. In search for a better natural experience, we ended up buying a launch site so that we could offer kayak tours in our favorite swamp. Our guests seem to agree based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews that we continue to earn every week!

What Makes This Kayak Swamp Tour an Ecotour?

We founded Beyond the Bayou Tours to offer residents and visitors to New Orleans and Louisiana an environmentally conscious option to see the swamps. Kayaking is a quiet and non-polluting activity compared to, say, airboats. Here’s the good news, we paddle in a Wildlife Management Area without other tours around, which makes for a quiet and pristine experience.

Another important distinction is that we carbon neutralize our collective footprint for all of our tours. What does that mean? Specifically we’ve calculated our carbon footprint, including driving to and from New Orleans, and Cooler is purchasing carbon contracts on the open market to neutralize our emissions.

Did you know that many local operators bait the wildlife to show off for their guests? The practice disrupts the ecosystem and creates a potentially dangerous interaction in a place we believe that humans should respectfully visit. If you don’t believe that alligators should be baited with marshmallows, which resemble nutritious eggs that they love to forage for, an ecotour is a better option for you.

What’s the Benefit of Having a Kayak Guide on the Swamp Tour?

Our naturalist guides are excellent companions on our kayak swamp tours. The kayak guides lead the way and help navigate the swamps. As naturalists they are able to look for and identify flora and fauna such as various trees, birds, turtles, and more. The guides are well versed in the ecosystem of the bayous, swamps, and waterways surrounding New Orleans, which helps bring context and understanding to your kayak tour.

What Gear Is Included On This Kayak Swamp Tour?

Our kayak swamp tours include 2020 model kayaks, a paddle, a personal floatation device (PFD / life jacket), and a small dry bag pouch for personal items such as your phone.

How Fit Do I Have to be to Kayak in the Swamps?

Most people and age groups are able to paddle the swamps on our swamp tour. You’ll have to be able to sit still without much back support and use your arms to leisurely paddle for a couple of hours through still and slow running water.