Quick Details
- Find out what time of day is best for you to visit the swamp
- Want a more immersive experience of the swamp? Try the Extended Manchac Swamp Tour
- Transportation Pickup Time: 1 hr and 15 minutes prior to tour time.
- Transportation Pickup Location:
Rampart Treehouse/10 pizza – 740 N Rampart St New Orleans, LA 70116
Weekdays
Person
$79
$ 59
Saturday-Sunday
Person
$ 59
The Manchac Swamp Kayak Tour is a Wildlife & Eco Tour near New Orleans
Join our naturalist guides on a kayak tour into the heart of Manchac Swamp in search of wildlife! Located 25 miles west of New Orleans, Manchac swamp is part of the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area which protects one of the largest examples of Louisiana’s iconic bald cypress-tupelo swamp. This expansive wetland ecosystem provides habitat to a wide range of species including alligators and birds. We love our Manchac tour to escape the city into the serene peace and quiet of the swamp, with a focus on observing wildlife and the natural environment.
The tour is a 3-4 mile round trip paddle down a combination of scenic waterways, with stops along the way for your guide to share information about the flora, fauna and natural history of the area. On this tour, we put a focus on spotting any wildlife we can find—everything from alligators, turtles and birds to raccoons and insects! The still or very slow moving water is ideal for both beginner kayakers and adventure seekers alike. Our two hour tours utilize tandem kayaks for all group pairs (we may be able to accommodate requests for solo kayaks if tour size is small). If you are looking for a natural and engaging way to see the swamps of Louisiana, this is your tour!
Our Manchac swamp tours are a delight for birders! On any given day, we can potentially spot egrets, herons, ibis, barred owls, ospreys, bald eagles, anhingas, ducks, woodpeckers, prothonotary warblers and more; plus occasionally, rare species such as the roseate spoonbill! See more complete list here. (insert link to new sub-section “Birds of the Swamp”)
NOTE: During SUMMER we strongly recommend morning or evening tour times. Beat the heat with our 9am and 4:30/evening swamp tours for a more enjoyable experience and the best opportunity to see wildlife!
Please allow at least 2 hours between the end of our Manchac swamp tour and your next scheduled engagement of the day. The kayak tour’s beginning and ending times can fluctuate due to guests’ paddling experience and traffic to and from the city. Fridays and Saturdays are particularly bad traffic days. Weekday afternoons typically have the worst traffic
CALL/TXT (504)571-9975
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Feel free to compare our cancellation policy to our competitors and anywhere else our tour is listed for sale.
When purchasing directly through our website, you are guaranteed the best cancellation policy!
New Orleans Kayak Swamp Tours offers a 100% refund for tour cancellation due to inclement weather e.g. weather considered hazardous to tour members safety. This includes: lighting storms, unsafe water conditions, wildfires, etc. Tours still operate in rain as long as the safety of clients is not jeopardized.
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100% refund is issued if cancellation is greater than 48 hours before tour time.
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50% refund is issued if cancellation is less than 48 hours before tour time if rescheduling is not possible.
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No refund is issued for no calls/no shows the morning of the tour
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Spring in Louisiana gives birth to variety. As the weather starts to get warmer, alligators and other reptiles begin to emerge from their slumber, leaves come back to the trees, and a variety of regional wildflowers bring color to the swampy landscape.
The temperatures generally hover from 70-80 degrees in the middle of the day. This is our busiest season, so be sure to book in advance if you have a specific time of day in mind for your tour.
Springtime in the south is wonderful and the perfect time to check out our extended , which includes ~4 hours on the water and a scenic picnic lunch(optional). Another great way to beat the heat is joining our in which we float 6 miles down the beautiful Pearl River, stopping frequently for sand bar swimming, snacks and rope swings!
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If you are looking to see reptiles… Summer is the season. The warm air and water temperatures lure our scaly friends out of hiding and into the bayous where we can get a good look. Unless you’re a heat freak or are looking for a heavy tan, we recommend with morning or late afternoon tours during the months of June-August. 9am tours are the crowd favorite through the summer. Another great way to beat the heat is joining our in which we float 6 miles down the beautiful Pearl River, stopping frequently for sand bar swimming, snacks and rope swings!
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Autumn in Louisiana weather wise is the equivalent of a perfect summer day in the Northern US… 75-90 degrees, lowered humidity, and gentle breeze from the Gulf. We consider late September through November to be optimal conditions for kayaking in the bayou. Water and air temperatures remain warm enough to sustain alligator and turtle activity and the waning daylight hours make for great golden hour and sunset opportunities on our 4:30 tour through the Manchac. Towards the end of the season, wintering birds such as bald eagles and barred owls begin to nest among the cypress and water tupelos. For the early risers and adventures, Autumn is the perfect setting for our as well as the .
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Winter is a very fickle season in Louisiana. Temperatures range from 40-85 degrees. It can be sunny, windy, rainy and has even produced a light snow a few times over the last 10 years. During this season, the reptile activity greatly diminishes as cold blooded animals find safety to wait out most of the winter. However, we do see a spike in migratory and larger wintering birds alike such as egrets, woodpeckers, owls, and even white ibis. On the warmer end of the spectrum (70 degrees and up) there is still always a possibility for gators and turtles to be seen lining logs and banks along the bayous… we actually have seen an alligator on Christmas day 2 years in a row! Another benefit to winter paddling is the decrease in invasive Water Hyacinth cover…a weed that often congests waterways during warmer times, dies off and allows us access to deeper, less travelled bayous and swamps. If the temperature sits above 60 degrees, the conditions become perfect for our extended .
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So, now that you are ready for your New Orleans swamp tour, you need to know what essentials to bring! We recommend that to feel prepared, you bring:
- Sunscreen – kayaks do not offer any protection from the sun, so it is important that you wear sunscreen. We will be out on the water for at least an hour and a half. Don’t forget to apply to the tops of your legs, as we use sit-on-top kayaks.
- Bug Repellent – while the mosquitoes are not typically a problem on our swamp tours, they can appear during dusk for 1/2 hour, but otherwise, our other tour times they don’t bug us.
- Cash – cash is most definitely an essential for your swamp tour. It allows you to tip your tour guides.
- Camera – bring your camera or phone camera so that you can capture the beauty of the swamp and its creatures. We sell waterproof cases for your photo if you need or want them.
- Comfortable Clothing – Dress for the weather and wear light layered breathable, synthetic clothing/swimsuits during the warm months and a warm thermal cover in the winter for your swamp tour. Sandals or athletic shoes you don’t mind getting wet or dirty.
- Questions – Our tour guides love answering questions from guests. If you have a question, they will have an answer.
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It all depends on what your desire is. . If you want to see the swamp at the prettiest time of day, we recommend the 9:45 AM tour or the early evening tour. The early morning and evening light has warmer tones than midday. Also, these times don’t have the full sun or full shade contrast of midday, so it’s much better for photography.
Wintertime and early spring can bring temps from 30 degrees (rare) to 75 degrees, with an average high temp of about 64 degrees, so our winter and spring kayak tours can be quite pleasant indeed. We recommend booking during the middle of the day. We usually adjust times for these seasonal changes and offer more mid day tours. If it’s sunny and the temperatures reach into the high 60’s, alligators will come out on logs to sun.
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Read our page that compares the Manchac Swamp Tour vs the Honey Island Swamp Tour.