-Day 1 Bonjour New Orleans
Meet your tour director
New Orleans city walkFrench Quarter, Warehouse Arts District, Garden District, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral
Dinner
Details: New Orleans city walk
Experience the authentic flavor of New Orleans as you walk amongst the history, architecture and splendor of the famed French Quarter, the bustling Warehouse Arts District, the opulent Garden District, and the historic Lafayette Cemetery. Along the way, you’ll see the former homes of famous local residents and you’ll even have a chance to swing by the always lively Bourbon Street.
Details: Audubon Zoo visit
Get a taste of the Louisiana Swamp – all without getting wet! See authentic bayou wildlife, like the famous white alligator, amid cypress trees and Spanish moss in this imitation swamp. Sample Cajun cuisine, watch an alligator feeding, and learn all about the habitats and wildlife found in Louisiana.
Day 2 New Orleans landmarks
Breakfast
Details: Mardi Gras World visit
Get the skinny on Fat Tuesday with a behind-the-scenes tour of the world’s leading maker of floats, sculpture and props. From the streets, Mardi Gras may look like mayhem, but there’s truly an art and science to these party parades.
Details: French Market visit
The French Market, once a Native American trading post on the shores of the Mississippi River, has become a cultural, commercial and entertainment treasure to New Orleans. Wander through the open-air community flea market, cultural shops and unique boutiques to see arts, crafts and trinkets unique to New Orleans.
Details: Audubon Aquarium of the Americas visit
One of the top five in the country, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas features more than one million gallons of fresh and saltwater exhibits of 530 species in a variety of wondrous habitats.
Details: Riverwalk, the scenic and popular riverside mall
Walk through the premier festival marketplace in New Orleans, watch cruise ships, riverboats and steamers come and go at the New Orleans Port and wander along a half-mile of shops and restaurants offering a taste of the unique Cajun and Creole culture.
Details: Evening Mississippi Riverboat dinner and jazz cruise
Experience what it felt like to live in a time when life was as slow and graceful as the current on the Mississippi. Savor the beauty and romance of the New Orleans skyline aboard the authentic Steamboat NATCHEZ. Enjoy buffet-style dining prepared fresh onboard while the Grammy nominated "Dukes of Dixieland" perform live jazz music.
Day 3 Plantations & bayou country
Breakfast
Dinner
Details: Bayou country plantations excursion
Step into scenery pulled straight from a Gone With the Wind old south. On the outside, see grand allées of live oak trees and manicured gardens. On the inside, period antiques and Louisiana art. Get magnificent views but also rich stories about life on sugarcane farms from inside the walls of antebellum mansions, authentic Creole cottages and slave cabins alike.
Details: Swamp Tour
Let a local guide whisk you through moss-covered cypress trees and wetlands. Survey a rich ecosystem of reptiles, amphibians and flora and fauna unique to the murky waters. They say don’t feed the birds, but it’s quite common to toss a marshmallow to a hungry gator or two. Say, open wide!
Day 4 Goodbye New Orleans
Breakfast
Travel home
Details: St. Charles Avenue
Lee Circle along with its monument to the Confederate general separates downtown and uptown sections of this grand avenue. Heading upriver, stroll past an impressive showcase of southern mansions where the power players of The Crescent City once lived. And ride on one of the longest running streetcars in the world anchored by renowned universities, Loyola and Tulane.
Details: Lafayette Cemetery visit
Why are cemeteries in New Orleans largely above ground? Contrary to myth, it’s not about the water table. Learn the truth as you walk through this “City of the Dead,” a former French plantation turned final resting place for legends of the Civil War and hundreds of victims of the 19th century yellow fever plague.
Day 4 Start Make a Difference extension
Breakfast
Dinner
Details: New Orleans half-day volunteer program
The group can pick from a range of service activities in New Orleans. Volunteer opportunities include park clean up, school refurbishment, historic cemetery restoration, helping out at a food bank or homeless shelter, or building a community garden. (Includes supplies, project materials & lunch).
Details: Barataria Preserve visit
Originally settled by Canary Islanders in 1779, the Barataria Preserve offers a good introduction to the wetlands environment—just watch out for alligators!
Day 5 Goodbye New Orleans
Breakfast
Travel home
Details: St. Charles Avenue
Lee Circle along with its monument to the Confederate general separates downtown and uptown sections of this grand avenue. Heading upriver, stroll past an impressive showcase of southern mansions where the power players of The Crescent City once lived. And ride on one of the longest running streetcars in the world anchored by renowned universities, Loyola and Tulane.
Tour Includes:
- Round-trip transportation
- 3 overnight stays in hotels with private bathrooms
- Breakfast daily (except arrival day)
- Dinner daily (except departure day)
- Full-time services of a professional Tour Director
- Guided sightseeing tours & city walks as per itinerary
- Visit to select attractions as per itinerary
- Riverboat cruise on the John James Audubon
- Madewood Plantation visit
- Overnight security chaperone
- Tour Diary™
- Note: Tour cost does not include airline-imposed baggage fees, or fees for any required passport or visa. Please visit our Fees FAQ page for a full list of items that may not be included in the cost of your tour.
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