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Slidell
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Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours
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Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours

See all things to do
See all things to do
Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours
4.5
1,464 reviews
#1 of 7 Boat Tours & Water Sports in Slidell
Boat Tours • Nature & Wildlife Tours
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8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
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About
Picture the moss hanging on gnarled cypress trees as you travel into one of the wildest and most pristine river swamps in America. With the swamp tales of pirates and sightings of Big Foot in the back of your mind, you may be just a little bit nervous at first, but after your first boat ride you'll want to go back again and again! You'll be overcome by the primitive beauty of the cypress trees rising from the water...the sweet smell of wild azaleas in the air....
Slidell, Louisiana
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Tours and Tickets by Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours

Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans

84
By Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours
Half-day Tours
4 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 92% of travelers
This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher
from
$58.00
per adult
Travelers talk about
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,466 reviews
Excellent
1,191
Very good
198
Average
42
Poor
21
Terrible
14
Kevin Reade
11 contributions
Absolutely loved it as the wealth of wildlife exceeded our expectations and the knowledge of our guide was awesome
Aug 2022
This was one of the last activities on our 12 day US road trip and was something I (the dad/husband of the family) had asked to do. My wife and kids (daughter of 16 and son of 21) were quite open in saying they didn't really fancy it but I am really pleased to say they loved the swamp tour as much as I did. I would have been happy seeing one gator but at one point we had about seven around the boat and the raccoons were amazing to see too.
Written September 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Rachel J
Eau Claire, WI4 contributions
What a fun swamp tour!
Apr 2022
I've been on other swamp tours, but this was the best! Our guide, Matt, answered all our questions. The boat was covered with a canopy so we didn't get overheated (Also, to keep snakes from falling on us, according to Matt!)
We saw plenty of critters (raccoons, wild boar, alligators, herons, etc.) Some were almost tame, coming to the boat to let Matt feed them marshmallows. Others, we were just lucky to see. Wildlife is unpredictable. Even without the animal sightings, the cypress trees and swamp were just beautiful. So many flowers in bloom. From New Orleans, it was a 45 min. drive, but definitely worth it.
Written April 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Sarah S
2 contributions
Fun, good size boats, more river than swamp
Apr 2018 • Couples
I purposely selected a smaller company for our swamp visit and was happy with the results. This is not a fancy outfit - they take reservations by phone and write your info down on a piece of paper. They do not email you a confirmation, so be prepared to write down or remember your pickup location and time. They take credit card info by phone to hold your reservation, but you have to pay in full in cash or check. (who travels with a checkbook?)

We were picked up at the Hilton on Canal St in a 15 passenger van. The driver gave information about Hurricane Katrina damage and recovery on the drive out of town. Dry delivery, but interesting.

When you arrive there's a little building with some shirts and snacks for sale, and indoor bathrooms. After you pay (in cash) they load you on a boat - 22 people max.

TIP: sit on the starboard side if you can (righthand side as you face the bow). They go down one side of the river and back on the other, and the starboard side is closer to the bank so you can see more. Our guide did a pretty good job of turning the boat around if we were looking at a snake or gator so both sides got to see, but being starboard was definitely better.

About half of the tour is along a river - wide and fast. Our guide did a nice job of calling out "Here we go!" everytime he sped up. It was windy at full speed, so TIP: a light jacket was helpful.

You spend about an hour going slowly through a more swampy section, which was peaceful and really pretty. We saw alligators, a couple snakes, several types of birds, a raccoon, and two feral pigs. The guide tosses marshmallows to the animals, so if you're very "nature should be left untouched" in attitude this is not the tour for you. (Go to the boardwalk at the Jean Lafitte National Park instead.)

In mid-April, it was still too cold for the larger alligators to be active, so the ones we saw were 3-7 feet. TIP: you have a better chance of seeing larger gators later in the day.

Upon our return to dock, there was time to visit the bathroom before the van brought us back to town. Our driver was very nice about changing our drop off location to be at the opposite end of the French Quarter from where we were picked up.
Review of: Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans
Written April 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Overlord44
Zurich, Switzerland272 contributions
Marshmallows for wild boars
Jan 2015
This tour was not worth the money. Nature scenery was nice but in my point of view a absolute no go to feed marshmallows to wild boars. 4 tour with 3 ships means tons of sugar for this wild animals. Is this really an Eco tour???
Written January 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
drwhoneyislandswamp
We do feed the wildlife a few treats, however, these treats are not substantial enough to alter their diets. Thanks for taking the time to review our operation and we're glad that you enjoyed our tours.
Written March 9, 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Johnny
1 contribution
worst of the worst
Sep 2019 • Friends
Rude people and harsh to animals, guide yelling to an old lady who could barely walk.. felt bad for that family!
Review of: Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans
Written September 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
travelon735
3 contributions
Marshmallows for tricks
May 2019 • Couples
I had a fine experience with this tour company, a great tour guide, and enjoyed being on the bayou. There was no leisurely attitude here — you’re in and out. You get picked up from New Orleans, taken to the tour site, and immediately ushered into a boat. When you return to the landing site 2 hrs later, you’re immediately loaded back onto the van to head home. My one problem with the tour is that the alligators, wild pig, and raccoons that came out for us did so because the tour companies feed them all day: marshmallows and some other meat item that I couldn't identify. It's not just Honey Island; many of them do this. There were marshmallows floating everywhere; I saw a guy on another, non Honey Island boat, just chucking them into the water. If I had to do it over again, I would find a site and company that doesn't feed the wildlife. I would have been perfectly happy to spend a couple of hours on the water and catch glimpses of alligators floating by and observe some birds. I'm sure that's not true for all tourists, which is why these companies do it this way.
Review of: Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans
Written June 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
deleslie1956
Falls Church, VA94 contributions
Very disappointed
Guide spent virtually the entire tour yucking it up with the young women, including tasteless jokes about being sure the goat you planned on milking had 2 udders so as not to annoy a male goat. This was a swamp tour so other than being bawdy, there was no point. He ignored other passengers completely. He did show us raccoons and feral pigs but only because he trained them to come to the boat to eat marshmallows he provided en masse. Mainly talk was pandering. Lots of exaggeration “40,000 (birds) migrate through here “. Not close to accurate. Terrible for wildlife. Poor sittings of alligator, which is no fault of the guide. Hotel pick up convenient and the driver spoke of his and the rest of east New Orleans trauma with hurricane Katrina. Trip not recommended for those who appreciate nature.
Review of: Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans
Written December 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
robflo777
This is not our tour. We are Historic New Orleans Tours. TripAdvisor, please take this down. It's very strange to see this because we do not do this tour.
Written December 31, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kat K
3 contributions
Women beware - stepping back into 1950
The men who work here are quite misogynistic. Even my male travel companion who joined me commented on the way they treated people. Rude. Be informed this is a cash only establishment. I booked this over the phone and was not informed of this until I got there. Though they told me they told me... classic mansplaining. The person who took my reservation over the phone spelled my name wrong and had the wrong number of guests reserved for this tour. Something tells me he did NOT follow protocol and tell me I need to bring cash.

Oh, and the tour is only 1.5 hours, not 2 hours.

The guide was very knowledgeable, but arrogant as well.

If one more person at this place told me, "We run a class act here," I was literally going to laugh in his face. Don't tell me you run a class act; just do it.
Review of: Honey Island Swamp Tour
Written December 25, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Seahawk21
Seattle, WA29 contributions
RUDE Staff
Nov 2016 • Solo
I just called this company 10 minutes ago to make a reservation for a tour and had a horrific experience with the guy on the phone. The first thing he did when he answered was ask me for a credit card number. The connection was cutting out a little, so I said "what?" and he YELLED at me asking for a credit card. I said I just had a question about the tour and he YELLED at me again saying he was busy, so I just told him off and hung up.

There was no way I was going to book a tour with a company who treats their customers like that. I'll be booking with a competing company.
Written November 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Carl F
Slidell, LA139 contributions
Too much river, not enough swamp
Apr 2016 • Couples
I've lived in this town for over 50 years. This attraction has been here about 35 years, and amazingly, we've never been on a tour.

I was a little disappointed. At least half the time was spent speeding up and down the West Pearl River, and not seeing or hearing about anything. Another 1/4 of the time was spent in the canals where rich people live, and where we saw an alligator sunning himself on a dock.

This left not much time for actually being "in" the swamp. We saw a variety of wildlife: alligators, snakes, wild boar, birds, turtles, frogs. But I think the boars are probably more domesticated than not, coming out for the marshmallows they were fed. Same for some of the alligators.

For someone who has never been in a swamp, I'd probably give this 4 stars. My guests from Utah and Oklahoma did enjoy it, and I would probably take other guests on it, but I doubt I ever go just on my own. I was sorely disappointed in the amount of time and how deep we got in the swamp which is humongous, and we didn't hear much about that. I've actually been deeper in this swamp just in my car on the road through it, and I expected the boat to do that.
Written May 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours (Slidell) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go