Manchac Swamp Wildlife Kayak Tour

A swamp tour is a safe, quiet and educational way to view, enjoy and learn about nature and the wildlife. Alligators, turtles, birds, and other wildlife are pointed out by guides. While all swamp tours view the wildlife, only eco-tours follow leave no trace ethics, like not feeding the wildlife.

Alligators are very common in Louisiana. Being cold blooded, they tend to slow down when temperatures dip below 60 degrees but are in abundance and visible during our tour for most of the year! As long as the temperature is above 70 degrees during the winter, there is a good chance you will find an alligator come out and sun themselves. There are a lot of days when this happens, if the temperature is below 70 degrees, this is not likely to happen. Although there are a lot of great sights to view in the swamp nonetheless.

No! In fact, we only use insect repellent perhaps once a year. The whirligigs, dragonflies and other predaceous insects do a great job of keeping the mosquito population down. Sometimes during dusk, they can come out for a few minutes, but on our other tours, they are non-existent.

Gulf weather is notoriously hard to predict and impossible to forecast. A light rain is usually a cool welcome in the spring and the summer months. If the weather is potentially a danger to our customers, we will be in touch ahead of time to reschedule. If we call off a tour due to severe weather/cold and you are not able to reschedule, we do offer a full refund.

Bayou is the Choctaw word for river. This term is properly used in describing a slow-moving, meandering, connective passage between two waterways. A swamp on the other hand is, by definition, a flooded forest, and has no movement to its water.

Please arrive 10-15 minutes before tour. If you arrive any earlier, there is a chance our trailer and van wont yet be there to use as a visual marker, but we should be arriving shortly.

Again, there’s no bad time to go. Our favorite times are April, late October and early November. Winter can be a great because the summer grass that is typically six feet tall is now only inches high. This means you’ll see more nutria and deer, and the migratory birds such as waterfowl and the bald eagles. Alligators are tough to find when temps drop below 70 degrees, no matter what time of year, but they can be found throughout the winter on warmer days. Plus, there is so much more to the tour than just seeing alligators, that any time of year is a great time to visit.

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 harsh, 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 airboat tours can be quite pleasant indeed. If it’s sunny and the temperatures reach into the high 60’s, alligators will come out on logs to sun.

We are comfortably beginner friendly as long as you know what you’re signing up for, the swamps are a great first kayaking experience. If you’ve recently experienced pain in or had surgery on your shoulders or back it would be advisable to consult a doctor or at least try kayaking before committing to our tour.

As long as you carry your trash away with you it is fine to bring a light snack on both bus and boats. We recommend saving your appetite for the city, we have plenty of places to recommend. Water on the boats IS A MUST.

Nothing in the swamps is out to harm us. That said, and out of reverence for our swampy friends, we urge you to follow our guides directions and keep respectful distances from any wildlife we encounter as to not disrupt their natural movement. Alligators are nocturnal hunters and mostly reclusive and lazy during the daylight hours. Nothing to worry about.

Yes, it is appropriate to tip the tour guides. Tips will have to be in the form of cash. We will not be able to charge a credit card for a tip. If your guide really works hard and you think he gave a great tour, let them know how much you appreciate it!