Swamp tours are available from many landings in the Atchafalaya Basin; you’ll pass numerous signs pinned to the old cypress trees along the roadside. The basin is an eerie place: in some places cars cut right across on the enormous concrete I-10 above, and old houseboats lie abandoned. The best tours take you further out, to the backwoods; wherever you go you’ll see scores of fishing boats and plenty of wildlife, including sunbathing alligators. The tours below are conducted by Cajuns who see the basin as more than just a tourist attraction and provide fascinating personal commentaries.
The Atchafalaya Experience 338 N Sterling St, Lafayette 337/261-5150, www.theatchafalayaexperience.com . The son in this father-son team is a geologist; both guides are lifelong explorers of the swamp, and tours are ecologically sensitive. Daily 9.30am; 3hr 30min (2hr touring the swamp itself); reservations required; $50.
Bryan Champagne Lake Martin Landing, Rookery Rd, Breaux Bridge 337/845-5567, www.champagnesswamptours.com . Champagne navigates a small crawfish skiff through the bird-rich Cypress Island Swamp – lots of opportunity for alligator-spotting. Tours daily; call for schedules; 2hr; $20.
McGee’s Swamp Tours McGee’s Landing, 1337 Henderson Levee Rd, Breaux Bridge 337/228-2384, www.mcgeeslanding.com . Twenty-five minutes from Lafayette (take I-10 to exit 115, then highways 347 and 352), this quiet landing offers leisurely tours run from Henderson Swamp, a top fishing spot, as well as live music. Daily 10am, 1pm & 3pm; 90min; reservations recommended; $20.
Quoted from roughguides.com
