Best Plantations to Tour near New Orleans?
 

Would love to know which Plantations are the best to visit. And, are the tour companies worthwhile, or is it better to rent a car and go on your own?

Oak Alley is our favorite. There are tour companies that goes to the plantations, but why not rent a car and take in two or three. The ride is interesting.

I agree with Howard - rent a car and visit the plantations at your own speed. The plantations we visited and really liked were Oak Alley, Madewood, Nottoway & Ashland-Belle Helene (you might want to check on Ashland because I understand an oil company purchased it and it might not be open at all times). Another plantation that I've heard about is Laura (I believe it's near Oak Alley).

Nottoway is really nice. Couldn't go wrong there if you only have time for one.

My FAVORITE is Laura Plantation, a Creole plantation owned by women. Home of the Braer Rabbit stories....close to Oak Alley. <BR>Rob

Thanks so much for the recommendations. Now, I just have to figure out the best way to rent a car for one day...

Donna, <BR> <BR>We found renting a car the best way to go. We made a few wrong turns finding the plantations, but had a wonderful time touring the area. <BR> <BR>Nottoway is a wonderful plantation to visit. My husband and I were there in March and stayed one night at the plantation. It was wonderful! After the tour groups leave for the day, guest are free to tour the house and grounds on their own. Often we were the only ones walking around the house in the evening. <BR> <BR>The San Francisco Plantation is close to Oak Alley, I don't know that I would recommend going there, it's surrounded by an Oil Company, and not as grand as other plantations. <BR> <BR>A word of advise, one plantation you DO NOT want to visit is Rosedown Plantation. Don't be mislead by any brochures you see.

If renting a car for one day is not reasonable, considering going on a tour. We went with Grey Line Tours to Oak Alley, and it was quite nice. The benefit of the tour was that we heard a lot of interesting information on the way to the plantations that we would've missed had we rented a car. Grey Line offers small tours (like Oak Alley), up to a seven hour tour of several plantations. When you're trying to squeeze a lot of sightseeing into one short vacation, the Oak Alley tour fits nicely!