todd

we will be in N.O. 11/2 & 11/3 before our cruise leaves. we are thinking about a plantation tour but not sure if the 7-8 hours tours are interesting enough to spend that much time on? are the 4 hr tours just as good in general?
Also kind of wondering what good sightseeing attire would be for this time of season?shorts,jeans, sweatshirt?
Figured one day we would spend in french quarter and garden district because of the great messages posted on this sight.
Thank-you to everyone that makes this sight as helpfull as it is.

Kay

I loved the tours!!!
Unless you are really into southern history the 7-8 hour one might be too much. Although I heard there is one tour than includes lunch at a plantation--sorry don't know the name. There are several planations that are quite near N.O.
I really liked Destrehan on the River Road out of N..O.-had a french history-part of one of the "Vampire"movies was filmed there. the one with Tom Cruise.
Clothes-most people were dressed casual-slacks, cool blouse and sweater-- not sure about rain possibility??
Of course--be sure to go to Cafe Dumonde for their bignets (spelling???)
Have a wonderful trip..

Deborah

We did the long tour - try Tours by Isabelle (website) because they use smaller vans - more info and more personal. I could have gone for the shorter tour, as I found the city tour more interesting. My favourite was the air boat swamp tour!!! VERY COOL!

J Correa

Another vote for a shorter tour - we took a 1/2 day tour with Spinato Tours which was plenty. I really like history, but I think a 7-8 hour tour would be too much for me. The 4 hour tour was perfect. Spinato Tours is very similar to Tours by Isabelle - I have heard good things about both companies. I much prefer to vans that these companies use rather than large buses because the van tours are more personal, less like an assembly line.

The tour we took was to Laura plantation, which was a Creole plantation run by several generations of women. There is a lot of information available about the families who owned the plantation, which made the tour very interesting. The main house is in the process of being restored and the tour takes you into most of the rooms in the main house - unlike a lot of historical homes where you stand in the hallway and look into the rooms from the doorway. Also, there are several surviving outbuildings, including some slave quarters, which will be restored eventually.

The other house we went to was Oak Alley - the plantation house used in Interview with a Vampire as Kay said. This house was very nice - completely restored, incredible double row of 300 year old oak trees in front. There is also a lot of information about the family who built and ran the plantation which really gives life to the tour.

On our next trip we are thinking of taking the plantation tour which includes the drive out to a plantation, a tour, and a paddlewheeler cruise back to the french quarter. I think this is offered by both Tours by Isabelle and Spinato Tours. I can't remember which plantation this tour goes to, but I think returning to NO on the river would be great.

bugs

I also took the Laura and Oak Alley tour. Two very different plantations. Laura is raw and had a great "guide", Oak Alley was all polished but had a weak guide. Ireally preferred Laura just because of the history involved. I would have loved to have taken the Evergreen Plantation tour. It is only offered through a couple of tours, but NEXT TIME it will be on my list. The plantation is on the way to Laura & Oak Alley. It is restored with extensive original "out buildings" and looks exactly like what I was looking for. I think they have a web page.

T

My sister and I went with Cukie's Tour. We toured Destrehan and San Francisco Plantations. Very good tour.

todd

thanks everyone for the advice..i suspected that a 7-8 hour plantation tour would be just too much. this makes our mind up to opt for shorter tour. thanks again.