Whitney Plantation Tour with Transportation from New Orleans
Overview
Available languages
5 hours 25 minutes
Mobile ticket
Visit the Whitney Plantation of New Orleans and step back in time as you explore the 18th-century plantation museum, the only one of its kind in Louisiana. On this 5-hour tour (including travel time from New Orleans,) you’ll see museum exhibits, memorial artwork, and restored buildings. Learn about an important part of American history as recorded from first-person slave narratives.
The Whitney Plantation is a self-guided audio tour experience. Please make sure to download the Whitney Plantation app on your cell phone, tablet, or iPad to listen to an audio tour.
You can also upgrade your experience to include a 90-minute swamp tour.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Check-in is 15 minutes prior to start time.
If the guest needs a wheelchair lift equipped bus, then special arrangements need to be made with the supplier. This must be arranged 48 hours prior to tour date. Contact details will be on your voucher.
Guests visiting Whitney using a wheelchair will have access to the gift shop, restrooms, and museum. The plantation grounds are accessible; however, there are uneven gravel paths. The main house tour is not accessible to guest traveling in wheelchairs and is not required to be modified as it is a historic home; however, the first floor is accessible. Guests would be able to view the slave quarters, but would not have access to enter.
Tour at Whitney Plantation is Self Guided
This tour includes 2 hours dedicated to exploring the grounds of Whitney Plantation. The remaining time consists of travel to and from the destination.
What To Expect
Lake Pontchartrain
Start the tour at the designated meeting point in New Orleans and journey to the historic Whitney Plantation, one of the antebellum estates located along the Mississippi River. You'll cross the Bonnet Carre Spillway, a flood outlet for the river, and see a panoramic view of Lake Pontchartrain on your way to the plantation. Pass by the Evergreen, Felicity and St. Joseph plantations, where rich crops of sugar cane, cotton, and indigo from these fertile lands once traveled to various ports of trade.
Whitney Plantation
Arrive at the Whitney Plantation, which dates back more than 260 years and is now a working museum dedicated to the understanding of slavery in the American South. Visit museum exhibits and restored buildings including historical slave cabins, some of which remain from the original 22 on-site. See the Big House, which is one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Creole architecture in Louisiana, and learn about the daily life of former slaves at Whitney as recorded by the Federal Writers' Project. Tour at your own pace, and if you choose, download the Whitney Plantation app for the self-guided tour of the plantation. At the end of your experience, you're returned to central New Orleans.
Options
Whitney Plantation
Whitney and Swamp Tour Upgrade
Whitney Plantation + Swamp : includes self-guided Whitney Plantation audio tour followed by a 90-minute pontoon boat ride on the Manchac Swamp. Duration: 8 hours: Time spent at Whitney Plantation is 2 hours. Swamp tour duration is 90 minutes. Food and drinks for purchase: beverage and snacks can be purchased from the open air pavillion at the swamp. Encounter plants and wildlife: privately owned wildlife refuge. Great for pictures!
What‘s Included
Round-trip transport from central New Orleans
2 hours to spend touring Whitney Plantation
90-minute pontoon swamp tour (if option chosen)
Audio Tour Via Whitney Plantation App
Air-conditioned vehicle
Food and drinks (available for purchase)
Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
1,421 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Whitney Plantation
Tina C,Jun 20, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The Whitney Plantation was an incredibly educational and moving experience. I loved that it was self-guided with an audio device, allowing me to explore at my own pace and gain a deeper understanding of what life was like for my ancestors. The swamp tour was a lot of fun, and our captain was knowledgeable and entertaining. Seeing the alligators and other wildlife up close was amazing. Both experiences were memorable and well worth it!
Informative Experience
412kamishat,Jun 20, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a good experience during my time in New Orleans. The fee was a good fee considering that this is an hour drive from New Orleans. We left New Orleans and made it to the Whitney Plantation at 11:10. The visit was about a 2 hour visit. The atmosphere was nice. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and learning more about our history. I am happy I decided to do this tour. We will do the second plantation tour on our next visit.
Audio Tour
Jennifer C,Jun 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This experience was one-of-a-kind, as it shares a huge part of historical accuracy that is so important. The drive was filled with many facts, both there and back. Dress for appropriate weather and bring water.
Informative!
U999VSjenniferf,Jun 14, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fantastic experience! Hwy line bus tours super informative and on time. Highly recommend this tour…
Wow...just wow! The...
Catrina D,Jun 12, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Wow...just wow! The experience was amazing. Just to be able to listen to and learn about the history of slavery...
Excellent tour
Cristino F,Jun 12, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The Whitney Plantation tour was excellent! The manner in which it is organized is very impressive. The details regarding the history was on point and informative. Excellent job!
Our Community Reads Pharaohs Trip
ourcommunityr,Jun 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This experience was part of exploration trip with the non-profit, Our Community Reads Pharaohs club. This was our boys, ages 11-16, 2nd Annual trip which included a college visit in Baton Rouge and the Whitney Plantation. The portable hand held tour guides was amazing, to be able to listen at your own speed and replay the information was awesome. The grounds, though under construction due to damage from a hurricane, was absolutely beautiful and the sculptures were thought provoking and stunning. They really helped bring the history to life. The inside museum was a great opportunity to talk with our young men about what we had just seen and to dive a bit deeper in history. This helped with the nightly reflections they were required to do in their journals. Highly recommend. Gratefully yours, Kallista Marie
Bus is a bust but the Whitney is a 10
laurencK4873XC,Jun 7, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00Absolutely go visit the moving and powerful Whitney Plantation and museum. It was stunning and will remain with me. Please buy books and merchandise to support their educational mission. Find a better way to get there. The tickets for entry are not expensive - like $20 and the grey line ticket was $90 pp. The bus was hot - very hot - old 1970’s style with a retrofitted AC system that didn’t work, bumpy, the bus driver just mumbled incoherently into an old speaker for the hour-plus ride. Once you get there the museum walking tour has a wonderful narrated guide (bring headphones with the small jack). Rent a car and enjoy the easy drive or take a ride share and donate the extra money you saved to the Plantation museum. The gravel walkways and old brick paths might not all be handicap accessible but you won’t get stuck.
The audio tour is very...
Sue B,Jun 3, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The audio tour is very detailed and informative. It adds tremendously to our understanding to see the conditions in which the slaves lived and see and hear first person testimony.
Good experience
Jodi H,Jun 2, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00We really appreciated the Whitney Plantation tour, learning more about the history and experience. Stacey, our tour driver was lovely and shared information about the area and plantations along the way. We recommend.
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