Honey Island Swamp Tour
About My Tour of the Honey Island Swamp
The Honey Island is located in Eastern Louisiana and is considered one of the most pristine and unaltered swamp environments in the United States. The swamp is bordered by Lake Borgne and the Pearl River system. I chose to take a tour of the Honey Island Swamp in hopes of seeing some wild alligators, turtles, birds, and hogs. Legend also says that the Honey Island Swamp is home to a “bigfoot-like” giant ape. Whether the legendary creature actually exists is debatable, but it does seem like some unique creatures are living in this diverse ecosystem.
I chose the company Cajun Encounters for my tour of the Honey Island Swamp. The package I booked had two options; take their shuttle to the departure point or drive myself. Since I had a rental car, I chose to drive myself to their headquarters off US-90 in Slidell, Louisiana. Their location was easy to find, and I saved myself $27 by choosing the self-transport option. The parking area is on either side of the road just prior to reaching the US-90 drawbridge.
As of 2020, the cost of a two-hour boat ride is $30.50 with self-transport and $57.50 with transportation included.
It is important to arrive at least 30-minutes early as the check-in area was quite crowded.
A Tour of the Honey Island Swamp - Table of Contents
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My Tour of the Honey Island Swamp with Cajun Encounters
After arriving at the departure location, I entered the Cajun Encounters gift shop and checked in for my tour. I was given a purple wristband and told that my tour would be departing in about fifteen minutes. I spent some time looking around the gift shop at the mix of t-shirts and alligator souvenirs.
Fairly quickly, a woman who was in charge of organizing the groups began calling out wristband colors. She asked everyone with a purple wristband to line up with Captain Wade. A few moments later, we were walking to our boat, which was named “Gator Bait IV.” Captain Wade introduced himself and went over the safety procedures. He was encouraged from the day’s earlier tours that we would likely see at least a few alligators. The boat was unhooked from the dock, and we began our tour of the Honey Island Swamp.
Honey Island Swamp - The West Pearl River
Our tour would take us through the West Pearl River, which is surrounded by 80,000 acres of Louisiana Swamp. We began our journey towards the coast, and Captain Wade explained that the vegetation would quickly change as saltwater caused the river to become brackish.
The photo below shows one of the brackish tributaries of the West Pearl River. There are no trees due to the salt mixed in with the freshwater. The main vegetation in the brackish water is Roseau Cane which is nicknamed saw grass. This grass will cut you if you were to rub your finger on its sharp edges.
After seeing no alligators in the brackish tributaries, we went back into the main branch of the West Pearl River. It wasn’t long before we saw alligators, turtles, and a bald eagle. All of those animals will be featured in the next section. As we searched for wildlife, Captain Wade told us more about the vegetation of the area. Pictured below is a plant called Spanish Moss. Spanish Moss drapes itself over the trees. Although spooky-looking, it is harmless to the trees.
As we continued up the river, it was not uncommon to see houseboats. These houseboats are typically vacation homes and not permanent residences.
About an hour into our tour, we went under the US-90 draw bridge, which was our departure point. Captain Wade explained that there is no bridge operator stationed here. If someone needs the bride open, the local municipality requires at least four hours’ notice. He laughed as he recalled the last time the bridge was operated. Apparently, it opened with no issues but then took close to an hour to get it lowered.
After crossing the bridge, we went upstream and away from the coast.
My tour was towards the end of March, and many of the lily pads were just beginning to flower again after being damaged by a hard freeze. In February of 2020, the deep south had record low temperatures with lows approaching single digits.
Our final part of the tour took us into the freshwater part of the swamp. Captain Wade called our attention towards a particular Cypress Tree that he said was in the movie the Princess and the Frog. Below is the “Wishing Tree,” which was featured in the movie. If you look at the tree, you’ll notice it had a lot of nubs on it. Many years ago, almost all of the large Cypress Trees were harvested for their wood. This tree was spared due to its unique appearance.
As we went further into the swamp, the water became shallower, and it became tougher for Captain Wade to navigate. He purposely took us in here to look for wild hogs, which will also be featured in the below “animals” section. Eventually, the captain turned the boat around, and we retraced our path through the swampland.
As we wrapped up our tour of the Honey Island Swamp, we passed a few other boats that were just beginning their tours. While I enjoyed Cajun Encounters, there are various tour groups that provide many different types of tours of the swamp.
Honey Island Swamp - Alligators and Other Animals
During the tour, I learned a lot more about the alligators that live in the Honey Island Swamp. According to our guide, alligators can go months without eating, especially during the winter. They typically hibernate during the coldest months and then awaken hungry and ready to hunt. Before the alligators’ hunt, they have to lay in the sun to warm up their body temperature. During the morning tour, Captain Wade said that he had seen many gators sunning but not too many actively feeding. He was hoping that as it was later in the day that we would see some active alligators.
About a half-hour into our tour, we saw our first alligator. Captain Wade threw the alligator biscuits, and it swam around and ate them. He put one alligator biscuit on the end of a stick and tried to get the alligator to come towards the boat to grab it. This particular alligator was not interested in getting too close to us. According to Captain Wade, sometimes the alligators will jump out of the water to grab the biscuit off the stick.
Many years ago, the guides fed the alligators with marshmallows and hotdogs. These foods were not good for them. Today, feeding alligators anything other than the specially created alligator biscuits is highly discouraged.
The second alligator we saw was a juvenile. It was sitting in the shallow waters in dense vegetation. It was not actively feeding and had little interest in the alligator biscuits.
During this tour, we saw three alligators. The third one was the largest of the bunch. Captain Wade said it was well over 10 feet in length. Unfortunately, this gator did not want to jump out of the water to take the alligator biscuits off the stick. It did swim up close to the boat, allowing me to get a nice photo.
In between our first and second alligator sighting, we ran into this beautiful bald eagle. I was impressed with Captain Wade’s driving skills as he was able to get me in the perfect position to get a great photo.
During your tour of the Honey Island Swamp, you will see hundreds of turtles sunning on rocks, logs, and the shore. Below is the best picture I was able to take. Captain Wade referred to these as “Slider Turtles” because as soon as you get close, they slide off their rocks.
One interesting boat we passed was a river shrimping boat. I found this interesting article that provides more information on river shrimping. You can view the article by clicking HERE.
Many of the trees appear damaged due to termites. The termites love to eat away at the base of the trees and often kill them before they get to be too large.
Captain Wade explained that the Spanish released a breeding pair of hogs into the wild. The hogs bred better than expecting creating a huge population of wild hogs to hunt. The hogs tear up ground exposing the roots of the trees. Our guide had food for the hogs, but we were unable to find any. He explained that sometimes they swim right up to the boat.
Honey Island Swamp - Hurricane Damage
The State of Louisiana is extremely prone to hurricane damage, and throughout our tour of the Honey Island Swamp, we were able to see some first-hand examples. Below is a tree that was uprooted during Hurricane Delta. The 2020 hurricane season was one of the most active on record. After running out of names, the National Weather Service had to assign the storms’ Greek letters as their names.
The most damaging storm was Hurricane Katrina. This massive category five hurricane hit Louisiana directly and caused over $125 billion in damages. Many of the houseboats, fishing vessels, and most of the infrastructure were destroyed. Even 16 years later, there is still damage that can be seen. Our guide explained that many of the owners of the destroyed boats did not have insurance, and they simply abandoned their boats, and moved out of the area.
To get an idea of how Hurricane Katrina effected the area, our guide showed us this house. It was rebuilt following Katrina on stilts that were the exact height of the storm surge caused by the hurricane. During Hurricane Katrina, the height of the West Pearl River rose by over 20 feet.
Swamp Tours and Packages
Below are links to various swamp tours that depart from Louisiana. These tours are from the agency Viator that works with many different tour companies. I cannot guarantee that you will tour with Cajun Encounters if you book using one of these links. Please note that as an affiliate of Viator, I will receive a small commission if you book a tour using my link. This commission is at no additional cost to you.
If you prefer to book with Cajun Encounters, you can visit their website by clicking HERE. I will not receive a commission if you book with Cajun Encounters.
Prices are accurate as of April 2023.
 New Orleans Swamp Tour Boat Adventure With Pickup - $55.00 See the Cajuns of the Bayou living and surviving in harmony with the swamps. Here, the waterways are their highways. From the relaxed comfort of our covered New Orleans Swamp Tour Boats, you will drift slowly past a 2000 year old Indian Burial Mound, a Cajun cemetery and a fishing village! You'll admire the wildlife that made the Barataria Swamps the Crown Jewel of the Louisiana Purchase. Here, birds, snakes, turtles, fur animals, and gators - the king of the swamp - are easily spotted in Spring, Summer, and Fall. |
 New Orleans Small Group Airboat Swamp Tour - $89.00 Enjoy a personalized small group experience on this swamp tour just 35 minutes outside of New Orleans. This airboat has a maximum of six or nine passengers giving you plenty of room to admire the views of the Louisiana marshlands from all angles. |
 Honey Island Swamp Tour with Pickup from New Orleans - $58.27 Venture into the interior of one of the wildest swamps in America on this guided, half-day tour of Honey Island, Louisiana near New Orleans. Join a professional wetland ecologist on a personalized, narrated tour. This protected nature reserve hosts an abundance of wildlife, from egrets and herons, to otters and alligators. The boats are covered to provide shade from the hot Louisiana sun, and cover when the skies open up. A New Orleans French Quarter hotel pickup and drop-off is included. Note: this tour only offers pick up and drop off from the French Quarter. |
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