FAQs
After four years without a single price increase, we unfortunately have to raise the prices on all our tours beginning January 1, 2013. However, even if you will not be in New Orleans until the new year, if you book your tours before January 1, 2013, you will still receive our current prices. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Q: About your Post-Katrina Tour: don't you have mixed feelings about this being voyeurism to gawk at others' misery?
A: No, this is done in a very sensitive and respectful manner. All of our guides are locals and many lost everything they owned as a result of Hurricane Katrina. This tour is not a safari through misery, nor is it a joy ride at the expense of ruined home-owners. Our purpose and our mission is to show and explain to as many people as we can exactly what happened to us here in New Orleans, in August 2005, where and why the levees breached, and how they should be fixed. We ask every passenger to please get:
- Their friends to come as tourists to visit New Orleans' still beautiful historical areas;
- Their elected officials to do the right thing in Washington in order for us to be better prepared in the future, as well as to be able to repair our devastated city.
The reality is that so many people do not know the scope of the devastation, and do not realize that even now, seven years later, we are still recovering and rebuilding. In fact, as of mid-August 2012, we cannot tour in the lower Ninth Ward due to continued construction and road detours, but we are warmly welcomed in the upper Ninth Ward and in the newly rebuilt Musicians' Village area. On our tour we do not allow passengers to leave the vans, but photos are allowed, and we travel through the upper Ninth ward, as well as visit a number of other devastated areas in the city (a whopping 80% of New Orleans was flooded!).
Q: How often do your tours go out?
A: We work 7 days a week, we go any day we reach the designated minimum number of participants needed for each tour.
Q: Where do you pick up?
A: We can pick up in New Orleans at any hotel, Bed & Breakfast, private residence or restaurant downtown, uptown (close to St. Charles Ave.), in (or close to) the French Quarter, and on the Westbank. We do not pick up by the airport, in New Orleans East, in Slidell, or on the North Shore.
Q: Where do you drop off?
A: Same places we pick up.
Q: What time and place will we be picked up?
A: We will give you an exact pick up time and meeting place when your tour is confirmed.
Q: How can we pay?
A: Our drivers accept cash, travelers checks, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover.
Q: Do you require a credit card guarantee?
A: Yes, we do require a credit card to hold your seats once the tour is confirmed. This is just a guarantee, you can pay the driver directly with a credit card or other accepted form of payment.
Q: Is the tip included, and what is customary?
A: No, it is not. Usually a 15 to 20 % gratuity is welcome when the driver/guide meets or exceeds your expectations.
Q: Do you give any AAA or Senior Citizen Discounts?
A: No, but we offer a 10% discount to active military personnel and we do promise you a great tour!
Q: What if I have a special need?
A: Please tell us if you have any special needs, car sickness, diet or disability, so we can better accommodate you.
Q: Can we do a morning tour and an afternoon tour on the same day?
A: Yes, we would drop you off first from the morning tour to get a quick bite to eat, and you can arrange with your driver a pick up time and place for the afternoon tour.
Q: What if it rains, is the tour canceled?
A: We never cancel a tour once it is confirmed! We go rain or shine, unless there is a hurricane or flood! We have golf umbrellas on board for those who forget to bring their own. In case of lightning, the Airboat tour may be shortened, postponed, or replaced with the Cajun Bayou tour because it is a covered boat.
Q: Are your vans wheelchair accessible?
A: We do not have a lift, however we can take folding (collapsible) wheelchairs. We can take up to two wheelchairs at a time. They would need to fit between the end of the first bench seat and the side door. For safety reasons, our guides cannot lift guests or wheelchairs in and out of the vehicle. If you are bringing a wheelchair on board, you or another member of your party must be able to move the wheelchair in and out of our vehicle.
Q: How much walking is involved?
A: Usually very little, it depends on the tour.
Q: Do you allow smoking on board?
A: No, sorry, we do not allow smoking on board.
Q: Do we have to worry about bugs and mosquitoes?
A: No, the swamps and bayous where we go do not have stagnant water, so there are no bug problems.
Q: What's the difference between a bayou tour and a swamp tour?
A: They are the same thing!
Q: How far away are the plantations?
A: On average, about a one hour drive from the city.
Q: What do we wear, is there a dress code?
A: No, there is no dress code, wear whatever you feel comfortable in.
Q: I left something on the van, what do I do?
A: We are unable to bring back lost items to your hotel. If you believe you left something behind, please call us.