Small-group Laura And Whitney Plantation Tour From New Orleans

This was the best tour because Isabella was an awesome tour guide - the time between plantations was full of interesting information that was well presented and full of facts. Isabella helped to get me set up with the tour and called me back twice to confirm th different details to allow me to participate. Visiting the two plantations was an important piece of understanding the history of Louisiana and we are glad that Isabella made it possible for us to do this while getting so much additional information on our drive and including some other picture stops.

Wonderful experience! I loved the information shared by our tour guide and really appreciated that you are picked up right outside of your hotel. I would definitely recommend this tour to others. Thanks!!

Great experience right from the booking directly with Isabelle. Very experienced, friendly, knowledgeable professional. Very comfortable ride in a small max 6 person van (there were only 4 in the van). Informative in the car descriptions and history. The Guides at the Plantation were very knowledgeable, interesting and fun. We especially like the contrast between the Whitney vs the Laura history.

Experiences, knowledge of the Isabelle, comfort of the tour van and patience of Isabelle was top notch. I loved the entire experience. I will recommend her to anyone looking for an amazing tour of this beautiful amazing city full of rich culture and humble, polite people.

I liked the guide at Laura Plantation. I wish Whitney Plantation had a human guide instead of the audio one.

Very good trip! Super knowledgeable and friendly. Great communication.

Excellent tour. Rene was knowledgeable I learned a lot about New Orleans history and got tips on where to go and do. He was on time and outgoing. Had a great time.

Great tour and guide. Murial was great and Isabelle tours thinks of everything. We got a nice reminder text with a pic of the tour van picking us up. Large umbrellas and rain coats were available if we needed them and we even had a group Pic sent to us after. Definately reccommend this tour and tour group.

This tour was very educational and and lightning. Giselle was an excellent tour guide and an absolute fount of knowledge about New Orleans history. Her personality was wonderful and she kept us entertained. The Laura plantation was not open so we went to the Destrehan plantation instead. I highly recommend taking this tour.

Gizelle, with Tours by Isabelle, was our tour operator and was absolutely amazing. She showed us so much and had such in-depth knowledge of the area. Our tour guide at the Laura Plantation was, of all people, a nice lady by the name of Laura. She had such in-depth knowledge of the plantation. I've visited Oak Alley, and by far enjoyed the Laura and Whitney tours so much better. Gizelle kept the commentary going on the entire bus ride. She was absolutely amazing. Thank you Gizelle and Tours by Isabelle!

A packed and impactful day! Giselle was an amazing fount of information, humor, candor, and care - with a lovely French accent. My wife and I are from the west - a middle aged white couple with little direct experience of black history, slavery, and the south. This was a great education - so glad we went. Heartbreaking - we must keep this history alive. Bringing our kids here is now on our todo list.

We had a wonderful day out with Giselle (our guide for this tour) to both the Laura Plantation and the Whitney Plantation (a former plantation that is now a wonderfully informative and educational museum focusing on educating people about what life was truly like and what it involved for those that were enslaved at that time). Our group was looking for something other than glamorizing the opulence of the time; the mansions/plantations and much more on the realistic life experiences of all those that lived there (not just the wealthy owners). At the Laura Plantation, we had a guided tour of the property with a guide who happened to be named "Laura" herself and she was a perfect balance of serious and VERY funny. Ask for her! At the Whitney Plantation, we were a little unsure how "heavy and sad" the tour might be but, it is self guided with audio recordings and it was SO GOOD to learn there. DO NOT SHY AWAY from learning what life was truly like there. We lucked out with stunning weather after some major storms and we toured the day after Jazz Fest ended -- so, it was a good way to end our visit to New Orleans Jazz Fest. Our pick up was right on time at our hotel in downtown New Orleans in a van (total of 13 guests; plus our guide). Giselle was full of information along the way. She speaks multiple languages too! We had someone from Greece; a group from Canada who speak French & English (so she often spoke with them in French); and the rest of us from California. Small Group Tour is the way to go!!! Giselle was personable and funny; she broke out how long we had at each location; where she'd meet us afterward; where restrooms could be found; where we could purchase some food in the middle of our tours to eat on the road as we headed to the next location; etc. She covered it all. We learned so much in that one day (11:00-5:00)!!! Highly recommend Tours by Isabelle and any of her guides -- you cannot go wrong. And, Isabelle herself, VERY easy to connect with and work with as we had a couple minor changes (one friend wanted to join but, then was not able).

Our tour guide was great. Very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Well worth it.

We booked a time to go on this tour in January 2026 for May 2026. I was contacted by the tour operator 4/24 stating that they didn’t have any vehicles available for that day at the end of April, even though the trip had been booked and paid for 5 months. I received the message below from the tour operator. Message: I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do your Plantation tour to Whitney and Laura on Saturday 5/23 We now have all of our vehicles taken by other tours that day, like the New Orleans historical city tour, and the Airboat tour. Before I ask Viator to issue a full refund to you, can we check please: Is there any chance maybe you could do it on Sunday or Monday? My response was to give me one day to talk with my husband about it and when I requested Sunday, the response that I got was Sunday was all booked up!!!! They didn’t even bother to save us a spot after canceling our original plan! We are so disappointed as we were looking forward to this tour. Save yourself the trouble and go with another more reliable tour company.

Spending the day touring Laura and Whitney Plantation just outside of New Orleans was both beautiful and deeply moving. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect—warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. Both plantations offer rich, detailed insight into Louisiana’s history, but what stood out most was how thoughtfully the stories were told. Walking through the grounds, listening to the guides, and seeing the preserved structures made the past feel very real. The Whitney Plantation in particular does an incredible job of centering the lives and voices of the enslaved people who lived there, which adds a powerful and necessary perspective. Overall it was a wonderful experience filled with history and knowledge that stays with you long after you leave.

Wow, this was I think the best selection of plantations to visit. We got a guided tour of Laura plantation, Marc was fantastic. He really knew the site and history and shared it all respectfully. The grounds were beautiful and somberly inspiring. I felt like I left the place better for all of the knowledge that was shared about this epoch of history. Then we went to Whitney plantation. The whole tour is told from the enslaved perspective, and it is gritty and awful. And also beautifully portrayed. We did the self-guided tour for this and the audio tour was actually quite good and easy to follow. There were a number of guided tours happening at the same time, which made it a bit harder to complete in the alloted time, but overall the self guided tour was quite good and worth doing. The bus tour on the way to the plantations was also terrific, Rene was a great tour guide and shared all sorts of NOLA knowledge leaving town , and then hit us all with great ideas for extra activities on the way back. All in all, loved everything about this adventure and would highly recommend.

Giselle was a friendly and knowledgeable guide. From the start to the end, she kept us engaged and her passion for New Orleans, the surrounding area, and its complicated history were fully on display. My husband and I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to get a more nuanced and complete picture of the antebellum experience.

It’s nice and easy definitely nice to see great addition to your vacation informed I recommend for your next tour

Because the tour owner canceled my tour without permission and left us standing on the street. She did not inform anyone so my credit card was still charged. Only when I threatened to expose her did the money get returned. Oh, and she tried to get me move my tour directly to her company to get the extra 5%. Scammer.

What an experience. We loved the tour and had a wonderful day with Isabelle Tour. I much prefer the small group and direct routes. We were able to spend adequate time at both Laura and Whitney Plantations. Tour guide did a fantastic job sharing the areas rich history.

Good experience to examine both sides of the plantation life picture.

We really appreciated learning so much history - our guide Giselle and the on-site guide at Laura Plantation were fantastic. Whitney Plantation was also sobering but an important piece of history to accept and understand.

We enjoyed the tour, communication was excellent, timings as expected and our guide was very knowledgeable and informative.

What a wonderful informative tour. Rene was fantastic. So great picked up right in fort of our hotel and getting information about the area as we are driven around. So interesting. And the plantations were so interesting. Loved it all!

I really enjoyed the Laura and Whitney plantation tour. Rene was our driver and during the hour car ride there and back, he kept us entertained by providing so much knowledge and history about New Orleans. Definitely would book again!

One of the best tours I’ve been on! Well worth it! Our guide was so nice and gave so much insight on the city during our drive to our destinations as well as plantations driving by! Can’t wait to book again

This tour is a *must see* addition to any New Orleans itinerary. Our guide Rene made the journey there and back enjoyable and informative!

Wonderful trip. Robert was an excellent host and the trip excelled from start to finish. We began the day with a pleasant ride to the plantation area. Robert provided an easy to understand yet highly informative commentary of the development of the city of New Orleans and surrounding area as well as what we were about to see. Both plantations are exceptional to visit and we had the right amount of time at each. At Laura Plantation, we enjoyed a live tour by a tour guide who excelled at providing a huge amount of content in a lively way. We toured Whitney Plantation using audio tours which was a good way of touring a solemn place at our own pace. This tour is a great way to learn and experience a fundamental part of American history.

Owner? Isabelle had been helpful and communication effective and efficient from the beginning. Guide Giselle is passionate and knowledgeable. Tour is about 6 hours with well paced not rushed itinerary. Great bz trip break.

While on a trip to New Orleans, I took a day to visit plantations and learn more about the history of enslaved people in Louisiana. Tour guide Gisele was wonderful, explaining the history of the area while also keeping the mood light when needed. She’s also one heck of a good driver, navigating the streets of New Orleans during the parades!! I was with a lovely group of fellow travelers as well. It was an emotional, educational, and fulfilling day. I HIGHLY recommend Tours by Isabelle and the plantation tours (especially Whitney) to anyone visiting the area!

Our experience was wonderful. Our favorite tour of our visit to New Orleans. Robert, our driver was friendly and knowledgeable. Isabelle communicated with us from booking throughout the tour. We had plenty of time to tour the plantations.

We did the Laura and Whitney plantation tour. Pickup was from our front door, and confirmed the day before. Vehicle was super punctual and comfortable. Our tour leader /driver Gisele gave us the detailed historical background to what we were going to see on the drive, which was very useful context. At Laura we had a guided tour around the house and property, at Whitney it's an audio guide around the site, or bring your own headphones and download the app to your phone. Gisele took us to a few other spots for photos and was a superb source of information on New Orleans and its history. A great way to see these important sites. All run in a very professional and high quality way, we would recommend to anyone who wants to see these sites from New Orleans. Bring something to eat! You can only buy packaged snacks and drinks at the plantations.

We had an excellent experience on the Laura and Whitney Plantation tours with Tours by Isabelle. Gisele was our guide for the day. She was absolutely lovely and SO knowledgeable about all of the history and events of Louisiana and its roots going back to France, Spain and the eventual purchase by America. Gisele picked us up in a minivan, and we were joined by two other couples for the day. Along the one hour ride to the Laura Plantation, Gisele gave us lots of information about the history, where we were going, and even the geography and nature along the Mississippi. We had an additional guide from the plantation who was also excellent - a university student - who gave an in-depth explanation of what occurred and the families that lived there. Then we moved on to the Whitney Plantation, in which you are provided with an audio tour and you can walk around the planation and view the various areas at your own speed. It was very educational, although quite solemn as you would expect. Gisele knew we would be somber after the tour and while acknowledging the history, she was also able to engage us on the way back with various discussions about everything from voting rights to the blue heron, the bald eagles and alligators - all of which we saw and Gisele pointed out as we were traveling! Overall a very worthwhile day. We highly recommend!

Giselle was incredible! Gave us so much history and background of the area. She was very entertaining and made the tour unforgettable.

Isabelle is an outstanding guide. She has decades of experience leading tours and her interest in the people on the tour was evident. She is very responsive to questions and has a wealth of knowledge. I highly recommend this tour.

Isabelle was an absolutely wonderful guide, and we are truly grateful for this experience. The tour was rich, engaging, and full of fascinating stories, and she answered all our questions with great care and enthusiasm. What impressed us especially was her thoughtfulness and attention to detail. Isabelle contacted us in advance, confirmed the pickup location, stayed in touch, and even reminded us to have breakfast beforehand — which made the whole day feel very well organized and comfortable. Throughout the trip, she showed genuine care for us, including small but meaningful things like making sure we were comfortable with umbrellas. She treated us not like tourists, but like friends she truly wanted to show New Orleans and the plantations to. We are absolutely delighted with today’s trip and left with a deep impression. Highly recommended!

We had an incredible experience with Tours by Isabelle touring both the Laura and Whitney plantations. Our guides explained the history of these places. The experiences were difficult but moving.

Very good. Very personal touch from Giselle and Isabelle. A lots of information. Everything was on time. Whole time was filled out with continous information.

The tour guide Gisele was wonderful. She was very knowledgeable. It was an emotional tour but Giselle balanced it was the beauty of the area and a lot of history

I very much enjoyed the tour to the plantations. In my opinion Laura's plantation and Whitney plantation are the most interesting. As a nice surprise we still got to see Oak Alley and another plantation, as we passed by on the road. Gisele is an excellent tour guide, who is very knowledgeable in the history of New Orleans and ensured that we had a great experience. I definitely recommend this tour!

I very much enjoyed the tour to the plantations. In my opinion Laura's plantation and Whitney plantation are the most interesting. As a nice surprise we still got to see Oak Alley and another plantation, as we passed by on the road. Gisele is an excellent tour guide, who is very knowledgeable in the history of New Orleans and ensured that we had a great experience. I definitely recommend this tour!

We had a wonderful tour of the Laura and Whitney plantations with Giselle! She was a lovely guide with tons of information and history to share. Tours by Isabelle is clearly very thoughtful with the stops they make and make sure that they are providing great experiences for their customers. Thanks again!

Recommend this trip. Our driver, Gisele, made the drive interesting with her knowledge of South Louisiana history. Then Laura Plantation tour provided an interesting history of the family owning the Planation. The Whitney Plantation tour provides the history and suffering of slavery and its victims

The tour was incredibly interesting and very well organized. We were picked up from our hotels and brought back afterward, which was extremely convenient. Our driver and guide, Gisele, was absolutely wonderful — she took such great care of us throughout the entire trip and shared fascinating historical stories and facts. This was my last tour during my stay in New Orleans, but on my next visit I will definitely choose “Tours by Isabelle” again.

We enjoyed this tour of Laura and Whitney Plantations. Miss Isabelle is an excellent guide and informative guide. We highly recommend her tour in order to learn about the realities of plantation history.

Giselle provided us with the early history of the New Orleans region, including the plantations to the west, during the drive to Laura Plantation. The selection of these two plantations provided the visitor with an understanding of what life was life for a family over several generations (Laura Plantation) and then an incredible view into the impact, breadth and depth of slavery on the Whitney Plantation. This should be a required tour for all school age children. Giselle led a recap discussion of what we saw at the two plantations on the way back to New Orleans. She was most gracious in dropping attendees off at their respective hotels. A very memorable day and highlight of our New Orleans visit.

We really enjoyed our tour of the two plantations and our guide Giesele made it a fun experience during the whole trip. The tour gives insight to the harsh way of life during that time period. Gisele added additional little stops & photo opportunities. The small group venue is definitely the way to go for a personalized experience.

My sister and I booked the Whitney and Laura Plantation tour while celebrating her 40th birthday in New Orleans, and choosing Tours by Isabelle was one of the best decisions we made on our trip. Isabelle picked us up, guided us through the day, and created an experience that exceeded every expectation we had. We loved being part of a smaller group because it felt personal and allowed us to ask questions along the way. Isabelle was incredibly knowledgeable and shared history in a way that was engaging, respectful, and unforgettable. She clearly loves what she does, and it shows in the care she gives to every detail. At Laura Plantation, we had a separate guide who walked us through the grounds and history there. At Whitney Plantation, the experience was self-guided and deeply moving. Having Isabelle with us for the overall tour added context, insight, and a sense of continuity that made both visits even more meaningful. She was friendly, organized, and everything you hope for in a guide. We are so grateful we booked with her and would absolutely recommend Tours by Isabelle to anyone visiting New Orleans. It was truly a highlight of our sister trip. 🌿🕊️

This tour was above and beyond… Isabelle is so knowledgeable and was a great guide. We will absolutely take her other tours when we have the opportunity.