airboat tours by arthur matherne, inc.

614catharinec

My husband, 3 children, and I all loved the tour. The weather wasn't great for seeing lots of critters (cool and rainy) but we still saw plenty of gators, nutria, blue heron, and even a bald eagle and its nest. Our guide, Greg, was excellent, a 5th generation native who knew the swamp and its flora and fauna inside and out. Kids were thrilled at the opportunity to touch a big gator and as parents we felt safe 100% of the time. It's not inexpensive but we would not have missed it!

jbfeagle

Our family signed up for a 90-minute airboat tour after several hours of research on Yelp and Trip Advisor. There is a simple reason they are the highest rated airboat tour firm near New Orleans, they are good, honest, Americans. I won't go into details, but our tour took a weird turn, the event showed just how honorable and friendly this family is. After the event, they immediately returned to the tour and made sure we enjoyed the afternoon. We saw Big Al and plenty of his friends in the bayou. Greg was our guide and he was a blast, showing us how the locals participate in the environment and ensure it is around for generations. There is simply no other airboat tour firm like Arthur's. They are great people, don't waste your time with the tour driven companies, this is the real deal!

lesliea676

Had a fantastic time on the airboat tour! Greg was awesome, so knowledgeable of the area and entertaining. He made the trip so fun and exciting. Didn't want the ride to end. The entire staff was prompt and so nice.

Z8376PQchristineg

It was awesome! The guide (Greg) had a good personality and knew the area, flora and fauna. Introduced us to Big Al, a 13 ft 1000 lb alligator. The airboat ride was a lot of fun too!

craigs483

We went on the evening air-boat tour rented the boat for our own group well worth the time and money . I have been on several other gator tours in La. before which are OK but not impressive, but we were there on business and several customers from overseas wanted to go,we went out with Arthur its the by far the best ever, well worth it, also very informative and funny, got to see "AL" that's worth the trip alone let alone being in the swamp at night totally cool !!

bertl_12

We took the two hour tour with our two daughters. Our tour guide was Mr. Arthur himself and it could not have gone better. Arthur has so much knowledge and we learned so much. Although January is not the best time to see alligators, we were able to see two, including Arthur getting off of the boat to try and catch one for us to see. Arthur took great pains to make sure our teenage daughters were having fun. They both said this was the highlight of our time in New Orleans. Don't bother trying to figure out which airboat tour is best, This is it. Thank you Mr. Arthur for being so nice to us and to Cathy for the emails to us. We want to come back in the summer to see a lot of gators!

gr8mumnz

OMG!!! Just come back from the ride of our lives. Opted for the Private one hour wild side ride with our thrill seeking teens. At the end they declared it the coolest thing they've ever done. Greg was informative funny entertaining and all round good guy. Just do it. You won't have one regret.

dmg2381

this was the best thing that we did in Louisiana so accommodating for my aunt that is paralyzed on her left side completely they made it work so she could enjoy the airboat tour I strongly suggest to take the Twilight tour because you get an hour of Sun and an hour of night and the swap is beautiful at night so worth the money and really if you think about it its not that expensive for what you get to experience Chad was R captain and he did a fantastic job he even caught a baby alligator for us to hold and take pictures with the best part for me was chad calling and 9 foot alligator to the side of the boat he called her like you would call a dog and she came that to me is the story I tell everybody cuz I thought it was so incredible to see a gator come to somebody calling them I guarantee you would not be disappointed if you decided to take one of their tours great people very accommodating would definitely do it again. thanks for the experience

CinnMinn2014

So glad we did this! Exhilarating, educational! We had a fantastic experience! We spent 2 months in Louisiana and this was by far the 'coolest' thing we did. Greg was our guide and he did a great job answering questions and educating us on the swamp. We have several friends who are traveling to New Orleans and I always say.."Make sure you go on an airboat tour, and do it with Airboat Tours by Arthur!"

katalinbrisbane

Thank you for an awesome tour. Very informative, fun and good value. Our kids loved this tour. We would highly recommend it. Although it's winter and we didn't see any alligators we still had a fantastic experience. Capt Jay found some baby alligators for us to hold.

Angiebp777

Totally worth the drive from New Orleans (it's really not that far)! Greg was our guide. He made the trip a blast, and he was so informative. He let us pick his brain and answered our numerous questions. He really does a fantastic job at satisfying everybody's desires as far as the ride, whether someone wants a wild ride, and the other wants a more tame ride. He will get you close enough to the alligators so you can get some great pictures so you can go back home and show your friends and family. Greg doesn't stop with the alligators. We learned about different types of birds, including the bald eagle. We got to see three of them, and we got to see a bald eagle's nest. Never knew they could make their nest so big.They even have alligator treats so you can take back a piece of your alligator experience to your four-legged best friend who had to sit this tour out!

annapI1745EZ

We are from California and have never experienced anything like this. It was so much fun and Greg was the best tour guide you could ever ask for! You must go!

johannal548

I am so glad I did my research. Arthur Matherne Airboat tour is the one to take. He is family owned, you are the only one out there in the middle of acres and acres of swamp and marsh. Our driver, Greg, was fun, informative, and gave us a great time. (there were four of us on our boat) He stopped frequently to point out plants, animals, and birds. He explained the terrain and told us a little about his lifestyle and why he loves his home. They feed the alligators (yes, we saw one up VERY close) raw chicken, as marshmallows that the other tours use are not good for them. The place is easy to find. We rented a car, got there from the city within 45 minutes, but they have transportation recommendations if needed. Don't take a swamp tour with the "masses." Do this up and personal tour!

denises378

Trying to do more things outside of the city and thanks to Joyce of Let's Just Ride LLc I discovered a real gem of an experience from beginning to end. Miss Kathy took our reservation and greeted us warmly when we arrived. I have done the pontoon bayou tours but they pale in comparison to the fun to be had on an airboat. We had Captian Gregg and his real passion for the environment his great sense of humor and his genuine interest in making sure everyone even foriegn speaking visitors enjoyed and understood what we were experiencing was more than could be expected. Add the thrill of the ride combined with the unspeakable beauty of nature and you can't miss with this little day trip. Oh and the recommendation for the crab cakes at Spahrs was dead on too. If you are visiting New Orleans get yourself out to Des Allemands just about a 40 minute ride and go to Airboat Tours by Arthur you will not be disappointed.

GMLHart

Amazing. Do the small boat. What a perfect way to see the bayou! Greg was an amazing guide. The 1700-acre preserve owned by Arthur's uncle has tremendously diverse wildlife. Put this tour on your bucket list. Perfection.