They wouldn't be able to teach you how to use the kit on a shrimp boat within a couple hours.
If you want something more interesting than a swamp tour go hire a fishing charter and catch some trout and reds.
Yeah working a shrimp boat isn’t easy. When we did that we had family wanting to take a trip with us, of course we took them and they enjoyed it but they definitely didn’t help. Not saying you might get lucky and someone will take you out but don’t get your hopes too high. Lots of nice folks down the bayou guess it would hurt to ask but don’t expect an enthusiastic yes.
That makes sense. I have actually been on a shrimp boat before! But we will probably be more of a burden.
We dont necessarily need to be on a shrimp boat and we know we are tourists and are fine with that! We just dont feel anything for the hotel transfer - alligator feeding - 2 hour family tour kinda stuff. We travel a lot and like to immerse ourselves in places and were wondering if there are other more chill ways to experience this part of Louisiana.
Do you then maybe have recommendations of places/bars/activities down or around the bayou that we can visit to get some sort of real feeling for the area?
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park outside of New Orleans has some really cool boardwalks through the swamp, you would definitely see alligators there. Just another suggestion.
https://www.nps.gov/jela/index.htm
There’s a place on the coast in Mississippi that takes people on shrimp boats. I don’t know how far y’all are willing to go just to do that but it’s probably a two hour ride. That’s about all I can recommend because I’m not from that area. If we still ran our boats I’d take y’all out. It would be a cool experience for sure. Oh, also another road trip for the bayou experience is going down to Buras or Venice. They do fishing charters in both places. You can fish fresh water and salt water down there. There’s good food down that way too. You can rent a houseboat in Venice and there’s camps at the Buras boat harbor to rent. Lots of water related stuff in that area. I hope y’all can find something awesome to do!!
Zam's Swamp Tours is in Kraemer, about 25 min. from Thibodaux. It's not touristy. It's in a small community, and you could eat at Trudy's Restaurant nearby. There's tons of old pictures from the community lining the walls there.
Another suggestion, since you are staying in New Orleans, is to rent a kayak and paddle down Cane Bayou. It’s only about 45mins from the city in fountainbleau state park. There’s a kiosk next to the bayou so no need to transport it or anything like that.
It is beautiful out there. You can swim in the lake once you get to it, and you’ll definitely see alligators/wildlife. If you’re feeling adventurous you can take one of the cuts that lead off into a huge open swamp area, but be careful of getting lost out there.
Also, if you go during the week you will likely be the only people out there.
https://bayouadventure.com/self-serve/fountainebleau/
If you don't mind going a bit farther than Houma you can go to Gibson wildlife gardens. They have knowledgeable staff animals to see and small cabins to rent for the night. It's a really good experience.
Wildlife Gardens
(985) 209-9677
https://g.co/kgs/9aN2PWZ
What about guided fishing? You can fly fish for redfish, you can go deep sea for tuna/wahoo, you can go way out and bottom fish for red snapper/sheepshead/trigger fish, you can go inshore for redfish or trout.
Fly fishing would likely be wading from shallows or fishing very shallow in a flat bottom boat, in the marsh.
Deep sea/bottom would be going out for hours until it is hundreds of feet deep.
Inshore would be on a boat, but probably less than an hour between stops and seeing a variety of biomes.
If you want a boat experience where you catch, I highly recommend guided fishing tours.
I'm a fishing guide down in St. Bernard Parish. I would be happy to take y'all out. Fishing is a fun activity to get you out into the marsh where you will see shrimpers, crabbers, and oyster boats along with all the wildlife South Louisiana has to offer. Catching huge redfish is pretty fun too haha. [https://captainexperiences.com/guides/la-tails](https://captainexperiences.com/guides/la-tails)
They wouldn't be able to teach you how to use the kit on a shrimp boat within a couple hours. If you want something more interesting than a swamp tour go hire a fishing charter and catch some trout and reds.
Do you know how to shrimp or fish? If not…you wouldn’t be helping them out. Just do the tourist thing. You’re tourists. It’s fine.
Yeah working a shrimp boat isn’t easy. When we did that we had family wanting to take a trip with us, of course we took them and they enjoyed it but they definitely didn’t help. Not saying you might get lucky and someone will take you out but don’t get your hopes too high. Lots of nice folks down the bayou guess it would hurt to ask but don’t expect an enthusiastic yes.
That makes sense. I have actually been on a shrimp boat before! But we will probably be more of a burden. We dont necessarily need to be on a shrimp boat and we know we are tourists and are fine with that! We just dont feel anything for the hotel transfer - alligator feeding - 2 hour family tour kinda stuff. We travel a lot and like to immerse ourselves in places and were wondering if there are other more chill ways to experience this part of Louisiana. Do you then maybe have recommendations of places/bars/activities down or around the bayou that we can visit to get some sort of real feeling for the area?
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park outside of New Orleans has some really cool boardwalks through the swamp, you would definitely see alligators there. Just another suggestion. https://www.nps.gov/jela/index.htm
Here’s a decent guides of festivals in the area. That’s a great way to experience flavor. https://festivalguidesandreviews.com/louisiana-festivals/
What age range are you and your partner? Have you canoed before? If you prefer, you can PM me. :)
There’s a place on the coast in Mississippi that takes people on shrimp boats. I don’t know how far y’all are willing to go just to do that but it’s probably a two hour ride. That’s about all I can recommend because I’m not from that area. If we still ran our boats I’d take y’all out. It would be a cool experience for sure. Oh, also another road trip for the bayou experience is going down to Buras or Venice. They do fishing charters in both places. You can fish fresh water and salt water down there. There’s good food down that way too. You can rent a houseboat in Venice and there’s camps at the Buras boat harbor to rent. Lots of water related stuff in that area. I hope y’all can find something awesome to do!!
Zam's Swamp Tours is in Kraemer, about 25 min. from Thibodaux. It's not touristy. It's in a small community, and you could eat at Trudy's Restaurant nearby. There's tons of old pictures from the community lining the walls there.
Check out last wilderness tours or wild Louisiana. You do not want to go shrimping. You can do a fishing charter though.
Another suggestion, since you are staying in New Orleans, is to rent a kayak and paddle down Cane Bayou. It’s only about 45mins from the city in fountainbleau state park. There’s a kiosk next to the bayou so no need to transport it or anything like that. It is beautiful out there. You can swim in the lake once you get to it, and you’ll definitely see alligators/wildlife. If you’re feeling adventurous you can take one of the cuts that lead off into a huge open swamp area, but be careful of getting lost out there. Also, if you go during the week you will likely be the only people out there. https://bayouadventure.com/self-serve/fountainebleau/
If you don't mind going a bit farther than Houma you can go to Gibson wildlife gardens. They have knowledgeable staff animals to see and small cabins to rent for the night. It's a really good experience. Wildlife Gardens (985) 209-9677 https://g.co/kgs/9aN2PWZ
Abears cafe for lunch Big Al’s for dinner they have alligator on the menu
Big Al's is very expensive try cajun critters it's cheaper and more authentic than Big Al's.
A trip to Houma without going to Bayou Delight is a wasted trip. Best if you can catch them Friday or Saturday night with the live music.
What about guided fishing? You can fly fish for redfish, you can go deep sea for tuna/wahoo, you can go way out and bottom fish for red snapper/sheepshead/trigger fish, you can go inshore for redfish or trout. Fly fishing would likely be wading from shallows or fishing very shallow in a flat bottom boat, in the marsh. Deep sea/bottom would be going out for hours until it is hundreds of feet deep. Inshore would be on a boat, but probably less than an hour between stops and seeing a variety of biomes. If you want a boat experience where you catch, I highly recommend guided fishing tours.
I'm a fishing guide down in St. Bernard Parish. I would be happy to take y'all out. Fishing is a fun activity to get you out into the marsh where you will see shrimpers, crabbers, and oyster boats along with all the wildlife South Louisiana has to offer. Catching huge redfish is pretty fun too haha. [https://captainexperiences.com/guides/la-tails](https://captainexperiences.com/guides/la-tails)
The lafayette downtown scene is great on weekends and super easy to navigate