New Orleans & Mississippi River Country

Welcome to New Orleans!

New Orleans, United States

Tour New Orleans as your Tauck trip begins at 5:15 PM at Hotel Monteleone. Welcome to New Orleans and French Louisiana! A transfer is included from Louis Armstrong International Airport to the Hotel Monteleone. Please join us for this evening's welcome cocktail reception at your historic hotel at the foot of Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter, followed by dinner at Antoine's, a classic French Quarter restaurant a short walk away.

Dinner

HOTEL MONTELEONE

Cookin' & lookin' in the French Quarter

New Orleans, United States

From the flavor of étouffée to the strains of jazz, tour New Orleans as an insider today with Tauck! Explore iconic Canal Street, the historic homes, boutiques and cafés of the Warehouse District, and the Mississippi River waterfront. Discover the French Quarter from venerable Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo to the swirl of daily – and nightly – life along fabled Bourbon Street on a guided walking tour. Learn a few secrets of Cajun and Creole cuisine from the chefs of the New Orleans School of Cooking with a private cooking demonstration followed by a lunch you won't soon forget. Attend an exclusive-to-Tauck, private jazz experience at Bourbon Street's world-famous Preservation Hall... before a Mardi Gras insider takes you for a behind-the-scenes look at the city's traditional annual celebrations at Mardi Gras World. Then strike out to explore on your own this evening in the Big Easy!

Breakfast, Lunch

HOTEL MONTELEONE

HOTEL MONTELEONE

New Orleans, United States

Begin the day with a flightseeing tour of New Orleans for views of the French Quarter, Mississippi River, canals, and wetlands, with commentary by your pilot. Learn about the unique geological environment of New Orleans, America’s only city situated below sea level, and its vulnerability to natural and manmade disasters at a private lecture by Nellie Watson, an expert on the interplay of humans, architecture and the environment.

In the city that many consider the birthplace of jazz and the hometown of prominent jazz greats from Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet to Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr., you'll check out this uniquely American music's key role in New Orleans' cultural mix – and vice versa – on a visit to the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint in the French Quarter, where the focus is on jazz as an art form. And for dinner tonight, get a true taste of New Orleans' famous cuisine at a restaurant of your choosing.

Breakfast, Dinner

HOTEL MONTELEONE

The bayou & Mississippi River plantations

Houmas House Plantation, United States

Depart New Orleans this morning and head out into the countryside for an alligator bayou tour in an excursion boat with a local guide, then begin your discovery of Louisiana's "River Road" plantations with a visit to Houmas House Plantation and Gardens along the "big bend" of the Mississippi River. Named for the local Houmas Indians who owned the land until its purchase by planters in the mid-18th century, Houmas House was the heart of a working sugar plantation whose holdings once grew as large as 300,000 acres, and at its height in the late 1800s produced some 20 million pounds of sugar annually. A docent provides insider information on a guided historic house tour; have lunch at the plantation and stroll at your leisure through some of its 38 acres of exquisite gardens.

White Castle, United States

Continue on to Nottoway Plantation & Resort – an 1850's sugarcane estate on the Mississippi's west bank that's home to the largest existing antebellum mansion in the South – where's you'll spend the next two nights. Your stay begins in style in the Mansion House with a guided tour and a private mint julep reception for Tauck guests only, followed by an elegant private dinner with accompanied by a string quartet in the White Parlor.

Breakfast, Lunch

NOTTOWAY PLANTATION & RESORT

From rural life to Huey Long in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, United States

Travel to Baton Rouge today and step back in time at the LSU Rural Life Museum, a living-history museum re-creating the lifestyles and folkways of rural Louisianans in the 18th and 19th centuries, featuring more than 30 historic buildings spread across 25 acres. Continue on to downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana's capital city, and learn about the life and legacy of Huey P. Long, Louisiana's controversial populist Governor of the 1930s, in a guided visit to the Old State Capitol. After lunch at a local restaurant, head back to Nottoway Plantation for an afternoon and evening spent as you please.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

NOTTOWAY PLANTATION & RESORT

Back to New Orleans & World War II America

New Orleans, United States

From Nottoway Plantation, return to New Orleans this morning for another two-night stay in the Crescent City, which begins with a guided visit and time on your own at the National World War II Museum. This acclaimed institution, honoring the efforts of millions of everyday American men and women who contributed to the nation’s war effort in World War II on both the battlefront and the homefront, is situated in the neighborhood of the New Orleans factory that produced the ubiquitous Higgins boats, which played a key role in Allied amphibious assaults throughout the war. Your visit begins with a viewing of the award-winning “4-D” multi-media experience Beyond All Boundaries, produced and narrated by Tom Hanks and featuring the voice talents of a Who’s Who of Hollywood actors including Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, and more; brunch accompanied by an entertaining USO-style musical show at the museum’s BB’s Stage Door Canteen, featuring cuisine by The American Sector restaurant; and time to explore the museum’s many state-of-the-art exhibits at your own pace. Late this afternoon, check into your stylish accommodations at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, on Canal Street in the French Quarter, then spend an evening as you please in this unique American city.

Breakfast, Lunch

THE RITZ-CARLTON, NEW ORLEANS

Gardens, a private streetcar & more jazz

New Orleans, United States

Visit more iconic destinations as you continue to tour New Orleans with Tauck today. Begin with sightseeing in the Garden District, whose National Historic Landmark district preserves historic mansions dating from the 1830s to about 1900, reflecting the prosperity of their wealthy builders prior to and following the Civil War, as well as the city's antiques district.

Then hop aboard an authentic New Orleans streetcar for another Tauck Exclusive – a private streetcar tour along Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, accompanied by a New Orleans resident. Return late morning to your hotel, and spend the rest of the day exploring more of New Orleans at your leisure.

Tonight, experience more of the best of the Cresent City as you head to celebrated Arnaud's Restaurant to bid adieu to "Nawlins" with a Tauck Exclusive, private farewell jazz reception, followed by dinner at this French Quarter institution.

Breakfast, Dinner

THE RITZ-CARLTON, NEW ORLEANS

Goodbye, New Orleans

New Orleans, United States

Tauck's New Orleans and Mississippi plantations tour ends in New Orleans. Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans to Louis Armstrong International Airport. Please allow a minimum of two hours for flight check-in.

Breakfast

• ALL guests must carefully verify the existing identification requirements for their particular travel situation DIRECTLY WITH THEIR LOCAL CONSULATES OR EMBASSIES or with a visa service, as these requirements may change. Guests without proper documentation may be denied entry and will not be entitled to a refund

• 60 days or more before departure: $350.00 per person
• 59-8 days before departure: $600.00 per person
• 7-1 days before departure: $900.00 per person
• On departure day and later: 100% of total price
• Any changes or cancellations to airline reservations made through Tauck either before or after departure are subject to the cancellation / change policies of the individual airlines. In n some instances these cancellation / change fees may be up to 100% of the ticket price.
• Cancellation fees may also apply to any additional services, including extra night accommodations, independently supplied services, and optional excursions reserved prior to, during, and after the tour. If flight changes, including, but not limited to, flight cancellations or name changes, are requested after full land and air deposits are received, revision fees, change fees, or airline cancellation fees will apply.
• All cancellations must be received in writing prior to tour departure. The cancellation policy will apply according to the date that the cancellation notification is received. The MINIMUM cancellation penalty is the deposit amount.
• The purchase to trip cancellation insurance is strongly recommended.

• Land only “from price” is per person based on two people sharing a room together and does not include airfare unless expressly stated.
• All prices are in US Dollars.
• A $350 non-refundable, non-transferable, per-person, per-vacation deposit is required to reserve space for you. Payment of the deposit indicates you have read and accepted all Terms & Conditions. Your booking is not confirmed until the deposit payment is processed and you receive a confirmation invoice.
• Final payment is due 75 days prior to departure. Within the final payment date, payment in full is required at time of booking to reserve space. Reservations (land, cruise, and air) are canceled if final payment is not received by the due date.
• Additional deposits or payments are required for international air added to the start and/or end of your vacation.