We really loved Laura, but did not like Oak Alley. Oak gave us very little information. They had people dressed up telling us where the bedrooms were, living room, etc. but no real historical information. At Laura we left with some information. It was also too big of a group. You can tell they are just trying to make as much money as possible and less about the experience
This tour was disappointing. Our bus driver had very little input on our way to the first stop. What he did say was that during hurricane Katrina someone shot a helicopter out of air that was dropping off supplies to the survivors, killing the pilot. I have not found anything to back this story up.The bus we were in barely made it over Veterans bridge, he said it had been in the shop the day before to get fixed. He kept the bus very cold despite complaints to turn the ac down. The tour at Laura plantation was okay, don't expect a lot of information regarding the slaves. Most of the information shared was about the owners. The group was actually too big to get to see everything or get good pictures. At the Oak Alley plantation we had to wait quite awhile for the tour to begin and then we were rushed to finish. There was very little time to walk down the path under the oak trees and get photos, there was no time to read all the information regarding the slaves and the slave quarters. We decided to forego lunch in order to get some pictures. We did get a new bus for the trip back but unfortunately the bus driver was the same.
Laura Plantation tour was fabulous. Rose, the tour guide, was incredible. She really emoted the history of this plantation and made it so very interestingl Oak Alley is gorgeous, a real southern belle. The tour guide was informative and all the staff were in period costume. Definitely a hit!!