The Abita Brewing Company sits in the piney woods of St. Tammany Parish, 45 minutes north of New Orleans by way of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It is the most identifiable Louisiana craft brewery in the country — a state institution since 1986, the producer of Turbodog and Purple Haze, and the brewery responsible for the Andygator and Wrought Iron IPA that have found their way onto every tap list in NOLA.

Most visitors drink Abita in New Orleans without ever visiting the brewery. This is fine. But for groups of 15-25 who want a day trip with some structure — a reason to leave the city, a destination that rewards the drive, and a format that accommodates a large group without requiring weeks of advance planning — the Abita Brewery tour is the right call.

The drive itself is part of the point. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is 24 miles of bridge over open water, and the transition from urban New Orleans to the pine forests of St. Tammany Parish is a genuine shift in landscape and pace. The north shore is a different Louisiana from the city.

Quick Checklist

  • Check current Abita Brewery tour times and availability before the trip — the tour format and hours have changed over the years and may require advance booking for large groups
  • Arrange charter van or rideshare coordination for the group; the Causeway is not ideal for large groups in multiple cars
  • Identify whether the group will eat before the brewery (in NOLA), in Abita Springs (limited options), or on the north shore in Covington or Mandeville after the tour
  • Confirm current hours for the Abita Brewing taproom and tour operation the week before the trip
  • Designate a group driver or confirm the charter service will cover the Causeway return so no one is navigating the bridge after tastings
  • If combining with a north shore lunch, call ahead — the Covington and Mandeville restaurants that handle groups of 15-25 fill quickly on weekends
  • Budget the full day: drive up, tour, tastings, lunch, drive back — plan for 5-7 hours total

The Drive: Getting There

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

The Causeway is the access route. The southernmost 12 miles of the bridge have no visible land in any direction — you are on a two-lane elevated highway over open water, surrounded by sky and lake. For a group of 20 in a charter van, this transit is already a experience worth having.

The Causeway runs between Metairie (on the New Orleans side) and Mandeville (on the north shore). Total crossing time is approximately 25 minutes in normal conditions. Tolls are paid at the north shore end on the return.

The alternative route — US-11 across the old bridge — is slower and less dramatic. Take the Causeway.

Charter Van vs. Multiple Cars

A group of 15-25 should arrange a charter van or two. The reasons:

  1. The Causeway is a four-lane divided highway with the southbound and northbound bridges separated by water — no opportunities to pull off if someone needs to wait for the group to catch up. Multiple cars on the Causeway means coordinate-by-phone logistics at every turn.

  2. The tour includes tastings. Someone has to drive. Charter eliminates this problem entirely.

  3. The north shore has limited parking in the brewery area, and a single charter van is vastly easier than finding parking for multiple vehicles.

Charter vans for a 45-minute drive should be booked a few days in advance for a weekend trip; weekday availability is generally better.

The Brewery Tour

The Abita Brewing Company’s main taproom and tour facility is in Abita Springs, a small community that is essentially defined by the brewery and the artesian spring water that the brewery markets as its founding element.

The brewery began in 1986 as a small brewpub, grew into a regional production facility, and is now one of the larger craft breweries in the Southeast by volume. The Abita Springs facility is the production taproom — not the Abita Brew Pub in Metairie, which is a separate bar serving Abita drafts.

What the Tour Looks Like

Brewery tours at Abita are self-guided or guided depending on current offerings. The format has evolved over time — check the current structure before the trip, as large group accommodations may require advance booking.

The general tour takes you through:

  • The brewing floor with fermenters and the production equipment
  • The packaging and canning lines
  • The history of the brewery, including the founding story in Abita Springs
  • The tasting area

For large groups: Abita’s taproom is the right destination for groups of 15-25 because the taproom format is naturally accommodating of group size in a way that small craft breweries are not. The space is designed to handle visitors.

The Taproom

The taproom at the brewery is the best part of the visit for a large group. A wide selection of current Abita production beers plus seasonal releases, pub food or food truck options depending on timing, and a relaxed indoor-outdoor environment.

The taproom is where the group lands after the tour and where most of the actual time is spent. Plan for 1.5-2 hours at the taproom between the tour, the tastings, and the natural settling that happens when a group finds tables and stops moving.

The Old Brewery Museum

The Old Abita Brewery Museum is the original 1986 facility, separate from the main production brewery, preserved as a working museum. It houses equipment from the early brewing operation and is a more intimate look at where the brewery started before the production facility grew.

For groups that have an interest in craft brewing history or Louisiana food and drink culture, the museum is worth the additional stop. For groups primarily interested in the tasting experience, it can be skipped without missing the core Abita day trip.

Note: Confirm the museum’s current status and hours before the trip — smaller museum operations can have seasonal closures or modified hours.

The North Shore: What to Know

St. Tammany Parish north of the lake is a different Louisiana from the city. The landscape is piney coastal forest. The communities — Covington, Mandeville, Abita Springs, Slidell — are more suburban and small-town in character.

The north shore is not a tourist corridor in the French Quarter sense. There is no walkable main drag with bars and restaurants at every corner. It is a residential and small-business landscape with specific spots worth knowing about.

Covington

Covington, 15 minutes west of Abita Springs, has a genuine small-city downtown with a cluster of restaurants and bars on Lee Lane and the surrounding blocks. This is the best north shore lunch destination for a large group — there are enough options that the group does not have to commit to one restaurant without a backup.

The Covington downtown is compact and walkable within a few blocks. For a group of 15-25 arriving after the brewery tour, Covington’s lunch options are the right format: real sit-down restaurants in a small-city downtown with the specific ambiance of a Louisiana town that does not try to be New Orleans.

Call ahead for any group over 10. Covington’s restaurants are not set up for walk-in parties of 20.

Mandeville

Mandeville is on the Causeway’s north shore landing. It has a waterfront area with restaurants looking back across the lake toward New Orleans, and a walkable downtown that is slightly more commercial than Covington’s.

For a group doing the Causeway return, Mandeville is the logical stop if the group wants to eat before heading back across the lake. The Lakefront-facing restaurants here have the lake view that makes the north shore worthwhile as a destination in itself.

North Shore Lunch: Timing and Structure

The standard Abita day trip has two viable lunch structures:

Option A: Eat Before the Tour

Lunch in New Orleans before departure, or a quick stop in Covington on the way to Abita Springs. Tour and tasting on a full stomach. Simpler logistics; the taproom becomes purely a drinking destination.

Best for: Groups that want a clean experience; groups with members who want to drink at the taproom without the complication of being hungry.

Option B: Eat After the Tour

Tour and tasting at Abita Springs, then lunch in Covington or Mandeville on the way back. This is the more popular structure for groups.

Best for: Groups that want a reason to explore the north shore beyond the brewery; groups that want to extend the day before the Causeway return.

The timing issue: the tour usually runs 60-90 minutes and the taproom adds 1.5-2 hours. If the group arrives at 11am, lunch at 1:30-2pm in Covington is a comfortable structure. If the group arrives at 1pm, the post-tour lunch lands at 4pm, which is fine but which compresses the evening.

The Causeway Return

The drive back across the Causeway to New Orleans is the bookend to the day.

The southbound Causeway crossing (returning to New Orleans) runs from Mandeville to Metairie. Total crossing time is the same as the northbound run — approximately 25 minutes. Tolls are charged at the north shore end (southbound).

For a group in a charter van, the Causeway return is a 25-minute debrief session over open water. It is also where the group usually realizes they are thirsty again and begins negotiating where to go when they land back in the city.

Landing in Metairie: The Causeway drops you in Metairie, not the French Quarter. Budget another 15-20 minutes to get from the Causeway landing to whatever the group’s next destination is. The charter driver can drop directly at the villa or at a designated bar — agree on the destination before the bridge.

Day-Trip Comparison Table

Feature Abita Brewery Whitney Plantation Swamp Tour (Airboat) City Park Day
Drive time 45 min (Causeway) 45 min (River Road) 30-45 min 20 min
Best group size 15-25 10-30 10-20 per boat Any
Advance booking Recommended Required Recommended None
Primary experience Brewery tour + tasting History and culture Wildlife Park and museum
Cost tier Low-medium Medium Medium Low
Full day or half Full day Full day Half day Full or half

Pro Tips

  1. Book the charter van before the brewery. The logistics of the Causeway with multiple cars after a brewery tour are the one thing that can turn a good day into a headache. One van, one driver, everyone gets back clean.

  2. The Abita taproom is the best part. The tour is interesting and worth doing, but the group’s best time will be at the taproom tables. Do not rush the tour to get there faster — the taproom will still be open.

  3. Go on a weekday if possible. The north shore on weekend afternoons has regular traffic, and the Covington restaurants are busiest on Saturday and Sunday lunch service. A Tuesday or Wednesday trip has the brewery, the taproom, and the restaurants at a fraction of the crowd density.

  4. The weather gap is real. St. Tammany Parish is slightly cooler than the city in summer because of the pine forest cover and the absence of the city’s heat island effect. In February and March, the north shore can be notably colder than New Orleans. Plan clothing accordingly.

  5. The Abita Springs water. The original Abita Brewing Company marketing centered on the artesian spring water in Abita Springs as a brewing ingredient. The spring is still visible in the small town of Abita Springs, a few minutes from the brewery. Worth a brief stop if the group is curious about the founding mythology.

  6. Combine with the Lake Pontchartrain lakefront. If the group wants to extend the day, the return from Abita Springs can include a stop at the Mandeville Lakefront before crossing the Causeway. The Mandeville waterfront has the north shore’s best lake view and is a natural stopping point between the brewery and the bridge. See the Lake Pontchartrain Group Guide for the lakefront side.

  7. The tour is not the point of the trip. For a group of 20, the Abita day trip is really about getting out of New Orleans for a day, doing something with a destination and structure, and returning with a north-shore story. The brewery provides the anchor. The drive, the lunch, and the Causeway are the experience.

Large Group Accommodation for an Abita Day Trip

An Abita Springs day trip works best when the group is based in a single property rather than scattered across hotels. The charter van logistics require a single departure point.

Castleday Retreats — Three private villas in the Bywater: The Herald, The Cocodrie, and The Florentine. Each villa sleeps 14–30 guests in 12 bedrooms with 17 real beds and 8 baths. The Florentine is ADA-accessible. A Bywater departure to the Causeway is approximately 15 minutes to the Causeway approach in Metairie — a reasonable charter van ride before the bridge. Return to the Bywater private pool after a day on the north shore completes the geographic range of the trip: from the Bywater to Abita Springs and back, with a long lake crossing in each direction. 4.98 average rating across 99 reviews.

The Syd — Multiple villas in the Lower Garden District, up to 22 guests per villa, with shared heated pool, hot tub, sauna, and outdoor kitchen. The LGD is similarly positioned for a charter van departure to the Causeway. The shared outdoor kitchen at The Syd can serve as the pre-departure staging area for a group organizing before a day trip.

See where to stay for large groups →