tabasco visitor center and pepper sauce factory

Tour of plant is a film and then walking past machines putting sauce into bottles, and people packing.The store is full of good stuff and there are lots of free samples including the yummy ice cream.

The general store is right next to the museum/production line building on Avery Island. Inside they've got every Tabasco sauce plus shirts, hats, decorative bottles, Cajun peanuts,gator claws, etc, etc. For any sauce lovers in your group it's a must.

There are a few displays as you enter the factory, and then you are ushered into a 10 minute movie explaining and demonstrating the Tabsco making process. Each guest is given several mini bottles of Tabasco in various flavors, and then you are permitted to walk through the glass hallway overlooking the factory. Depending on the day you visit, you may see bottles actually being filled. There is then a small museum that finishes demonstrating the process, has some company history, and a little information on the salt domes which compose Avery Island. It appears they are building and expanding to a new visitors center, but it was not completed when we visited. The gift shop has samples of Tabasco ice cream and other various products. I've been here three times and always combine it with a tour of Jungle Gardens. Makes for a very fun day! Also, it is nice that the factory has picnic tables in the yard, so you may want to pack something from home!

I learned a lot about Tabasco that I never knew. This a good way to spend a couple of hours, for free. The tour consists of a short movie (that's dated about 10 + years)2 free tiny Tabasco bottles, a viewing of the bottling process behind glass and a small area at the end, with some history and interesting facts. When we visited they were in the process of building a couple of additional buildings for future attractions. The best part of this attraction is the Country Store. Tabasco is available in hundreds of different sauces, jellies, salsa, candy, soda and even ice cream. There's about 20 or more samples available for tasting. I guarantee you will not leave empty handed......There is a $1 charge to get on the island for parking. The toll booth is on the passenger side of your car, but don't get out because this man will hand you a parking pass on this long pole with a clothes pin attached to the end, so you can clip in your dollar bill (hysterical) To me that was worth a dollar to see!

very short visit maybe half hour but well worthed ...go weekdays if you want to sea people at work 1$ fee to enter island but visit is free...but don't forget to tip tip the tour lady who is doing a great job...after visit have some sample tasting at gift shop...try ice cream,,,interesting taste many level of spiceness very nice souvenirs in the store,,,parking free

Its only a simple attraction but of you love Tabasco then worth the effort to go and see and hear about this great and historic success story. The factory tour is good, great Tabasco sampling in the Country Store, and beautiful gardens. Only a $1 to get into the island, the best dollar you will ever spend.

This place is awesome---Really!! It starts with the drive to the island and paying the $1 for park admittance is a photo-op in itself. We visited the island in late spring, barely missing the Azalea's in full bloom....the self paced tour of the island is unbelievable....just when you think you've seen it all, you turn the corner and see either the "Buddha Temple" overlooking the Lake and Gardens, or around the next bend a graceful bayou sweeping to the side with docile reptiles (Gators!) floating in the sun light.....definitely wort the side trip off the interstate without the overly inflated prices of most attractions elsewhere

We went and toured the Tabasco factory on our way to New Orleans and I am so glad we went. It is a small tour that is very interesting and informative. Its starts with a film and then you walk though the tour on your own and read information plaques. There are displays of many different items, vaults that hold the sauce till its ready to bottle, the bottling section that gets the sauce ready for market and various other items. If you do this tour on certain days you can actually watch them bottle the sauce. Avery Island was very beautiful and loved the history behind the little island, the salt domes and how the hot sauce all got started. There is a general store there and they give lots of samples of different flavors of ice cream to try. Lots of items you can buy as well. I really enjoyed going there. Its a good excursion to add to a trip your already on. We only did the tabasco tour but not the Jungle Gardens, so I can't speak for that one.

Arrived on fat Tuesday & walked right in to the 1:05p tour. Nice signage & live introduction on the making of Tabasco. Two short infomercial movies then in to the factory. The factory store offers free samples of most products & lots of swag.

Loved the tour of the Tabasco factory and the history surrounding the invention of Tabasco sauce. Driving through the Jungle Gardens on Avery Island was beautiful, even though it was October; it is especially gorgeous in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom and the birds are nesting on Bird Island. Not to be missed!

Very interesting account of how the company originated. W took the brief tour and watched video. They are upgrading tour soon, but still found it informative.Company store had lots of goods!

Overall the tour isnt all that great, you only get to see them bottle the tabasco, and only on certain days. Its not a bad tour for free, but id be willing to pay some money for a more indeph tour.The gift shop is worth a visit even if you dont do the tour. many free samples to try out and also some exclusive products not for sale elsewhere.

I went with my boyfriend in December. They give tours every 15 minutes. It's self-guided so you can take your time. It's also free, so why not? All you see is the bottling process, not the oak barrels and pepper mash and the big warehouse. A point of interest is the gift shop. Super affordable, Tabasco-flavored/infused everything, even ice cream! Lots of sauces and variations you can't get in stores. They even had Tabasco Coke! I would recommend a visit, but plan to see the factory as a sidebar; Avery island has much more to offer than Tabasco. You're free to roam the grounds (for free) until you get to Jungle Gardens.

The tour is just too corporate--you watch a movie, or infomercial, and then you take a very short walk through the factory behind glass for a sorta boring look at how an assembly line works. Then, you're poured back outside around the front door of the gift shop. But here's the deal: You're on this presumably fabulous island, which they tell you how fantastic it is in the infomercial, but you can't see any of it. If free-wandering or a tour of the island can't happen for whatever reason (and I guess I can understand that), then how about some great discounts in the gift shop to reward the folks who care enough about you to travel there to visit. (As an aside, I don't think I can ever forgive McIllheny[sp??] for introducing nutria into the USA.)

I went with my family and that of my brother's. We went over Christmas break, so I assume that it was busier than usual for winter. We were counted off and ~50 people went at a time. We were shown a short ~15 minute video about the growing of the peppers and the production of the sauce. Then we walked a short hallway were we could see production filling the jars, capping them, and labeling them. It wasn't the most elaborate tour, but it was still good to see. The highlight for us was the gift shop. There were many sauces to try as well as Tabasco ice cream and soda. The prices for the sauces were the same as in any other store, but the selection was outstanding. We bought spicy salt, Garlic Pepper Tabasco Sauce, Raspberry Chipotle Tabasco Sauce, Sweet and Spicy Tabasco Sauce, Tabasco Soy Sauce, Tabasco Teriyaki Sauce, and Tabasco Family Reserve.The only bad thing was that the tour guide announced that there was a supply of Family Reserve that was available to buy. She talked about how rare this was, and that the family usually kept this for themselves. It is fermented longer than the regular sauce. We bought four bottles. Afterwards, my brother mentioned that they do that every time that he goes. I feel like I got lied to in order to get me to buy something (that I likely would have bought anyway). The sauce is great.