We did the Mondo Tour with A Day Away Kayak Tours, and it was truly an unforgettable experience…read more Our guide, Brandi, was absolutely amazing. She was incredibly knowledgeable, easygoing, and made the whole tour feel relaxed and fun. We saw so many incredible things throughout the trip. There were bioluminescence cone jellies, bioluminescent dinoflagellates ("dinos"), birds, a gator, and several manatees. The highlight was getting to see a mama manatee and her baby. It was such a special moment. Brandi shared so much interesting information along the way and had the perfect go-with-the-flow attitude that made the whole experience even better. You could really tell she loves what she does and cares about the environment and the wildlife. My husband and I enjoyed the tour so much that we both said on the way back that when we have kids someday, we want to come back and do this tour again with them. Thank you, Brandi, for helping make our honeymoon even more perfect. It was an amazing experience and we learned so much.

I had booked an evening bioluminescence tour for my son and I while we were in Viera last month…read more Unfortunately, our kayaking experience on Nov 10th had to be cancelled due to very high winds and bad weather. I have contacted the company by email, phone, and had Expedia reach out as well, with no response whatsoever. We were really bummed to not get to experience the tour in the first place, and now I am quite disappointed at the level of customer service we are *not* receiving as well.

Karen's Kayaks My only disappointment about Karen's Kayaks…read moreis that I didn't find it sooner. We've been visiting Satellite Beach for more than a decade and I never thought to look up Kayak tours until recently. We had a great time with Karen. We choose the Crane Creek tour leaving from historic downtown Melbourne. It ended up being a manatee/dolphin/alligator watching tour that was worth double or triple what we paid ($40/adults and $25/children). This wasn't a private tour, but Karen took care to make sure I was able to keep up since I am a newbie at kayaking and I was doing it with my daughter in the kayak with me. Karen is very knowledgable about the area, great at teaching kayaking skills without making her unskilled guests feel foolish and good at working with all experience levels. We enjoyed our day with her and were sorry when it was over. I can't wait to go back.

Karen runs a fantastic guide and rental service and is an incredibly gracious, experienced and…read moreknowledgeable guide. I will absolutely book with her again the next time i am in Melbourne. I can't recommend her highly enough. I was here on business and had limited schedule flexibility but she readily agreed to a custom evening paddle for me and 3 companions who had never kayaked before. She planned out a route that would be appropriate for their skill level and still have a chance to see as much local wildlife as possible. When 2 of my group backed out after testing out the boats and deciding that kayaking wasn't for them and the 3rd opted to wait, Karen was generous enough to still take me out on my own. She knew the details of the local flora and fauna and every segment along of the route where manatee, alligators, and other wildlife often could be found. She's incredibly personable and very patient and clearly so respectful of the river and surrounding environment. We stayed out for over 2 hours but she will tailor the length of the outing to whatever is right for the group she's dealing with. Her equipment is in excellent condition and well maintained, and the whole experience is feels totally professional, safe, and best of all, loads of fun. Definitely check out her trips if you're looking for a great paddling experience no matter your skill level.

This is a secluded park and picnic area with a playground for kids. Also has a dock for Canoe and…read moreKayak launch area. A lot of cypress trees and oak trees. Super quote and peaceful. Benches along the way. Trash cans on site. Covered picnic tables. Open from dusk till dawn. Amazing quite place away from town.

Our group of 4 took a tour of the Dora canal and had a wonderful trip! We chose a Saturday tour at…read morenoon and while the canal was pretty busy with boat traffic, James guided us through very well and took us to a side inlet where it was very quiet. It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon.

Since moving to Winter Park this fall I've been dying to explore the Winter Park Chain of lakes, so…read moretoday I made an impromptu decision to rent a kayak from Peace of Mind. My husband already has a kayak, so I just rented a single kayak for a half day, 3 hrs (they also have two person kayaks and a full day option). When I called Joe from Peace of Mind informed me that he was already at Dinky Dock (my preferred put-in location) and he was able to accommodate a rental with very short notice I (I think I gave him 45 minutes). I also appreciated that we could pay with a credit card at the rental location. Even though it wasn't part of a formal tour, I felt so well taken care of. Immediately upon arrive Joe greeted me by name and the equipment (kayak, life vest, paddle) was ready to go. I was provided with a laminated map of the lakes and the canals, a ziplock bag for my phone, and some tips about navigating the area. Joe even helped carry my husband's kayak so we could launch at the same time, even though he was not renting from them. When we returned to the beach after a wonderful couple hours on the lakes, Joe met us on the beach immediately. Overall excellent service- the rental process couldn't have been smoother. The equipment was no-frills but well maintained. Dinky dock is a perfect starting spot for a self-guided tour of the MUST SEE Winter Park Chain of Lakes.

I've paddled the Emerald Cut a few times now. Initially I didn't like the idea of paying to launch…read moremy own paddleboard. However, it's only $10 now that I have my own life jacket (saving me additional cost of $5 to use one of theirs, as required). Well worth the low cost for some soul-enriching, communing with nature. I have never made a reservation. I normally arrive around 10:30, most recently on a Friday. Parked for free on Baptist Camp Rd. Just a bit of a walk from there with my inflated paddleboard, but I don't mind the extra exercise. You can unload your stuff closer, if preferable. There are port-a-potties available. You can count on there being a line in the check-in office. Various recreation supplies are available there for purchase. The process moves reasonably enough. A reservation will guarantee your entrance, however, and possibly aide quicker personal info collection. I always plan to do the Emerald Cut in roughly 3 hours round-trip, allowing myself several stops to enjoy the surroundings. You do run into (quite literally at times) novice paddlers along the way, which can be a bit tricky, yet not a real nuisance for me. In general, there's friendliness along the waterway. Slighty rowdy, party vibes in some spots, but also opportunities for solace and zen in various nooks. Encountering wildlife, fragrant elderberry, and other captivating flora along this stretch is always gratifying. It's a popular recreation destination for good reason.

Many tourists don't realize Florida is home to stunning crystal-clear spring rivers--perfect for…read moreswimming, kayaking, and tubing aka "hidden gems". My Hubby and I love kayaking, so we booked an excursion months in advance for Rock Springs through TripAdvisor. Our Tour Operator was Get Up And Go Kayaking located at Kings Landing in Apopka, FL. I LOVE saying Apopka ;) The good news: Apopka is a quick 1 hour drive from Orlando. Make sure you don't miss the turn to King's Landing, because the entrance is located on a narrow dirt road. You must drive past Kelly Park (which fills up fast). There is a Park Ranger located here who will guide you to King's Landing. As you get closer and if you see a parking spot, grab it! Check in is located in the Cabin like office where you will have to sign a waiver. If you do not want to take a clear bottom, guided Kayak tour, you can either rent or BYO Kayak versus taking a semi private, clear, guided kayak tour. NOTE: ONLY use their Sunscreen/lotion which is provided at no cost. It protects the wildlife and the Springs. We wanted the full experience as we have previously enjoyed renting clear Kayaks. Our guide for the morning was: Megan, who was fantastic! Full of energy, information and helpful tidbits about the Springs and its human and wildlife inhabitants. Our group was small and capped at 10. We paddled through both narrow and open stretches, and stopped to swim in the warm, crystal-clear water. One highlight was a banyan tree with an 8-foot natural "jump hole"--such a cool experience! It was a serene, memorable day, and fun fact: this is the very spring featured in the Visit Orlando commercials! Yeah, definitely take a day away from crowded Orlando to relax and enjoy Mother Nature! You will Thank Me ;)

We tried the Rock Springs kayaking tour with Get Up And Go Kayaking a couple of weeks ago and the…read moreexperience was quite interesting. Let's start by saying that you should make sure you are scheduling for the right location as sending someone the direct link may still send them to a different location, as with our experience. I sent my beautiful partner the link to Rock Springs (Rock springs was literally in the URL), but it sent her to Silver Springs. We didn't notice until the trip was booked (less than 10 minutes later) and tried to contact the office to see if we can be transferred over to Rock Springs or if they could cancel the booking since it was literally minutes ago. Unfortunately, we didn't think we would need the trip protection add-on for something like this, but we were told we can only reschedule at the same location because we didn't purchase it... The funny thing is that the Rock Springs option didn't even show up for her when she was trying to rebook, but it did show up for me. Anyways, it's just something I highly suggest you pay attention to. Unpleasant booking issue aside, since we did have to book and pay again for this trip, the tour was pretty good. Our guide was Meagan, who was great. She was also accompanied by a guide who was transferring over to this location who was also helpful. First off, let me say if you have never done a two person tandem kayak before, it can be a little difficult to get in sync and start making progress. We did however get into the groove after the first stop upstream, and after that, the trip was fun and full of sights. The paddling up stream is a bit of a work out, so be prepared for that. You will stop at multiple scenic spots to snap some pictures on the way. I guess we were lucky to take the last tour of the day, as there wasn't a ridiculous amount of people going either way. Once you get to the end of the upstream paddle, the ride back is a breeze. You just have to figure out how to steer and to back paddle to slow down. You can get some really good pictures and take in the scenic views during this time since you don't need to paddle against the current. Our guide took some nice pictures and videos of us and provided them to us at the end of our trip. The initial part of the trip can be difficult, but if you work through it and figure things out, the tour was enjoyable.

Another beautiful experience. Our guide Megan was excellent. Super friendly, engaged, and most…read moreimportantly knowledgeable. The only downfall for us was that we were expecting a crystal blue water experience for at least half of the kayak tour. It was more so towards the end of the other than that we got a great workout in. Be sure to complete the tour to the end. The commute returning requires far less work. We were able to relax and take in the scenery more on the way back. Be prepared to put in some muscle work.

Jungle Jay and Alex were our guides and they provided excellent services. We had a great time with…read morethe combo sunset and bioluminescent tour.

Our tour guide was Celina- she was highly knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna and also…read morecustom-made the tour for our interests and abilities. She obviously cares deeply about the well being of this habitat and loves to share her passion. Overall, this was a great trek. We saw a sea turtle, an otter, an Osprey chick peeking out of his nest, an alligator, and a sea otter. Wonderful time!

We had a lot of fun on our kayaking tour and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more…read moreabout Winter Park or see the gorgeous homes along the lake. The water isn't clear so, while the clear kayaks are fun and different, you won't get to see much below you. Might be worth checking out one of the other locations to fully take advantage of the see-through bottom. We did manage to see plenty of birds and were told sometimes people get to see otters.

Had a wonderful, relaxing time on the water. The scenery was beautiful, and the entire experience…read morewas peaceful and enjoyable. The clear kayaks were a fun experience and the tour was well-paced. Highly recommend for an stress-free and pleasant adventure where you get to learn a bit about Winter Park.

Wonderful people and sharing knowledge about the environment and interesting facts not in media or…read moresocial posts. Will do another trip with Venture Outdoors.

We had TJ as our guide for our kayaking manatee adventure he did a wonderful job! Showed us how…read moreto properly paddle the kayak and shared his sunscreen ( we forgot ours ) gave us water and we were off. He took us right to them let us see them touch his leg. There at least 12 or more manatees and one baby. Then we went through the blue springs where you could see amazing fish and alligators. Then an outdoor marsh with beautiful birds and foliage. We had a great time recommend this Excursion with TJ. Noreen, California

We had a great time with the Paddling Center. Staff was helpful and courteous. We were especially…read morehappy with our tour guide who was very knowledgeable. He pointed out many items of interest. The experience could be done by beginners and experienced paddlers alike.

Amazing 2 hour trip. Out guide Ryan was friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and attentive to the…read moregroup. He explained the various plants, trees, and wild life. We saw many birds, snakes and even an gator 'Jorge' soaking up some sun. The path was easy with lots of shade and NO mosquitos. Ryan and the crew there were great. Definitely would come back and highly recommend the tour.