I booked a kayak here and travelled to the Kendall Square location. I should have gone the other…read moredirection - the most difficult part was near the Kendal Square location, and I was paddling against the wind and current most of the way. Other than that, it was a great trip! It's a nice mix of peaceful trees and city views. I also paddled through a sailing team practice, which was cool. The boats were in great shape. The life jackets were showing their age, but I guess that's what you get with rentals. They estimated 1.5 - 2 hours for this trip, and it took me about an hour.

It is always a blast kayaking on the Charles River! This was our first time kayaking from the…read moreAllston/Brighton location;in the past, we would go to the Newton one. Fast forward now, PaddleBoston has 7 locations! These locations include: Waltham, Allston/Brighton, Somerville, Medford, Newton, Cambridge, & Stoneham. I highly recommend kayaking from Allston/Brighton! Very clear path, that is not as buggy as kayaking in Newton (from my friend and I's memory). We kayaked from here all the way down to past Harvard Sq. area. Did not take long at all. We were able to kayak back in 17 minutes. Their rates are reasonable, as well. This was our first time doing single kayaks rather than double. We did the up to 90 min single kayaks, $32/each. In my opinion, 90 min is more than enough time but doing the one way to Kenmore Square also seems like great fun that we'll definitely have to give a try next time. Cannot recommend kayaking enough though. It's very peaceful & honestly a nice activity to do with family and friends. Warning: you will get a KILLER arm workout out of this. 10/10

I booked a kayak at the Kendall Square location and landed here. I should have gone the other…read moredirection - the most difficult part was near this location, and I was paddling against the wind and current most of the way. Other than that, it was a great trip! It's a nice mix of peaceful trees and city views. I also paddled through a sailing team practice, which was cool. The boats were in great shape. The life jackets were showing their age, but I guess that's what you get with rentals. They estimated 1.5 - 2 hours for this trip, and it took me about an hour. I docked a star from this location, because the workers didn't really seem to know what was going on when I returned the boat. I needed to let them know I came from the other location and the responses were "that's cool" and "okay" and "I don't know what to do with that". Turns out you have to check out in a trailer at the end of the dock and tell them, but no one seemed to know. Still a great trip!

TL;DR - Paddle Boston at Kendall Square is my go-to for kayaking on the Charles. The staff is…read morealways friendly, prices are fair, and the views of Boston and Cambridge are unbeatable. Their season passes and Fourth of July rentals make the experience even better--highly recommend! _______________________________ I love being outdoors, especially on the water, and Paddle Boston has become one of my favorite spots in the city. I discovered them shortly after moving to Boston and working in Cambridge, and it has been a go-to ever since. Their kayak rentals are fairly priced and offer an amazing way to enjoy the Charles River with unbeatable views of both the Boston and Cambridge skylines. The staff is always friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Their kayaks are perfect for the calm waters of the Charles, not overly advanced but not basic either, just right for a relaxing paddle. I also love that they offer season passes for frequent paddlers and special rentals for the Fourth of July Boston Pops Fireworks, which is truly the best way to experience the show. While I typically take the T to get there, parking nearby on Main Street has never been an issue. If you are looking for a fun and easy outdoor activity in the city, I highly recommend Paddle Boston at Kendall Square.

My friend is a member of Boston Sailing Center and I love that he can take me along. Sailing in…read moreBoston Harbor is a wonderful experience. The COVID summer of 2020 limits vacation options. The COVID measures are good. Masks until you are out and about.

I took a 5-Day Learn to Sail Lessons, I was with just one person so it was almost a "private"…read morealready. The staff on reception are very helpful. The boats are clean and in good working condition. We have 3 instructors total, Chris was amazing!!! Brad was funny and made us comfortable on our 4th day (Whole Day) Sail and taught us practical methods so we could sail on our own comfortably.

CR not only rents but also SELLS kayaks, a dealer for several stellar lines (including Stellar!)…read moreThey are extremely knowledgeable, often have demo models to try out at the Newton site. It is so important to try before you buy or order, and they help with that process. As they did, patiently, with me, when I came looking for advice on a replacement ocean kayak with greater stability. They have some used kayaks for sale but can facilitate an order for a newer model. Their brands run the gamut, and their advice, from my personal experience, is beyond sound. It is rock-solid excellent. Their Waltham shop can also repair minor and major damage, kayaks and canoes...which is reassuring. Rocks sometimes magically appear out of nowhere...with the expected/unexpected results.

Visited during summer of '18. Just a short drive from the city you can rent a kayak and be…read moresurrounded by nature. Very affordable and quick service. There is parking on site and everything needed is provided. Highly recommend for a quick nature retreat

If you are an adult looking to learn to sail you have much better options, Please don't waste your…read moretime or money at Courageous Sailing. If you want to learn the basics of sailing at a fraction of the cost of courageous just check out Community Boating on the Charles River, it is only $275-445 for the entire year. With this you will have access to Mercury, laser, 420 (race boats), ideal 18, sonars & windsurfing. With courageous the learn to sail is scheduled for 2 weekends (4 days) with Community the classes are being held all the time and you can take them whenever you want, so you can avoid cold rainy days, and take the classes with different wind conditions (light, med, high) as many times as you want for no charge, unless its an advanced class which is only $50. When I took my learn to sail at courageous it was cold, rainy with fairly large waves. One of the people I took the class with actually started to cry. This is a non issue with Community because if the conditions are awful just come another day. After 1-2 years at community, if you like sailing you can go to a real adult school if you want to level up your sailing skills. Note the internal ratings at community and courageous have little to no value at other sailing organizations. If you are serious about sailing you need to build up your ASA certifications especially ASA 101,103 and 104, there are many ASA schools and you can take classes at different schools all across the country, Caribbean & world. Once you are ASA certified these credentials will follow you to other ASA schools & organizations. Once you reach ASA 104 you can apply for a type of international license. Also note that community has a much nicer facility and dock with actual restrooms with a shower. At Courageous they have portable toilets, no shower and 2 outdoor sinks which almost never have soap. These are the same sinks the staff preparing the cookout food uses. Also note that the traffic on the Charles is much safer vs the harbor, in the harbor you will run into huge tug boats and huge freight ships. On the Charles the boats need to pass under the bridges, so the biggest boats there are duck boats and some small/medium sized tour boats. Actual ASA alternatives to Courageous are First Reef Sailing in East Boston, one of the owners is Capt Paul Sullivan 5 time outstanding ASA instructor, they have the best learn to sail boat in the Boston Area Colgate 26, unlike Courageous the motors actually work & are reliable. If you are a student you can get a Colgate membership for 2K which I think they allow you to share with other members so better boat & may be less expensive vs Courageous also once you achieve 104 status (can do in one year) there is no range limit you just need to be back by sunset. They also offer memberships on cruisers & catamarans, these cost more like 10 K but you can also share those memberships. These are new boats almost everything works on them unlike courageous, And you can go on multi day to week long trips. Another ASA alternative is Reef Runner in Friendship Maine, one of the instructors there is 4 time outstanding instructor, its pretty close to Arcadia National Park. They are less expensive than Courageous and they quality of the instruction is vastly superior. Once you pass a class in an ASA school your log book will be signed by the captain, you will also receive an official stamp for your log book from ASA and the results will be uploaded to ASA so all other ASA organization globally will see your rating. Another tip is no matter where you sail keep a log book on the miles & a brief description of the trip

Primary fleet is a bunch of old Rhodes 19 boats that are falling apart. It's incredibly…read moredisorganized and understaffed. Focus on the youth program, which is really good, however the adult program suffers by lack of attention Even the larger boats 4 J80s frequently mean maintenance and are under maintained. They wait for people to donate boats to them so the cost is low, but you get what you pay for.

I just joined for a sculling class -- a total beginner. I'm so glad I did! Wonderful coach that…read moregave each one of us his full attention and was great at demos and instruction. Beautiful, clean, well maintained boathouse, equipment and grounds. Great team members. Wide range of age groups. Small class (only 4 or 5 of us). Overall great energy and team spirit. I'm so happy to be here!

I had Carter and Greta for beginner sweeps and they were amazing. I learned so much and had a great…read moretime

I selected this company based on good reviews, but wonder if things have changed during the…read morepandemic and encourage you to proceed booking with caution as my experience trying to get on the boat was terrible and they held 50% of my total payment illegally. We originally planned to set sail, however, due to inclement weather reports on the day of the charter, we jointly decided to reschedule for another time and did not set the reschedule date at that moment because my party size was large, 15, and I needed to repoll the group on another feasible date. My group worked together to select a reschedule date, which the company made for a Saturday. The Tuesday before, we found out that one of our co-workers has COVID. As a result, all of us were potentially exposed. Out of concern for the safety of the crew and captain, I reached out by text message on Wednesday to inform them of the situation and figure out how to proceed. My coworker who had COVID also tried to contact you to find a resolution but could not reach them by phone. We received an email stating they unable to reschedule on this charter, and could do a cancellation that would result in a partial refund. They did not offer the option to reschedule to a fee, and said short of canceling, the charter would be scheduled to take place on Saturday with full awareness of the situation I expressed. I responded saying that we would like to proceed with Saturday in this case. I again emphasized that we had been exposed, and they cancelled without calling or communicating. After repeated calls and emails from Saturday to Wednesday, and finally a warning to report to the FTC for poor business practice, only half of my payment was returned. Nothing in the contract allowed them to retain it. So- beware. If you book, make sure you are going and don't expect your money back if you need to make a change for anything reasonable like being honest about a COVID exposure

This is a harbor tour on a sailboat. The summer of 2009 was their first year in business and they…read moredon't sail in the wintertime. The sail boat, called the Tupelo Honey, can carry up to 12 people. I'd lived in Boston for several years but had never been on a sail boat there. I had previously been on boat cruises around the harbor. We were back in town for a visit and I saw an advertisement for this harbor tour. I absolutely love sailing and wanted to try it out. I called a day before we hoped to go on a sail and asked if they had any times available. Generally, the cost is about $25/person. But because we didn't have a large group, only two of us wanted to go, there was a minimum price to take the sailboat out. That was $140.00, which was fine with us. We had an absolutely fantastic time! The captain and other crew member were very hospitable, friendly and really easy-going. They asked us if we wanted to stay near the buildings to see the scenery or to go further out into the harbor and let us make the decision. I would definitely do this again and it was well worth the money. It couldn't have been better. Call at least a day in advance to make sure that they have room to take you out for a sail. Their website says that you can take a T-Boat (affiliated with the MBTA subway, the T) to a nearby pier and walk.