I have fished with a lot of guides and can honestly say that Captain X was one the most…read moreknowledgeable, enthusiastic and has the obvious love to put his clients (I now consider us friends) on fish. My goal was to land a 48" Red Drum and catch a Black Drum for the first time. We started off on a perfect day and caught the Black Drum early and then took off for a spot that he felt would be favorable for the Red Drum (although late in the season). Most guides may not be willing to travel to a further spot with gas prices today, but Captain X was bound and determined to get me on one of my dream fish. The bite was slow due to the season and some sharks in the area (had a few on, but we weren't set up for sharks), Captain X was constantly monitoring for fish, and changing out a variety of baits to give us the best chance. Towards the end of the day a storm was brewing and he explained that we can fish one more spot (for 5-10 minutes), but may have to wait out the storm to get back safely...this would put us back to the marina over an hour past our allotted time. Since I was fishing solo, I told him that I wanted to, but realize how much work goes in after the charter, and left it up to him. He gave me a big grin and said "let's get your trophy"! Literally on the last cast we saw the rod bend and heard the beautiful sound of the drag and the fight was on! I had to work the entire boat for several minutes and drop the rod almost entirely in the water a few times when the fish was under the boat. The adrenaline was pumping for quit some time after landing the fish and it measured in at exactly 48"! Needless to say, that if you want the best guide in the Orlando/East Coast area Captain X is your guy!!!

Wonderful offseason fishing trip with Captain Xavier. That's the guy in the website photos that's…read moreeither protecting his skin from sun damager or he's in the witness protection program....back to the trip. It was a windy day so we fished fresh water about 25 minutes north of Orlando. For me it was all about making memories with my two 20-somthing kids. We didn't catch any lunkers but we caught enough fish to make the trip enjoyable using light tackle. Xavier made sure the boys each realed in fish on a regular basis using a combo of live and artificial bait. I had communicated to him that the trip was for them and he made it memorable for us all. If you are looking for an excellent guide, pleaseant conversation and memorable fishing trip Close Encounters is for you and Captain Xavier is your guide of choice.

Captain Steve as always was a great time. Knowledgeable professional and friendly we always have…read morea good time with him and caught more fish in two days than ever have 60+! The office is easy to book with and very helpful as we had to change our date This is our fifth year and will gush no one else but IO and Captain Steve

Captain Steve is a very professional and knowledgeable boat captain…read more He knows where the fish are and he can move all over Stick Marsh to find the big ones. Highly recommend Captain Steve for an outstanding fishing day. HE IS THE MAN!

This park is little more than a little late a few park benches and is the center point of a a…read moredriving circle on Bumby. It is a pleasant enough park, though. I am also confident that it serves this particular neighborhood well enough. It is a great place to take the dogs out for a walk or just to enjoy a pleasant enough afternoon. This is what pretty much brought me here today. Orlando has some great parks and while this particular park can't compete with say the park at Lake Eola, it was never meant to compete with such a park. This park was designed to utilize some land that could not be otherwise used and give it a purpose and a place for a neighborhood to gather in leisure. I would say that this park succeeded in this task.

Lake Como park is a true gem in our community. For those who have the privilege to live close by,…read morethis is a place with multiple personalities. From the early morning, where you can see the sunrise through the trees and reflect on the quiet water, to the early evening where you can stand on the east side of the lake and watch the amazing colors of the sunset in the distance out west. In the middle of the day, just to walk around and get a breath of urban fresh air. There are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the view, have a picnic, do yoga, or some HIIT, or simply run around the path and try to become a local legend on Strava.

This was a lot of fun, and completely on a whim! We were visiting my daughter and new grandson and…read moredecided to stay at a nearby resort. Looking for some activities, this came up in our search, so we made an afternoon of it. First off, the captain and crew was comical and they made the experience that much more memorable. We seen turtles, dolphins, and a few manatees! On top of that, we debarked on a small island along our tour, got out, stretched the legs, and took in some amazing views. The Mangroves were a sight to be seen. I can just imagine all the sea creature they give habitat to. We also seen some amazing boats, as well as, some interesting... uh... placement of sailboats. Great history of the local storms and the havoc they wreaked! Thank you for the fun experience for the Familia!! As always, enjoy and Happy sailing!

Dolphin and manatee boat tour was good. So was parasailing. All of the tour guides were awesome and…read morefun! Cute little waiting spot on the river for sightseeing while u wait.

My wife, Emily and I are local and wanted to try kayaking at our local park at Shingle Creek. Emily…read morehasn't ever kayaked on her own before in a single person kayak. Josh showed her how to do it, quickly and efficiently. Josh and Tia's knowledge of the creek, the wildlife, the vegetation, kayaking, etc. was truly awesome. They made our Labor Day special. We won't seen forget the experience and we'll certainly be back. Check out the Paddling Center at Shingle Creek!

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.

My husband and I recently booked the Manatees and Monkeys tour at Silver Springs State Park with…read moreEpic Paddle Adventures through Viator. Our guides were Stevie and Ben. The meet-up instructions weren't extremely clear, but I was able to use context clues, such as the clear kayaks and a small sign with the business name on the side of a plastic tote, to figure out which group we were with. The guides weren't dressed in any specific colors or anything. As far as I know, we were the first to check in, but somehow we were close to last when being set up in a kayak. We weren't told about or offered dry bags either. I saw others with them, asked, and had to run back and grab a couple while we were lined up to launch. Another group asked us to grab some for them as well. Stevie provided us with a brief paddling tutorial prior to our departure being that we were the only ones in our group to have never been kayaking previously. Ben made sure our seats were set up properly and secured for the ride and assisted me with fashioning my life vest into a cushion for my bottom. After the tour, everyone was complaining about their bums hurting, but I was just fine! As paddling novices, we stayed at the rear of the pack for most of the tour and missed out on all of the informative bits and bites provided by Stevie, but the springs were relaxing, beautiful and teeming with wildlife! It would've been nice if we could've been positioned at the front of the group, being one of the first to launch since we did arrive first and we were beginners. Just a thought for future tours. The manatees were majestic! Go for the manatee. I was worried that we wouldn't see any, but that was no issue. The water is crystal clear and the manatee are present. They're calm and they come right alongside and beneath the kayaks. It was amazing. Our guides got us back to dock safe and sound and that's all I really cared about. Pictures were taken throughout and a QR code to view them was provided. Later that day, they weren't there, despite tours that happened after ours being online. During the tour, we were told that we didn't need to take pics because they'd take plenty. In fact, most of us had our things in dry bags for safety. We really wanted those pictures. I called the office and spoke to a woman who said she'd speak to whomever uploads them and if they weren't there by the end of the day to call her back. They were eventually uploaded and I was stoked to see the underwater video of the manatee! I'm happy I took pictures of my husband and I because those candid shots of us struggling to paddle are only suitable for comic relief purposes. Speaking of which, some of the guides' jokes and anecdotes weren't funny and were borderline offensive. I tried to let them roll off my back, but it is partially the reason for the lower rating.

I saw the picture that showed one of their other locations so I was disappointed with this paddling…read moretrip. It wasn't very epic and would hardly count as an adventure. The person who helped us was friendly and the prices were reasonable. We had a good time. The scenery was OK.

We had a great time with Captain Quinn on the dolphin tour…read more We saw at least 10 dolphins and manatees up close, and a ton of other Florida wild life and scenic views. Captain Quinn was very knowledgeable about the wild life and ecosystem and he answered all of our questions! It was a blast and definitely on of the highlights of my vacation. I couldn't recommend CaptainQuinn and his dolphin tour enough!

Captain Quinn was a pleasure and spent time searching to find a few different families of dolphins…read more Took a min to assist another vessel and also didn't hog the viewing once we had our fill of one of the large pods of dolphins and even pointed out to a rival tour boat where the pod was. When we finished the tour he offered a perfect place for lunch which we did explore and loved. Just an all around great guide and good guy. You can't go wrong with this private tour.

We came for the Introduction to Sailing class. It was the perfect Orlando winter day, the sky…read moreclear, 65 degree weather. There is an adorable mascot guarding the building - Rags, such a sweetie pie. Our instructor, Steve was very friendly and informative, he has been sailing his whole life and this is second nature to him, we spent a couple of hours out on the lake and I have to say that I loved it!! There was another couple on the boat that were super sweet and we definitely had a great time learning and hearing all of the stories Steve had to tell about the area way back when. I fell in love with sailing and we are hoping to get the lessons for two in the near future. I can't wait.

What a gem! Close to College Park/Downtown and affordable. Like another poster, I also woke up on a…read moreSunday and thought it would be a good idea to rent a boat. We rented a little electric catamaran that seats two people. It's slow moving but was great to just putter around the lake for 3 hours. There were other boaters and jet skiers out there as well. The electric chaise lounge has room on the sides for a bag or a small cooler and you can sit on the side and just hang your feet in the water. We will definitely be back and will probably rent a pontoon boat next time around. The Yelper who gave this place 2 stars is not actually rating the marina - I believe she is rating the park next door. The marina does have bathrooms and is not for public access to the water.