Sea Bass was an amazing guide! Very informative and a great person!! A highlight to our vacation!!

Cody was excellent. Very knowledgable and kept things interesting! Fun trip and he took a group of 8 of us. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

This company was used for a group kayak event. We arrived to find a very nice young man who assisted my friend and I. He provided us with dry bags and a quick instructional kayaking refresher, plus he helped us launch our kayaks. (Very helpful!) I say I "might" refer the company only because my friend was concerned about potential rain or lightning and she received mixed messages from someone at the office and someone outside of the office. (I think through email.) The group wound up turning around after roughly 1 hour of a 2.5 hour event. We were told by a young lady in the office that if we were rained out, we could receive a refund, but that hasn't happened to the best of my knowledge. {Full disclosure: I was not the primary contact person of the two of us, so maybe I am unaware of some change.} Nice folks all and all, they just might want to work on communicating weather updates and refund policies. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Heavy clouds overhead. - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

We booked this last minute as another company cancelled due to wind- however weather was perfect. With SURFIT our tour guide was JJ- he was absolutely amazing. His knowledge of the wildlife and area was great and he ties in stories either personal or local folklore. His attitude was so positive- in his words he is not a glass half empty nor half full person but an overflowing glass. If someone could give him a raise, that would be fitting. Highly recommended & will recommend to anyone I know visiting. read more

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Highly recommend! Aaron gave us a great guided tour full of info about local wildlife, and we stopped at a gorgeous private beach. Great time, great price read more

This was a very fun kayaking trip, made even better by sea biscuit our guide. What a funny dude we had a great time. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Lido Key kayaking trip - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Very knowledgeable, learned new things . Cody was a great guide! The mangroves were very interesting to paddle through.

Cody was an amazing guide and we all thoroughly enjoyed the two hour tour! It was the perfect length of time for my aging arms :)

I enjoyed Aaron's tour very much and appreciated his relaxed style and great knowledge of the waters and the wildlife. We started off by sighting 3 manatees across the canal, lots of brown pelicans which were amazing to me and then a beautiful secret beach and paddling through the mangroves. I came back from this roughly 2 hour tour feeling calm and happy. read more

Great experience! Our tour guide, Matt, was excellent! We'll definitely bring more guests when they come to visit. Thank you!

Surfit is convenient and easy. I rent a kayak to explore the the Ted Sperling Park mangrove tunnel. I did not join the tour. I just have the single kayak and go. My experience is about 4.5 stars. They need to raise up their identity banner earlier when we visit. I visited them about 9 am. They do have the banner of the vendor later. The kayak is very comfortable with good back support. Nice and clean interior. The rental includes a map of the tunnels, paddle, life jackets, dry bag for your personal items. The kayak have a front and back mount for your bag or personal items. The middle has a cap container that you can cover. They also rent paddle boards. I would said it is a bid challenge for paddle board if you are standing up position. This is due to the mangrove tunnel have height limits. I prefer kayak due to both side paddle. The paddle board also has advantages due to narrow tunnel and allow paddle easily. The launching is easy. We got some instructions before we set to sail. read more

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We had a lovely day - enjoyed a double kayak with my 24 year old son and appreciated his muscles on the way back against the current.

Orion was very helpful in making sure our trip was adventurous and safe , and fun . We had a great experience in the water

Kimbro was amazing!! We took a 9am tour out of the Taft Dr location and it ended up being a semi-private tour because we were the only group at the time and it was perfect! Kimbro was so knowledgeable, we saw a dolphin very close, and were able to get through multiple mangroves. Highly recommend SURFit USA and ask for Kimbro! read more

Had a blast! Looking forward to doing this again next time I visit FL. Super convenient and fun. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Hidden Beach - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Highlight of my trip! Brock was patient and kind and knowledgeable, taking time to paddle up to each person on our tour to chat, share some cool facts, or give pointers on their paddling technique. We went in the morning when it was cooler. You go through the mangroves then a little pit stop at a beach and then back to home base. Really scenic, and the group travels at an easy pace. We saw manatees at the end of our trip which was super exciting. One logistical thing: the guides prefer you book through the website directly because TripAdvisor take a cut, so try to do that. Also it's a little tricky to find the meeting point address on the info provided when you book through Trip Advisor, so another reason to go through the site directly. read more

We had the best day kayaking through the mangroves with our tour guide Chris. We all absolutely enjoyed our day. read more

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BEST TOUR EVER, HANDS DOWN. We may not have seen any manatees BUT our tour guide was an absolute blast! We will definitely be going back to see him every time we are in FL for vacation. That was probably one of the funnest kayaking tours I have ever been on! read more

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If you're visiting the Sarasota area and considering a kayak tour, I highly recommend booking with surfit usa. I had booked a tour for myself, my husband, and our 5 year old daughter the last weekend in June. The two of them have never been kayaking before. This was our first time visiting the area and I wanted to see the mangroves and maybe spot a manatee. I'm terrible with names, but our tour guide was awesome. We happened to be in a smaller group (by chance) but his knowledge of the area along with his very positive personality made the tour worth it, especially his patience with our daughter's questions and including her in the group by picking up cool things for her to look at and hold. He especially "saved the day" when she started panicking because some ants were on our kayak and had bitten her (and I was helpless except to splash some water onto her with my paddle, hoping to knock some off). He immediately came over to our kayak to help her, taking care of any ants and double checking they were all gone before she sat back down. He even rinsed her arm off where she'd been bitten with some of his water. I know it is a small gesture but it really did mean a lot to us. Oh, and we did see a manatee :) Tips: - Show up early as parking can be very difficult to find! We booked the 10am tour and had to park on one of the residential streets outside the park. - Wear a swim suit & shoes you don't mind getting wet. - Apply a liberal amount of sunscreen PRIOR to leaving. - Bring a bottle of water. - DON'T bring a purse or many personal items - leave them in the car. While they do offer waterproof bags to keep items dry, it just isn't necessary to bring more than your keys, phone, and wallet. - It can be pretty difficult to take photos while on the kayak and keep everything dry/salt free. We managed to get a few photos with my phone, but your kayak will have a mind of its own and you might drift and accidentally ram your daughter's head into a mangrove tree. - LISTEN TO THE TOUR GUIDE ON HOW TO HOLD THE PADDLE! You WILL get blisters otherwise. Overall, I definitely recommend this tour and will consider booking our renting from them again the next time we're down. read more

Book online ahead of time during summer season! I ended up on a paddle board for the first time and it was super fun, but the kayaks were all taken already. Hands down one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had, went through mangrove tunnels and got to see a manatee at Lido Key. Parking is a bit tight so would definitely book the earlier time slots! read more

We have kayaked many times... but this was the first time we decided to do a tour with a guide. Chris was great. We definitely saw things we would not have seen without him, very personable and knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend. read more

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I 1,000% recommend renting kayaks/ paddle boards from surfit USA. The online booking process was quick and easy and if I had any questions I called and had my questions answers right away. We arrived at Ted Sterling park just a few minutes before our reservation time and our kayaks/ paddle boards were already unloaded and waiting for us at the dock. We were given a map to help us navigate and plenty of tips/ recommendations for spotting wildlife. I can't wait to book with surfit again on my next visit to lido key!! read more

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Aaron was a terrific guide! We booked our kayaks online for an afternoon adventure hoping to see some cool Florida wildlife, which we definitely did. No manatees because the water temps in January really aren't something they like - today the water was 68° - I'm not getting in that water right now either! We did see a couple of dolphins, some gorgeous white pelicans, flying fish called mullets, and a lot of cormorants (duck-like cuties with very long necks who fish around & under kayaks & provide a lot of entertainment). Aaron was great at pointing everything out and providing history of the area. He was also outstanding at providing instruction on navigating the narrow mangrove tunnels, which is very different than just paddling in open water. Really a fun experience and I'd totally trust Aaron to give paddle boarding lessons. He spent all afternoon on his board while we kayaked beside him and he's such a patient instructor. He told us he loves teaching paddle boarding and I'll bet he's excellent! read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Paddling through the mangroves - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

We did the mangrove kayak tour. Phil was our guide and he was patient with a large group of 14, some who had never kayaked before. You could choose from a single or tandem kayak or paddle board. I recommend the single kayak for maneuvering through the mangroves/ . We kayak in Colorado but never in salt water . We saw crab, urchin sheepshead fish, mullet, conch and starfish. Thanks for a fun, safe and beautiful tour! read more

We had Kelly take us on a tour around the mangroves and he was incredible! Had a great sense of humor, very knowledgeable, and had great experience. I would highly recommend taking a tour with him you won't regret it! read more

Great tour guide! Plenty of parking and very easy to get to. Had so much fun and will definitely be coming back. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Took my family kayaking and it was so much fun! They gave us a great guided tour. The water was maybe 2-3 ft deep in areas and very relaxing so it is an easy tour for little kids. Our toddler actually fell asleep it was so relaxing! Lots of shade through the mangrove tunnels. There is a stop mid way along a small beach area you can walk around. There are areas with grass and prickers. I would recommend wearing water shoes. At the end, even with my shoes on as I got out of the kayak to pull us in, I had two leaches hitchhiking on my shoe as I exited the water. I didn't realize it until we went to rinse off and what looked like two leaves would not rinse off. I would do this tour again! read more

The booking process was straightforward and simple. Upon arrival there was ample parking, and the staff was friendly and engaging. Chris, our tour guide took the time to get to know everyone in our group by name and along the way made personal connections. The tour through the mangroves was excellent excellent. Chris pointed out wildlife and historical events that shaped the topography. Chris adjusted the tour based on the tide and wind. He brought us out into waters where we were able to find manatees and a family of four dolphins. Our family of five, including three children aged 7, 10, 12 would do this tour again. read more

Had a great time and beautiful views. The mangrove tunnels were very pretty and overall a great day on the water. We did a tandem kayak but some of our group did the paddle boards and had an equally great time. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

We had a great afternoon Kayaking around the mangrove tunnels with a Surf-IT rental kayak. The staff was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. They also have canoes and paddle boards. We saw a ton of water fowl, fish, crabs and even a baby Hammer Head shark a few feet from our boat! We will definitely use them again when we decide to head out on the water. Doug Davis Newport Beach, CA read more

Chris gave us a fab kayak tour. He knew so much, and he was fun to talk to. We saw some cool ocean life as well as birds. Fun time!

This was a nice kayak trip though out the local mangroves. The tour guide was engaging, knowledgeable and made this a fun trip without getting too deep into the swamp. We booked a 2 hr trip which was perfect for a morning fun exercise in nature. I would recommend and do it again. Reasonably priced and safe for us. Wear clothes that can get wet with salt water. read more

These guys were great and Gabi, our guide was super friendly and really informative. It was quite a busy day as there are a number of other companies giving tours, but she made sure all of us were comfortable and having fun every step of the way. The mangrove tunnels were amazing and my boyfriend and I stayed towards the end of our group which meant we got a lot of details about the mangroves. read more

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Definitely would recommend. Purchased a gift card as a gift for my daughter and significant other. They had a great time. The staff was accommodating and knowledgeable which made for a memorable experience . read more

We went for a tour on tandem kayaks today. Was a hot summer day and the kayak area was busy . Aaron was great really low key and pointed us where we needed to be to get loaded on ! My 5 year old was hesitant but midway thru our tour she was paddling and asking if we can come back tomrw. We were with a big group. Some younger teen girls were padding boarding . My ten year old asked if we can come back with her friends . We saw a few cool sightings - my little one found a couple starfish. The mangrove tunnels take a little focus to steer thru but it's a really cool trip ! Give it a try ! read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Going thru the mangroves - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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This is a To Do in Lido Beach, fast and good service, they explain everything before starts so you really dont need a guided tour but they will offer the option, totally up to you! Good price. read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Loved loved loved this kayaking experience! Guide Orien was fabulous and very knowledgeable about the area ecosystem and where to see the manatees. We saw a single manatee, a whole family of manatees, some unique birds, all while kayaking the bay and the mangrove tunnels. Very nice time and would definitely bring others on the tour with us next time. Thank you Surfit!! read more

10/10 would recommend!!! I've never been kayaking but it was a blast! Our tour guide Phil was amazing. He made the tour 10 times more interesting with his personality. Out of all the things we did on this trip this was hands down my favorite! read more

SURFIT USA | Kayaks, Paddleboards & Surf - Surfing Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Chris, our guide, was amazing. He was great with our teenagers. Full of information. The kayaks were in great condition with an easy reservation and check in. Chris made this entertaining and fun for the whole family. read more

Wow. That was a blast! Just finished a wonderful afternoon with Aaron as our guide paddling our kayaks and seeing a lot of wildlife and learning a lot about the local environment. Aaron is incredibly knowledgeable about the marine life, where to find it, and local history. He's a very patient teacher if you need some instruction. We loved having him as our guide. We got to see a few dolphins, paddled through the mangrove tunnels and out into the open water. Such a great way to spend an afternoon. And the best part is that, as a smaller tour operator, you get more personal attention and aren't stuck in a large group of kayaks and having to deal with congestion. This is definitely the tour you want!!! Highly recommend!!! read more