This was fantastic. We got lucky, as the captain proclaimed. The cranes came out to the open beach…read moreand a few of them even flew around for a while. And there were plenty of other birds, including Tri-colored herons and Reddish egrets. Not to mention ospreys and hawks galore. But the captain and the mate were what made it special. They were fun, funny, and incredibly informative. They also made sure we were comfortable and happy. They leant us nice binoculars and had a telescope they would focus on the far-away birds and let us look into. In short, they really cared. They were as nutty about birds as their customers, which is what you want and need for an experience like this. The captain was an aviary scholar who happened to captain a tour boat. Perfect.

We took the 3 -hour Whooping Crane & Coastal Birding boat tour. Great trip; highly recommended…read more The purpose of our weekend in the area was to see whooping cranes, and the company guarantees a sighting - they know where the cranes hang out and we saw at least a dozen pairs. We saw many other birds (the captain called them out) and dolphins. The boat holds at least 30 guests and has both open observation decks and enclosed seating below. Wear non-slip shoes and bring binoculars, a hat, and a jacket. There are small toilets on board, and we were served drinks and basic snacks. They have about a dozen loaner binoculars if you do not have a pair.

I can't say enough nice things about this company. They delivered the kayak to us, supplied us…read morewith everything we needed and even threw in some extras like a pair of sunglasses and a waterproof bag for my phone and keys. They have so much knowledge and enthusiasm for the parks and wild life. When they came to pick up the kayak, they met us on shore with bottles of cold water. We were even able to pay with our credit card right on the spot. Convenient, affordable, knowledgeable, professional and most of all.....friendly and thoughtful.

I didn't even kayak this time, but my guy did. He had an amazing time. Next time, I intend to have…read morean amazing time as well. Ryan actually paddles........and he is very knowledgeable about all things local too. He took the time to answer all questions about the kayak and area, then even took time to educate me about local foliage, etc. He even put my mind to rest on whether I'd be able to kayak or not. Next time, we tandem!!! LOL

I don't put a 5 star review out there often, but if you are looking for a rental, this is the…read moreplace! I called and talked to Hector. He is great to work with and is a great source of information! We rented three kayaks on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. We agreed on a time and a place and he was there early with all the gear we agreed to. I coordinated a pick up time when we were done and Hector was on it. The equipment is in great shape and the service is super. I will be back again! Thanks Hector

We had a great time with Coastal Bend Food Bank guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and…read morehelpful. Wonderful wonderful time and you get to be out and about in the marshlands of this area. You see a lot of wildlife.

Love the selection here, the staff is very knowledgable, helpful and supportive (I am taking up…read moreskate boarding) The styles of clothing are up to date with quality fabric and brands etc. The overall prices are competitive and they have a good selection of mark downs. I always find something new when I go. There's alot to take in when exploring the place.

I've heard this is the only major surfboard rental shop by the national seashore. We rented out…read moretheir full selection of beginner boards, which was only five, so we had to go to another shop afterwards. The service was amazing as the guy at the shop was very attentive and helped us load and strap our boards to the car. The boards were Surftech and were good quality. The shop was very big and had so much apparel and gear.

Let me start by saying the 2 stars are because the kayaks provided were nice and the area we were…read moretaken to was fun to kayak in. However, everything else about the kayak/fishing guide service was a nightmare. When we arrived to the area the guy gave us a quick run-down of what we were going to do and a straight-forward tutorial on how the turning system on the kayak works. That was fine. Next, he told us to drag the kayaks into the water, get in, and start paddling. Also fine. It was a little rocky to start and took awhile to get going, but we made our way towards the fishing spot in the flats with no issues. Once we arrived, he told us we could start casting and we would make our way down depending on how the fishing went. In the first hour, my lure got stuck in some brush on the bank and I had to retrieve it myself because our guide had paddled out in front of us and couldn't hear me call for him. Once he noticed, he came over and snapped at me to get back in the kayak because I was going to get cut up by oysters, which is understandable but would not have been an issue if he hadn't gone so far ahead. In the second hour, the other girl in our group who had been struggling with maneuvering and balancing the whole time tipped her kayak. The guide paddled over to her and proceeded to yell at her while they got her back in her kayak. The remainder of the trip was spend paddling and looking for fish. The guide was pretty passive aggressive and snappy the whole time. It seemed as though we had inconvenienced him by booking our trip with his company. Not the best experience. We had a total of maybe 5 bites the whole time, but none of the fish were keepers. We walked away with 2 large red drum that had been killed by boat propellers. To put it shortly, this guy is rude. The equipment was great. The flats were pretty. But the whole experience was tainted by the guide's attitude. We didn't pay hundreds of dollars to be snapped at for half a day.

Let me be clear here. The stars are for the kayak only…read more We came to this location excited to rent a kayak and see the beautiful area up close. When we walked in we were greeted by two adorable dogs, however, one of the dogs peed on my foot. I was wearing flip flops so it got on my actual foot. Gross. No apologies or anything for that. Then the woman who helped us, dirty blond curly hair, was kind of passive aggressive. She basically assumed we were beginners and ignored my husband when he said "Oh well we're not beginners. We've done this a bunch of times." She seemed put off when we didn't know where we wanted to kayak. UHH we are not from the area and do not know a single effing thing about it. YOU DO though so why don't YOOOUU offer some suggestions. SO she did. She suggested an area for beginners. Ugh. She then asked this man if he "wouldn't mind bringing the kayaks to the drop off location for them. As long as you don't mind." The man seemed suuuper aggravated by the question and mere thought of doing something for us. Wow, I'm sorry did we interrupt your day?? Talk about awkward and terrible service! They charge $43 for a kayak rental for 4 hours! $43! When we lived right outside of San Diego we could pay $15 for two hours or $30 for ALL DAY. NOW granted, the other a$$holes in the area charge upwards of $60 to rent their kayaks (are these kayaks made out of gold? do they have an engine?) so $43 was much more affordable. I just couldn't believe it. You Texans looooove to charge astronomical prices for extracurricular activities. On to the kayak. The kayak was wonderful! The seats were great and there was no shortage of leg room. It got us around the inlet flawlessly. When the woman came to get the kayak she was a little more friendly and thanked us for renting the kayak from them. I'm a pretty easy going gal so I decided I'd excuse the earlier behavior. We'd rent from them again, maybe next time they'll be more pleasant.