Located in cottonwood about 1 hour south of Sedona. Fun fun fun! I want to go again 10 times! This is usually a self guided kayak excursion. Ben came with us today, a special treat and he is amazing, had knowledge of the river, plants, birds. He made sure everyone was safe and had a good experience. The time on the website and email are slightly off. It says 10:00a to 1:00p. This is more than enough. Meeting time is 8:45a and you need to be at meeting area by 9:00a. Then you get on a shuttle for a 10 minute drive to go up river where you will launch. So you car is at the end point of kayaking. We got a tandem inflatable kayak which cost about $150 for 2 people. There are taxes and don't forget gratuities, in cash. Don't know if they take venmo or Zelle. The adventure...so most of it is easy slow floating. There are a few spots where it flows faster and you may have to steer trees and rocks. We came in last week of August, so low water season. The river is only 3-4 feet deep in the majority of places. The weather was perfect today at around 70sF near 9:00a and around 82F at 10:00a. High is 88F at 2-3p. It rained in the last few days so we got very fast flow and completed our trip from 9:00 to 11:15am ish. We were down changing and in the car by 11:30a. In the 2.5 duration, you may get out on land halfway and take a snack / water break and stretch legs for circulation. We were told that high water season is spring. Something about May being the month where they let water out so water is lower then as well. The Verde river provides water to Phoenix. You can be all levels and come. The guide will give you general instructions in the beginning and provide life vests. All ages kids and toddlers can come. If your kid is smaller than perhaps age 12, you may need to bring your own baby or kid sized life vest for them. Your butt and arms, and bag will be wet. They suggest a zip lock bag to hold your phone and wallet, but bring any backpack. It will get a little muddy from your feet (just clean it at home). Definitely need hat, sunglasses. Suggest to bring 1-2 liters of water and snacks. You have time to eat 1 hour in on the land. Suggest you to wear swim suit or quick dry T shirt, and board shorts (for surfing, boogie boarding) or quick dry hiking shorts and water shoes like Teva. There is a lot of trees on the route but you'll get sun. They do not take more than 11-12 people at a time. I hope this helps. I look forward to coming again. read more

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Had a great time kayaking down the Verde today, starting from Beasley Flat with Ben meeting us to go over all the details. He was super knowledgeable and pointed out a lot of cool geological facts as he bussed us to our drop point. The water was refreshing in the warm sun and definitely worth the trip. We took off at 10am, took our time and got back to our car right about noon. Will definitely be back!!! read more

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We did the tubing adventure on a Saturday at the end of September and were pleasantly surprised by how warm it still was. I had trouble getting in touch with the business ahead of time, as they didn't answer the phone. We went with just the 2 of us, but a lot of other people had the same start time as us. They ended up pushing our start time an hour later so it would be warmer outside. There were just two of us, and we rented two regular tubes plus one for our smaller cooler. The tubes come with bottom netting, so the smaller cooler fit perfectly and wouldn't fall out of the tube. The tubes didn't get too hot, so we didn't need to bring sheets to lay over them. They also provide attachments to secure your tube to the cooler tube. Just be mindful not to attach more than two tubes together, as the river gets narrow in some parts. They also give you mini paddles for navigating through stagnant areas of the river. The trip was very relaxing, and we really enjoyed it, though it took much longer than we expected. read more

Verde Adventures - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

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We had a blast. We did the longer river trip which was about 2 hours. Unfortunately the location is about 45 min from cottonwood- where we were staying. Other than that- a great experience. The river might look dirty but it's not at all. It was pretty low but we still had a blast. They do keep reminding you to tip them- which seemed odd since we had to drag out kayaks to the launch spot- so I'm not exactly sure what we tipped on since we paid to go on the float. Other than that- very enjoyable. read more

Jack and the staff were amazing. Extremely informative on the inflatable kayak trip and what to expect on the river. We had an awesome time and highly recommend booking with this company. We ll return as well. read more

Careful with your credit card! Once they have it, there's no going back. You CANNOT cancel these tours! The booking process charges the FULL amount, and you don't get it back if you cancel. According to their policy, THEY can cancel a tour, but NOT YOU! The policy reads as if you cancel prior to 48 hours, you get a refund, NOPE, read it again. We were looking forward to this trip, but a perfect storm prevented our family from going together. I cancelled 5 days in advance; they refunded a portion and kept an arbitrary [$120-ish] amount with no explanation for the fee; they say it "varies" in the fine print. Then the AI chat-bot said they charge $10/person for cancelling, but we did not have 12 people going; the math isn't mathing. I would have definitely rescheduled and happily paid and tipped well, but, given these shady practices and hijacking my credit card, I would not recommend a place that makes its money this way. It's a shame because I think we would have really enjoyed it. read more

From reservations to walking out this trip couldn't have gone smoother. It was the 4th of July and we wanted something cool to do so we took part in Tubing Madness. It was very fun. From the bus ride over, the hook up with tubes and pull out, all went super smooth and the staff were so friendly. Our three hour tour took longer because we would stop and swim. Had a great time and am going to try the kayak trip next. read more

Did a late spring water to wine trip and it was excellent. Matthew was a very informative and entertaining bus driver. The equipment is top notch. We had a very relaxing paddle and wonderful flight of red wines at Alcantera. We are experienced kayakers and won four kayaks ourselves, but I'd do this trip again and again with Verde Adventures providing the gear and transportation. Makes it easy. Highly recommend this adventure to anyone. read more

We had a wonderful time kayaking on the river. Our guide Ben was very knowledgeable. He explained the process & gave us lots of instruction & tips to make the most of our trip. He helped get us going in the river and getting out at the end point. The river was shallow and slow moving with lots to see as well as time to relax. This adventure was a highlight of our trip to Sedona. read more

The best kayaking ever, with best guides, John and Matthew the 2 best guides and helping everyone on every corner. Amazing and unforgettable trip absolutely a must for anyone visiting Arizona specially Sedona. John and Matthew, thanks for all your help. Sincerely Piere & Judy read more

Verde Adventures - On our way kayaking. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

For a smashing good time, choose Verde River Adventures. Our shuttle and sort of guide Anthony was entertaining, light hearted and fun while being responsibly informative while sending adventurers off into the wilderness armed with but a paddle and inflatable rafts while defending against wild hippos, water moccasins and vengeful eagles. Matthew made sure we knew how to paddle our little hearts out and whack any beavers who stood in our way with their dams. In all seriousness though, it was a self guided tour but Anthony let us know everything we needed to know. We had life vests to make us feel secure, and we were given strict instructions to stay right where there was a fork in the river. To help more, there was an arrow pointing right at that crucial point. Matthew really did review some paddle skills and what to do and not do in addition to how to get out of getting stuck. The float was an easy relaxing float. My friend from out of town and her sis loved our adventure today, and the wine tasting afterwards really made the day amazing! Thanks guys for the wonderful experience! read more

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My sons and I had an amazing time!! Danny was a wonderful guide that gave us very clear instructions and was there to offer extra help if needed. The route was calm and the scenery was beautiful. read more

Verde Adventures - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

Thomas literally SAVED our lives! I was not paying attention when Ken told us where to exit and kept going despite my husband disagreeing. PAY ATTENTION! Look for the blue sign! Anyways, Thomas literally came to the rescue and saved our lives. I was really scared, I fell in the cold river water and basically did all the things they told me not to do (again pay attention) and he was SO incredibly kind and reassuring when he came and rescued us! Ken was great too, they were both so helpful and gave us a very good experience! Definitely recommend this tour agency! Also, these inflatable kayaks are so much better than the plastic kind I've used in the past. Thank you so so so much Thomas and Ken!!!! read more

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Kayaking in the Cottonwood area. We scheduled a inflatable self guided trip the day before. We had such great guides, Jeff and Nick. Both were friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Jeff was our bus driver and helped us get oriented before launching. Word to wise: keep an eye on the weather. We had red flag winds and made paddling quite the workout. Guess I won't to go the gym today. Lol. read more

Dakota and Thomas are great guides. Excellent instruction and supervision. The equipment was well maintained. The river was a bit low, but I only got hung up once. Wonderful trip for birding. We spotted a critter in the bush, but it was shy. We disembarked once to eat lunch and look for rocks. It took about 2 hours of paddling. Highly recommend. read more

We took this trip several years ago and absolutely loved it so we thought it would be a perfect outing to take my son and daughter on while they were here for the holiday but was extremely disappointed with it. Maybe my expectations are too high but first for $176 per person I was expecting the trip to be guided and to at least have a free glass to remember the trip by. Second, I would expect the employee not to be vaping marijuana, in a public place just before getting on a bus to drive a bus load of people to the drop in sight. Maybe I am being overly sensitive but I do prefer not having a near death experience before getting in a kayak. Well the thought was once I get away from the area it would be fine because it is illegal to smoke marijuana in the national forest especially in stage 1 fire restrictions. No such luck, while our bus driver had not been participating in the drug there was residual marijuana lingering on our bus. My son made the driver aware of my extremely dangerous allergy and the driver made an announcement on the bus not to smoke it or vape on the but once the got on the river they could do what they wanted to. Clearly this outfit needs to brush up on the laws that resulted from prop 207 such as A.R.S. § 36-2853 (SSAA) and A.R.S. § 13-3405. Also federal law U.S.C.A. § 844. read more

We had an excellent day kayaking on the Verde River. The staff is outstanding and made our river adventure a lot of fun. Perfect for beginner kayakers. read more

Verde Adventures - Kayaking the Verde River - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

SO. MUCH. FUN. We did the Water to Wine tour and loved every second of it. The kayak/float was the perfect length and the wine tasting after the perfect ending. I would 100% do this again! read more

Verde Adventures - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

Tube madness was tons of fun. Be prepared for a few hours of floating down the sunny Verde River. Some areas you will need to paddle while others have small rapids. Bring water, a good hat and sunscreen. Nice and friendly staff. read more

Verde Adventures - Lazy part of the river. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

We went on the tubing madness adventure. It's a self-guided tour. They take you upstream and help you get in the river and then meet you back down where you parked. The tubing is great if you are physically able to paddle yourself down the river. The river wasn't very high and did not have a lot of currents to take the tubes without help during many portions of the river. The guides recommended that at least one person take a kayak if you are taking someone older and not as physically fit because it is easier to tow them along with a kayak then connecting them to your own tube. Overall we had a blast and would do it again with just the kids and not the grandparents. Danny and Scotty were amazing and helped us at the end when we were exhausted from towing our older family member with us. read more

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Scotti was an amazing tour guide he was so knowledgeable and fun at the same time he really made this trip a great experience for my Mother and I read more

We throughly enjoyed our Verde Adventure Water to Wine Tour. All my questions were answered prior to the day If the tour. Our Guide, Anthony was very knowledgeable about the Verde River and surrounding area and recommended another fun adventure to explore the town of Jerome for a late lunch. He was extremely accommodating with bringing extra padding in the kayak for me and even brought us sunglasses straps to use when I asked about them. The kayaks were great for the River and the River moved along nicely. The scenery was interesting. Danny was there to help us disembark the kayaks as well. We would highly recommend this tour. read more

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This was a great day of adventure. We did the Ebike, river paddle and wine tasting. Our guide Emily was the best, super cheerful, informative and someone who takes a genuine pleasure in her job as a tour guide. She really connected us with all the nature that there was to enjoy and the history of the winery. The gents who manned the paddle station were also great... and had great taste in music, playing a surf collection. The E-bike tour of the winery was very informative and the river paddle was a dream. You would just lounge and float, then there were the mini-rapids which made it very interesting. Ending in the backyard at the tasting room was also very pleasant, with really great wine and food. 5 stars and a value in my opinion. Sal & Anton C read more

The gentleman that drove us to the drop point was very nice and super informative. This adventure was easily accomplished by someone who hasn't worked out in years but it is a bit of a struggle if you've never been kayaking. The views are absolutely astonishing. Thank you for a great afternoon! read more

Verde Adventures - Portrait mode is a must on this adventure! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

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Good experience, but overpriced. We did the sporty and sweet kayak trip. The website states that it's a 2.5 to 3.5 hour unguided river tour with mini rapids. Our trip only took an hour and 15 minutes and we were the last ones of the group to finish / we took our time. It was cool and refreshing to float down the river and there were mini rapids. $99 a person just seemed overpriced for the trip we got especially when we've done multiple other float trips in other locations that cost half the price. On top of that $99 our tour guide expected a 20% tip for taking us on a 10 minutes bus ride and cracking a few dry jokes. The final straw was the fact that you had to purchase a $10 food and drink voucher for their on site winery. We decided to order a cheese board which consisted of some pre-sliced grocery store cheese and some dry bread. TLDR: the experience was overall very fun, but not worth the high price point read more

Matthew is the most hilarious, handsome, helpful, kind, compassionate, articulate, knowledgeable, insightful, wise, talented, athletic guide/man ever. They river, kayaks, equipment, wine, food, weather, and scenery were almost as amazing as Matthew. read more

What a great way to cool off!! I love that the tubes had a net so you didn't fall through (what? It could happen). Ben was amazing!!I can't wait to go back!! read more

Loads of slow drifting fun. I only wish they went with as I was not sure which fork to take. And there were lots of forks. All good.

Amazing time on the Verde River. A group of friends and I did the kayak to wine trip on Saturday October 5th. Weather was fabulous. The river was amazing. The tour guides were funny and helpful. What a great day! Thanks! read more

Had a great time. Did fall in the water unfortunately and had a bit of a panic getting through a deep water section (thank God for the life vest), until I could jump back into my kayak, but guide Danny was great at doing everything he could to keep me calm. Granted I have an irrational fear of deep water and a normal person probably could have jumped right back into the kayak, but Danny was patient with me. Recent storms made it a bit exciting with a decent flow and some Wiley tree limbs to navigate but I conquered a fear! read more

John picked us up at our hotel, Tavern Inn. He was extremely professional, polite & informative. We had a blast on the water to wine. Alcantara Vineyards and Winery was a great way to finish off kayaking on the Verde. Thank you John & we will recommend Verde Adventures to family & friends. read more

Great trip with our two adult children. A little more work with paddling in the summer because of low water levels, but still fun and beautiful. "Save the day Danny" is the man! He went above and beyond for us, and we were so thankful for him. read more

This was such a fun activity!! We had a group of ten ranging from 6 to adult. They provided individual tubes (with tethers to keep the youngest attached to an adult), life jackets for kids, hand paddles and squirt cannons to shoot your friends with water. Some of our group raced their way down the river squirting with abandon, some of our group floated slowly and relaxed. Everyone came out happy. The river felt very safe even for young kids, the water cannons provided lots of entertainment for the never entertained teenager. And the tour came with a $10 voucher per tuber to the winery at the end, so the adults enjoyed a flight while the kids got a soda--a perfect ending! read more

We booked a tubing river trip in July. The initial parking lot was difficult to find. The bus transportation was super old school (think a short yellow bus that felt every bump of the dirt roads) even though they have luxe vans sitting there unused. Tubes were good quality. Directions given were too minimal, especially since there wasn't an actual guide when you were on the river. There were too many forks in the river to not have more signs or more verbal instructions!! It started storming when we were on the river and it was pretty miserable. We ended up getting out of our tubes and walking the last haul. Highly recommend wearing water shoes! read more

Thomas was very personable & funny! Great instructions and beautiful tour. Go slow "lazy river" style or fast and furious. read more

Verde Adventures - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

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Absolutely amazing kayaking adventure. Anthony, Matthew, Ashley, Mariano, Shepard, mark, John John, Thomas, Kenny, Emily, and Wendy all took care of us big time. read more

Epic!!! We booked originally a tube float down the river, when we arrived we were advised the water had risen and we would be upgraded to a Kayak tour instead. I was nervous, but the entire crew set me at ease. I watched as they graciously explained the change to the other 15 people who were booked at our set time. We all agreed and jumped on two buses to launch our Kayaks. The entire crew was awesome, but I can't say enough about Thomas our guide. I rode with my five year old, and safety for me was first. World class safety measures were taken, not just because we had life vests on, but because Thomas knew the land. This was not just a job, and when I want to trust someone I want to know they enjoy their day to day. You could tell the crew loved the river, the customer service was genuine, and when I was unsure they even offered a refund if I wanted decline based on the river change. I'm glad my family stayed! Such positive energy, from this team, all laughs, smiles, and care! What a great team! You are all awesome! I can't wait to come back and try the 5 mile run! Thank read more

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We had a great time on the Verde River! The guides were super nice and very accommodating to our large party. Would highly recommend doing a float down the river!! read more

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Absolutely loved it! The water was perfect temp . And the view was just beautiful. Scotty our adventure guide was funny and so helpful. He made sure to explain what to look for on the river and was there to cheer you on at the end. I would totally do this again and next time bring my kids. read more

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A beautiful and fun experience from start to finish! We went on a weekday and had the river to ourself. It was incredibly peaceful. The river is a perfect mix of calm, 'wild' and mysterious! We saw otter, beaver and some deer. There was beautiful foliage along the way. We too our time to enjoy the peace during the portions of the float that was calm. The winery was lovely and scenic. Ya we had a couple flights and a cheese platter and took some to go. I would highly recommend this adventure to anyone who likes nature and wine ;) read more

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