Do you still have a day or two left on your Florida vacation? Would you like to do something fun, exciting, and safe with your family? If so, you are in luck because Adventure Kayak of Cocoa Beach can provide you and your family with a safe kayaking experience you will never forget!
Tom Leonard Asked: “How old does a child need to be to go kayaking?”
Dear Tom: Thank you, that is an excellent question. We can accommodate children as young as four. Kayaking on the Banana River or Indian River is safe because we will not go out during inclement weather, everyone wears a life jacket, and young children sit in the front of a tandem kayak with a parent.
People Fishing from a Boat in the Banana River
“Adventure Kayak of Cocoa Beach has been kayak touring for over 20 years and leads the way in kayak eco-touring through the gorgeous Thousand Islands of Cocoa Beach. “
What is Kayak Eco-Touring?
Kayak eco-tourism is exploring the natural environment in a kayak without damaging it or disturbing habitats. It is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small-scale alternative to standard commercial mass tourism.
In keeping with the definition of eco-tourism, we keep our kayak tour groups to a maximum of ten guests or two families per tour. Small tour groups provide exceptional opportunities for personal education, information exchange, and intimate dialogue with your guide. Every kayak tour feels like a private tour!
Guided Kayak Tour Group Practicing Paddling
We Offer Fun and Safe Kayak Adventures
Our guides are certified in first aid and CPR. Our guides have trained extensively in water safety, paddle instruction, and delivering detailed information about pristine habitats. Every kayak tour guide has a professional background to provide a more definitive knowledge of the environment and its inhabitants. In our midst, we have a retired Navy survival instructor, Florida naturalists, marine biologists, and local legends who have paddled these waters for generations.
Life jackets are mandatory! We have different sizes of life jackets for different-sized guests. We want you to feel comfortable and secure. Your safety is our main concern! Need we say more?
No Paddle Experience is Necessary
The difficulty level of this paddling tour is rated as “easy,” so anyone can do it. Your guide will provide basic paddle lessons, allowing you to get comfortable and feel safe in your kayak. Whether you have paddling experience or not, our professional guides may offer expertise, or assistance, to tweak your paddle techniques to enhance your future paddling experiences.
We provide comfortable and stable kayaks with seats that are second to none! The seats are ventilated, extremely comfortable, fully adjustable, and equipped with adjustable foot braces for your paddling comfort.
Choose a Single or Tandem Kayak
You have the selection between single or double (tandem) seated kayaks for the tour. Tandem kayaks provide the opportunity to bring along the younger children (over four years old) to enjoy and experience the wildlife. Some guests would prefer the tandems. It makes them feel more comfortable with another paddler in the kayak with them. Either choice, the experience, and the view are the same!
Great Blue Heron Wildlife Encounter While Kayaking
Kayak Tours Last About Two Hours
Our guided kayak tours are scheduled in the morning due to the Florida afternoons’ heat stress and inclement weather. The tours are approximately two hours long, give or take.
Our tours must be scheduled at least the day before due to the limited seating. We meet at our assigned launch facility, usually, a local park on Cocoa Beach, around 9 am or 9:30 am. Your guide will have your kayak selection prepped for the trip and await your arrival.
After our guests fill out the requisite paperwork (disclaimers) and issue a last call for bathrooms, your guide will provide water to drink, life jackets, a quick safety brief, and a paddle demonstration before we launch on your private adventure.
Beautiful Scenery Near Cocoa Beach Thousand Islands
Banana River Thousand Islands Area
Once we launch our kayaks, we will begin our tour on the Banana River through the Thousand Islands. Your guide will explain what to look for in identifying and locating manatees, dolphins, gators, birds, marine life, and local vegetation. The wildlife we encounter will enthrall everyone, regardless of age! Seeing the wildlife in its natural surroundings is something you will never forget!
Now…are you still pondering what to do for the last days of your Florida vacation?
Tour Group Approaching The Cocoa Beach Country Club
Manatee Encounter On an Eco-Kayaking Tour
Check out the slideshow below to view photos of a manatee encounter during one of our eco-kayaking tours on the banana River. After leaving the mangrove tunnels, the guide spotted this manatee heading towards an area containing sea grass to feed.
Kayak Tour Guide Ed Halm
Ed Halm has been a guide with Adventure Kayak for over 12 years. Ed is a retired US Navy survival instructor, Florida naturalist, and owner of a paddle sports manufacturing company.
