Orlando Kayaking & Canoeing

Unique date adventure for couples seeking an immersive native Florida experience. The intimacy of you and the environment was a great way to appreciate a Florida sky, with all of it's stunning colors that the sunset brings out, and Terra was super knowledgeable pointing out plant and animals species. Perfect for sky-gazers, would definitely recommend!

A four hour kayaking trip that did not disappoint!

We spent about 5 hours kayaking on the Wekiva river with our amazing guide, Tia. She was a fountain of knowledge about the eco-system, the birds, animals, and plants. We saw upwards of 50 alligators who were peacefully sunning themselves on the banks and hundreds of birds, all in a peaceful, natural, beautiful corner of the planet.I highly recommend this tour and ask for Tia if you have an option. A perfect day on the river!

We came as a group of friends and had such a great time with Sunshine Paddle Tours. Everything was super easy from the shuttle pickup to the actual kayak tour. The scenery was beautiful, the water was amazing, and the whole experience was relaxing but also fun. The guides were friendly, organized, and made everyone feel comfortable, even those who don’t kayak often. It honestly turned into one of the highlights of our trip. Definitely recommend if you want a fun outdoor experience with friends!

We had such a wonderful experience with Sunshine Paddle Tours! The whole trip was smooth, well organized, and truly beautiful. The water was crystal clear, nature was stunning, and the guides were friendly, professional, and made everyone feel comfortable. The shuttle option made everything super easy, and the tour itself was relaxing but also exciting. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip , we would absolutely do it again!

My group of 2 adults and 4 teenagers did the private guided tour of Wekiva River. Sue and Tia are both excellent guides. They are friendly, knowledgeable and easy going.All 6 of us enjoyed the time we spent exploring the Wekiva River. We are moderately experienced paddlers and found this to be a very easy and relaxing paddle. We really enjoyed the flexible nature of the trip and that our guides were not stuck to a rigid schedule. As a bonus, the weather was perfect and we basically had the river to ourselves. The scenery is incredible. We also saw (and heard) a variety of birds, several turtles and 1 small alligator.The company is under new ownership so the webpage description of the tour no longer matches the actual tour. For us, this was not a big deal and we loved the experience we had. However, I would recommend the owner rectifies this as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you are booking this tour, find out the details directly from the new owner to ensure it still matches what you are looking for.The private tour is a flat rate price that includes up to 5 guests. Given the kayaks are 2 person kayaks, the cost to add a 6th person seemed rather high to me. Whether there are 5 or 6 guests, the company is supplying 3 kayaks. Perhaps a review of this pricing structure is warranted? Having said that, I appreciated the ability to add the 6th person 2 days before the trip.Overall, the tour was worth the cost and gets full marks from our group.

Astrid is a great teacher! Very knowledgeable and patient. I highly recommend her!! She truly seems to enjoy it when her students learn.

What a great time for the whole family. It was so cool, and the guide was very professional and made it fun for everyone. This is something we all definitely plan to do together again soon.

This was a wonderful experience. Took my 10-year daughter old along for a 3 hour lesson and while I learned some things the attention and care that was given to my 10-year-old was amazing. She had a great time, Astrid helped her overcome any nervousness and she learned a lot. I had been nervous about teaching her myself but now we can't wait to plan father/daughter kayaking outings. We are already talking about taking more advanced lessons together.

Dana was an incredible guide! We saw an alligator, many cool native birds and got to paddle with 3 manatees for about 30 minutes of the tour. The Wekiva River is such an amazing wildlife area. I would highly recommend this tour! Very peaceful and lots of interesting wildlife.

Definitely an enjoyable tour, make sure to bring sunscreen! They do provide lunch and bottled water which is a nice touch.

It was great to kayak among actual wild alligators and real natural beauty just a few miles from urban Orlando and the theme parks. Even with the post-storm higher waters, Saw and photographed multiple gators and herons and bald eagles and more. Great guide - accommodating, knowledgeable, skilled, and engaging. The Econlockhatchee River is winding and sheltered, with anticipation around every corner. Well worth it!

The Kayak trip: amazing wildlife tour with view of alligators and lots of birds. The material: high quality equipment, very safe The guides: Very professional, friendly and you can ask them a lot of questions they will know to answer. Very helpful and adaptive to the kayaking skills of the visitor Highlights: Despite the fact that it was only the two of us, they did not cancel the tour but gave us the experience with two guides. A snack was offered that included amazing chocolate cookies handmade by the owner of the business. An overall absolutely recommendable tour, we chose it as an alternative to an airboat tour and it turned out to be the absolute highlight of our Florida Trip. Thank you very much for giving us this experience!

I have completed two paddling courses with Astrid Jackson, I highly recommend her, and Venture Outdoors LLC for basic and advanced paddling instruction and/or expertly guided paddling tours.Astrid’s classes are well planned and organized. She is an experienced, skilled, professional ACA certified instructor. Every maneuver is expertly demonstrated; step-by-step. She keenly observes every student during practice and patiently offers suggestions for improvement.I brought my own recreational kayak for the first course. For the second training course, a few weeks later, we used a couple of her company’s modern sea kayaks. Astrid’s helpful introduction to these wonderful boats opened doors to new learning opportunities and adventures for me. I’m grateful for Astrid’s skilled, clear instruction and advice.Paddling classes are staged at Lake Mills Park - an ideal learning environment offering an excellent kayak loading and launch area on a protected shoreline. The water there is clean, calm and the Park’s area has a sandy bottom, very good for stability while standing.Venture Outdoors LLC’s paddling courses helped me reach a higher level of paddling skill and added self-confidence. I paddle often, enjoy it more, and manage my boats more safely when on the water.Thank you Astrid and Venture Outdoors LLC.

Kayaking through the Wekiva River was an unforgettable adventure—wildlife sightings around every bend and stunning photo ops throughout.We spotted so many incredible animals in their natural habitat, making it feel like a real Florida safari.Our guide’s deep knowledge and passion brought the journey to life and made the experience truly memorable.

Best experience in Florida for nature lovers,highly recommend to anyone, guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and we had a great lunch with the best cheese I ever had 🙂 Thank you very much guys and happy retirement buddy!