Self-Guided Kayaking Manatee and Dolphin Tour
Description
A1A Outdoor Center is the area leader in organized outdoor activities, wildlife kayak tours and other biking and waterports activities. On this tour, we'll deliver kayaks and everything necessary for your group to enjoy a private paddle at a location of your preference, or where the best daily report for manatee and dolphin activity is! This tour is a fantastic option for anyone who's kayaked previously and does not require a guide. Enjoy relaxed manatee and dolphin viewing as well as other marine wildlife at your pace, paddling where and how you wish, with the privacy of just you and your group. If you prefer a guided tour or need paddling lessons, please return to the main page and select one of our guided tours.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Most trips start at our shop where we reconfirm your tour details, and then we drive out to the preferred kayak starting point for the day, usually within 5-10 minutes. If you don't have transportation, please call us to make arrangements.
Explore our barrier island's natural marine habitat on the calm inshore waters of the bay exploring around mangrove islands, as you keep a lookout for curious manatee, and playful dolphin.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Expect to get wet from the waist down.
- Consider keeping essential items dry.
- Sunscreen, hats, bugspray, and hydration are all suggested but not required by us. We sell these at our store.
- This tour is not a "guided" tour. Lessons are not provided. You are expected to have a working knowldedge of flat water paddling. If you want a guide or instructions please return to our main page and choose a guided tour.
Reviews(13)
It was remarkable to see the manatees and dolphins in the natural environment. Well, we did go out on a day that wasn’t ideal. It was worse seen all the birds and the aquatic animals. I would highly recommend.
I highly recommend launching at Mullet Road. I did a solo rental. I had asked if I would see manatees because there was a small sanctuary park not far, but my guide said they don’t see many. OK, I wasn’t expecting manatees. So, when one came up for air only about 8’ away from my kayak, it startled me, but then I was thrilled! I wasn’t paddling at that moment, so he was probably just curious and came up to see what I was. I saw dolphins not too far away, NASA’s VAB, a couple of cruise ships in port and the the old lock system. That was all before I was even a mile out! On my return, there were 2 dolphins literally frolicking in the cove where I departed and retuned. I admit I was too busy fighting the wind to take a lot of pics, but totally worth it!! The only reason this didn’t get a full five stars was the equipment. If you have lower back issues, the back support is hard and attached to the kayak, and no seat. I sat on my life jacket and it helped a bit, but after three lower back surgeries and almost five miles of paddling, I was definitely feeling it. I recommend just bringing a couple of folded beach towels and drape them over the back support and the seat. If you don’t have these issues, I’m jealous and you’ll be just fine. The guides were very nice and friendly. I will definitely be renting from them on our next trip over! 🤗
Thank you so much for your detailed review and for sharing your adventure with us! We're thrilled that you had such an exciting experience, especially with that surprise manatee encounter and seeing dolphins, NASA’s VAB, and other sights along the way. It sounds like a memorable day on the water! We appreciate your feedback regarding the equipment. We're sorry to hear that the back support was uncomfortable, especially given your previous surgeries. Your suggestion to bring extra padding is a great tip for others who might have similar concerns. We'll certainly take your comments into account as we strive to improve our equipment for all our guests. We're glad to hear that despite this, you enjoyed your time and plan to rent from us again. We look forward to welcoming you back on your next trip!
We went out with guide Frank in the Banana River to see bioluminescence. We saw that and a whole lot more! Frank was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He took us to very dark areas where the bioluminescence was clear to see. We stepped onto bird island and saw so many darting fish, a horseshoe crab, and many birds. It was a very memorable kayak trip.
Saw a some dolphins, a few horseshoe crabs, and watched a few birds catch some fish. Daven was really nice. Great price. Definitely recommend
Driver Dave was super friendly. We appreciated his experience and help! We had a great conversation with him before setting out to the ocean.
Excellent service and experience. Will definitely use their service again to tour the Cocoa Beach Thousand Islands mangroves.
My family had 2 days of rentals lined up and when we get to Cocoa Beach and we call and this guy Dave answered very rudely, and lost are appointment. My children were so disappointed, Dave next time you swear at people on the phone,think about how PATHETIC you are. And remember there are reviews now!!
I'm a Cocoa Beach local & A1A helped my family & I out with a tandem kayak rental when we were short one. They were able to fill our request last minute and we had an awesome day on the Banana River thanks to them! Will be back.
No refund give if you prepay for Kayaking but can’t use due to weather conditions. We were advised not to go out by staff.
I made the reservations online and the instructions were to contact the tour company direct to confirm. This took some persistence and We finally got in contact with them after many calls and was able to confirm. We got the kayaks with no problem on our day so that part is acceptable. We requested full size kayaks but they showed up with a smaller one and a larger one so we made it work. The fellows that met us at the landing to deliver kayaks knew little about the area and said they were out of maps so we were lucky to run into one of their competitors that gave us good info to make the best of our time. It was important to us to find a self guided rental so this company worked in that regard. If your looking for equipment to be there for your use they were ok. Just go up on shore by the public landing and review that map that shows the route of the water trail through the mangrove. We enjoyed ourself and covered 5 miles in3.5 hrs. Saw two dolphins. Regardless who you get kayaks from it is a must do and we will do it again.
