Kaikoura Kayaks
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Kaikoura Kayaks
100% Success rate for Seal Viewing! Voted "Top Choice" Lonely Planet, Kaikoura's Original Kayak Operator Est:1998. Paddle with playful Fur Seals, have chance encounters with dusky dolphins and blue penguins on our 1/2 day guided tours in a real sea kayak!
The curious NZ fur seals, dusky dolphins and blue penguins are only a few paddle strokes away and our local qualified guides would love to introduce you to them around the Kaikoura Peninsula.
Stay warm and dry in our enclosed stable sea kayaks with all equipment provided including GORE-TEX dry pants over the winter months, wet suit booty's for your feet and dry bags for camera's.
Our eco-friendly 1/2 day guided "Seal Kayaking" tours offer a safe, enjoyable, interactive experience, with little effort and a whole lot of good fun.
No experience necessary, suitable for all ages and abilities. Family's are most welcome.
If you want to tick off a real Kayaking experience from your bucket list with the help of our qualified local guides amongst a multitude of marine life while in New Zealand, come paddling with us!
Details
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Organisation |
Kaikoura KayaksCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Kaikoura Region ▷ Kaikoura |
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Operating Season And Hours |
Operating year round, 7 days a week, 8am - 8pm
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Coordinates |
Sea Kayaking
Reviews
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5.0/5
200-300 dusty dolphins!!!
I’m not here to brag, but I have done some amazing things in my life, including flying with the Red Arrows as their photographer (2007-2009). I can honestly say, this kayak trip is easily now in my top 3 of life experiences. The price was absolutely perfect for what was included. The staff were funny, helpful and (I’m gonna say it) very easy on the eye 😜 … well the two girls anyway. Not that it matters, but it always helps. The guys were alright I suppose 😘
Found them so easily, and they took care of everything. Including driving me down to the launch.
I went for the 4:30pm session and my god was it worth it.
I wasn’t going to hold my breath on seeing Dolphins, but after 2 minutes in the water we were paddling straight out into the south bay, in the evening sun straight towards what looked like a couple of dolphins. Then after another few minutes we were surrounded by 200+ Dusty dolphins. They swam with us, raced us, performing all sorts of spins, jumps and tricks. They even came to the surface and turned on their sides to look at us.
I’m not ashamed to say, I started to cry a little at how amazing the experience was.
I will be returning in a couple of years with my kids and will definitely be going back out on the water with this crew.
I honestly can not think of a better way to spend an afternoon. We had about an hour with these magnificent creatures and I got some incredible shots.
Thank you Emma and the rest of the Kaikoura Kayak crew. You made my New Zealand adventure f**king AMAZING!!!
- Ben.
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5.0/5
Arrived in Kaikoura to be greeting with bad weather however the Kaikoura Kayaking (KK) team managed to reschedule the weather and our Paddling experience.
I am a very experienced paddler but this was Suzanne's first time on the water. Was very impressed with how they explained and prepared us all for our 3hr open water paddle around the seal colony. Awesome day out and a wonderful experience for both of us. To Brad and the KK Team many thanks for sharing your skills and extensive knowledge on the local inhabitants with both of us and for making Suzanne's first real Paddling experience memorable one. Cheers R & S
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5.0/5
Super fun way to spend a Saturday morning & get all the seal facts from Emma (very knowledgeable & great guide).
Really recommend as an unique way to see the marine life in kaikoura.
Thank you for the great review Kate! We agree, seeing Marine Life by kayak is unique and something awesome to do here in Kaikoura.
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Emma gave us a fantastic time Kayaking in Kaikoura we loved our time with her as she showed us the seals and to our suprize a humpback whale so close to us, it was a real buzz.her knowlegde of the area
was fantastic.
Thankyou Emma
Thank you for the 10/10 review Janet!
Sounds like you had a wonderful tour with guide Emma, the NZ Fur Seals and a bonus suprise Humpback Whale!
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Awesome afternoon.
Emma was friendly and knowledgeable about the area and would highly recommend the experience!
Thank you for the great review and recommendation Karen!
Thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
Thank you for the 10/10 review Fred!
Regards,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Highlight of our trip so far!
We absolutely loved this kayaking experience! Saw soooo many seals both in the water and on the rocks. Our guides Emma and Cohen were super friendly, fun and professional. 100% worth doing. Stunning views, super close encounters with the seals and great guides! Support this local small business, you won’t regret it!
Hi Abbey,
Pleased to hear the tour was the highlight of your trip! We will pass the great feedback onto Emma and Cowan.
Thanks for coming out with us!
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayaking with Kaikoura kayaks was awsome.
The guides where very clear and educating. They were funny and freindly and they give you always a safe feeling. So they are really professionals I should say.
Hi Els,
Pleased to hear you enjoyed kayaking with us! Thanks for the honest review
Regards,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayak with seals An excellent experience with Emma and Maria who have an exceptional knowledge of nature and biodiversity in the region Teaching was exceptional with a good focus on safety I fully
recommend- an amazing and enjoyable experience
Thanks for the 10/10 review! Awseome to hear the great feedback, we will be sure to pass it onto our guides.
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kaikoura Kayaks was accomodating for our family with people of different ages and expertise in kayaking.
We had a guide and enjoyed the tour of the bay. We weren't able to go too far out due to an oncoming storm but spent a good hour kayaking and getting close to sea lions. Excellent experience with wonderful pictures that will always be treasured. Thanks!
-
5.0/5
200-300 dusty dolphins!!!
I’m not here to brag, but I have done some amazing things in my life, including flying with the Red Arrows as their photographer (2007-2009). I can honestly say, this kayak trip is easily now in my top 3 of life experiences. The price was absolutely perfect for what was included. The staff were funny, helpful and (I’m gonna say it) very easy on the eye 😜 … well the two girls anyway. Not that it matters, but it always helps. The guys were alright I suppose 😘
Found them so easily, and they took care of everything. Including driving me down to the launch.
I went for the 4:30pm session and my god was it worth it.
I wasn’t going to hold my breath on seeing Dolphins, but after 2 minutes in the water we were paddling straight out into the south bay, in the evening sun straight towards what looked like a couple of dolphins. Then after another few minutes we were surrounded by 200+ Dusty dolphins. They swam with us, raced us, performing all sorts of spins, jumps and tricks. They even came to the surface and turned on their sides to look at us.
I’m not ashamed to say, I started to cry a little at how amazing the experience was.
I will be returning in a couple of years with my kids and will definitely be going back out on the water with this crew.
I honestly can not think of a better way to spend an afternoon. We had about an hour with these magnificent creatures and I got some incredible shots.
Thank you Emma and the rest of the Kaikoura Kayak crew. You made my New Zealand adventure f**king AMAZING!!!
- Ben.
-
5.0/5
Arrived in Kaikoura to be greeting with bad weather however the Kaikoura Kayaking (KK) team managed to reschedule the weather and our Paddling experience.
I am a very experienced paddler but this was Suzanne's first time on the water. Was very impressed with how they explained and prepared us all for our 3hr open water paddle around the seal colony. Awesome day out and a wonderful experience for both of us. To Brad and the KK Team many thanks for sharing your skills and extensive knowledge on the local inhabitants with both of us and for making Suzanne's first real Paddling experience memorable one. Cheers R & S
-
5.0/5
Kaikoura Kayaks was accomodating for our family with people of different ages and expertise in kayaking.
We had a guide and enjoyed the tour of the bay. We weren't able to go too far out due to an oncoming storm but spent a good hour kayaking and getting close to sea lions. Excellent experience with wonderful pictures that will always be treasured. Thanks!
-
5.0/5
Super fun way to spend a Saturday morning & get all the seal facts from Emma (very knowledgeable & great guide).
Really recommend as an unique way to see the marine life in kaikoura.
Thank you for the great review Kate! We agree, seeing Marine Life by kayak is unique and something awesome to do here in Kaikoura.
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Emma gave us a fantastic time Kayaking in Kaikoura we loved our time with her as she showed us the seals and to our suprize a humpback whale so close to us, it was a real buzz.her knowlegde of the area
was fantastic.
Thankyou Emma
Thank you for the 10/10 review Janet!
Sounds like you had a wonderful tour with guide Emma, the NZ Fur Seals and a bonus suprise Humpback Whale!
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Awesome afternoon.
Emma was friendly and knowledgeable about the area and would highly recommend the experience!
Thank you for the great review and recommendation Karen!
Thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
Thank you for the 10/10 review Fred!
Regards,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Highlight of our trip so far!
We absolutely loved this kayaking experience! Saw soooo many seals both in the water and on the rocks. Our guides Emma and Cohen were super friendly, fun and professional. 100% worth doing. Stunning views, super close encounters with the seals and great guides! Support this local small business, you won’t regret it!
Hi Abbey,
Pleased to hear the tour was the highlight of your trip! We will pass the great feedback onto Emma and Cowan.
Thanks for coming out with us!
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayaking with Kaikoura kayaks was awsome.
The guides where very clear and educating. They were funny and freindly and they give you always a safe feeling. So they are really professionals I should say.
Hi Els,
Pleased to hear you enjoyed kayaking with us! Thanks for the honest review
Regards,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayak with seals An excellent experience with Emma and Maria who have an exceptional knowledge of nature and biodiversity in the region Teaching was exceptional with a good focus on safety I fully
recommend- an amazing and enjoyable experience
Thanks for the 10/10 review! Awseome to hear the great feedback, we will be sure to pass it onto our guides.
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
4.5/5
Kaikoura kayaks put together a memorable experience.
Perfect weather. The team at Kaikoura Kayaks were professional and refreshingly chilled and easy to talk too
Fur seals and dolphins were found during our trip. I would happily recommend this experience.
Thank you for the review and recommedation Warren!
From the friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Amazing experience with really knowledgeable guides!
Thought we saw the planes circling some whales so we went for a look, didn’t see any but hung out with some seals instead. Cruisy day and we were so fortunate to have awesome weather! Would definitely fly back to NZ just to do this again and would recommend to all!
Thank you for the review Dee!
We hope to see you again for another tour :)
Many thanks,
The friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
It was amazing!
The two guides Maria and Cole were so nice and friendly. We saw so many dolphins. A group of over hundred was swimming around us. They were jumping out of the water and interacting with us. Just a stunning moment. Thanks a lot for this great experience!
We were really lucky to see such a big group of dolphins. That’s not usually. But I think without the dolphins it will be a great kayaking experience as well. There is so many interesting marine life in Kaikoura and the guides are trying their best to get you as close as possible to that marine life.
Thanks for your review!
Sounds like you hit the jackpot out there with all of the Dolphins!
From the friendly team at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayaking in Kaikoura ...
Great experience Excellent guides and coaches . Highly recommend 👍👍
Hi, Thanks for your review!
Pleased to hear you had such a great expperience.
From the friendly crew at Kaikoura Kayaks
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Best experience - a real must do!
The guys were all very knowledgeable of both the area + wildlife & respectful of both as well as all their guests. They explained everything well so even a novice could go out & have a great time + be inspired to go again. We saw seals & penguins & had a great time riding some waves back into shore too.
Thanks for your review!
Sounds like you had an awesome experience.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kaikoura Kayaks were fantastic.
The staff went out of their way to ensure our experience was truly wonderful. We were able to get up close to the seals, learn about their habitat, learn about the other wildlife in the area as well as experience the exhilaration of paddling out into the bay and near the break water. Although we did go for a swim due to my partner and I both leaning the same way at the same time, the staff were close by and helped us back onto our kayak quickly. Would highly recommend the experience to everyone. Don't need to be super fit as the exertion is minimal. Great activity for teenagers. They are also able to accommodate the little ones with advance notice.
Thanks a lot for your review,
Sounds like you had a good experience and it's awesome to hear the guides were so helpful!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Friendly and warm welcome.
Very professional and an exciting outing for all levels. Connor, our guide was amazing. What i wanted to know and proved correct, you stay dry, it’s safe, it’s fun!
Hi, Thanks for your review!
Awesome to know you had a great time with Conner.
Matt Foy
-
4.5/5
Place and conditions of whether were absolutely perfect.
We saw seals not just resting on rocks but also in water when they oiled themselves:) instructors were super friendly, anytime helpful and they gave us not just safety information but also very interesting and funny infos about seals, place and other animals or New Zealand culture , great job guys!
Sounds like the guides gave you some super fun facts and provided you with an awesome tour, glad to hear!
From the team at Kaikoura Kayaks.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Great trip, staff fun but very attentive to all of us.
We saw seal and hoping for dolpins, but a rare opportunity of seeing 8 orcas swim past us was just a delight
Wow! not every day we get to see Orca so this must have been a very special trip!
Glad you enjoyed.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon/ evening in a sea kayak, enjoying seals on the rocks and in the water.
Thankyou for your review, Glad you enjoyed your Sunset tour!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Awesome fun !
The guides were great, knowledgeable and caring ! We had Cowan, he was a rad dude and made sure everything went smooth the whole time, even offering water proof pants to my wife as we came unprepared. Highly recommend it, it’s safe, exciting, and wonderful to see the wildlife this way. Do it! You will not regret it.
Hi, Thanks for you review,
Glad to hear you had a great tour out on the water with Cowan!
Matt Foy
-
Thanks for your review!
Awesome news to hear that you had such a great time with Blake.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Had a fantastic trip out with the lads from Kaikōura Kayaks.
They are very knowledgeable, helpful and really good fun. We had a perfect day weather wise and the lads helped us make the most of it. The fur seals were beautiful and a privilege to see in their natural environment. This trip would be suitable for a variety of ages and all abilities even if you haven’t kayaked before. Highly recommended and good value for money.
Hi Thanks for your awesome review!
Glad you enjoyed your time paddling out from the beautiful Kaikoura Peninsula.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Amazing sunset paddle with the very knowledgeable, informative and friendly Renee.
I didn’t get slapped in the face by an octopus, but we did see a seal slapping an octopus for his dinner. Throw in a blue penguin wave surfing, seals sunbaking and swimming around, beautiful weather and you have a pretty perfect afternoon 😁👍🏼. Great fun, excellent value for money and a must do in Kaikoura
Thankyou for the awesome review!
Great to hear that you had such an awesome afternoon paddling with our guide Renee!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Half day fur seal kayak tour.
Awesome experience with lots of seals a pod of dolphins and a passing whale. A trip not to be missed
WOW! Not very often we get to see the Whales passing by so you must have had an amazing tour.
Thanks again for the review!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Wonderful experience.
Connor is a great guide very knowledgeable experienced and friendly. You really must do this when in Kaikoura.
Thanks for the review,
We too appreciate Conner for his great guiding skills, experience and wonderful personality! Glad you enjoyed.
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Kayaking was a great experience!
It wasn’t labor intensive at all and actual kayaking was about 2.5 hours with seeing seals, dolphins, and stingray along the way. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and took photos throughout that he was happy to send to us. Would definitely recommend!
Thanks for your review,
Fantastic that you got to see both Dolphin and Stingray!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Such a wonderful experience!
We saw many seals up close, and Connor was a great guide. My husband gives it the “seal” of approval!
Thanks Team :)
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Absolutely fantastic kayak experience!
In an easy paddle from South Bay we saw whales, dolphins and seals up close. The equipment and safety briefing were excellent and Conner is a brilliant guide - thanks for the experience and great memories
Wow what a tour you had! Its not a regular occurrence viewing Whales by kayak but when it happens it is simply "WOW", I'm sure you will always remember this tour:) We are very proud to be the only operator permitted to view Whales by kayak!
Matt Foy
-
5.0/5
Great experience!
Had kids aged 3 & 5 with us, guides were fantastic, we were lucky enough to see dolphins as well as seals. Highly recommend
Thank you for your review:) We love our family kayaking tours!
Matt Foy