Looking for multi-day kayak tour options, if anyone has suggestions of ones they have done and loved (or ones you hated which we should avoid). Good food, beautiful locations, culture, and wildlife are all things we like.
People I’d be going with are all experienced sea kayakers, regularly paddling at least multiple times per month. Comfortable with wet exits and self-rescues, but not many combat rollers in the group.
Looking for trips where we stay in lodging of some sort (glamping, hotel, B&B, etc.) - not wanting to camp. Flat water paddling, maybe 5 to 15 miles per day. Boats shouldn’t be too recreational. Warm water is nice, but we all have dry suits if location calls for it.
My partner and I have done kayak or multi-sport (with significant kayak portions) in Alaska (Kodiak), Baja (both sides), Laos/Cambodia, Italy (Amalfi/Cilento), Galapagos, and Cuba. Not looking to repeat these locations.
We were considering Douro Kayaks in Portugal (https://dourokayak.com/), but all of their longer itinerary trips are full for 2024 already. So expanding our horizons.
You have an experienced group. Maybe you should consider leading some trips.
My best thought is a small group Alaska cruise on the Inside Passage. Those trips always carry sea kayaks, have local food, and you can sleep aboard the ship. Plenty of time in the Alaska bush without the camping. There is a great company in Seattle that has these kinds of trips. I forget the name. Their office is down by Fishermen’s Terminal. My cousin knows all the owners.
Sorry to read that Douro Kayaks trips are full. I’ve wanted to do that one. Lived in Portugal in the early 80s and drove most of the Douro. Great food and wine.
Burnham Guides does tours in Florida in the winter/spring and Costa Rica over Christmas. I’m hoping to do one of their Costa Rica trips in the next year or two.
My new way of thinking is to look at non stop flights on the Dreamliner. For example, SF used to have a nonstop to Oslo (over the top) on Norwegian. It’s so much more comfortable and hassle free not to worry about connecting and lost bags. My sister just met me in Chamonix and flew nonstop to Geneva. I don’t think I would ever consider multiple connections through London or Paris again.
So, try checking the great non stop long haul flights from your nearest hub city and see if that gives you any ideas.
We are interested in southern Norway this summer (ferry from Denmark)
Dreamliner or Airbus is the best way to travel if going long haul in coach. The shop I bought my Braveheart from does some trip through German rivers through some nice towns. We might just copy the itinerary.
One of the most beautiful and uncrowded places we have paddled:
They rent some nice kayaks but not sure about tours although it would be easy to spend 3-4 days paddling that lake and then jump to the next alpine lake. Fly non stop to Munich and drive an hour. Globetrotters in Munich has tour information I think.
I lived in Norway for a while, and spent a lot of time on the southern coast, especially near Kristiansand. One of the major ferries from Denmark docks in Kristiansand. I have never done it but a few years ago there were groups that outfitted light house tours on the southern coast. Each day you paddle to a light and stay overnight. There are lots of holms that offer some protection from summer storms, but I believe it would require a good deal of rough water paddling experience. I have a facebook friend in Vestagder who has done this trip.
I’m also interested in paddling in the Sognefjord area around, Flåm, Aurland and Undredal, I have been on small stretches and it’s unbelievably beautiful. I am looking for an outfitter who could provide boats for a custom tour. There is a stand up paddle business that does this, but so far I have not found any kayak outfitters that can do this. Aiming for this coming summer before I am too old.
Peter have you ever been to New Zealand? Doubtful sound is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and it’s hard to get to so not overrun with tourists. Most kayak touring companies are aimed at novice paddlers, but before the pandemic there was a company that sponsored multi day tours. (Beware of sand flies however). Abel Tasman national park is supposed to be one of the best places for a long tours but I have never done it. I have a friend on the west side of the North Island and he took us paddling to spots within an hour drive of his home, great surfing and the coast looked like The Shire from the Hobbit with an 8000 ft volcano rising up from it. (we did many hikes and they were almost as good as the surfing.) We gave up on Mount Taranaki about 2/3 of the way up because it was raining like being hit by a fire hose.
I was hoping we could just put in ourselves and hug around the shore during the day and camp. we have the dog so we are not interested in long excursions as we will be camping a couple nights and hotels every few nights, that’s what we enjoy the most. We don’t care for groups because we like having our cameras and doing our own schedule. I’ll use your list of towns because I’m planning it now. I think I’ll start with booking some camp spots near the water access. I read you need a wet card so I need to investigate that also. When we drove though, we saw a lot of spots and campers. Thanks for the information.
