Sarasota Guided Mangrove Tunnel Kayak Tour

Overview

There is a reason that the Mangrove Tunnels of Lido Key are a must-do experience when visiting the Gulf Coast. We launch from Ted Sperling Nature Park (190 Taft Dr Sarasota FL) which has clean restrooms, a rinsing shower, and shaded picnic tables. Our amazing local guides from Sea Life Kayak Adventures take you on a tour of Little Sarasota Bay, where you may see manatees, dolphins, a variety of birds and sea life...then finish up in the famous mangrove tunnels, a beautiful canopy that meanders thru an island. The tour usually goes around 2 hours, but we aren't on a strict schedule, so please allow for an extra half hour. We are located just minutes from downtown Sarasota, 20 minutes from Siesta Key, and a half hour from Anna Maria Island and Bradenton (add time for traffic during high season. We meet a HALF HOUR before our tours)

City: Sarasota

Wed 20 Nov

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $59.00

Make a reservation

Wed 20 Nov

Starting at $59.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

USCG Life Jacket

Local guide

Professional guide

Lightweight carbon fiber paddle

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

464kiki

Sep 2022

TL;DR: Great for families, beginners, and couples. It's a unique experience. My husband and I did the kayaking tour through the Mangrove Tunnels, specifically with Sea Life Kayak Adventures. There are many kayak and standing boat companies that do tours in these areas, but there's a lot of tunnels and ocean to cover, so we only ran into other tours twice. We saw lots of wildlife from birds to crabs to invasive jellyfish. No manatees sadly, but we did go out when the tide was really low, so we saw more fish and small underwater animals. They said manatees are more common during higher tide around winter when the surrounding waters get cold. Do your research if you want to increase your odds of seeing one. The tour guide was fantastic. He was funny and very knowledgeable about the local wildlife and mangroves, despite only living here for a couple months. The only downside was trying to hear him. We had to stay at max two kayaks away if we wanted to hear him. Our group was sort of small, maybe 10 people total. A couple pre-teens, but the rest were adults. This tour is great for beginners, but at the same time sucks for beginners. It's common to bump people with your kayak if you don't space yourself out well, but we also had people get stuck in the tunnels, which caused a chain reaction of everyone getting stuck if they don't stop in time. The tour isn't rushed, so we had time to get everyone unstuck. It only happened once though, but my tip to beginners is to take things slow and not panic if you bump something or get stuck.

Kelexis33

Sep 2022

Had a great time with our tour guide Ian. He had a great sense of humour and was knowledgeable about the mangroves and the wildlife that lived in and around them. We did the 9:30 am tour which was perfect because it was before the heat of the day arrived.

kalleyj2022

Sep 2022

Highly recommend! Bo was an awesome tour guide and very knowledgable. We saw so much wildlife- manatees, jelly fish, birds, etc.