For my Christmas 2019 break, I came from NY for a mental health get away and scheduled a tour with PADDLES OUTDOOR. I chose PADDLES because it was a new company in the area and Chris, the owner offered that there would be no charge until I arrived, and there were no extra costs for pictures extras like other companies charge you.
PADDLES was a perfect location and experience for stand up paddle boarding for me to see and swim with the manatees for my first time on a paddle board and swimming with the manatees. Chris, the owner, and his support staff were wonderful hosts for such an incredible experience of a lifetime! We were even given homemade cookies and the recipe was shared! Chris is very personable and helpful beyond being a business owner. He extended himself and spent a lot of extra time looking up and sharing suggestions for activities and events offered in the area along with restaurant recommendations and tried to find a soup kitchen for me to volunteer at on Christmas day. The 3 hours advertised as our tour started when we got on the water, not when we were scheduled to show up. We were sized up perfectly for our wet suits, matched up with mask and snorkel, given a bottle of water and smiling excited Jessica to take us on our adventure! While I was visiting PADDLES the evening prior to my tour, I was told I was going to have a one on one tour. While chatting, Chris got a phone call inquiring a booking at the same time I was scheduled. He offered to me to keep my one on one and schedule the caller another time. WOW! No other company would have done that. I was fine with having others join me. The mother and daughter that joined me on my tour were on a kayak. Jessica took us directly to Three Sisters Springs. We didn't spend time traveling around to other sites that may or may not have manatees in the area. We spent the entire time in the water at Three Sisters Springs. We were taught to allow the manatees to approach us. I was kissed on my mask by a manatee and the mom was hugged 5 times!!! Incredible experience!! I can't say enough wonderful things about PADDLES! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PADDLES OUTDOOR!!!
My first wonderful experience with Paddles Outdoor Adventures was on Monday, 12/23/19. I went back again to rent a standup paddle board on the morning of Sunday, 12/29/19. Chris once again was cheerfully very accommodating. He was loading up kayaks for a tour, added my SUP to his trailer and made a special trip to deliver a board for me right away since I was meeting some new friends at Hunter Springs Park.