FAQs

We’ll determine whether or not it is safe to kayak inside Emerald Cave when we’re in front of it. There are several factors our experienced guides take into consideration, but your safety is our number one priority.

We recommend wearing beach attire: a swimsuit, t-shirt, maybe a light windbreaker. Also, depending on the temperature of the water and how much wind is present, we might recommend a wetsuit—bring your own if you have one or you can rent one from us.

We have lockers available for rent (they're $3) if you want to leave your stuff behind. If you don’t want to rent a locker we recommend keeping your valuables in your car.

Everyone will be in a double kayak unless you specifically purchased a single kayak. If you have vouchers, you'll be in a double kayak.

If you're going on a kayak tour, absolutely! We've had tons of people who have never kayaked before and don't know how to swim that had amazing experiences. However, if your activity includes snorkeling, then by state regulations you do need to be comfortable in the water.

Yes, you are going to be getting wet! It's part of the fun. All of our operations take place in the majestic La Jolla Ecological Reserve in the beautiful Pacific Ocean. The degree to which you will get wet varies daily, but the nature of ocean kayaking does mean you'll get a little wet out on the water.

We recommend bringing as little as possible. Feel free to bring a reusable water bottle (no plastic please) or a waterproof camera. Do not bring anything that should not get wet. We have an expression at the shop, “If you love it, leave it.”

There is plenty of parking in the residential streets surrounding our shop where you can park all day. Do not park in the lot adjacent to our shop: we don't own it, so if you park there you run the risk of being towed. We also do not recommend parking in a 90 minute commercial zone, as you will be here longer than that and will run the risk of getting ticketed.

The city of San Diego and the San Diego lifeguards have set the age requirement at 5 years and older.

The weight limit for each kayak is 425lbs / 193kg.

All tours begin at our shop, which is located at 2261 Avenida De La Playa, La Jolla, California 92037. It's in La Jolla Shores, one of San Diego’s most popular beaches, just north of La Jolla Cove.

After meeting up with your guide at our shop, we’ll head down the street to the beach at La Jolla Shores. After some quick safety instructions, you’ll get in your kayak and head out towards La Jolla Cove. All our kayak tours take you through the La Jolla Ecological Reserve to explore the seven La Jolla Sea Caves just north of the La Jolla Cove. Kayaking is the best way to see the famous La Jolla Caves!

Most likely! We have the ability to see tons of happy animals in their natural habitat. Among the sea life regularly seen on our tours are Sea Lions, Leopard Sharks, Seals, Cormorants, Pelicans, Sea Gulls, Garibaldi, Dolphins and many other types of fish. Of course, we’re dealing with nature, so the amount of marine life we see varies from day to day.

No experience is required to come on a tour! We’ve had everyone from children to senior citizens who are first time kayakers come out and have a blast on one of our kayak adventures.

We rent kayaks all year long. If you haven't been out kayaking on the La Jolla Ecological Reserve before, we always recommend doing a tour first. Once you do a tour, we encourage renting a kayak and going out on your own.

Sea Kayaking takes place in the beautiful ocean, which has one major difference from freshwater kayaking: Kayak Surfing! When returning to land in a Sea Kayak, you get the opportunity to catch and ride a wave all the way in.

One of our experienced and highly trained guides will lead you and your group on the tour. Each guide has extensive knowledge of the La Jolla Ecological Reserve and La Jolla Caves and is trained in water safety, First Aid and CPR.

Of course! Kayaks are perfect for whale watching since they're small and don't disturb our gentle giants, unlike some of the big commercial tour boats.

The best time to go is whenever you want! Our tours start as early as 9:20am (depending on the day), and the last tour comes back as the sun goes down, again depending on the day and time of year.

Snorkeling in the La Jolla Cove and Sea Caves has been rated as one of the top snorkeling spots in California. We’re thrilled to help share San Diego’s best snorkeling spot with visitors and locals all year.

Absolutely! La Jolla is one of the best snorkeling spots in California. If you go on a tour with us, we’ll even give you a great discount on snorkel gear. Just ask us if you want to try!

We use tandem sit-on-top kayaks because they are safer and more fun!

Please plan to be in our shop at least 30 minutes prior to your tour. Your tour time is when we go out on the water, and we leave as a group from the shop 10-15 minutes prior to your tour time. If we do not hit the water on time, the lifeguards can cancel the entire tour. If you’re late, you have missed your tour and there will be no refunds so please be on time!

The San Diego Lifeguards have asked us not permit our guests to take snorkeling gear while they are also renting a kayak or stand up paddle board.

Guests may rent or use snorkel gear either before or after the kayak or stand up paddle board rental but not during due to safety reasons. We appreciate your understanding.

We kayak in a Marine Protected Area, so nothing can be taken but photos. We will paddle and snorkel with sea life, and take direction from The Marine Protection Act of 1972.