Reviews of Kelp Reef Adventures (Travel Agency)

Dave Bolster

I got to enjoy an amazing afternoon on the Victoria harbour. We had a great guide named Austin who was very knowledgeable and helpful. Austin made sure we were comfortable and safe the whole time. We got to see lots of wonderful animals; seals, oyster catchers, and herons. It was wonderful. I would suggest this for any one looking for an adventure in Victoria.

David Worrell

Thanks Thom! Great way to spend the morning— gliding across the still waters and watching the seals, eagles, martins, deer... Kelp Reef makes it easy and fun (also informative) to get on the water. They provided sunscreen and water... even a small snack. Well thought out.

Agathe Chemla

We had a 2h tour with Austin, and that was a really good experience! I am personally not a professional at kayaking but Austin made us feel confident all the time and we felt safe with him. The tour was really fun, we saw some harbour seals and our guide could tell us a lot about the places, and historical things. All of that in a good mood and fun jokes! I recommend this place a 100%, and i think it's a pretty good experience i would do it again!

Jason Belyew

Great family tour with Thom! Saw a ton of sea life, sea stars, craps, seals, bald eagle, you name it as well as a lot of plant life. Thom was very informative and safe. He answered all of our many questions from the kids and was super nice and patient. Big thank you Thom! Reservations we very easy and they were extremely flexible to our needs, even calling me directly for openings.

Gurjiwan Kaila

We had a great 2 hour sunset tour with a great tour guide Brandon. He was very informative and made some great recommendations for places and restaurants to visit in Sooke and in Victoria. Brandon showed us many seals and also showed us some Kelp.. he even ate it with us! Brandon was kind enough to take some pictures of us. We forgot to get them from him after the tour, so he was kind enough to message us the pictures of us a couple days after our tour. We highly recommend Kelp Reef Adventures, great service!

Stuart McDonald

Great day out on the water. Facilities were very good. The skirt and dry launch from the deck was a great touch. Saw otters, eagles, oyster catchers, turkey vultures a lots of seals (with pups). The weather was great and our guide Brandon was friendly, funny and knowledgeable. Highly recommended! cheers Brandon.

Amanda Spence

Brandon was our tour guide. He was super awesome and super informative. Was a great trip!

Elizabeth Steele

I went on a two hour kayak trip with Austin and it was great! He was super professional and did a very thorough briefing about how to get the most out of our trip before we left the dock. His guiding was well informed, and he spent a lot of time chatting with us as we paddled along in the sunshine. The trip's highlight was going to a seal rookery to get a look at some harbour seal pups and watch them swim in the water right below us! The guiding was also very respectful and we were careful not to disturb the animals too. I would highly recommend this tour as an essential stop on your visit to Victoria! Lovely Katherine was there to meet us and check us in, provide us with everything we needed and greet us on our return.

Emma Liu

Thank you Brandon. Truly enjoyed the sunset tour :)

Iam Liferacer

Awesome place very nice people ????????

Pang S

Awesome experience!!! Austin was a fantastic guide. He was super friendly and knowledgeable about the wildlife and sea life we encountered. I highly recommend this place!!! Thanks guys????

Eva Pea

We enjoyed our time immensely our guide was professional the morning started out very foggy which added to the wonder. On the way back as the fig had lifted it was another beautiful site to behold. We had rain on and off and it did not matter. Highly recommended the morning 3 hour tour. Looking forward to returning for the evening sunset paddle.

Joy Levesque

Great paddle!!

Nicolas Lafreniere

My girlfriend and I had an amazing experience at kelp reef adventures. Our tour guide, Mitch, was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He took us to see bald eagles, seals, otters, and more of Victoria’s incredible wildlife. I would recommend kelp reef adventures to anyone visiting Victoria and will definitely be back. Thanks again Mitch and kelp reef adventures!

Lindsay Leis

Brad and Kathryn were just so accommodating, fun and knowledgeable on the local history. It was so much more than an amazing kayak experience. All the right equipment and accessories along with helpful technics made this beautiful day, one to remember! Lots of wildlife sightings and adventures held with Kelp Reef!

Chris Harris

Fantastic experience! Very knowledgeable tour guide which made our adventure comfortable, fun and very memorable. Many many thanks guys, from Ireland.

Alex

My wife and I and our 15 year old son had a blast. We took the 3 hour tour. This provided us with a trip from fisherman's wharf, through the harbor all the way to Saxe Point park. Along the way we saw mink, river otter, deer and a few …

Keith Wall

Had the pleasure of paddling the Victoria harbor with Brandon last week with a patrol of scouts. Earlier in the week Austin took our other patrol on an adventure. The informational, fun, and safe adventure was a highlight of the 2019 Pacific Jamboree for the 203 Sherwood Park Scout Group. Courtney, Brandon, and Austin, thank you so much for the amazing adventure. I'll definitely look you up on my next trip to the Island.

Mélany Grondin

Our guide Brandon was perfect from start to end on our sunset kayak tour on the harbour. We were more than luck to see approx 30 seals ????: mom and 6 weeks babies for a very long time they were really close to us, swimmimg around our kayaks, popping out their head from the water, or laying down on the rocks. The harbour and ocean were very very quiet and calm and Brandon gave us a lot of great explanation on the Harbour, floating houses, cruisers and obviously flora and fauna. The sunset was also perfect! The safety rules for nautical were met all the way and I was surprised bu the floating dock and the way we enter/exit kayaks on this dock without being in the water at all:-) Great great great adventure!! Thanks Brandon!!

Jack Newcombe

The kayak tour and in particular our guide Isabelle was bloody brilliant! We had very good and up to date equipment and you also get the bonus of hats, sunglasses and a bottle of water. I opted for the 1 person kayak, but you also get the choice of having a 2 person. Before setting off, Isabelle gave a thorough run through of what to expect and made everyone feel at ease. Isabelle was excellent at answering any questions we had and was also very much up for a laugh and a joke. When out on the water we were given time to get used to the kayak and Isabelle gave some helpful tips. Then we set off in duckling style and I noticed that Isabelle was very good at adjusting her speed accordingly to yours, as not to make you feel like you're going too slow, which is a lovely touch. When out of the harbour we kayaked around lots of little islands where we saw a plethora of wildlife, from Starfish to Seals and even an odd Canada Geese or two! Isabelle excelled in giving facts about the nature and was even more than happy to stop so we could hold a Starfish and a Sea Cucumber. On the return journey there was even an opportunity for a quick plop in the sea on our request, which we very much appreciated. Overall I would highly recommend going on a kayak tour with Kelp Reef Adventures and in particular having Isabelle as your tour guide. It's truly a great way to explore the beautiful waters and marine life Victoria has to offer.

Sydney McCabe

What an amazing experience kayaking in Beecher bay! I was blown away by the pristine location and the professionalism of the company. Lucas was simply amazing. He had a description for every sea creature from …

Alison B

Wonderful guides who took the tour at our pace. Guides were very informative and helped make the experience just wonderful! Would definitely recommend, especially doing it at sunset.

Brad Austin

We loved the guided tour that Brandon gave us during our recent visit to Victoria. He was very knowledgeable and made sure we learned more about the local environment as well as have a little fun! Definitely would recommend checking them out!

Rachel H

Had an amazing time out on the water with Kelp Reef Adventures, 100% recommend. What drew me to the 9am tour was the ability to head out of the harbour and experience something a little different. It was a windy day and the waves were much more… fun! Mitch was a phenomenal guide, very personable, knowledgable, and able to tailor his guiding to ensure the different levels experience of those on the tour felt comfortable and/or challenged throughout- he taught me how to catch waves which was much appreciated :)

Meghan Kerney

Had a wonderful time with Thom on our kayak adventure! We saw an amazing amount of local wildlife (I definitely suggest taking the morning tour for the best shot at seeing ALL the things!). We spotted otters, seals, sitka deer, racoons, herons, bald eagles, crabs, and more!! Thom was full of fun information and we even got a little hands on tutorial with some of the sea greenery. He helped us feel comfortable and able (even though we had little experience) and definitely made sure we were safe. He even gave is some tips on places to check out during our stay. The location is perfect to grab a delicious lunch after a great tour out on the water. Thank you Kelp Reef and Thom for such a memorable experience!

David Cook

Had a great kayak on the 2 hour tour with Austin! He was really informative and passionate about the outdoors around Victoria. This is a great way to be on the water and also to see the amazing wildlife that lives in the inner harbour. Everyone was very friendly and professional. Would recommend this to anyone!

Spencer W

We had a great first time kayaking with our tour guide Mitch. He was very professional and had a great personality. The tour itself was awesome! We saw some seals and seal cubs. Would highly recommend Kelp Reef Adventures!

Shayna O'Connell

We took the two hour tour with Thom and had a great time. We took our 11 year old and with the dual kayaks it was nice and easy for all of us to have a good time. Thom was a great guide, nice and informative. Highly recommended!

Éric Bohémier

Had a great time out on the water. Brandon was our guide and we enjoyed the way he formatted the trip around the harbour. We felt safe given his experience with paddling. He was informative and interesting, very personable. Would highly recommend.

Rod Turley

Brandon was great. Very knowledgeable and easy going. We were blessed to see the first Harbor seal pup of the season - was only a couple hours old. thanks to Brandon’s expertise we didn’t paddle on by and miss the pup hiding in the kelp. Would book with Kelp Reef Adventures again and again. Thank you Brandon for a memorable adventure!

yubin kim

I went sunset kayaking with the guide Mitch. It was my first time to go kayaking but not difficult to control. Mitch was kind, friendly and knowledgeable. I was happy to meet beautiful seals, see birds and geese. They were so cute. I cannot forget them. If there is another chance to experience kayak, I will definitely choose the Kelp Reef Adventures.

Leon Engelsjord

Mitch was a fun and knowledgeable guide around the outer and inner Harbour of Victoria.

Kevin Crawford

My wife Jan and I had a great experience with Thom and Jessica kayaking the harbour. Jan had never been kayaking before and was a little nervous going out on a larger and busier body of water. Thom made her feel very much at ease with the …

Ahmed

We had a 2-hour guided kayak tour with Brandon. We paddled by really cool sea creatures, as well as local buildings. Brandon was a really nice guy and we had friendly conversations with him while he was showing us around. Definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Victoria.

L Nug

We booked a 2 hr kayaking tour and had an amazing time! I was a bit nervous at first being a beginner kayaker but our guide Mitch took the time to explain things well and was a wealth of knowledge of the history of the area as well as the wildlife / ecological systems of Victoria. Seeing downtown Victoria from the water gives you a different perspective of how beautiful the city is but my favourite part was watching the seals sunbathing on the rocks. We had a blast and would not hesitate to recommend Kelp Reef Adventures and our guide Mitch. Thank you!!

Aly Karsan

We happened upon this kayak tour by chance, and were we ever lucky! Ben was an exceptional guide who enriched our trip immensely. He was very knowledgeable and great with the kids. Highly recommend this tour. The seal pups were amazing, and tasting kelp was even better.

Natalie Landon-Brace

We had an awesome time on our 3h kayak tour guided by Austin. He had lots of fun facts about the Victoria harbour and all the wildlife, was very patient when answering our many questions, and he was very adaptable to the different levels of kayaking experience on our tour! We went out with two total beginners who were very worried and he made them feel very at ease quite quickly! We saw some great wildlife including a very small baby seal which was a real highlight we’ll remember for a long time. Thanks so much Kelp Reef Adventures for a great time :)

Matthew Smith

Had a fantastic time kayaking in Victoria harbour with Brandon. Brandon was very patient in explaining what the tour would consist of and was extremely knowledgeable when talking about the landmarks and aquatic animals. We were blessed with perfect conditions and fortunate enough to see several seals with their pups on Harrison island. Highly recommend Kelp reef adventures for anyone wanting to see the bay and its wildlife from a fun perspective without breaking the bank! ????????????

Mabel Lam

Went for the 3 hour kayak tour in the morning with Mitch and he was an amazing guide who is very knowledgeable! Really fun but definitely a workout for your arms. Highly recommend getting the sea skirt to prevent water from splashing in!

Eleeyah Uri

Austin was awesome and took us out to see the harbour seals even though it was raining. The water was calm and the views were gorgeous. We unexpectedly saw Orcas attempt to hunt the seals beside us. This experience was unreal and I would highly recommend this company, as they are professional and ensure that you have a great experience.

Karen Willson

We went out on an amazing tour with Austin and Brandon our two guides. we saw seals and birds and we had lots of fun. They both had so much to tell us about all the different things we saw. I would Highly recommend you doing this tour.

Dan Smelt

My wife and I were looking for a great knowledgeable company to kayak with. We went and spoke with the people from Kept Reef Adventure. They were extremely helpful and very easy to work with. Mitch are guide was perfect. He was a very knowledgeable guide and deeply cared about us, the environment and the wildlife. I highly recommend this company.

cole sanderson

My girlfriend and I had an awesome experience with Kelp Reef Adventures! We did the kayak tour with Mitch. Mitch was very professional and had a lot of fun facts to tell the group on our tour. Mitch definitely made the tour with his enthusiasm and outgoing spirity. I would STRONGLY recommend going through Kelp Reef Adventures if you are planning on doing any ocean activities!

Harry Chang

Went on a three hour kayak tour, great experience and well worth the money. Give my man Mitchell a raise, he did a great job.

Kaeshan Elamurugan

Our guides were amazing and made the time kayaking super enjoyable! Thanks to Mitch and Austin for a great time on the water.

Tina Tran

Great experience…boyfriend flipped into the waters and our guide was amazing with calming him down and getting him back onto the kayak lol more affordable than the one in downtown Victoria!

Ashley Desautels

Our guide Brandon was amazing! Gave us an excellent tour around the harbour and over to the other side, full of interesting facts and information, and never pushed our very novice group past what we were comfortable with. Safety equipment was well explained and you never felt like you asked him a “dumb” question. Highly recommend Kelp Reef for tours for both newbie and experienced kayakers alike! Having lived in Victoria previously even I learned things about the city I didn’t know. Go here if you’re looking for a fun, active way to spend a few hours!

Theresa Booth

Thank-you Kelp Reef for helping to make this such a memorable birthday! I can't think of a better way to have spent it than kayaking with friends in the beautiful inner harbor of Victoria. It was so cool to see the harbor seals with their babies. Our tour guide Austin was super helpful and knowledgeable and Kath the owner was very friendly and accommodating. They had all our equipment covered from waterproof bags and water bottles down to sunglasses and sunscreen. I will definitely be back. This is a 'must do' for locals and tourists alike!

Ricky Sidhu

Had a great time kayaking with Kelp Reef Adventures. Our host Brandon was very friendly and knowledgeable. We got to see many seals around the harbour during our 2 hour tour.

Sarah

Came on Monday for the sunset tour. Brandon was an amazing guide! Very knowledgeable and showed us all the cool spots. We got to see lots of wildlife and a great view of the city.

bonavistabike

Our family (2 adults and 2 teens) really enjoyed this experience. We have sea kayaked throughout the west coast as well as overseas and wanted to have an introduction to Victoria from the water. This outfit and their 3 hour adventure did exactly that. They can clearly support experienced and inexperienced paddlers to orient them for whatever they are looking for. Austin was our guide and everything was ready and organized when we arrived. The kayak equipment is tip top, comfortable and in excellent condition. He uses a slick water level launch we’ve never seen that allows for an easy loading and departure. Plenty of space to store in the kayaks some gear and food for the day. Note because of current Covid situation there isn’t snacks and food offered on tour - fine with us - we just wanted to paddle and learn. They are very safety conscious and it’s worth heading out with them so you can understand the marine traffic layout of Victoria’s busy harbour. Between the sea planes and shipping traffic lots of ways to get waxed if you’re not informed or not paying attention. This is a great value - $90 per person and there is plenty to see. We saw mink, eagle, recently born harbour seal, other seals sunning and other marine birds. The waters are fairly protected so plenty of calm bits to move around. We are strong experienced paddlers and we liked this because you get a mix of open ocean, shoreline and urban paddling - perfect for getting to know victoria. Austin was friendly, informative and shared lots of great insights of the environment and this great city. Whether you’re an experienced or novice paddler - do yourself a favour and hook up with this lot - it’s totally worth it and we hope their business thrives to share their expertise with a wonderful area. We will definitely use them again sometime.

Kelly Johnson

Had an absolute blast. Highly recommended. Very informative easy to do. I haven't been in a kayak for about 18 years and picked it up in two seconds. The staff are absolute sweet hearts especially mitch. I would give this tour guide 100 stars if I could

Catherine Walsh

Today I did the 2 hour Kayak tour and I was more than impressed with Kelp Reef Adventures. We were met at the booth by Courtney who went above and beyond to make sure my mom and I felt welcome. He even helped us plan a trip to Sooke for the …

Ireland Stevens

Amazing Tour! This was an incredible experience. Mitch was a wonderful guide! He made us feel very safe. I went with my family and we all have varying levels of experience with kayaks. I would recommend Kelp Reef to anyone! We will definitely be back!

Mark Siwek

This is the first time we've ever gone kayaking and I couldn't be happier! Went with my father and 8 year old son and everything was great. Lucas the guide was fantastic at dealing with a group of newbies and showing us the coast near Victoria. I can definitely say if you're new to kayaking (or more experienced I imagine) this short 2 hour trip is worth every penny!

Dean Macnab

What an incredible experience! I am a Victoria local and I have been kayaking with many different companies in Victoria but Kelp Reef Adventures are the best! Our guide Ben went above and beyond to provide us with a detailed safety briefing and outlined our trip route on a map for us. After just moments of listening to his briefing you could tell he was extremely experienced, passionate and excited to get out on the water! We paddled over to a small island where we were able to see many harbour seals and other marine wildlife! Ben taught us so much about all the wildlife and vegetation. He also explained to us how the Coast Salish people use all the different types of seaweeds, trees and other vegetation in their daily life! This tour was extremely educational, fun and a great activity for people of all ages! Thank you Ben and Kelp Reef Adventures for such a great day out on the water!

David Dezordo

Brandon was really great. The tour was very interesting and we had the chance to see a lot of different animals like otters and seals. Brandon told us a lot of informative about the area. For example why chicken no longer live on the sea ;-) If you have the chance to do a Kayak tour - do it, it is worth the money.

Jason Baden

We had an awesome kayak tour with Mitch. The tour was fun, at a good pace, and we got to see some seal pups up close.

Lhyanne Soto

Thank you Austin for taking my friends and I out the first time, and letting us come back the next day when 2/4 of us capsized in the middle of international waters (it was my friends’ fault lol)! The rescue went sooo smooth and it was a great time nonetheless. Shout out to Mitch for taking us on the full tour the day after, in which everyone stayed relatively dry. We saw many seals, schools of fish, jelly fish, and ate some kelp. So fun, will be back with others!

April Croucher

We had a great time kayaking with Mitch. They fit us in on the day of with no hassle and treated us very well! Knowledgeable about kayaking and about Victoria in general. Would definitely do again. :)