Rising Tide Explorers - Naples, Florida

Laila M.

What an amazing trip! Not only was it beautiful, but the excitement from the captains to teach us everything they know was infectious. My family had an incredible time. We can't wait to be back and do another adventure. Ryan was the BEST guide!

Kristen P.

Super fun sunset paddle with Rising Tide Explorers. Our guide, a trained wildlife biologist, was relaxed, friendly, and knowledgeable. He pointed out all kinds of birds, including a frigate bird and red heron, and even fished out snails and comb jellies. Thanks to him, I can now identify 2/3 local mangrove species. Not his fault that I still don’t know which one is the Black Mangrove. Next time!

Cindy P.

Colin was fantastic! He gave us all enough information on the Rookery without overwhelming us. He answered all of our questions too. Very relaxing day, even with cooler weather. Highly recommend. We’ll be back.

Dana M.

ANYONE coming to SW Florida - this is a MUST DO. This area is so critical to all marine life in this area, and if you visit or live here, we highly recommend it. The guides are incredible and the experience is amazing. We do it once or twice each season. Highly highly recommend it.

Yelena R.

Myself and two thirteen year old boys did the morning mudflats and mangrove kayak tour. We got super lucky and it was just us on this tour. This was mine and my son’s first time in a kayak. I am not gonna lie, it was somewhat challenging. Our guide Evan was amazing. He is a seasoned kayaker and he is a very knowledgeable guide. He explained everything to us and off we went. Evan spotted dolphins almost immediately after take off. This was for sure a highlight. He took us to all the neighboring islands, pointed out different creatures and explained about the local ecology . We also spotted a bold eagle chasing an osprey in an attempt to steal his fresh catch. This was definitely an incredible sight to see. As we kept swimming my son and I started getting blisters on our hands. Evan was so patient with us. He had all the tools on him. He bandaged up our thumbs so we could keep going. He waited for us as we struggled through the current. At one point I cut my finger and he stopped and bandaged me up once again. He even helped tow me back to shore when he saw how much I was struggling to get back. He was an incredible guide!

This is an incredible tour! It’s very educational. There is so much to see and learn about. I definitely recommend booking Rising Tides especially if you have experience kayaking! Evan took so many great pictures of our experience which were later available for free for us to download! I can’t recommend this company enough! They go above and beyond for their customers.

When I spoke to the Naples Outfitters where we booked this tour they said it’s totally ok for novices like us… I consider myself fit but this was a huge challenge for me. I think before I do another tour I will need a lot more practice with proper technique. Both me and my son were really struggling. If you have never done this before , definitely book a private tour first Incase you need to cut it short for any reason.

Deb M.

This was our second sunset cruise with Rachel. She is so knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. We saw quite a few dolphins on this trip and the amazing return of birds at sunset to rookery was so much fun to watch. We will return for a different excursion for sure!!

teddy C.

We were on the sunset bird rookery tour off of Shell Island road. The bird rookery was the little island where all the birds flocked to at night and rookery bay (the entire area) is an estuary bc it’s where the fresh and salt water meet. Almost all marine life live in an estuary at some point during their life cycle. This is what I learned and MORE from our amazing guides, Cierra and Tommy, Winston and Ben…all so friendly, so knowledgeable and useful when we came too close to the mangroves. I loved it all and those stunning views of nature are etched in my mind.I highly recommend this tour and our guides were the best!

David A.

Very nice kayak expedition through the mangroves of Rookery Bay Reserve. Lots of fowl but no alligators or manatees. Evan was a great guide and very knowledgeable. Great way to get outside and get some fresh air