La Jolla Kayak Review

Rented Kayak's to go explore the coastline, and they had great equipment at a fair price, and good service... They come highly recommended, and unless you kayak on a weekly basis, renting from these guys is the best way to do it for sure... You won't be disappointed with the Kayak's, or the trip out along the La Jolla shoreline either...

We did the bike and kayak tours and it was well worth it. The bike tour took us from the top of the mountain all the way down to the beach. Not a hard ride at all but very fun. The views we're spectacular. The guides were top notch! Very knowledgeable about the area and it seemed like they enjoyed their jobs. I definitely recommend La Jolla Kayak.

The people are friendly and the kayaks are great. They help you out past beyond the waves. My only complaint is that it wasn't made clear until we booked and arrived that the caves were off limits because of the tide. That was the whole reason we went.

Wonderful experience! Enjoyed every moment of our trip!

Tour guides and staff are great.

If you hoping to go into the caves, keep in mind they are not always accessible depending on tides.

This is definitely a more tame experience and great for families and the inexperienced. They provide (and require) helmets and life vests. Also, rent out short and standard wet suits.

Good place, staff was friendly, equipment was maintained, has changing rooms, lockers, bathrooms. Offered our group of 30 people a discount for kayaks. If you check in on Yelp, they had a deal for a free underwater camera. Will come visit again if I am needing to rent a Kayak!

Great experience. My wife and my where the only ones on our snorkel tour. Saw swarms of bat rays! Drew was a phenomenal guide. Extremely friendly and a great conversationalist. He was very knowledgeable on where to go. We were there to see leopard sharks, but there weren't any in the usually spots. I suggest going at the peak season for leopard sharks between August and September.

Went out for a cave tour with Pete. It was rainy and overcast, but it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm Pete had. We had a small group and were out on the water early before everyone else which allowed us a hugely serene experience. Pete had tons of knowledge, was very helpful, and filled the tour with neat history and landmark facts. We also saw 15-20 dolphins, some within 50' of our kayaks... Which was pretty cool. Great experience.

Great group of guys that work here. They even mailed my camera back to me when I left it there. Very friendly and down-to-earth people.

My reason for (1) star is because I can t even say how great this tour is or this place is because for the second time, our tour was cancelled last minute by La Jolla Kayak. We weren t informed until after we showed up to check in after we drove 2 hours once again just to be turned away. It was a complete waste of time for us and I won t make a reservation with La Jolla Kayak ever again. For this to happen to us once again the exact same way with no communication or heads up is frustrating. The employees telling us our tour was cancelled could care less. I m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that it happens so frequently that they are used to letting their customers down. La Jolla Kayak needs to work on their communication. I understand that they may not be able to control weather and other restrictions, but we literally find out it s cancelled at the time of our tour..

We chose to do a Bike and Kayak combo tour. Got to take in some beautiful scenery riding down from Mt Soledad! Grabbed a quick burger and beer for lunch, then hopped on kayaks to see the sea caves. Tides and waves were cooperative so we got to go inside.

All the gear was in great shape for rental equipment!

The staffs are friendly. They have a lot of tours going out through out the day. I wish that the two young guides on my tours would tell me the history/facts about the coves and such. It was pretty much just kayak out, snorkel a bit, and came back. No information about the locations or anything.

3.5 stars

So the staff here is an easy 4 stars... fun, friendly, and informative enough to keep your interest for the few moments when we stop. The condition of the kayaks seems pretty decent too. I did the La Jolla Cave kayaking tour and I know you can't control nature. So whether you see any animals or the caves shouldn't be guaranteed at all but I think it's oversold in it's ads. If you level out saying this is a kayak touring of the LJ coastline and if we have time to see the caves, then we could see them. I won't be having as much issue.

Perhaps we got the worst day but we only saw one seal lounging in the sun and very few birds. The flip side is that it didn't stink. From most ads, this would be stating the abundance of animals. I think the most animals we saw were the blurry orange blobs on the bottom of the ocean. Those were fishes that inspired Dr. Seuss apparently.

As for the cave part... for starters, 200% kudos to our guide. She was great, careful, and thoughtful. This is not to be done without them. It can be a bit scary as the ocean is unrelenting when throwing the stronger waves in to the caves. Crashing into the walls and being thrown under the waves is a real possibility. You only maybe get 60 seconds in there (if not less) to admire how amazing it looks. I thought the tour included more opportunities than 60s in one cave. I read back to the ads and it says 'caveS' ... emphasis on the plural part for me.

Overall, I liked our guide a lot but my expectations from the ads were much higher. If they re-did the ad to be more honest about what they're offering, this would be easy 4 star. Fun guides kayaking across the ocean preserve below the La Jolla cliffs. Not La Jolla Caves kayaking tour with animals to see.

Easy fun and professional. Plan ahead and book online. Show up early as suggested they will provide the good time.

Make sure to call ahead before booking to confirm that the water conditions are suitable for cave passage.

They were extremely helpful and helped us figure out the best places to kayak.

These people are very nice, very helpful, very informative and lightly funny! Great kayak trip I was a first-timer.

Rented kayaks before but first time going to this kayak rental store. Fortunalty we found them because the one we first attempted to go to was sold out and the second was closed. I tell ya, blessing in disguise. They were an extra block away from most of the cluster of rental shops but rightfully so to be stand alone. Their shop is dedicated to rentals and tours, (rather than a side gig in a clothing store) so their customer service and dedication to your excursion is unbeatable. The store staff was really friendly and informative and the beach staff had a fun attitude.

I saw other people getting ready and coming back from guided tours and saw nothing but laughter and smiles.

You can tell all the staff really enjoy their jobs and when you enjoy your job, it shows and warrants a great experience.

Customer for life.

Alex and Steve (possible by stephen) were great.

Sea lions, and cave people. Entertaining tour.

There are couple of kayak rentals here where they take you inside the sea for kayaking. I did it for the first time but it was amazing

Really chill, cheaper than most places, easy to rent, they don't try to upsell you. Free lockers, pay for as much time as you use. Best place I have rented a kayak in La Jolla

Awesome experience. Must do and see. Melissa and Omar are awesome, funny and knowledgeable guides.

Great service! Our tour guide was Claire and she was full of all kinds of local history, and super chill. The tour itself was more touristy than we had anticipated, but thats more on us than the company. Prices were reasonable for the gear/amount of time spent on the water.

A great value for the money. Took the classic La Jolla Cove Cave Tour and had a great time. The tour guide was friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining. It is conveniently located only a few short blocks from the beach, so it makes for an easy walk to the water.

Great group of people, very knowledgeable about the area, super friendly.

My family and I had the best time ever. Such a wonderful experience!!!

Guides are friendly, good views of the caves and sea lions. Kayaking in the caves is dependent on water conditions.

Morgan & Austin were awesome guides! Had a great time.

Amazing experience! Chill spot, not a lot of fuss or fan fare, which was perfect. Guide was wonderful, informative but not at all annoying. A seal and 3 dolphins swam very close to our kayaks, it was so cool! Worth every penny.

bring water! you're out there and get thirsty! cave tour could be a little more involved...

GREAT kayak tours! Fun guides and great activities!

Great group of guides to take you out to see the caves and cove. Professional and friendly. The store front is small, and the changing area and lockers are pretty limited. But the main attraction, the kayak tour, is well done and worth the time. Good for all ages and a beautiful ride.

Great to work with, easy rental for a great time. I'd recommend going by yourself without a guide. We had a great time

I love the staff at this place. Prices are reasonable. Claire was one of our tour guides. She's so freakin rad dude. The stories she told us about Dr. Seuss, the marine life and the stories about the birds was super cool. Made this new adventure so much more enjoyable. I felt safe with them. We were out on the water for a good amount of time for the price we paid. Defiently would do this again with their location. Thanks Claire. -Jessica (the bakersfield chick) lol

Every single guide was extremely knowledgeable, and provided just the right level of assistance. Those who need it recover it, those who know their way around a kayak aren't pestered.

They sell everything that you might have overlooked or forgotten, so you won't ruin a great trip.

It's out go to kayak service in La Jolla for ourselves and friends.

La Jolla Kayak was a fantastic kayak experience. We went on the cave tour with Thompson and Drew. They did an amazing job and were very friendly. Thank you for a great experience! This is definitely worth the trip!

Tour guides were phenomenal, Cameron, Eric and Eric made it an experience to never forget. Must do tour if your in San Diego!!

Had a wonderful experience and the tour guides were great! Totally recommend!!

Had an awesome experience from the start, Jud tailored the experience to what the group wanted keeping it fun and informative! He also made sure everyone was happy and was a confidence booster! Had a great time exploring sea caves and getting up close and personal with the marine life in the area. 10/10 would recommend.

Oh my goodness what a great adventure! Carson was awesome, we learned a lot of really cool sd facts.

Haven t taken a tour with them but walked in getting information i could tell the place was setup nicely. a storm was coming in so the guy told me to wait try for a better day. in the meantime he told us where to go with our own kayaks in another area. good information.

These guys are the best! Thanks for an awesome tour and being patient with us!

This was my first time kayaking in the ocean and it was more fun than I thought it would be. Our experience was positive from booking through the last interaction. Our guide, Lexi, was incredibly kind and very knowledgeable about the ecosystem and history in La Jolla. I got sea-sick at the end and Lexi even offered to tow my wife and I in. (We made it on our own power but it was kind of her to offer.)

Very cool people to work with. Great service and easy going. No time limits like the others and don't have to deal with safety briefs etc. Good for experienced people who just wants to kayak hassle free.

Cameron and Ryan are the greatest kayak guides and story tellers. Cant wait to read the book!

My partner and I rented 2 kayaks to go to the caves. The cost was $100 total (without a tour). They do a 2 hr minimum which is didn't make sense for us bc we only spent an hour.

We called ahead of time to see if we could rent kayaks without being on a tour and go into the caves and they said yes. When we arrived, they said no. There's really only 1 small cave you can go through so not a huge deal.

The caves are ok but not worth $100.

Friendly, knowledgeable guides take you into sea caves while providing historical and geological insights that truly enhance the tour

Eric was our guide awesome guy and looked the adventure!

awesome service..
Really professional and friendly staff.
Would recommend having a prior reservation.
I did my first kayaking here and loved it..!!

Affordable - excellent customer service - great equipment! Will use again

AMAZING tour today with Lexie and Tanner!! Got to see baby sea lions in the caves! Super great visibility! Awesome tour group I can not recommend this company enough they are all so friendly and great!! (& I learned so much!!!!)

I dont really understand what the hype is about... We did the Kayak/Snorkleing tour and spent alot of money, expected a lot more. The guides were very nice but not necessary at all. It would have been exactly the same to just rent gear yourself and save 200 dollars. You really cannot see anything, the water is too merky and its freezing even with a wet suit on. Kayaking in the ocean is quite strenuous lol just a heads up. I would have much rather rented gear and took myself out then spend the money we did for really no reason at all. Paid 350 for my family to swim in the ocean, we didnt see any sea life and even the guides implied you never see anything besides kelp... Tourist trap.

This was a great family adventure. We will definitely do the kayak and snorkel tour next time. Our 1pm tour guides Dani and Olivia were awesome they had positive attitudes, answered everyone's questions, and made sure the entire group had a good time. The crew down at the beach was amazing they worked hard getting all the kayaks in and out of the water. To the crew member that got stung, way to take one for the team bro. I hope they all hold their glasses high and toast you in spirit since you had to be sent home on such a great day at the beach.

Nice place. Kind people. They charge $30 for 2 hours of paddle board + wetsuit rent but allow to use it up to 4 hours without extra fee.
The only problem was to bring the board to the sea - they don't provide any help or trolleys.

Was fun and staff was great. But we did spend 2 hours on the water. We left at 11 and were back to the shore by 12:20.

This place is always busy, they seem pretty nice. Prices are comparable to othes. But some are lower than here.

Excellent service, friendly staff, quick service and an amazing experience :) I have been using La Jolla Kayak for years and have always had an "Excellent" time in paradise! I would highly recommend renting snorkeling equipment, wetsuits, kayaks, etc or joining a tour of this truly magical place in San Diego.

I had very good experience, changing rooms were clean, staff was very friendly. Street parking was the only issue.
we were not able to go into the cave due to the weather. still it was fun we saw whales and sea lions

It was really fun! My boyfriend and I were on a tandem kayak but fell in twice so the instructor gave my boyfriend his own kayak and took over my kayak. He was really nice about it and very understanding. The scenery was pretty beautiful.

Had a blast, worth the money. Would have gone snorkeling if I knew I'd be getting so wet.

We were able to book a double kayak tour of the caves the day before, which was great. They were conveniently located in La Jolla, with a great set up and very helpful and communicative staff. We had some experience in fresh water kayaking and the guides were great at helping us become ocean water pros in no time. Overall a great experience and we will be back on our next trips - probably to do the guided snorkel tours next time.

Shout out to our awesome guides Drew and Flynn!

Claire was an amazing guide. She was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Great experience.

Awesome staff, even more awesome experience, was my first time out there and got the hang of it really quick extremely recommend it

If your into marine wildlife I highly recommend kayaking la jolla. Dont forget goggles.

Knowledgeable staff. Helpful. If you want to go diving, this is a good place to start.

Great guides and fun experience. Can't thank them enough for the best part of our vacation.

The guides were very knowledgable and one was quite funny. We saw many sea lions and did enter the cave. They advertise "explore Seven Caves", but you only actually enter one. That was disappointing. Sadly, one of our double kayaks was not able to balance their kayak and did not go on the tour. We were not given a refund for that kayak. As they did not use the service, I felt that at least a partial refund was in order. Nearly $100 down the drain. I don't routinely throw money away, so this really put a damper on how I felt about this company. Make sure all members of your party can participate or you will be SOL.

This whole area is so congested with tourist, but once you're out on the water, it is wonderful!!

What an amazing experience me and my dad had, not only that but we learned so much from our guides Jordan and DJ.

Pro Tip: Things in the shop were fair but could add up and that's what you gotta pay if you don't come prepared.

Best time ever! Taylor was amazing! We brought our 6 year who is not a strong swimmer. Taylor manages to make this experience awesome for her. We even met up with a kayak tour and their guide helped make it a great time. I am so pleased! I will be back!

Well worth the price! The guide was funny and patient with people kayaking for the first time. We were able to get some nice pictures as well! I would definitely recommend choosing LJK again

This is an experience everyone should do while in San Diego. Fun and not so expensive thing to do in San Diego. Gorgeous La Jolla shores is prefect for Kayaking .

Very nice people in my Donald J Trump voice .

Provided me with life vest and additional items such a swim suit and shoes .

I had the opportunity to touch a sea lion in the local caves . At the end be careful for the rolling waves at the shore they are known to be notable Kayak flippers .

Sam was a great tour guide, very knowledgeable. Absolutely beautiful area.

Staff is very passionate and explain the history well. Beautiful scenery on a calm sunny day. Can almost guarantee to see some sealions and seals. If you are lucky, you might even be able to see a dolphin or two

LOVED IT!!!!! Gorgeous views, professional and fun guides! Taylor was so freaking awesome. Thanks so much for all the sweet recommends for us while in town on vacay, peace and love!!