Urban Kayaks Reviews

Wonderful time! Great for those who are skilled or new beginners. It was an awesome experience with wonderful memories made on the Chicago River. The instructors were nice and helpful as well!

I had a stellar time on the historic tour with Frank. He had lots of interesting stories to share and was a generally personable and knowledgeable guy. I loved all of the information about the architecture and the space to ask questions as we went through. I thought he did a great job and it was lots of fun! I would definitely recommend that others go in the morning like I did since the river is a little less congested. I had a great experience.

Unique view of the city (if not a little smelly). Tour guides were informative and entertaining!

I did sunset kayak with 4 friends. We all had a great time...The crew members and reception peeps of Urban Kayaks were very informative and helpful...from teaching us the basics of kayaking before the excursion up to the end of the trip, the service was excellent and seamless.
I ve lived in Chicago for 14 years, and I fell in love with it again as I kayaked and saw its beauty from a duck s eye view

This was a great experience during our trip to Chicago. It is a good way to see a different perspective of the city while getting some exercise and having fun. Urban Kayaks was a great company and the people there were very nice and helpful.

I've had two experiences with Urban Kayaks so far.

The first was the Chicago History tour. It was a group trip, and my husband and I booked a tandem kayak. We got a quick kayaking lesson on land before heading down to the river to be launched. We were a little shaky at first (didn't remember how to stop the kayak and kept bumping into our tour mates, sorry), but the tour leader was patient in reminding us how to maneuver around, and we got the hang of it. We paddled up and down the river, stopping at various points for a little history story. The stops were nice because we got a chance to catch up to the group (or wait for others to catch up), relax, get a little history lesson, and look up and enjoy the sites. It's kind of hard to truly appreciate the view while you are paddling along, looking out for other boats.

Our second experience was a rental, so we were paddling on our own. We went from their downtown location to their Chinatown location near Ping Tom Park. Because we told them we've already kayaked before, we just got a quick refresher on the right-of-way on the river before getting on the water. The trip took us a little over an hour.

Overall, I highly recommend Urban Kayaks if you want to kayak on the Chicago River. They are a friendly group. Also, know that you will get wet. You don't have to wear a bathing suit - I usually work quick-drying workout clothes and gym shoes. If you're bringing your phone, money, etc with you, put them in zip-lock baggies inside your pockets. I wore semi-waterproof light-weight jackets with zipper pockets.

Also, the Chicago River can be a bit crowded downtown with all of the architectural boat tours, water taxis, etc. If you're nervous, for your first trip. go before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. As long as you stay in the "kayak lane" you'll be fine.

This was such a disappointing experience. Check-In was a very simple process and started out friendly, but went downhill from there. You are better off renting your own kayak and touring the river by yourself. The tour guide's knowledge of facts and dates was scattered at best. At one point we were told to check Wikipedia. Kept blaming it on it being his second tour of the season. I sure didn't get a discount for them to practice their stories for the season though. It's Memorial Day, are you not ready for the season yet? Overall we had fun kayaking the river, but such a terrible tour experience given the price paid. Choose someone else and hopefully get what you pay for.

Excellent experience! Definitely would recommend the sunset tour, it was such a great time. The staff were all super friendly and helpful. Can't wait to go back!

Pretty much had a private tour (I got brownie points for that because it was a first date). The weather was perfect and our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the city. It was a great experience and the perfect headliner for a great date.

I appreciated the focus on safety from the tour guide. He also did an excellent job pre-tour and during the tour. Good historical info plus some humor. The overall organization of the entire staff was seamless.

The guides were very helpful and gave good instructions. You can't beat the views on the river from a kayak! This was one of my top favorite Chicago activities that I've done in the several years that I have lived here. I enjoyed hearing fun facts and stories about the buildings and bridges along the river, as well as the historical information about the city of Chicago. I highly recommend!

Great time and was fully entertained. This is definitely a great way to take in the architecture on the river.

We had so much fun on the kayaks for the fireworks trip. They are very safe and have enough help to cover front, middle and end of the group with their employees. Great architectural information about the river front during the tour. It was a great evening. We even paddled through the water set off over the river every hour, following the safety kayak. It was a blast. y daughter and I had a double and my husband paddled in a single. We do have kayaking experience.

A really beautiful tour, the perfect way to see and learn about Chicago. Mike brings history alive, great guy and guide. i really recommend this tour and will be back to make the sunset tour.

What a great experience! Weather was beautiful, scenery was gorgeous, and guides were awesome! We had a large group of novice kayakers, but everything went smoothly. Highly recommended!

Busy 4th of July weekend on the river - guides were very good to ensure everyone's safety. Trip was the right length/amount of time on the water. My wallet in back pocket got soaked but that was on me.

Very good place to be the first time you use a kayak. the instructors have a lot of patience, our instructor was a boy named Ray from Romania. Thanks Urban Kayak was a great experience.

Chris was a great leader ~ very knowledgable, warm and a great sense of humor. We finished a little early and he let us wait for the fountain to shoot out and kayak under it ~ it was an awesome experience!!

Adam was a great guide- we had such a good time! Definitely recommend!

We had a great time! We did the afternoon historic kayak tour. It was the best way to see the city. Check-in was super fast and everything was so well planned out. Our guide, Adam, was so knowledgeable about chicago and was super helpful and personable. He made our experience great!

We had such an amazing time on our tour. The employees we encountered were helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, fun, and just all around wonderful at what they do. I m so glad we went with Urban Kayaks instead of any other tour group.

The tour itself was beautiful, fun, and unforgettable. Would absolutely do it again next time we visit Chicago (and likely will!)

Highly recommend to any and all!

It was the second time we've done a tour with Urban kayaks, the first during the day and the second at night. We enjoyed both tours but the tour in the dark was magical with all the lights from the buildings reflecting on the water. Watching the fireworks from our kayaks with a bunch of other people was fun. We definitely want to do this one again. I showed our pics on Facebook and now everyone else wants to do it.

Summer 2015. Great people, had a blast. Would recommend to check this place out.

Very fun and informative. Wear Lycra or dress appropriately.

Excellent tour and experience with my your guide! Very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend. Very easy to get a hang of quickly as well

I had such a great time!! The staff is great as well.

Great fun way to explore Chicago. Our guide was very interactive and engaging!

Awesome way to see the city and all the employees were super nice! Overall a great experience and I'd recommend to anyone.

I'm not sure how they have 4.8*. seriously.. we prepaid, got there at 7:15pm, like they said we need to. at 7:40, the guy goes... "we are expecting 14 people, so we will wait for them"... hmmm excuse me, but tours should not be waiting for anyone. then the guy goes.. "out of the 12 tours today, none was on time".... lol lol lol.. then we get in the water... nothing is "guided".. he didn't even know what direction is East. they are around... but they dont "guide" you.. so waste of money to buy the "guided tour"

They try to scheme you by giving you a TEST in order to do the kayak by your yourself, the gentleman gives you poor introductions on what is going on in order for you to fail so you are then not qualify to do it by your self , so they offer their horrible tour in order to make more money , horrible experience , I will not recommend this place to anyone and FYI if you ROW RIGHT then you go LEFT and you ROW LEFT then you go RIGHT , that's what the guy should have said.

My wife and I did a tandem kayak and it was a great experience. Jim, our guide, did a great job.

A little expensive. Cool views and friendly staff though.

Great 2 hours with Jacob, our tour guide on the Chicago River.

As I looked out at all the big boats passing back and forth on the waterway in front of us I had a little apprehension about the dangers and some concern about the physical work involved in kayaking.

However after 5 minutes on the water I found that Jacob who has been doing this for four years and his able assistant holding up the rear of our kayak train kept us safe and informed about the great Chicago history that he had done all of the original research on.

Jacobs bull horn mounted on the front of his craft and his hands free head mike came across loud and clear even if I was 50 away.

Even though I grew up in Chicago and lived there after college I learned some interesting things from Jacob s well crafted presentation on Chicago history.

The amount of physicality required even for a senior adult was less than going on a 2 Mile bike ride and twenty times more fun.

Going with my two twenty year old sons kayaking on the Chicago River was an enjoyable experience that I look forward to doing again.

5 stars for Jacob and Urban Kayaks!!!!!

Connor was a great guide that helped us maneuver through the boat traffic, but taught us some interesting facts along the way This was a fun way to show our guests Chicago.

Great choice for a unique tour of Chicago! There are plenty of tours in Chicago, but not as cool from a kayaks view. I did this on a suggestion from a local and was so happy I did! It was a great way to get away from the crowds. Our 2 guides were fantastic and never once felt unsafe. I have kayak experience, but you don't need it. The guides will make sure you're having a good time. I highly recommend the evening tour ending with fireworks. Best seat to see the fireworks!

$30 gets you an hour of kayaking down the historic Chicago River. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Would totally recommend this to anyone who is comfortable on the water.

Monroe harbor tour was advertised as 90 minutes but was actually only 70 minutes. I would recommend just paying to rent kayaks on your own since its not actually a tour (you just follow an instructor in a circle around the lake) and you would get the full 90 minutes of rental.

ohoooo it is wonderful experience, everyone should enjoy this kayaking ride, friendly staff.

Friendly staff made it a great afternoon on the river

Loved this place been there for moonlight kayaking. Beautiful. I will going back offend. Can't wait too invited more of my friends

Worth it, coach for first timers is very friendly and nice

So much fun and if you re a nerd like me super informative. Staff is great and super friendly. They have lockers on site that you can rent that came in handy. I recommend you wear running shorts so if u get a little we you dry quick.

Really enjoy kayaking in the harbor/lake, but even river can be fun. Thanks to urban kayaks who are located in both the places. The staff is
very accommodating and nice. I got a membership , and I think it s totally worth it. River location could get better life jackets though, all seemed worn out.

Our guide/instructor, Sophia did a fantastic job of maneuvering us throughout the experience (Intro Paddle). We never ever kayaked in our lives! Yet she kept us safe and upright in our kayaks, LOL! She was excellent in encouraging us and giving my 13 year old grandson and me the confidence needed (in some at times very tense instances) to learn kayaking skills. We will definitely go kayaking again!

My husband and I live in Chicago, but try to find new and interesting options to show our nieces and nephews the city when they visit every summer. We took our 16 year old nephew on this tour and we all loved it. The guides were great, engaging and shared some nuances on Chicago history along the way. I would recommend for a different perspective on Chicago, particularly on a beautiful day like we had!

Paddling in Chicago it gives the city a different perspective, go for it.

Mathew was a great guide! It was a perfect Chicago day and a great way to see the city from the River.

Had a wonderful experience with Urban Kayaks. The guides and staff are warm, welcoming professionals. Connor as a tour guide was friendly, fun, and informative. Would totally recommend.

Super freindly people all around. Great value. Easy to book. And most importantly it was super fun to do. Thanks!

Great experience and friendly staff. Really beautiful twilight views. Recommend the company.

The coolest thing we did in Chicago! The sunset tour was awesome! Well worth the money. The tour guide was amazing. He tried to keep it fun while telling the history of Chicago. I definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Chicago!

Went out of their way to open up early for a bachelorette party! We truly appreciate it and had an amazing time. The kayaks were in great shape, the river was spectacular and overall a wonderful,memorable experience for all. A must do when visiting Chicago! Thanks guys!

Your team was very polite and happy to help. I would have given you 5 stars, but......

Why wouldn't our tour guide mention "Trump's" name when talking about the building. Rather, it was referred to as "The big blue building named after someone....I dunno. We'll call it the Big Blue Building." Once again, personal politics falling into place during an event where I wanted to escape politics. I get the sarcasm, but it is a tour. How many people from out of town take your tour? Do they not have the right to know what is what? That's what we are paying for. Oh! But when the guide discussed a band that dumped its cargo of human waste on a boat from a bridge, he chucked and said "No lawsuit....the problem just disappeared." Don't know why he would not say "The Dave Matthews Band". Why? Was it because they are an opposing "Big Blue Building" band that did something completely against law, but did not want to shame them? Separate your politics from entertainment, Mr. Tour Guide. It's not about you and your beliefs, it is about entertaining the customers and educating them. Business is business. BTW....this "Big Blue Building" is Trump Tower taken by me. Ironically, the Dave Matthews Band was in town that night.

The Art on the Mart tour was amazing! The guides were knowledgeable and friendly. I highly recommend this to anyone for a unique Chicago experience.

When we reached it started to rain followed by hailstorm. They offered to reschedule or refund. But I wanted to wait out the storm. The staff is very friendly. They upgraded us to historical tour. As a beginner we were lagging behind, but the instructor was very patient. We loved our experience.
Only suggestion would be if they could take our picture. I managed a selfie but not that good.

The day was prefect for a Kayak experience. Safety is BIG, and the guides emphasize that. The guide leading the group was very funny and kept your attention. Piece of advice: don t forget to put sunscreen on the dorsal side of your hands. :)

We had an amazing morning on the water with Kelly. Her knowledge of the city was incredible! Plus, she evokes an ease on the water making you always feel safe. Would love to do this every morning! Thanks Kelly and Urban Kayaks, I will be back.

Great experience. Very friendly service. Our guide, Adam, was fun, knowledgeable, and easy-going. Gorgeous views.

We done the fireworks run, it was very busy. The kayaking was overbooked, so you were either staying way back and not hearing the tour guide or getting rammed every other minute. I think I would've preferred to do the other non fireworks tour. They were well run, no complaints about the team other than maybe do smaller groups? Or split the group in two?

The sunset tour was very enjoyable and a beautiful way to experience the city.

Loved the tour! Melissa is a pleasant and knowledgable tour guide. The sunset tour with the city lights is fabulous! I will most definitely sign up for more Urban Kayaks' tours when I'm back in Chicago :)

These guys are awesome!! A must do. We ve done this tour twice now, and will do it again when we are back in Chicago. Keep up the good work!

We found this place to be very poorly organized. There aren t clear directions on the steps to take before you get to dock and it took us 40 minutes from the time we checked in to be able to get on the water since we had to take an assessment and watch a video. I got so upset that I left before we started kayaking and all the employees did was scoff at me and tell me to get my money back

Literally the best experience with Urban Kayaks! I take any family member or friend visiting from out of town here (weather permitting) because the experience on the river, and the tour guides are absolutely fabulous. You can tell they really love what they do. I would recommend doing a tour of the city in this way over any other method... the views are unbeatable! Even if you have never kayaked before, they will walk you through instructions and have two guides per tour so that one can assist you if you need any on your kayak. It's a great way to get some physical activity and see the beautiful city. Highly recommend them! PS my tour guide was Jacob and he was great!!

Decent, but kayaks dirty and they treat you like cattle. There are better options.

A fun day with family which was easy to book online. We found it well organized, keeping the rentals moving, with masks, sanitizing. We arrived at the busiest moment, I think, but we only waited about 15 minutes total. Great launching system, nice employees, and the kayaks were simple and easy to use.

What an amazing experience! The urban kayak team is super high energy and made our kayaking experience an unforgettable one! HIGHLY recommended! Just an incredible experience and even better service.

Had an awesome time kayaking on the river. It was definitely a better alternative than the architect cruise I originally had planned for this vacation.

Theres no better way to see what how amazing a company is than to see them during a torrential downpour with 5 guests. I had Trevor as a guide and he was just awesome. We all got stuck in a ridiculous amount of rain mid tour but he just kept going and got us under a bridge until it ended. Incredible service, great tour and guide. If you're looking for something fun to do, go see them.

I did a Navy Pier fireworks kayak tour which was extremely enjoyable so I thought I'd try the Intro to Paddleboard at their new location (as of June 2018) in Monroe Harbor. The water inside the Harbor is extremely calm so it's a great place to learn. For those that already know how to SUP, you can start at Randolph St., go south to the Museum Campus, then come back up north. If you love the Chicago skyline you'll love it even more from here!

Great guides, wonderfully informative. I highly recommend and would go again.

Our guide made our tripv ery enjoyable and the ones in our party that never kayaked felt very comfortable...we will be back...

Loved it! My sister-in-law and myself each had a small child with us and that single experience was by far the favorite of our trip! Definitely doing this again!

Best experience in the city. This is a must do. If you are not a very experienced kayaker, I suggest taking the guide with you. The river is very busy with large boat travel, construction zones, and bridges you have to navigate around. The guide will help you navigate and keep an eye out for obstacles. The staff was great!!!

It was organized and the guide was great! It was super fun!

This was a great place to do a tour with the kayaks. The guides were great.

A great tour. Kayaks were more stable than expected. Very fun and relaxing tour. Great tour guide.

The sunset kayak experience was fantastic and a totally new way for us to enjoy Chicago

Arrived at 9am but no one appeared to be working here. One of the doors was unlocked and wide open, but no sign of any employees. Waited around until 9:15am and left. Disappointed I was unable to rent a kayak on this nice summer day.

Edit: Received a call later in the day explaining there was an all staff meeting happening at that time. I will try again another time

Such fun! Was given a short introduction to kayaking on the side of the river then the guide (wish I could remember his name, he was great and made me laugh) took us along and looked after us without making us feel like the newbies we were. Really enjoyed it. Serena from London

This was my second time out in the last couple years. Continues to be a well run operation, guides are knowledgeable and it was a beautiful way to see the city!

Chicago has many great attractions, this is certainly one of the better ones. We had a wonderful time and will probably do it again the next time we visit Chicago. Our tour guide, Matt, was excellent.

Good place to rent a kayak. Staff was nice and friendly! I will definitely be back

Went on a tour with Adam. Great guy. Got a good lesson of the city but also had a safe and wonderful ride. Kayaks were kept neat and clean. Staff was very professional. Keept everyone 6 feet apart and well organized. Would do again.

The entire team was fantastic! Joe was an excellent tour guide. Kept things chill, funny and interesting. I took the sunset tour by myself on my first trip to Chicago and I loved it. I would totally come back even just to rent kayaks from them. Don't let the fact that it's on the river scare you. While I did go during the days of COVID, there wasn't much traffic on the waterway. Safety of the guests was a top priority to them, it was evident in how they handled themselves and during the briefing. Before this I had been kayaking a handful of times on a lake, not around much boats and honestly it's no different, so don't let that scare you off. The tour took us up the river and Joe gave great background to the different historical spots. Tour took about 2 hours and TOTALLY worth it.

Our tour guide seemed to be not in a good mood at all. You d think for an intro tour they d show us all about how to work the kayak before we got in the water but all he showed us was how to turn. Wasn t until someone was stuck or needed help that he yelled out instructions. Would just skip the tour guide and going on our own for next time.

Great experience! This was my first ever kayak experience, and the enjoyed it a-lot. Would definitely come back..

We love Urban Kayaks! You can rent single or tandem kayaks as you paddle thought downtown Chicago. I personally prefer the lake location as you have the option of renting paddle boards and the lake is much cleaner than the river. The staff is incredibly friendly and they do a great job ensuring the equipment is cleaned after each customer. Also, the views of Chicago are unbelievable. AND you can bring your pup on the water with you; just make sure you bring a life jacket for your pup!

Fair prices, very safe and informational and great views!

Awesome trip, amazing guide. Ultimate fireworks is well worth it. Great way to say goodbye (or hello) to the city.

My 15 year old son and I were looking for something to do on Sunday July 21st. Although the weather wasn't great we decided to try Urban Kayaks. We were not disappointed. My son and I had a great time and enjoyed every minute. Curtin and Sean were great guides and full of information about the architecture and history of Chicago. I would recommend this experience for kayak enthusiasts and beginners as well. Thanks for a memorable experience!

The best kayak experience in the United States! The friendliest staff you will encounter. If you like Kayak, this is a must do!

Trevor our guide was fantastic
and the position for fireworks
was amazing !