Kayak Tour Reviews

Our guide, Teresa, was awesome. She was able to keep 5 teens / pre-teens engaged in the adventure for the full 3 hours. A couple of the boys had not kayaked before and she was able to get them up to speed quickly. We were able to see a number of alligators, barred owls, crab, a water snake, and overall enjoy nature. Definitely a day they will remember.

Our family really enjoyed our tour guide and experience. The guide was very knowledgeable about the area and shared interesting facts w/ us. Lacking one star because there was no way to cancel (for rain) or reschedule. I had to drive over and two people were sitting in the office and never answered the phone once which was frustrating.

Ed was our guide for the Shem Creek and Crab Island Tour. It was a great experience and impressive how Ed made all participants feel good about their trip and effort. Shem Creek is beautiful and Ed shared the ever changing life of the area, from small snails to pelicans. We also had a variety of effort required, starting with relatively still waters of the creek, returning into the wind and then heading out to the Charleston Harbor with the waves from wind and passing boats. I have been on several other kayak tours and this was one of the best! Also, Bob - on the experienced guides of the team was getting married that afternoon. Congratulations!

My friend and I had a great time! We took the Shem Creek tour in Charleston. Our guide was very knowledgeable (he is a marine biologist) and we saw dolphins several times! It’s an adventure that anyone from novice to advanced kayaker can feel comfortable taking. We really enjoyed our tour and highly recommend it to others!

I had kayaked on a small pond for less than a half hour so knew I wanted to "really" kayak. I called Sunday morning and they had a 2:00 tour. My 67 year old mom and I drove from Columbia and had the best time ever! We are both recently active but were concerned about ability and frankly, snakes. We were so assured when I called that neither would be a problem that we took the plunge! Fortunately, we never plunged literally, were more than comfortable with the physical requirements and even going up the creek were not afraid. Our guide was knowledgable and interesting, made us feel very safe but wasn't controlly, felt like we were out with friends. Highly recommend this company and the Shem Creek 2 hour tour! Will be back, often!

Our tour guide, Blaine, was great. I learned a lot about the area and it was a nice, leisurely paddle along the creek.

Had an amazing time with our knowledgeable, professional, and passionate guide! Loved seeing a rainbow, dolphins, and the sun setting and splaying gorgeous colors across the Charleston harbor as the moon rose and began to light up across the sky as it darkened. Such a memorable experience I would recommend to anyone! 🌈🐬🌅🌕

Charlie was such a wonderful tour guide! We had so much fun and got to hang out with Dolphins! Highly recommend booking a tour! The whole team is great and it was such a fun experience!

This was our second time kayaking with NAO. This tour was fabulous and exceeded our expectations. We took the 3 hour tour that started at 9 in the morning. We had all ages from 5-75. Matt, a marine biologist was our guide. He told us very interesting facts about the marsh, it's ecosystem, and the shore birds. We paddled up Shem Creek into the creeks and then we turned around and headed out Shem Creek to the Bird Sanctuary Island. It was a great adventure that was challenging enough for a workout, but was not overwhelming!! We paired our strong paddlers with weaker paddlers and it worked well! Even our 5 year old had a blast!! Kathy, the owner of NAO, did a great job to ensure that our tour was awesome!! Our first tour with NAO was less than we desired, and Kathy reached out to us to offer us another opportunity and ensure our satisfaction! She definitely cares about her customers and the service of her establishment! I would definitely recommend NAO and use them again!

Very convenient location and right next door to the Shem Creel Inn where we stayed. We are experienced kayakers and chose the two hour Shem Creek tour hoping a guide would be able to get us near wildlife (OK... Dolphins specifically.) While we did not see any dolphins, we enjoyed every minute of our tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and took great care of our group. I only gave four stars for the guide pointed out that a shrimp boat was returning and that dolphins should follow it in. He didn't show any urgency in having us paddle in though and actually stopped us. I have to assume there was a reason for that but did deduct a star.

Matt was our guide today on our 2 hr kayak tour. I rented a tandem for my 15 yo daughter and I. Matt was super informative about the wildlife and history. Learned lots on the trip. Only bummer was not seeing the Dolphins as we had hoped. No fault of the tour of course. Highly recommend!

Yesterday, we went out on a small women's group kayak adventure to Crab Island to search for sharks teeth. Elizabeth and Ben were great from beginning to end! Some in our group had never kayaked before and our instructions were detailed and put everyone at ease. Beautiful weather, great company, lots of laughter and two knowledgable pros!! I'm looking forward to our next trip.

Our guide ( Charlie ) was terrific - funny , knowledgeable and pleasant company for the five of us. My daughter gave me a very hard time about leaving only a 16.25 % tip - so Charlie - I will make up for it when I do the Francis Marion guided tour. ( please send any other info ). Also - the shore crew were good people. Thanks again.

We had a majestic time. Big shout out to Charlie! Funny, informative and a pleasure to have as a guide. We will be back with family

My husband & I booked the 3 hour kayak tour and were not disappointed. When we arrived & checked-in we found out that we were the only ones that had a booked this tour & Nature Adventures did not hesitate to take us on our own personal adventure. Our guide Matt was so knowledgeable about the area, marine & bird life & environment. Matt's tour was so informative and he did his best to answer all of our questions. We started out in the harbor and much to our delight there were 2 dolphins feeding in the shallows & the dolphins allowed us to watch up close. After venturing out into the harbor we then took on the creeks. This tour is not an adventure tour where you are paddling hard but more of an eco-tour where you paddle slowly to see wildlife & learn about the importance of the marshes & creeks. Matt is one of the best guides we have ever had and we would not hesitate to use Nature Adventures in the future!!!

Well run, knowledgeable two-hour tour by kayak. You launch into a waterway where dolphins are frequently seen. You then tour through marsh grasses, seeing a variety of birds. Sometimes the trip is able to go by Crab ISland, but not always, depending on wind and currents--if this is important to you, ask before you book.

We had a great time on our tour guided by Ethan. Tour was very relaxed. Ethan was competent and informative while allowing for some independence in paddling.

Took my family out for a kayaking trip and we had an absolute blast. Shawn was amazing—friendly, knowledgeable, and super patient with everyone. The entire crew went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of and felt confident on the water. From the moment we arrived to the final paddle back, everything was smooth, fun, and memorable. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a top-tier family adventure!

We had a fabulous time kayaking on Shem Creek! This was one of our favorite excursions in Charleston! Ethan was our guide and he was very knowledgeable, calm and patient! Highly recommend the tour!

This was a great tour. Everyone in our group had kayaked before so they did the prep work pretty quickly which I appreciated. They matched us with kayaks based on height and all of the kayaks were very nice! Matt was our tour guide and he was FANTASTIC!!!!!! He has a marine science degree so his knowledge of the creek and the wildlife was second to none. The kayaking was a full 2 hours and was a nice fairly leisurely pace. Highly recommend. Booking online was easy and efficient.

We had a fantastic kayak tour with the best guide ever, Matt! He had lots of fun facts to share as well as local history and information about Shem Creek wildlife. We had a fantastic time and I highly recommend Nature Adventures.

Such an amazing experience. Charlie was super kind and patient when teaching. He also shared some pretty cool facts with us all throughout our tour :)

I always have so much fun with these guys. The owners are great, and so are the guides. I love kayaking and exploring areas around Shem, but paddle boarding has definitely become my recent favorite. Looking forward to seeing a manatee when the water warms up again!

First time kayaking and what a great time! The guide was incredible even pulling a jellyfish out of the creek! Dolphins right next to kayak, incredible. Staff so professional. Definitely recommend Nature Adventures!