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Our Florida Manatee and Dolphin kayaking tour near Kennedy Space Center is one of our busiest kayak trips and the #1 daytime outdoor activity in the Orlando, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, FL area. 80% of the season manatee are mating, so that makes for eventful trips to what we’ve dubbed as “The #ManateeBox”. This location can see upward of 200+ manatees at one time depending on season and time of year.
Kayaking to see Manatee and Dolphin is an amazing way to relax and connect with nature. The guides at Florida-Adventurer are commited to knowing when and where to see these animals on a daily basis so we can provide the best posible experiences for our guests during thier excursions with us. Below we have provided a “what you should know” so that you, the guest, can have the best possible experience with Florida-Adventurer!
What You Should Know
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LAUNCH SITE: Haulover Canal, Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge (just minutes from Cocoa Beach and Kennedy Space Center)
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TRIP LENGTH: 90 MINS
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COST PER PERSON: $50
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INCLUDED: KAYAK, PFD, PADDLES AND HAPPY GUIDES
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MAX WEIGHT: 300LBS FOR A SINGLE, AND 600LBS FOR A TANDEM
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AGE RANGE: 4+
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SUGGESTIONS TO BRING: AQUATIC FOOTWEAR, BUG SPRAY, TOWEL, SUNSCREEN,
AND A WATER BOTTLE, CASH FOR TIPS (optional) -
LOCATION: Haulover Canal
Florida-Adventurers Manatee and Dolphin kayaking tours depart every day, multiple times a day. No two adventures will be the same as nature is constantly on the move. No cheesy rehearsed scripts here just guides well-versed in their ecosystem.
Dolphins can be tricky. They are nomadic by nature in their never-ending quest for food, also they never sleep. So we do not always see dolphins, but we have very skilled guides who will assess the conditions and determine the best course of action to see a dolphin. As much as we’d like them to be, the wildlife isn’t on our schedule. We have put our Manatee and Dolphin kayak tours near Kennedy Space Center in an area that has been frequented by these animals for decades to give our customers the absolute best possible chance of viewing these beautiful creatures. We have over 1300 resident manatee on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge that we operate from. So, to not see manatee is almost impossible.
CLICK HERE to book your Manatee and Dolphin kayaking tour today!
Click here to book your kayaking tour.
Manatee and Dolphins Tours
In the winter “the box ” provides the Manatee warmth and fresh drinking water. The rest of the year it serves as a rest area out of the current of the canal and as a meeting place for manatee breeding herds. Sometimes we’re privy to witness the manatee breeding herds in action, now that’s something you won’t see at SeaWorld! During this Manatee and Dolphin kayak tour, we see a variety of wildlife such as Dolphin, Birds, Fish, Stingray, Horse Shoe Crabs, jelly-fish, and maybe even an Alligator!
After you arrive and we’ve checked everyone in and outfitted our guests in pfd’s (that’s nautical for life jacket), we will go over a brief orientation. That means we will make sure you understand how to maneuver your kayak so you can safely navigate your way on the water. After that , we will get everyone out onto the water by the designated launch time.
We launch from a shallow sandy bottom shoreline, from there we embark to “the box”. During the paddle to our 1st destination, it is not uncommon to see wildlife swimming, flying, or standing at the water’s edge. Yes, you may see an alligator lol, after all the alligator is Florida’s official state reptile, though it isn’t often that we see them (though the owner thinks it’s a sign of good fortune to see an alligator face to face on the water and paddle away). Once our group reaches “the box”, we will spend time floating around, and above the manatee in our kayaks. This is where we will spend bit our time taking in the manatee behaving naturally in their environment and answering any questions you may have. From this point, our group of #FLAdventurers will begin the search for dolphin.
This part of the tour will take us through Bairs Cove and the Mangrove trails which we call “the Maze” in the heart of The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. To get to these Mangrove trails we will traverse the shallows or “flats” as the locals would have it. The “flats” are a good place to see Stingray, BlueCrab, Horseshoe crab, bait fish, Redfish, and some Seagrass. Sure you can “See” dolphin in tanks at Seaworld, but not like this.
We offer you the chance to witness the Bottlenose Dolphin in the act of predation. We have a few places we frequently see dolphin preying on baitfish. These animals can hit bursts of speed up to 25 MPH in the blink of an eye. It is not uncommon to witness these resident Indian River Lagoon Bottlenose Dolphin breech the waters surface out to their dorsal fin, LITERALLY, just feet from your kayak, while snapping at a Mullet in the air!! It is truly “a once in a lifetime tour” for our out of State/Country guests. So if you’re in Florida near the Kennedy Space Center, this Manatee and Dolphin kayaking tour is 2nd to none!
*The majority of our guides are college kids working their way through school, So tips are always accepted, never expected.
