Explore La Jolla Ecological Reserve's sea caves during a 90-minute kayaking tour. Follow your experienced guide through several diverse ecological habitats, home to one of the highest concentrations of sea life in California. Paddle toward the Seven Sea Caves, where you can get stunning views from inside Emerald Cave, the only north-facing cave in the state (conditions permitting). Explore a giant kelp forest inhabited by wildlife like otters, harbor seals and sea lions. Use of all kayaking equipment is included; no kayaking experience is necessary.

Explore La Jolla Ecological Reserve's sea caves during a kayaking tour
Follow your experienced guide through several diverse ecological habitats, home to one of the highest concentrations of sea life in California
Paddle toward the Seven Sea Caves and enjoy stunning views from inside Emerald Cave
Explore a giant kelp forest inhabited by wildlife like otters, harbor seals and sea lions
Use of all kayaking equipment is included; no kayaking experience is necessary

What's Included

Professional guide
2 person kayak with all required equipment

Gratuities
City tax (12%)
Hotel pickup
Hotel pickup and drop-off (if option not selected)
Transportation to/from attractions
Wetsuits are available for rental for $12.00 per wetsuit per person for the day.
Lockers are available to store belongs (small items) for $6.00 per locker for the day.

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

2261 Avenida De La Playa
2261 Avenida De La Playa, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Please, ensure that you arrive 30 minutes prior to your reservation time for Check-in at: 2261 Avenida De La Playa, La Jolla, CA, 92037 We have changing rooms, lockers available for rent, and anything else anyone would need to have an amazing experience available at our shop.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Children must be at least 5 years old and accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair accessible
Refunds will not be issued if tour/activity is missed due to late or non-arrival of guests
Dress code is swim wear or beach attire (anything that can get wet)
Stroller accessible
Kayak weight limit is 425 lbs

Once you have purchased your voucher, please contact suppliers booking office directly at the number on your voucher to confirm the reservation. Failure to do so may result in not being able to participate in activity
Reservations, recommended two weeks in advanced, subject to availability
Please arrive 30 minutes prior to schedule tour time for check in
A maximum of 6 people
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 2 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

George_V

This was a gift for my husbands 40th birthday and it will be a memory we will treasure always. It was a wonderful experience. So fun! We had an amazing guide, Devon! We would recommend this place to anyone wanting to try out kayaking.

Reviews

4.5

499 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 499 reviews

Great time

Leilani_S, Sept 2023

Devin and Danyelle were our guides and we had amazing time. We came for my husbands 30th birthday. Lots of jokes and very informative. We saw sea lions and the caves are absolutely gorgeous!

LA JOLLA COVES!!!!

Audie_C, Sept 2023

My son and I had such an amazing time. Josiah and Philip M. were very safety orientated and knowledgeable about the oceanic habitats and local history. The dad jokes were also entertaining. Cannot go wrong with California Everyday 👍🏽

Wonderful experience

George_V, Aug 2023

Worth it!

LeAnn_L, Aug 2023

Guided entry to emerald cave was awesome! Guides Noah & Mariano were great! We even got to see sea lion pups.

Amazing time

Alyssa_C, Aug 2023

Daniella and Jordan were such amazing Tour guides! We saw lots of sea lions and dolphins and a ton of fish! Would definitely recommend to everyone!

Faulty equipment/Not enough info/Too expensive

Eve_A, Aug 2023

No parking available. Took 30 minutes to find parking on a side street. There were extra charges we were not made aware of. My helmet did not fit and my kayak had no seat straps so there was no back support to paddle. We only spent about one minute in the cave. Our guide was great though.

Fantastic tour! Our...

MaryJane_C, Jul 2023

Fantastic tour! Our guides were amazing and very informative. Plus, we got to be up close and personal with both seals and dolphins!

Tooo expensive for what u get and sad to have to pay again for been bit late

Maria_A, Jul 2023

The experience wasnt good we arrived bit late mean we missed it and we bought for next day no flexibility at all with that the guides fsntastic but the group was too big of 20 people long waiting time for the cave Tooo expensive for what u get

Fun experience

Lisa_C, Jul 2023

Staff was friendly and helpful. Tour guides were fun and put us (first ocean kayak experience) at ease. We would have liked more time exploring the caves, but a fun trip overall for the price point.

Chaotic and not well run

Lisa_S, Jul 2023

The shop had so many people trying to get changed and very little areas to do so. All the guides tried to go to same cave at the same time. Not fun at all.

Great Experience

Leonard_W, Jul 2023

Excellent guides made this tour safe comfortable and educational. I recommend renting a wet suit and a locker.

Devin our tour guide was awesome.

Larry_N, Jul 2023

Devin and Ezekiel were wonderful tour guides. The 11:00 appointment was enjoyable because it wasn't too hot or too cold.

Super fun experience for our whole family!

Jeniffer_A, Jun 2023

Caesar was an amazing host and it is truly obvious how much he loves his job and loves the environment he works in! So appreciate him telling us all about the marine wildlife and helping us navigate the kayaks with ease!

Changed time with no notice and no refund?

Kevin_C, Jun 2023

They changed the time to an earlier time and we missed the your completely ! And said they couldn’t refund since we booked on viator? Will not book thru viator again.

Phillip and Cesar were...

Derick_W, May 2023

Phillip and Cesar were great tour guides! Really knowledgeable and fun. The cavern section of the tour was super fun.

Great activity, get to see wildlife like sea lions and a few sharks

Amanda_W, Apr 2023

Great tour guides who were knowledgeable and very friendly. Tip- definitely bring a towel to dry off and a spare change of clothes. I underestimated how much we would get splashed and it was a calm ocean that day.

Kayaking in La Jolla

Wilma_S, Apr 2023

Our family kayak experience was spectacular. Phillip M was an incredible guide with loads of fun facts and stories about the area. He was super informative and entertaining. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to have a different, off the beaten path experience in La Jolla.

Almost perfect

Maryanne_W, Mar 2023

It was a sunny March day in LaJolla, which we were thankful for, but didn’t realize that the ocean conditions would be less than optimal for actually kayaking to the sea caves. We did enjoy the thrill of kayaking in some fairly significant swells and surfing in on the return but it wasn’t safe to see the caves. Our guides were great, learned a number of land and sea bits about the area. Guess we’ll have to consult the tides next time.

Disappointed

LeAndra_K, Mar 2023

We were under the impression all tours went into the caves, which we did not. The website said it was weather dependent and the weather was great. Additionally, our guide stated it was his first tour and he wasn’t certified to enter the caves. We paid for a cave tour.

Kayaking and caves

Amanda_H, Feb 2023

Amazing time kayaking. Our guide Cali was knowledgeable and charismatic. The ocean was favourable and we were able to enter one of the caves. We saw wildlife such as common dolphins and pelicans.

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