La Jolla Sea Caves Kayaking Tour
I recently had a trip to San Diego and had a weekend to explore! Due to COVID many places are closed so I wanted to find something outdoorsy to do. I learned about the La Jolla Sea Caves Kayaking tour from a fellow Instagram friend and heard great things! Luckily this was an activity that was open and I could participate in.
Price/Booking
First as I always do, I had to research. I found out that there are many different La Jolla Sea Caves kayaking tours offered from different businesses. They all have great reviews so I’m sure you can’t go wrong with any of them.
I ended up going with the San Diego Bike and Kayak Tours company because they were offering the best price I could find. The tour cost $51.33 total (including all taxes and fees) for a single kayak, and their prices goes up for double kayak (if you are going as a couple or with your family) but it is cheaper per person if you book a double kayak or even a triple kayak.
They have 3 options for purchasing online: Anytime ticket (change or cancel for full refund within 24 hours), Advance ticket (able to change/cancel within 48 hours), or the Web Special Ticket (no changes can be made). I went with the web special to get the best deal, which gave me 25% off of the ticket rate. You can also call to book, or even walk up to their shop (depending on availability).
Companies offering the La Jolla Sea Caves Kayak tours include:
- San Diego Bike and Kayak Tours (who I went with)
- Everyday California
- La Jolla Kayak
- La Jolla Sea Cave Kayaks
Also look on Groupon! There were offerings available for great prices but they had to be booked earlier than I booked (I made my reservation only a day in advance).
What to Expect
-They want you to get there around 30 minutes prior to your tour time so you can find parking and get set up with your gear so plan accordingly.
-Masks are required in the store, and the people on my tour wore them during the instructional part of the tour on the beach. Masks were not required while out on the water, but you are able to wear them if you’d like.
-Don’t bring anything that you care about or don’t want to get wet, you will have no where to carry anything. They do offer lockers for a small fee if needed or you can lock your items in your car. I did bring a backpack that I had a towel in and my car keys, I left the bag on the beach right by the kayak attendants and everything was fine (they will not watch your stuff though, and they won’t be responsible for anything lost or stolen). I carried my phone with me on the tour inside a waterproof bag on a lanyard so I could get photos and video!
-You will be provided with a life jacket, a helmet (in case of any falling rocks), a kayak and a paddle (kayak and paddles are at the beach already, so you don’t have to carry anything!)
-No kayaking experience is required! I had never kayaked before but was able to easily learn and had no problems on the tour. If you are in a double kayak be prepared to communicate with your kayak partner! The tour guides will teach you everything you need to know, and will help you out when you need it.
-Your arms may get tired! We ended up kayaking a total of a mile and a half! Most of it was with breaks in between, but it was a long kayak back to the beach and my arms got tired! This is when it would be nice to be in a double kayak and take turns!
-Your feet will get wet! You can go barefoot or you can wear water shoes (I wore water shoes, but the tour guides were barefoot)
-The tour lasts 2 hours!
-You should be able to go inside at least one cave (depending on the tide). I recommend calling the kayaking company ahead of time to determine which time is best (this is what I did). I went on the first tour 9am and was able to go inside one of the caves!
-If you are worried about tipping over, you’ll be happy to know that none of the people on my tour tipped over, plus you wear a life jacket, and it is safe! I have never seen so many people swimming in the ocean before! La Jolla is home to many sea swim groups and there were swimmers everywhere. (watch for swimmers while you’re kayaking!)
Experience
The experience on this tour was incredible! I had no idea what to expect but it was much better than I thought it might be. The tour guides were very friendly and knew their stuff. You get to learn history about La Jolla and learn about the sea life that lives there. Fun Fact: La Jolla has a large marine reserve (like an underwater national park) where you get to kayak on. It is home to many leopard sharks, sea turtles and more!
As soon as my tour got out into the open water we saw two dolphins that literally swam right by us! That was worth it in itself, and I was able to get video! (You wont always see dolphins, we just got lucky!) Immediately after I was able to see the tail of of a seal! You will see plenty of sea lions (that is pretty much a guarantee). We learned about the marine reserve, the houses that are in La Jolla, history about Dr. Suess and his time in La Jolla, and the wild life that lives there (including sea life and birds).
Once we got to the caves, the tour guides told us all about them, their names, and their history. The last cave we were able to go into, and they helped guide us inside. The water was so clear inside the cave that you are able to see the rock on the bottom (which isn’t too deep). This was one of the coolest parts of the tour.
Parking
Parking can get really crazy at La Jolla! I recommend getting there early (do the first tour if you can). I was able to find free street parking about two blocks away from the Bike and Kayak tour building (parallel parking, I’m terrible at it lol). When I was finished with my tour there was a lot of traffic and many people looking for parking! Just expect to be driving around looking for parking for a while and be prepared to walk a while to get to your destination once you find somewhere to park.
Takeaways
I highly recommend going on this tour (even if you have never kayaked before). It was such a great experience and I learned a lot, plus I got to see some marine life! The tour guides were great!
If you are comfortable with swimming, I would recommend going on one of the Kayak/snorkeling tours so you can see more of the marine life that lives in the water. There were many snorkelers near the sea caves and I was a little jealous. I wanted to jump in and see what they were seeing! Next time, I will definitely choose this option instead!
