Mangroves Kayak Tour

Well worth the cost! Bring some dry clothes to change into. Bring your camera to get some great shots of the turtles. Very friendly staff!😀

I wanted to write a review but unfortunately our tour guide didnt show up at our meeting point for the tour in Turks and Caicos. We messaged each other afterwards and tried to reschedule but his one opening was not agreeable with our schedule. Hoping Trip Advisor will help me get my $170 returned.

Poor organization of this event. One of the messages showed start time 10:00am. But when I called at 9:00 I was told it was already too late, as the high tide was at 7:30. The operator told me he couldn’t reach my Greek phone, he “was too busy” to message me via Viator, and “didn’t think” to try WhatsApp among other means of communication. So we agreed to try next Sunday if I could make it. High tide was 10:30am, but the operator messaged me very late (10:30pm) to meet at 9:15 am. We didn’t make it on time because we were sailing all night from Grand Turk. I am very disappointed we didn’t do the Kayak tour. Plus we didn’t get our money back.

We own sit-on-top kayaks and did mangrove tunnel kayaking in FL for years which is alot of fun, now we go lake kayaking in upstate SC. These clear bottom sit-inside kayaks are hard to get into and out of (and we are in decent shape), have no keel so they are very hard to paddle and steer in the wind and surf, and they are very uncomfortable and unstable, plus we did not see any wildlife under the boat. They tow you out into the middle of the bay with constant high winds so it's very difficult to paddle and you get to see a few turtles at a distance. Then you land on a mangrove beach and walk back into the woods to look at some iguanas, there are no mangrove tunnels to paddle through which we were expecting. The only highlight was the guide Daniel was a really nice guy and quite knowledgeable but his English was very hard to understand. If you go expect to get soaked, and wear water shoes as you'll need them in the mangrove woods. Worst $210 and 3 hours I ever spent, try snorkling the reef instead !

We received a text message the day before that our kayak tour was cancelled because the guide was sick and that we could reschedule. We emailed, texted, and called but nobody responded. We were still charged. Never went. Still haven't received a refund.

My husband and I were very much looking forward to this tour but what a disappointment! They did not show up for our tour and did not communicate with us that it was canceled. From the beginning, it was not well organized as the address provided on the booking was their old address. We were able to find the new departure point from the help of locals and guides from other tour companies. Not only did the tour operators not call us to notify us that the tour was canceled but the only number provided on the booking was out of service. They refunded the money but without offering any explanation, ability to reschedule or apologies. The reviews were mostly positive, a few that reported communication issues which after our experience I’m surprised there aren’t more. We’ve traveled a lot, booked a lot of tours/adventures and never have we had such a bad experience like this one. We also understand that weather can cause tours to be cancelled or rescheduled. The complete lack of communication and inability to contact the company is unacceptable. Bottom line, we wasted 2 hours and over $50 in taxi charges for a lot of frustration and no kayaking. Suggest booking with Clear Bottom Adventures or Carribean Cruisin- both companies were extremely helpful and kind in contacting Turks Aqua Adventures to inform us our trip was cancelled. More details about our issues: 1) the location on our confirmation was wrong/doesn’t exist. After we arrived at the designated deserted location, we saw some people walking on the beach who informed us that they no longer allow kayak departures from that location. Our kind cab driver called around and found the correct location and brought us there. 2) The single number on our confirmation and on the Turks aqua adventures website was out of service. We called that number the morning of to confirm because it was windy and were concerned the trip may be canceled. We found a number of very nice locals who knew of Turks Aqua Adventures and had a guy’s personal cell number that they called to inform us that the trip had been cancelled after about an hour of guides/locals contacting the company.

No one showed up. Waited 30 minutes along with other family. Also no one answered phone number provided. Seemed like a big scam

Based on the fantastic catamaran snorkeling trip that we booked through Viator, my wife and I booked the Mangroves Kayak Tour. We immediately bonded with the guys handling equipment when they offered us a kayak suited to our experience - it made all the difference in enabling us to navigate the sometimes tricky turns in the mangroves maze. Our tour guide, "Cheesy", was an incredible source of knowledge, culture, and humor. His "trick" of having a conch turn itself inside out was really an inroad to a larger discussion of the history of the importance of this sea creature in the culture and foundation of Turks and Caicos life. It was clear that he loves nature, his heritage, and learning. It was great spending two hours in the most incredible natural surroundings with my wife, our guide, and fellow enthusiasts. I highly recommend this tour.

We arrived at the designated site ten minutes early. We called at 10:10am to check on the tour operator. No one showed up other than other paying customers so we left at 10:30am.

We really enjoyed this excursion. I was a little uncertain as the more popular tour companies were booked up by the time we booked, but this tour group was great. One caution — be sure to triple check the starting point for your tour — the original tickets had one location, while the email we received the day before the tour had another Google map pinpoint. We should’ve stuck with the prior day email, as it was correct and we went to the wrong spot. All ended well once we found the right spot about a 7 minute drive away. Our guide was great. They hook you up to a dingy or jet ski and pull you on your kayaks across the channel to Mangrove Key, which was nice (it would’ve been a LOT of paddling to get there). Once there, our guide led us through a number of cool areas of the mangroves. We saw big sea turtles right under our kayaks, got to touch a jelly fish, learn about the mangroves themselves, and finished the tour with an up close encounter with a young (and small) lemon shark. As I said, our guide was friendly and knowledgeable and made it a pleasant morning for all of us. Don’t forget to wear a lot of sunscreen and know that navigating the narrow passages can be a little challenging for novice kayakers, but you figure it out — and the water is very shallow and clear. All in all a great tour. Highly recommend!

So many turtles! Cheese knew so much about the mangrove, the ecosystem, and where to spot turtles. Highly recommend!

This was an absolutely incredible tour!!! Our guide Khadaffi was really great. He was super friendly, knowledgeable, and he was patient with us when we kept getting distracted by the turtles. He helped us find a shark and a good 20 turtles. He pointed out interesting things about the mangroves and found a live conch to show us. He took great photos and videos from up on his stand up paddle board and shared them with us. Everyone in our family was impressed and came back all smiles. The only thing travelers should be aware of is that the start time is actually based on high tides. So don't book anything else for that day, and make sure you check your email and phone the day before your tour so that you'll know the start time. Finally, the clear kayaks are cool, but they are a little harder to maneuver than the regular kayaks. We booked the regular kayaks to save a little money, and I'm glad we did.

Wow, wow, wow! We all had so much fun on this tour! Our kids are ages 6-17, and all of them loved it. There's a reason this tour is so highly rated. Our guide helped us spot a lemon shark and tons of turtles. He was even very patient with us when we kept getting distracted by the turtles! He found a conch shell and shared information about the conchs. This tour was a big highlight of our trip, and we loved everything about it. I can't remember our guide's name, but it began with a K, and he was fabulous!!

Great excursion, very kid friendly. Bob was knowledgeable and very helpful to our group. Very easy trip, saw a large barracuda, a turtle and plenty of fish!

Tristan was an incredible tour guide! His passion, knowledge and humour kept us all engaged and laughing for the duration of our tour! We left filled with knowledge from our trip. “I find the saddest person in the room, and it’s my job to make them smile. I was born on a full moon!!” What a vibe! 100% recommend the mangrove kayak tour

The mangroves kayak tour was one of the highlights of our trip! The mangrove was teeming with baby fish, sharks and turtles. Tristan our guide was so much fun and made the tour safe and informative! I would highly recommend the tour to anyone visiting Providenciales.

I did have a good few hours in the company of your informative Tristan. He may need to take care with his sarcasm to avoid turning a group or an individual against him, but he was entertaining and educative! The majority of the group were delayed across the water whilst poor Tristan tried to get the last couple of girls across, but had to stop them realising they were drunk and a risk to themselves and us all. I hope you held onto their fees. Saw lots of wildlife and Tristan knew all their correct names and behaviours to help us along. Paddling even against wind and waves was easy and navigating the mangrove routes easy too, the see through hulls fun to use and observe through. The booking information stated a bottle of water would be supplied, never saw any. A good trip, thank you.

Bob was an excellent guide. We saw a lemon shark, grouper, sea turtles and puffer fish in crystal clear water. Highly recommend.

Bob was our tour guide and he was just simply amazing. Took the time to make sure we saw and experienced everything that the Mangroves had to show us!! He was great with all my kids from five to 17. If you go on this tour ask for Bob you won’t regret it!! Highly recommend this tour it was the highlight of our trip!!!

Tristan was BY FAR the best tour guide of all the other companies (4) doing this specific tour of the mangroves. He was friendly, funny and made us feel special. Very knowledgeable about the mangroves ecosystem and all the wonderful fish and sea life. From his vantage point on the stand up paddle board, he spotted baby sharks, jellyfish, fish of all kinds and so many turtles! Not only did he spot them he gave us clear instructions on when to sit still and corralled them over to us to see and take pictures. We searched and found conch shells; and he rounded up some upside down jelly fish (they don’t sting) for us to pick up and hold. A highlight of our vacation!

Bob and Dante were excellent guides. Not only did they share a lot of knowledge about the Mangrove, they also made sure we were able to see so much sea life! We saw 30+ turtles, jellyfish, conch, grouper, cow fish, lemon sharks, and birds. It was an incredible tour. I wasn’t the best kayaker and Bob made sure I was able to fully enjoy the tour by hooking my kayak to his paddle board so I could stay straight. It was just myself and my husband, so we had a private tour with individualized attention, compared to the large groups in the mangrove. Highly recommend!

Excellent tour. Small groups and Tristan was a fantastic guide. 100% satisfied and saw more marine life than we expected.

Tristian was an excellent guide making constant jokes and making the tour very fun! He is also super knowledgeable about the islands and the animals. Very peaceful experience connecting with nature. Only thing to be aware of is that times confirmed are not set in stone. We booked night before for 10 and then changed to 8 at 5 AM morning if. Tristian still accommodated us though for a later tour. Highly recommend!

We loved it. My husband, son, daughter and I had fun. My son is 9 and was scared initially but he got a hang of it and he thoroughly enjoyed it. We started a little late because of the tide. That's perfectly understandable because safety first. Our guide Tristan or Travis (sorry I forgot his name) showed us several turtles. We saw those turtles sticking out their little head in the water. He gave us the history of the mangrove. We saw upside down jelly fish but we did not get to see a jelly fish he named peanut butter. Next time, I hope we will see peanut butter. Just book this tour already, you would love it.

Great tour. Our guides Tristen and Bob were fantastic. Full of energy and information. Thanks Dudes!!

Highlight of our trip! While kayaking in the mangroves with our two excellent guides, we saw over 40 green and hawksbill turtles, who swam around and under our clear kayaks. We learned so much about the conches and held them that gave new meaning to conch fritters. Thank you for such a delightful experience for us.

These guys were so good at helping everyone and we had a great time in the mangrove. We saw turtles and fish. Would highly recommend

Great excursion! Tour guides where wonderful. We were able to see many turtles, sharks, jelly fish, Gonks and fish.

The guided tour was fantastic. We saw so many sea turtles! DJ made our experience even better with his details on the mangroves growing patterns. He had so many fun facts we’d never heard before. Then he collected two conch shells from the water and we got the conch to come out and he shared more fun facts around the sea creatures. It was a windy day and I was worried about the kids getting across the channel. DJ made us feel safe and explained details on the current and what to expect. It was a great excursion!

I did this tour with my wife and 3 year old daughter. We really enjoyed it. The mangroves were beautiful and we saw turtles, sharks, iguanas, conches and lots of birds. Our guide Kenneth was great and knew a ton about the area. We all enjoyed the tour. We did have to move our date from Tuesday to Friday due to weather being too rough for our daughter but they were very helpful getting us rebooked. I would definitely recommend this tour!

Booked the tour on the morning of 10/19 in which the credit card was charged for $123 per person - there was six of us. We got to the correct location at the correct time - the Kayak operator told us that they no longer support this company and that they should not be scheduling tours any longer - they had a party of 8 the day before who suffered through the same experience that we did. We called the phone number from the electronic receipt and it did not work. We emailed the address on the receipt and that also did not work. We immediately called the credit card company to dispute the charge and used a company called Glass Bottom Tours who were excellent.

This trip exceeded expectations. . TLDR: This was great, lots of turtles. Relaxing pace insightful commentary. I loved it. We were greeted at the water's edge and were able to leave our belongings at the shore. Life vests were provided, and the group was small. Only three ,2 person kayaks along with the tour guide. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Our tour took us over to an island where we had a brief stop then around and among many little islands. We saw more turtles than I could count. A few juvenile lemon sharks were also visible along with lots of conch and a jellyfish. None of the natural wildlife was dangerous by any means. At about halfway through the tour, we stopped in a shallow area and were able to get out and have a stretch break. Our guide shared many stories and insight about the local ecosystem. It is clear that he is passionate about nature and was able to answer all of our questions. We were offered water at this point too which was a pleasant surprise. After returning to the shore our ride was delayed and the tour operators offered us a ride back into town. Walking back would have been too long of a walk. I have been on a similar tour in a different country with another operator before and this one is exponentially better than my previous experience. I would recommend this experience to anyone.

Had to wait 30 mins for another family. I wish we were able to leave earlier to see more sea life. Didn’t see much. It was hard to follow your guide bc he was in paddle board.

As a conservation biologist I can say it was outstanding! Kenneth has a passion for the ecosystem that is contagious. He is also great at pointing out the local fauna and talks about animal behavior and preservation. I have been in similar trips before and this was the best hands down.

Booked online for 9 am as they have a long list of start times to choose from. No one showed up. When I called to inquire, I was told the tour was at 2 pm even though my reservation said 9 am. They really only do tours during high tide. We had already spent $50 one way to taxi to the starting point. There is no place to hang out and wait so we were going to have to taxi back to condo then come back later. They refund our money. Another tour group was there, they offered to take us, but didn’t tell us that the tide was way to low to make it worth it. So after, $500 we had a one hr tour and saw 2 conch. We mostly pushed our kayaks through the water instead of floating in them. Complete waste of time and money which could of been avoided if Aqua had just communicated with us!!

Our experience with this company was terrible. They cancelled on us after we were at the site waiting and they were already 45 minutes late - I had to call them to find out what was going on & the guy at first acted like he wasn’t aware of our booking. Then he said they were cancelling and blamed the weather (despite 3 other kayak companies going out). I’m thinking they just screwed up our booking OR didn’t have a full tour and didn't want to bother taking just 3 kayaks out. At any rate, I would suggest another tour company that can manage to keep their commitment. They refunded our money quickly, but it wasted a precious morning of our vacation and broke our kid’s heart.

Had a wonderful experience! Kenneth was a thorough and helpful tour guide and Khadaffi was extremely attentive to our needs. Followed up with us to ensure we had a safe experience due to the unforeseen high tides. His responsiveness was greatly appreciated. Highly recommend!!

We booked this adventure and I am so glad we did. Our tour got rescheduled due to weather but the communication was great and they kindly fit us in the next day. Our guide was outstanding and took us through the channel and back through the mangroves where we saw tons of beautiful fish, turtles, and even a baby shark. It was very fun and educational and I would highly recommend this adventure for any age.

A very fun outing! DJ was our guide, knowledgeable on the marine life. Liked the clear bottom boats. Saw a lot of sea turtles and enjoyed being on "island time".

Khadaffi was an amiable, earthy guide who conveyed a real connection with the plant and animal life of the mangrove. We saw conch, sharks, turtles, barracudas and bone fish. The early morning high tide paddle was so lovely. We paddled conventional sit on top opaque kayaks. We were a group of about 10 with 2 guides. The clear boat flotilla outnumbered us 3:1. That outfit clearly ran a tighter ship. Khadaffi was more on island time but that wasn’t a bad thing once you got out on the water with him. There were several rescheduling calls prior to our outing. So call them at the start of your visit and relax as to day and time. Not to be missed island excursion.

Khadaffi was an excellent tour guide. We saw lemon sharks, lots of turtles and fish. Definitely worth your while

We booked with Turks Aqua through TripAdvisor several days in advance, choosing them because they offered a 10am start, where other companies were offering a 7.30am start. We paid in advance. No transport from the resort was offered, so we got a taxi to the start point (an expensive business in Turks and Caicos). Nobody from TA was there, and we waited an hour without them showing up. One of the other kayak companies told us that a 10am start would not be a good idea on that day, because it would be low tide and you would see little. Eventually one of the other companies gave us a ride back to our resort. On contacting TA they could not find our booking. They offered us another date, but we declined. In the end they did find out booking and refunded us in full. We booked with another company and had a great time

We loved it - our guide was very knowledgeable and showed us tons of wildlife and taught us about the mangrove ecosystem. Highly recommended!

My three boys and I booked a mangrove tour on the kayaks with the crew. We had the most amazing experience seeing stingrays, turtles, jellyfish, baby sharks, conch,snappers and another variety of sea life below. We really appreciated all the education that came along with the tour so that we could truly experience the area of the mangroves that we were kayaking in. I highly recommend this company for their professionalism and their knowledge and will definitely be back again!

Thanks to David, Dredly and Khadafi for being great tour guides! We went kayaking with two families and they were super helpful with the kids and helped us to spot a bunch of animals. Plus they made a great post-kayak lunch suggestion for us too!

We loved this our. Our guides pointed out a lot of sea life including sharks, turtles, jellyfish. They also took some great photos and videos which they shared with us. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Kayaking with Khadaffi and his assistant was a great experience. Khadaffi was very kind, extremely knowledgeable and was super patient with our group which consisted another family we met there. We saw baby sharks, a ton of turtles, Conchs, and Jelly fishes. One of the best additions was Khadaffi asked us not worry taking pics and videos and wanted us to not miss the mangroves and he took all the pics and videos with a pretty new iphone and air dropped it to all of us. No cost unlike the others. Highly recommend this tour.

I had a nice time kayaking through the mangroves. Small group was nice, staff was friendly and attentive. Would recommend to anyone who wants a chill activity to do.

Tour was great but the operator supposedly arranged transportation from our hotel at a pre arranged rate of $16 pp round trip. When we finished the driver demanded that we pay $24 pp even though I showed him the viator correspondence and the agreed upon rates. It was a lousy ending and kind of ruined the afternoon for us, we felt bad and paid the increased rate after the driver was rude to us.