Cocoa Beach

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Florida Bioluminescence Kayaking Tour | Haulover canal (Titusville)

Badge of ExcellenceCocoa Beach, USA

1 hour 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Prebook to secure the opportunity to see the natural wonder of bioluminescence on an evening kayaking trip on Florida’s Indian River Lagoon or Banana River. Paddle the waters to view the bioluminescence—neon-blue lights caused by dinoflagellate microorganisms. See your paddle illuminate the water, look for fish in the blue-lit shallows, and absorb the otherworldly atmosphere and mangrove scenery. Includes equipment, instruction, and choice of departures for ease.

See bioluminescence on a night Indian River Lagoon or Banana River kayak tour
Prebook to ensure you see the neon blue lights of tiny river algae
See your paddle light the water, view fish, and enjoy the surreal setting
Includes equipment, guide, and choice of time slots to make everything easy

What's Included

Our bioluminescent kayak tours last for approximately 90 mins. You will get wet to some extent, so plan to bring some towels and wear appropriate footwear.
INCLUDED: KAYAK, PFD, PADDLES AND HAPPY GUIDES
MAX WEIGHT: 300LBS FOR A SINGLE, AND 600LBS FOR A TANDEM

Beverages, bug spray, towels, snacks etc

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Haulover Canal Kayak Launch
Haulover Rd SW, Mims, FL 32754, USA
At the end of the gravel road, look for a white van and or a black truck that says “Florida-Adventurer." Our helpful guides will be waiting for you. Please arrive 30 mins prior to your tour time for check-in and orientation. If you're late to orientation or if you missed it, there will be no refunds

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Check out the magical water as you glide through Haulover Canal in Titusville on this Florida bioluminescence kayaking tour.

This group tour starts at an easy-to-find meeting spot. There are plenty of departure times, so you can find one that suits your schedule.

Pick out your one or 2-person kayak and paddles, get an instruction lesson, and then head out onto the water. Your guide will be with you the entire time to show you where to go and to make sure the group is safe.

Kayak on either the Indian River Lagoon or Banana River, watching the blue bioluminescence illuminate the water, and see if you can spot some fish swimming under you.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Our bioluminescent kayak tours last for approximately 90 mins. You will get wet to some extent, so plan to bring some towels and wear appropriate footwear.
Peak season is July – October with sightings as late as January
LAUNCH SITE: Haulover Canal, Titusville; and Kiwanis Island Park, Merritt Island
TRIP LENGTH: 90 MINS
INCLUDED: KAYAK, PFD, PADDLES AND HAPPY GUIDES
MAX WEIGHT: 300LBS FOR A SINGLE, AND 600LBS FOR A TANDEM

AGE RANGE: 5+
SUGGESTIONS TO BRING: AQUATIC FOOTWEAR, BUG SPRAY, TOWEL, SUNSCREEN, CASH FOR TIPS (optional), AND A WATER BOTTLE
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 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.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Nicole_B

Kate was absolutely the best tour guide there could ever be. So knowledgeable! Although we didn’t see much of the bioluminescence (off season) she made it so informative and educational and fun to explore.

Reviews

4.5

272 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 272 reviews

Unique experience

Melinda_B, Mar 2024

It was a really fun trip. Our guide Brian was really informative and knowledgeable about the area. I look forward to another trip when the plankton are there.

Kate’s the best!

Nicole_B, Feb 2024

500% yes

Emily_W, Dec 2023

What a fun experience. While it wasn’t peak season for max bioluminescence, just being in the water and hearing the night time noises was so peaceful. We had such a great time and will definitely do this again.

Woot woot, Brian!

Vinal_S, Nov 2023

Brian is an amazing guide. He showed us so many beautiful water creatures and allowed us to catch some with his net. He was very patient with our kayaking skills, LOL. I would highly recommend using them as your kayaking your guide and do ask for Brian. Woot woot! But plan coming during summer, we visited in mid November.

Not happy about it.

Pepe_D, Nov 2023

The tour was a total ripped off. There was no sign of glowing in the water. The guide said that October is not the perfect time to see it. My friends and I (4 of us) was very frustrated about it. Total waste of money.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello Pepe, We're sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. We advertise the seasons and visibility of each season on our website, Viator, Trip Advisor etc. Guests are able to book a tour w/us all year long. Some seasons will have better visibility than others. Sometimes we can have inclement weather that can play a role in what we see while on the water. It is totally possible on a cold night that you may not see anything, as nature does what is does, but to not see something while on tour is extremely rare. However , we can not guarantee nature. We do offer rain checks to guests that did not have any visibility to come back out at a future date. We have never received any phone call from your party explaining your situation. Feel free to give us a call. There are over 1k reviews for us here that say our guests had an amazing time, so to say our experience is a "total ripoff", is not a fair statement at all. Hope to hear from you soon!

Relaxing peaceful experience

Michael_A, Oct 2023

We did a 10pm tour guided kayak trip which was an amazing experience our tour guide was very knowledgeable as well as personable. He was extremely friendly and make the experience even better. Was able to catch and release some comb jellyfish that would glow and even got to see more wildlife

Awesome

KerryAnne_P, Oct 2023

Awesome evening on the water. Brian our guide was super informative. Would definitely recommend. My son was very nervous, put him at ease, really engaged him when on the water.

Great experience with very nice guide!

Rebecca_R, Oct 2023

We booked the tour because we also wanted to experience bioluminescence. However, this is of course also associated with some luck. On the tour we were lucky to see a little bit of it. But we saw many manatees and dolphins. The guide was also great!

Tyler was the best!!

Andrea_H, Sep 2023

Tyler was AWESOME!! So knowledgeable and gsve great direction!! Book this tour and ask for Tyler he's the best.

Great time

Michaela_H, Sep 2023

Our guide was great! Loved all the great information we got from him. Very nice made us feel right at home. I would most definitely do this again! The water was out of this world.

Amazing

Jazmin_L, Sep 2023

We had a wonderful experience with Katie and Ryan in our clear canoes! Katie is so knowledgeable. We learned not just about the bioluminescence but the launch that happened that night. We also had a good experience with the office. We missed our intended time because we lacked information from buying through a third party. The guy in the office set us up to reschedule immediately and was understanding.

Amazing wildlife

Singrid_S, Aug 2023

The staff was very friendly and helpful. They were also a wealth of knowledge. We saw manitees and dolphins. There wasn’t a lot of the bioluminescent in the water due to the temperature, but we did get to see floating in the water and some jellies. I would totally recommend, but I would be there a few hours early to enjoy the park, see the wildlife from a brigh n the daytime

Outstanding!!!!

Kimberly_R, Aug 2023

The bioluminescence was incredible BUT when it began to lightly rain, it was absolutely magickal!!!!!!! The water was literally sparkling like blue diamonds!!!!! We will most definitely do this again!!!!! HIGHLY recommend this tour and our guide, Clint, was great!!!!! Super knowledgeable, kept us safe, together and having a great time!!!!

Try a different company for this great experience

Lisa_P, Aug 2023

The bioluminescence was amazing! Seeing the fish streak through the water at night, little crabs float by, and dolphins come up for air was just awesome! What wasn't awesome was the guide. They tell you that you must be there by 8:30pm or you can't go. We stood around from 830-9 getting eaten up by mosquitoes then they started passing out life vests. Mind you the tour was supposed to leave at 9pm and last 90minutes. We actually left the shore at 9:25. They didn't have flashlights for everyone and the last few glowsticks didn't work. Just a disorganized mess. The guide told us very little about the animals, ecosystem, and plants. Other than some info about bottlenose dolphins, we got very little info. The worst part about it was how uncomfortable he made everyone when 15minutes before we completed the tour he started asking for tips. On the shore, he was almost bullying one woman who said she didn't have cash. He had her take his number to send him money through Zelle. Really unprofessional and unpleasant. I recommend you try a different company. We passed other guides that were sharing lots of good information that I would have loved to hear. Their groups all had glowsticks for safety too.

Would Go Again!

Allen_C, Aug 2023

I went on this tour with my sister and nephew to celebrate my 25th birthday. The guides were very helpful and informative, and the water was absolutely stunning! Bug spray or a long sleeve is a must, but it was a wonderful experience!

Bioluminescent kayaking

Madison_T, Jul 2023

Katie was an awesome guide! So knowledgeable and made the trip so fun! Such a cool experience and one of Florida’s hidden treasures!

Do not book if you are a solo traveler

AliciaMarie_P, Jul 2023

This entire experience E2E was terrible, but in summary if you are a solo traveler THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. Despite their description saying it absolutely nowhere, they do not allow single riders, strangers must ride tandem together. First, I use mobile viator so only some things are in the mobile view - first issue. You go out into the middle of nowhere, in the dark and a park guard asks you for a tour name. I showed her my ticket and she said "i have no clue what company that is, there's no name on your mobile ticket, just drive around and look". Second, you drive down this long dirt road and into complete chaos. Kayak companies and people everywhere - again, in the dark. Its on you to park and walk up and down to look at signs on vehicles to see if you can find the company. That said, I didnt know the company i was looking for so I called the phone number in the description on the website and said "google maps said Im looking for X kayking company" and he said "wrong number, this is Y kayak". So then i really didnt know what to do. He then called me back and said "Whats your name, you are with Y kayak. Go look for Z vehicle". All of this took 10-15 minutes. I find the vehicle and im late to the group, everyone is suiting up and its pretty chaotic, no problem. I get a life vest, glow stick, put on my water shoes - get ready to go. We go to grab paddles and someone asks some question about who should take a paddle and this is when he said "we dont allow single riders, only tandem kayaks. If youre riding solo you'll be paired with a stranger". Absolutely not. I am not riding around in the dark with a stranger trying to get in sync with them on a kayak. How did you never mention this knowing I booked a ticket for 1? I immediately said I would not be participating and left. The guide then quite literally ran to chase me down 2 minutes later to tell me that he would not be giving me a refund. Which I expected but so rude. Why bother? How about you refund me the hundreds of dollars I spent for the entire weekend I planned, hotel, food, activities, literally JUST TO DO THIS TOUR. Forget the $60 I spent on this tour I lost, Ive lost over $500 in spend just to do this tour, which you then took from me. Yes I am really upset. Yes, other people would have just rode with a stranger, I am not one of them. Its a choice, and it was a choice I was not allowed to make because nowhere in the description when you book or ahead of time do they tell you you are forbidden from being solo. Ive been kayaking at least 50 times in my life and ive never in my life been told I had to ride with a stranger, especially when were literally grabbing paddles and launching in the 11th hour. Really unfair how much i time, energy, and money I lost because of this huge miss in your booking description.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

You chose to book a tour w/us thru a different company and it's now our fault they didn't accurately describe the activity? We operate on a wildlife refuge that limits the amount of kayaks we can have on the water at any 1 time so all the companies will use tandem kayaks. If you had taken a moment to look around, you wouldn't have seen a single paddler anywhere ,except for our guides. We clearly describe this on our website, but you didn't book through our website. You booked w/us via 3rd party. Maybe they are the ones you should be reviewing? Your guide ran after you to let you know if you left there would be no refund, so that you would hopefully turn around and have a good time. You chose to leave and leave a nasty review. If that is what you needed to do to feel better, we are happy for your happiness! We hope to see you again soon!

Truly magical

Janvi_s, Jul 2023

Despite raining a few minutes before the bioluminescence was quite vibrant. It was magical and humorous with the tour guides’ fun animal and water facts. We mostly saw fish and crab, with the occasional gator.

Great Experience

Melissa_B, Jul 2023

Clint, Eric/Matt, & Jesus we’re fantastic tour guides! They were super knowledgeable and kept it fun out on the water, the bioluminescent was beautiful and so bright with very little light pollution.

Katie -Awesome

Elmer_B, Jul 2023

Katie great tour guide! She was awesome!!!! Will tour again . It was a wonderful experience, I have done this before but this time was a step up

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