Point Reyes Outdoors

So much fun! My fiancee booked a guided kayaking tour for us as my valentine's gift and it was such a blast! We met our guide, Matthew, and his partner Joanna, around 10am at the Drake's Bay Oyster Co., and we ended up being the only 2 on the tour (probably b/c the forecast was mostly rain last weekend). They never cancel for any minimum attendance, which is awesome, as we'd made the 2 hour drive from the peninsula and we were excited to get on the water with Saturday's improved forecast.
Prior to us heading out, he provided super-helpful instruction on the most effective paddling techniques to utilize our core muscles, and steering with the rudder, and safety precautions. Throughout the day, he told us lots about the wildlife we saw (from all the birds to the adorable and curious seals), the eel grass and kelp in a few spots, the oyster industry in the area, and tons more.
Lunch was amazing with all locally grown ingredients in the salads, guacamole, breads, cheeses and desserts. So good! especially after such an exhilarating paddle in the morning, and with such a tranquil and beautiful spot on Drake's Bay to relax for a bite.
With times of strong winds and others of more relaxed paddling, it was such a great mix of adventure; and an exhilarating workout; and getting in touch with the environment from a new vantage point with lots of education along the way.
When we returned after 4pm, Matthew and Joanna suggested we try some fresh oysters from the Drake's Bay farm right there, and what a great idea! Delicious!
Thanks so much to Matthew and Joanna for being such tremendous hosts and guides along the way. It made for a trip we will never forget.

I booked the 3-hour Drakes Estero Kayaking Tour as a wedding anniversary gift for my husband and I to enjoy. The tour was on a Saturday and the start time was 9:30 a.m. The online booking was very comprehensive and easy, and staff was helpful over the phone.

When we arrived for our tour - we came about 30 minutes early, don't judge our eagerness - we discovered that our tour was combined with another kayaking company. In total we had roughly around 6 kayaks and 2 guides. Our 3-hour tour began with a cute but not annoying icebreaker to help us get to know each other, followed by us suiting up. I am a serial question asker, so I appreciated that the guides took tours explaining the name, function, and need for each article of clothing we slipped into.

After suiting up, we ventured to the water. We had a brief training on the proper way to hold the paddle ("hands roughly shoulder length apart") and move the paddle ("use your core, not your arms"). After getting in the kayaks, the guides snapped us in and we took off.

The 3-hour tour around Drakes Estero really was beautiful. We saw otters, a variety of birds and sea anemones. Our guides provided commentary about the area, and pointed out and knew the name of every living thing we passed. Their knowledge and clear passion for their job made the experience that much sweeter.

A "con": my husband's skirt and a another woman's skirt constantly unlatched during the trip, causing them to get wet. It was pretty frustrating. I am not sure if this means that the guides should have done some better surveying and recommended different skirt sizes or if the equipment should be evaluated and updated. I am not a pro, and dont know what causes skirts to move, but we had never had this issue with other companies.

Overall I would recommend Point Reyes Outdoor! I will note that there was some confusion regarding the 3-hour tour including lunch (it did not), but I most likely came across an old website. No worries. We were done just in time to stop by Point Reyes and grab lunch.

I got invited to kayak at night. Why do you want to kayak in the dark? Bioluminescenes! What's that?

Wiki : "Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria and terrestrial invertebrates such as fireflies."

In other words, you get to experience a magical scene from Avatar, but less exagerated. You see rings of glowing water each time you paddle. You see diamonds sprinkle in the water when your hands splash around. You see an imprint of a glow when fish swim by under your kayak. It was a cool experience. This gives kayaking a whole other meaning.

The tour was fun. We had two guides and they kept us safe and entertained. The hot cocoa during snack time was a nice touch. They give you a list of things to bring during the tour and I recommend following them. Waterproof gloves is something I wish I had brought. A few of us got very wet during the tour. I think one kayak had a small crack that went undetected during their gear inspection. I recommend quick dry hiking pants. We all had an amazing time. Highly recommend this tour!

They have merged with Blue Waters Kayaking, I called this morning and the recording advised me of this

This is a late review for a Saturday bioluminescence kayaking tour my friends and I went on in October.

Pt Reyes Outdoors (PRO) organizes kayak tours year round. The tours last for ~4 hours and are for groups of 12 max and led by 2 guides. I had researched for the best time of year to go on this tour, and it turns out the bioluminescence peaks during the fall, so I dragged my partner and 9 friends out in mid-October for the experience of a lifetime.

The evening started with ~30 minutes of intro/safety regarding the kayaking gear. This was very helpful since nobody in my group were kayaking experts. PRO provided everything we needed -- splash guards, water proof jacket, paddle, kayak, and a communal waterproof bag to put all our cell phones and cameras in.

We paddled out to an island as the sun was setting and the scenery was breathtaking! We saw so much wildlife too -- jellyfish, sea lions, many different types of birds. All of us were so taken away by the sunset and animals that we almost forgot why we came out in the first place (the bioluminescence).

Using the last bit of light before the sun completely set, we docked our kayaks at a beach across the bay. Our guides set up a nice table for the fresh pastries they brought for our group (delicious cookies, brownies and muffins from a local bakery), and had hot water for us to make tea and hot choco. We hungout and chatted for 15-20 minutes before getting back into our kayaks and paddling out into the now dark waters, lit only by a sliver of moon.

Our guides knew the bay like the back of their hands, and took us to the spots with the highest concentration of bioluminescence and least amount of moonlight, so that we'd have optimal viewing conditions. It was incredible! The water would light up in blue around our paddles and under our kayaks. Even the water that got on our splash guards would shimmer! It was truly a magical experience and none of us wanted to leave. We got back and docked around 9pm, thanked our guides and started our drive back home.

Last thing I want to add is that even though it was our first time kayaking, none of us felt unsafe at any point during the tour even though we were kayaking in complete darkness. This is all thanks to our awesome guides, whose knowledge and experience made us feel safe at all times! They were also extremely knowledgeable with identifying all the wildlife, as well as giving us geological history of where we were kayaking. I can't say enough good things about our guides (wish I remembered their names).

TL;DR - If you are at all curious about bioluminescence, go on this tour. You will not regret it.

this is a delayed review for a bioluminescence tour back in October. I had previously had positive experiences w/this company during a team building event during work trip a few years prior. anyways, based on the experience this fall...I'm not super sure if I'd recommend this company to anyone in the future.

the kayak out itself was lovely in terms of the weather conditions and bioluminescent algae. I think what bothered us the most was with the tour guide experience and that our kayak was in pretty bad shape (we had to personally repair the rudder and steerage which was fine but not ideal given how much we had paid and a waste of time that would have been better spent on the water). also because it was night we weren't allowed to kayak anywhere without the guide and had to wait for the rest of the group (that for the most part wasn't super athletic).

this was def a good tour if you had never kayaked before or weren't comfortable on the water....but if that's not the case I would consider renting or going with a different company.

I am so disappointed that I have to write a negative review for his company, however, the experience I had this weekend will not go unnoticed. I received a call from a very disgruntled employee about a cancellation that we tried to make. The booking coordinator of our friend group sent an email yesterday one day in advance to cancel the tour the bioluminescence tour. This decision was based on us closely following weather forecasts in Tomales Bay. The weather reports have consistently said that the weather would be inclimate. Because of this, we decided that we would need to cancel, considering the weather and the preparation it would take to plan this trip for us as we are not local.

The phone call that I just received was a gross demonstration of customer service. Her tone was incredibly terse, and she spoke over me. I found that I had to repeat myself multiple times. It got to the point where I had to assert myself and plainly ask her to let me finish a sentence before she began speaking. She cut me off and said, "I have more important things to deal with than you." She then went on to say that she was going to refund our money and that, "furthermore, you should get me a facial." I asked her for her name at various points in the conversation and she refused to give it to me.

I emailed them on Saturday as soon as the woman hung up on me to confirm that we were not going to get charged, per my discussion with the representative, and to let them know about my experience. As it turns or, no one got back to me and they charged us. It seemlike this is the kind of company that doesn't actually care about their Customers.

**Update** they did end up refunding is after posting this review.

I've been here twice for 3-hour 8pm kayaking.

They provide a spray jacket, apron, and life jackets. Wear layers. You are going to be paddling, so you'll heat up a little. I was surprised at how cold and foggy it was after an 80 degree day in San Francisco.

I think I was super lucky both times because the bioluminescence was extremely bright. It's really cool seeing the the wakes of our paddles light up, as well as sparkles in elephant snot (a type of algae) and the trails that fish leave behind as they dart under your boat. We even saw a seal, though it was just a dark blob to us.

We also heard the cormorants croaking and saw them nested in a tree, silhouetted against the sky. I thought they were leaves at first.

It was a little terrifying paddling through the fog and only being able to follow the flashing red light on the back of our guide's head. By the way, if you are bothered by flashing lights, stay farther back--I got a mild headache since we were right behind him the whole time.

At the end, guides stand together under a bright light and are open to any questions that people have. I guess most people in my group didn't realize that tips were a bit expected, so they all just left. I think our guides were a bit disappointed that my friend and I were the only tippers in our group.

The light in the women's bathroom is creepy and flickering and dark and has been like that both times I've been here--and I came in 2014 and 2016. It'd be nice if that could be fixed.

The drive up and back down (at night when you're tired) is pretty tiring, but I'd say it's worth suffering through it at least once. I recommend coming up through Petaluma if you get carsick easily, since the 1 is a windy road (and a bit scary in the dark).

On the day of our bioluminescent tour, we got an email saying they were watching the weather but may cancel. We had already booked a hotel room so we decided to head out anyway. We called them at noon and they said the trip was still on. They said they'd call us back at 3 to let us know. No one called us so we called them at 3:30. They said it was still on. We drove out toward the meeting spot and got some food, then we showed up to meet the tour guides at 5:45. We paid for parking, which they told us to do, and then we went to over to them. They didn't really speak to us, so we just kind of sat around. Meanwhile, the other tour company was giving their group instructions, getting them prepared, getting them suited up with wetsuits, life vests, and windbreakers. Our tour guides were talking to themselves.

I heard them tell a few latecomers that they were waiting for others to get there. So, we sat and we waited. There was no communication, no instruction. Then, at about 6:45 (it was supposed to start at 6), they tell us they are cancelling. Bummed and irritated, we watched the other tour group as they were holding their paddles and ready to go out. We spent $150 on gear for this trip and $160 for our hotel room. While we didn't get charged for the kayak trip, we spent over $300 for it.

We picked the wrong company.

Bioluminescence kayaking is an outdoor water activity everyone must try once in his or her lifetime! You don't need to be an expert swimmer, but you need to be comfortable getting the lower half of your legs wet. Life vests, waterproof paddling jackets, and spray skirts are provided by the company. It's recommended to wear warm layers, especially with night kayaking. It's easy to remove extra layers than to regret not having enough. Plus, once on the water and with all the paddling, you'll warm up a bit. Also, it's nice to have a pair of waterproof gloves for better paddle grip and sandals that go over your heels (flip flops work, but they get annoying while pulling the kayak out of the water as your feet work against the pebbles and sand).

Our two tour guides were very friendly and knowledgable about the wildlife around Tomales Bay. Instructions were thorough and clear, and the introduction portion took about 1 hour. Once everyone suited up and separated into pairs (16 people per group, 2 people per kayak), we paddled out to Hog Island to learn (and smell from quite a few yards away!) a bit of its wildlife inhabitants, and then we paddled further out to a small island/ campsite where we docked to have a desserts picnic: local baked goods from Bovine Bakery with hot cocoa and tea. When it was finally dark, we paddled back out to the mainland and were able to see the bioluminescence clearly.

Kayaking is best during new moon when the skies are dark and the agitation of the paddles against the waters yield the beautiful blueish-white bioluminescence, which glistens brightly with excellent contrast against the dark surroundings. In all, the whole excursion took about 4 hours (2 hours paddling, 1 hour desserts picnic, and 1 hour check-in and instructions) but it's quite a spectacular and magical experience. Quite pricey ($89) but fun and unforgettable! I highly recommend it!

Bioluminescence kayaking is a pretty cool experience! You get to kayak during the evening, watch the sunset, relax on the beach and kayak back during the night.

My boyfriend and I came on a Saturday evening in July. It was a bit chilly and windy, but once you start kayaking, it's going to get warm. I was just fine in my Nike sneakers, North Face jacket lined with fleece, Nike Drifit pants and a shirt underneath. PRO (Point Reyes Outdoors) will provide a floating jacket (life vest), a waterproof jacket and a water skirt, which prevents water from getting in your kayak. The back of my jacket and some of my shirt got wet, but it wasn't too bad. The weather was very nice so I wasn't too cold and my jacket was waterproof.

If you don't have any kayaking experience like me, please be warned that this is a bit strenuous. This was my first time kayaking and I had a rough start. My boyfriend and I were kind of straggling behind and the other guide had to stick around behind us to make sure we weren't too behind. After awhile, I got the hang of it, but it was very tiring. My forearms were getting sore and I was breaking out in a sweat, so all you noobies have been warned!

Overall, it was a lovely experience. There is something very peaceful, relaxing and beautiful about Tomales Bay. It's very under-developed so you are able to see all the stars at night. It's also another reason you can do this bioluminescent tour and see the lights in the water when you are paddling.

Notes and Tips:
--It's about a 2 hour drive from San Jose. There is a $5 toll on the way from San Jose so make sure you have cash!
--Bring snacks and pack food with you. There's lots of space in your kayak to store food, water and extra layers.
--Make sure your car is filled up with gas. There isn't a nearby gas station and it's super dark on the way back, so it'll be one less thing to worry about on the way home. You're also driving into a woodsy area so reception isn't the greatest and it's at least a 10-15 mile drive until you're on the main road.
--Wear a waterproof jacket if possible. When you're kayaking, you'll get some water on you so having a waterproof jacket will help.
--Make a reservation ahead of time. I called in February for a reservation in July!