Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary and Ships Graveyard Kayak Tour
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Adelaide, Australia
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Enjoy a guided kayaking tour from Adelaide that gives you the chance to see the Port River dolphins up close. Receive a kayaking lesson from the expert guide, then set out for the Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard Maritime Heritage Trail and the dolphin sanctuary. Travel in a small group with a maximum of 14 people, winding through mangrove-lined waterways to see native wildlife and scuttled ships. Learn about the region from the informative guide on this family-friendly tour.
- Kayak tour with dolphin-watching and shipwrecks, from Adelaide
- Learn to kayak in calm waters, suitable for beginning and experienced kayakers
- Likely see Port River dolphins in the waters of the dolphin sanctuary
- Paddle through mangroves while looking for dolphins and other wildlife
- Be amazed by hulking shipwrecks that jut out of the water
What's Included
- Kayak, life vest, paddle, paddling jacket(if required)
- Waterproof container for camera or valuables.
- Professional guide
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Adventure Kayaking SA | Dolphin Sanctuary ToursLOT 204 Garden Island Rd, Port Adelaide SA 5015, Australia
We meet you at Lot 204 Garden Island Road, Gillman for the kayaking tours. This is a public reserve. We are a mobile business and have no office at this location. Look for the Adventure Kayaking vehicles, lots of kayaks/SUP's and happy people!
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Adventure Kayaking SA
2
Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Minimum age is 8 years
- Children 12 and under will need to be accompanied in a kayak by an adult
- Please bring: Insect repellent, drinks, snacks, shoes that can get wet, sunscreen, and your camera
- As we use sit-in kayaks, we find that people 140kgs+ can have trouble fitting in the kayaks. Please call us with any concerns
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Sarah_K
Amazing experience. The kids loved it. Great tour guides, very friendly, and knowledgeable. Will definitely do it again.
Reviews
4.8
based on 294 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Cate_B, Jul 2026
Booked trip through Viator, but the SA adventure kayaking company didn’t show and and said they didn’t run tours on that day. Very poorly organised we were looking forward to the experience, and communication was poor, had to call multiple times to get an explanation as to why no one was there to take us on our tour as we were waiting at the meeting spot and weren’t the only ones there waiting. Adventure kayaking company took little responsibility for their stuff up, trying to blame Viator for their miscommunication
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Cate
We are very sorry that your tour did not proceed and that you arrived at the meeting point expecting an experience we were not prepared to deliver. We understand how disappointing and frustrating that would have been.
A technical failure between Viator’s booking platform and our reservation system meant that several confirmed bookings were not transferred into our operating schedule or sent to our team. The issue had only become apparent the previous day, and at that stage we believed it related to a single booking. We had not yet identified that it was affecting multiple future bookings.
We responded through Viator shortly after receiving your message, spoke with you by phone and offered either an alternative date or a full refund. However, we recognise that this did not make up for the missed tour or the inconvenience caused.
We were not seeking to avoid responsibility by explaining the booking system issue. We wanted to provide an honest explanation of what had occurred. We have since worked through every affected booking, corrected the system connection and introduced additional checks to help prevent this happening again.
Please accept our sincere apology for your experience.
Kind regards
Adventure Kayaking SA
Leo_B, Jul 2026
Great work out and if you’re lucky you’ll see dolphins. But if not, you’ll still get to see the mangroves and multiple ship wrecks. Great way to spend 3 hours in the morning before my flight.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Leo
Thanks for joining us and for sharing your review. We’re glad you enjoyed the paddle through the mangroves and past the shipwrecks.
Dolphin sightings are always a bonus, but there is still plenty to see throughout the sanctuary. It’s great to hear the tour fitted well into your morning before your flight.
Kind regards
Adventure Kayaking SA
Mayara_G, Jun 2026
It was a beautiful experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's visiting Adelaide.
Our guide did mention there was a 60% chance of seeing dolphins, and there was a lot to see besides them, and he wasn't wrong.
Kayaking through the mangroves was very peaceful, almost like a movie scene, especially because we encountered dolphins both before and after entering the route, which made it even more magical.
Getting to know more about the shipwreck was also interesting, and it was a new way of learning history outside of the museum. Our guide, Jarred, was lovely and very patient. This is a bucket-list activity I didn't know existed, and we're glad to experience it.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Mayara
Thank you for such a thoughtful review. We’re so pleased you enjoyed kayaking through the mangroves, learning about the shipwrecks and seeing dolphins both before and after the route.
Jarred will be glad to hear your kind feedback. It’s wonderful to know the experience became an unexpected Adelaide highlight for you.
Kind regards
Adventure Kayaking SA
Jaime_R, May 2026
Fun welcoming environment instructor was great and super friendly we did the 3 hour tour which was a bit long for us but still enjoyed it
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hi Jaime
Thanks for joining us and sharing your feedback. We’re glad you enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and found your guide friendly and helpful.
The three-hour tour does involve a longer paddle, so we appreciate your honesty and are pleased you still enjoyed the experience.
Kind regards
Adventure Kayaking SA
Brent_T, Apr 2026
Lidia was well versed in what she does, very informative. Spotted dolphins 🐬 as well. Got bogged and had to climb out and push kayak lol.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you for leaving us a 5-star review! We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us and were able to spot some dolphins as well!
Taylor_F, Mar 2026
This was a great way to spend the morning. We saw multiple dolphins and the water was very calm and cool. We got to go through the mangroves which was very cool. I would recommend. It is doable even without a car. We were abel to get an Uber easily.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you for leaving us a great review! We are glad to hear you enjoyed your experience with us.
Mike_H, Feb 2026
This was a fun easy day of kayaking in the Dolphin Sanctuary. We did see dolphins and many birds as well as shipwrecks up close. Our guide Luke gave us boat loads of information on the area, the wildlife and the shipwrecks. Just a delightful adventure!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
We appreciate you leaving us a 5-star review! It is great to hear you enjoyed your tour and were able to see plenty of wildlife, we will be sure to pass your positive feedback onto Luke.
Jenn_M, Feb 2026
Lovely tour. Nice balance of being guided and sharing knowledge as well as being given some space to explore at your own speed and interest.
The group size we had seemed to be an advantage to other tours in the area.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
We appreciate you taking the time to leave us some positive feedback. It is great to hear that you enjoyed the tour with us.
Sarah_K, Jan 2026
Amazing experience. The kids loved it. Great tour guides, very friendly, and knowledgeable. Will definitely do it again.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
We appreciate you leaving us a great 5-star review! It is wonderful to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us.
Debbie_S, Nov 2025
it is an amazing experience totally recommend
Luke was a great your guide
would definitely do it again.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
We appreciate you leaving us such a great review! It is great to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Luke, we will be sure to pass on your kind regards to him!
Hollie_M, Mar 2025
We had a lovely time and saw a few dolphins, will definitely go again, great experience and good value for money
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a wonderful 5 star review! We are glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and saw some dolphins along the way.
Emmanuelle_I, Dec 2024
We loved the mangrove part from the tour, it’s like being on an another planet! We haven’t seen dolphins but it’s the game!
Jarrod_L, Dec 2024
Excellent experience, heaps of Dolphins right up close. Guides were great.
Paddling thru the creeks is next level🙌
Ashley_S, Oct 2024
Guide was great and shared lots of knowledge about the area and the things we saw along the way. Thank you.
Terence_R, Jul 2024
Loved going through mangroves high light off the trip if I had time would do again excellent value for money the guide was brilliant Thanks for a great morning
Rachel_O, Jun 2024
Thank you to the staff, I enjoyed kayaking through the mangrove tree area. The water was so still and the weather was beautiful. We did see a few dolphin and plenty of beautiful birds.
Angela_S, Jan 2024
It was a family fun activity to do, and the staff were great, we definitely would do this again. We saw dolphins quite close up.
Bonita_C, Dec 2023
Laid back experience with friendly guides who made everyone feel safe and we saw dolphins which was amazing.
Kym_O, Sep 2023
Fabulous tour and guide. Would recommend to anyone, especially if you've not done before. They even show you how to kayak prior, its great
Garry_G, May 2023
It was a special gift to my partner for Mothers Day as she has wanted to kayak again. An Autumn sunny day and no wind was was warm a perfect start. The Tour Guides are exceptional making everyone feel comfortable and informative. We got to see and hear a lot especially the shipwrecks and estuary that run off into the mangroves. We will be back again and with friends who commented on our adventure, we encourage anyone that is either conformable or not comfortable to contact Adventure Kayaking SA to book in great day and paddle.
LorettaJane_M, Apr 2023
Great guides and comfortable equipment. Was not very taxing - so should be manageable for most fitness levels.
Didn’t see any dolphins, some were seen in an earlier group but it’s likely pot luck.
Sandra_L, Mar 2023
First time kayaking, instructors explain how to get in & paddle, they kept everyone safe, great history lesson.
Eoin_M, Mar 2023
The trip along the creek was a lovely, cosy look at the dense wildlife that exists along the water’s edge. Another fond memory was the lovely feeling of floating around the river bends and seeing the amazing fauna!
The staff were also an incredible part of the experience. They went out of their way to accommodate our needs, even helping us with making our way back to Adelaide. They were full of brilliant anecdotes and tidbits about the area and their experiences! Would highly recommend
Richard_S, Jan 2023
Great family activity we all enjoyed the experience.
We saw dolphins and really enjoyed the kayaking through the mangroves. Our guides were excellent.
Michael_W, Dec 2022
While the dolphins didn’t come out for us on the day, we had a fun and informative day out on the water with Tim and Oli learning about the area’s ecology and exploring the ship graveyard.
Hanh_V, Jul 2022
Phil and Luke (our instructors) were very knowledgeable not just in kayaking but about the area. We had a lot of fun and the mangroves forest is beautiful. Not to mention the dolphins!
You can drive to the place (plenty of parking spaces) or you can catch Uber (up to 15 minutes wait) from Port Adelaide :)
Kellee_B, May 2022
We loved seeing the dolphins. Learning more tips about kayaking was good for me. Phil was a great teacher.
Darryl_M, Apr 2022
Fantastic experience. Had wonderful weather and Phil and Alannah were great guides. Got a close encounter with a dolphin and her baby. Magical. Would highly recommend
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Thank you for your review Darryl! Very pleased to hear you had a great time.
Brett_T, Apr 2022
Phil was a great guide and it’s a relaxing paddle as there was no time limit to be anywhere. We saw a couple of dolphins although they were 50meters away. Great tour and enjoyed it.
Jenny_H, Apr 2022
Great experience even though we didn’t get to see the dolphins. :) The ship wrecks are amazing. The kayaks were great, in good condition and easy to use. Kayaks all had rudders (often removed on hire kayaks) which was brilliant as our day was quite windy and we would have been exhausted without them.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Thank you so much for your review. We are glad you enjoyed the experience!
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