2 Hour Kayak Hilton Head Dolphin and Nature Tour
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Hilton Head Island, USA
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
·
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Experience Hilton Head’s wildlife-rich Broad Creek Estuary on this kayaking tour designed for all ages and experience levels—no need for prior experience or your own equipment. Glide through calm salt-marsh waters and keep an eye out for wild bottlenose dolphins, as well as manatees, sea turtles, otters, and shorebirds. Paddle past waterfront homes and learn about the local history and ecology from your guide.
- Get up close to Hilton Head’s wildlife on this kayaking tour for all ages
- Feel confident navigating through calm estuary waters with a guide at hand
- Take photos of the local dolphins in their natural habitat
- Get local recommendations to make the most of your stay
What's Included
- All needed gear is provided and included in the price.
- Guide Languages offered: English
- Guides kindly accept gratuity and will work hard to show you a great time!
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 18 Simmons Rd, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926, USA
YOU MUST ARRIVE 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO TOUR TIME. The tour DEPARTS AT SCHEDULED TIME. The 30 minutes prior to are used to check in, get equipment and instruction. From Marina parking lot walk towards the water and look for the "Kayak Hilton Head Pier" located in the far right corner of the marina.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Hilton Head
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Service animals allowed
- Stroller accessible
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Kayak weight restrictions may apply but most everyone is fine to join.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 35 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Christine_B
We were greeted By Zac upon arrival in a very welcoming and friendly manner. Todd, our guide, was patient and calm with all kayakers. He gave a nice brief “kayak tutorial” before even getting in the kayak, and was knowledgeable about the area and dolphins!! Two hours was perfect on the water. Highly recommend this tour!
Reviews
4.8
based on 98 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Kim_C, Aug 2026
We saw a lot of dolphins up close to our kayaks. It was amazing to view them in such close proximity. Learned a lot of interesting facts about the dolphins and their habitat. Would definitely recommend.
Kayla_C, Aug 2026
Kayaking around the river and marshes was super fun. It took a but to see the dolphins but once we did it was awesome! There's a ton of wildlife around the area, especially birds.
Ann_J, Aug 2026
We had a great time and going first thing in the morning (8am) was optimal for seeing birds and dolphins. Our guide, Mike, was great and knowledgeable. Water was calm and great for new and experienced kayakers. Arrive 30 minutes early, we missed this detail, sorry Mike!
Kelly_M, Jul 2026
Great for adults and children! The whole family loved the experience and we learned a lot. We saw different kinds of birds and several dolphins. Such a cool experience!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks Kelly!! We very much appreciate you coming with us and also definitely appreciate you taking the time to tell others about it! We hope to see you on another visit to Hilton Head!! Dave
Robert_G, Jul 2026
Todd was a great tour guide. Also great workout. We were able to see dolphins within the first 10 minutes on the water
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks so much for joining us and a big thanks too for taking the time to write a review! We love Todd also so I'm glad you enjoyed your time with him and we hope to see you again! Glad too that the dolphins were quick to show up, they usually are! Thanks again, Dave
Renee_C, Jul 2026
The experience was great, the staff was great, we had a lot of fun. We saw lots of dolphins and enjoyed learning about HHI.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks Renee! We can't control the dolphins......though they really do seem to like being in the area we routinely are, but we definitely can make sure we have a great staff showing you the best time possible on every tour! So glad you saw lots of dolphins! thanks again! Dave
Katie_T, Jul 2026
Excited for this experience. Great weather day. Bigger group, 16-17 ppl split into two groups. Very easy and straightforward directions. Into the water easily. Good pace for the group. The guide was quite dry, however, used a lot of references/trivia that were quite outdated. Oddly talked about many things not relating to our trip (his own stories, celebrities who used to live on the island). A few birds pointed out, good facts about the dolphins. Dolphins were viewed the last 4-5 minutes of the trip and only two from pretty far away. I know it’s not a guarantee to see them but I was expecting a little more from the trip. My kids had fun even though they didn’t think they would. I would go again, but maybe a different company?
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Katie, feel free to text us on the side (8436841910) as we will make sure the guide maybe adds a few new stories. Every guide's name I often see in reviews with great comments so we'll be sure to tell them maybe they were a little off on this one because again they all generally get very great comments and I hear so many good things about all of them routinely. Sorry the dolphins took longer than normal to show up. This can happen of course but I know from 30 years of experience on Hilton Head and working at multiple locations in Hilton Head that the area we are in is definitely the most consistent place to kayak with dolphins anywhere around Hilton Head. Glad the kids had fun and though every time is different I can say without a doubt that if you were to kayak 10 times at every kayak spot on the island you would see and get close to dolphins here in the center of the estuary where we are located many more times than anywhere else you might kayak on Hilton Head. That's not anything we do special but just the luck and planning of having a location right in the heart of Hilton Head dolphin feeding territory!
Hope to see you for another go at it on another vacation. And as I always suggest, call us to ask before making reservations what is the best time for the day you are choosing for dolphins. Most days we do 4 tours and most days we see dolphins all four times but still we can always give you insight into the best time to go for any given day. Thanks much! Dave
Jesse_C, Jul 2026
Had a great time on the water! Saw a handful of dolphins close, as well as a few birds. Guide was knowledgeable and nice. Very enjoyable 2 hours! It is tiring, though! My teenage daughter struggled the last half- would recommend double kayak instead of solo for teens and out-of-shape adults! Would definitely do again!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks Jesse! Very glad you were got to see dolphins up close and always happy to read that you would definitely do it again! Thanks so much for joining us! Dave
Eric_G, Jul 2026
Great family experience. We were able to see dolphins and manatees! Mike was our guide and he was very informative. The owner, Dave, is very responsive the night before to ensure you have the best time.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks Eric! Glad you got to see some manatee as well as dolphins. Dolphins more days than not we see on all four of our tours. Manatee are around most every day too in the warmer months. They can be a little harder to track down but most everyday this time of the year a couple of groups get the surprise of a few manatee! Thanks so much for joining us and taking the time to write a review! Dave
Renee_S, Jul 2026
Light kayaking in a salt creek. We saw a few bird species which our guide talked about. Overall, it was o.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thanks for joining us Renee. I don't see dolphins mentioned in this one and generally if a review isn't 5 star that is why. So if you didn't see any we are sorry the dolphins didn't cooperate on this one. Most days we do four tours and most days we see dolphins on all four but being completely wild animals there might be a couple of tours a week that the dolphins the take off out of our area for an hour or so likely chasing a school of fish before settling right back into the area that we spend our day kayaking through. Many of the dolphins we recognize or even give names to because they are so routinely in the same spot but unfortunately on occasion they decide to take off for a bit and I'm sorry if that was the case on this one.
Dave
Amanda_G, Jul 2026
Was a great experience! Even kept 2 teenagers happy and engaged. Saw dolphins, crabs, alot of different birds. Really enjoyed it!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks so much for joining us and we’re really glad your whole group enjoyed! As anyone knows that runs a business that gets guests from all over the country and in all age ranges It can be very hard to please every single guest that comes to see us but please know we try to make that happen every day and very much appreciate you taking the time to write a review to let us know that you had a good time out there! Obviously the dolphins help us quite a bit but as a staff, it is very important to us that our guest feel like their time with us was a fun part of their vacation. Thanks again and we hope to see you next time you visit! Dave
Paula_L, Jul 2026
Even though kids enjoy dplphins and looking for sealife, very young children, 5 and under, may find the experience tiring and less exciting since you move slow until the end when the current is more challenging even if not paddling. Nice to see the Dolphins.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks so much for joining us! We do know it can be unpredictable with the young kids. My son loved it when he was three years old, decided at four that he didn’t want to kayak for a couple of months and then at 5, 6 and 7 asked to go out every week! Maybe he went out once at four years old and didn’t see a dolphin that time who knows. But he loves getting out to see the Dolphins as much as he can. My advice for all family groups is to come early in the day, especially in the summer when it can be hot down here in the south. I generally find that families with kids that come out at 8 AM tend to be the happiest ones of the day though it is very likely we’ll see dolphins on any tour time all throughout the day. We hope you had a great vacation in Hilton Head and very much appreciate you making us a part of that! Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review and hopefully seeing a dolphin in the wild will be something that the kids remember and talk about like my son does. Thanks again! Dave
Lisa_G, Jul 2026
It was an amazing experience! We loved seeing lots of dolphins and birds. Our guide was very professional and knowledgeable.
c5hypes11, Jul 2026
They said they would take some photos with their phones and share them with us, but that did not happen. Unfortunately, we did not have any photos, but besides that the water was super choppy it was a lot of work. It was OK. I mean it was a good workout if anything else and the guide was good. Just wasn’t what we expected, but it was fine.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
From anyone reading this, If ever you don’t get photos from us it’s very simple, just call and let us know. The guides walk up with the groups after the tours and exchange them with the groups that want them. We dont automatically send them out but many many people weekly are excited to get photos from their guides and we go out of our way to make sure that happens. For anyone reading this, just know our guides are all very personable and very happy to share photos. We do this as a courtesy and don’t charge to do it but you do need to talk to your guide after the tour and give them your phone number or email address so they can send them. We send 100’s of photos weekly. Or I should say the guides do. It’s not a company run photo program but instead just something our guides do to share vacation memories with our guests because they enjoy doing it.
As far as the water being choppy, certainly that can happen on a windier day but almost all days especially in the summer we have very calm water. And most every review will tell you that we see dolphins almost all of the tours though of course they are wild animals that are out of our control so on occasion they may not cooperate. The dolphins definitely have a mind of their own but fortunately all of our tours take place in the midst of the dolphins favorite feeding grounds.
As the owner and as a group of guides we work hard everyday to try to be sure everyone has a great time with us. Or occasion things like weather or dolphins which are out of our control don’t cooperate exactly as we’d like but just read most any review above or below this and you will see lots of great reviews about the wildlife we see and the fun our guest have. For 25 years now we’ve done all we can on a daily basis to be sure this is enjoyable for our guests and I think 99% of the time we succeed in that because it is important to us. On vacation I too go on tours with my wife and 9 year old and expect them to be well run and therefore it’s my daily goal to do the same for guests on our tours.
I will say as I’ve said many many times, I know it’s vacation but if you want to have the absolute best experience come out with us on the
early trip of the day (8am in the summer) when the water is calmest and it’s not nearly as hot. And if the guide took pictures for you just stick around for 5 minutes after and give them the info they need to send them to you and I’m sure you will get them. The guides are happy to do this and they do everyday, every tour for those that want them. For this reviewer just send a text to our business number with the date and time of your tour and the guide may still have them and will happily send them.
We are definitely sorry the tour what you expected and we know not every single family likes kayaking but we also know 90% or better do and say they would come back to do it again next year. Again sorry this wasn’t your thing and sorry that it must have been a little windy the day you went. Unfortunately occasionally the wind blows abit and wind can make for a little bit of choppy water though it doesn’t happen much and very rarely on a summer morning. If you guys ever do decide to kayak again definitely do it early in the day.
We always appreciate everyone that comes with us and thank you for giving kayaking a try. We definitely hope if you kayak again it’s the exact experience your looking for because being out on the water in a vessel without a motor to listen to the sounds around you like a dolphin exhaling can be a very special experience. For those reading this check out some of the Kayak Hilton Head instragram videos to get real videos taken from the seat of a kayak to show you the cool experience it most always is. Again please send a text to our business number and if the guide still has your photos we will get them to you. Thanks, Dave
Elizabeth_B, Jul 2026
This was a super cool experience to do! Our guide was very informative and made it very fun. We seen several dolphins during our paddle. Would definitely do again and would recommend to others!
Erin_W, Jul 2026
Our family had a lot of fun, saw dolphins, learned about wildlife in the area. Our tour guide, Mike made our kayaking experience a great one!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks so much for spending part of your July 4th week with us! Dolphins are an almost every time thing but still we're always glad to read reviews saying "lots of fun, saw dolphins......"!
We appreciate you taking the time to write a review and hope to see you again on your next visit!
Thanks as always for doing a great job with our guests Mike! Dave
Kerri_G, Jul 2026
The kayak tour was exactly what we were looking for. We were able to see dolphins, manatees, and various sea birds. Owen, our tour guide, was very informative and so much fun!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thanks Kerri! I'm always happy when I read "the kayak tour was exactly what we were looking for"! We certainly can't control the wildlife but we are very fortunate to be located in the dolphins favorite spot to feed and play and I'm also very glad you saw some manatees too! Dolphins we expect to see almost every time out there and this time of the year a couple of the guides tend to come across some manatees most days too! Both are so much fun to see while sitting at water level in a kayak! Thanks so much for joining us! Dave
Wonderlyn_M, Jun 2026
It was great!! Troy was a great guide 👌🏽 my family and I saw a few dolphins, beautiful homes!! Great day in the water!!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks so much for coming along on our tour! It's always great to get some time on the water here in Hilton Head and we very much appreciate you taking the time to tell others by writing a review! We hope to see you again on another visit to Hilton Head! Dave
Mike_M, Jun 2026
No dolphin sightings, only saw crabs, oysters. 2 birds and a lot of grass. Kayaking a bit challenging against current.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Sorry that the dolphins didn't cooperate on this one Mike. Not that we would really want to keep a few "penned in" but on the rare occasion that we don't see them we are all disappointed because I really want everyone that goes out to get the cool experience that 90 plus percent of our customers do this time of the year. Unfortunately it occasionally happens. I check in with the guides after every tour asking if they saw dolphins and it's generally 9 times out of 10 if not sometimes 10 of 10. I asked all the guides today how many times in the entire month of June that they didn't see dolphins. A couple of them said one or two and a couple of them were at 100% seeing them. I certainly wish it were 100% of the time always but the dolphins come and go as they please and unfortunately on occasion it leads to a disappointing tour though again that very rarely happens. We hope you give it another go on another visit to Hilton Head as truly the percentage chance of seeing them is very high. I know none of this information is helpful to your group especially if you had kids in the groups because more than anything I never like seeing a disappointed kid as I have a 9 year old myself. Again so sorry it didn't happen on this one as honestly I love seeing all of our guests come back with a big smile on their face. Dave
Noelle_K, Jun 2026
Great Family fun and very informative. Mike our guide was a pleasure and very knowledgeable. Kayaking in our large family group was a highlight of the week so far.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks so much for joining us! We always love to hear that our tour was the highlight of a family vacation! We truly try our best to show everyone that comes with us a great time. Thanks Mike for always being so great with our guests!
We hope to see you on your next visit! Thanks again! Dave
Jerry_A, Jun 2026
Great Fun! Our guide was great!
Easy to learn, great professional support.and instruction.
Lots of wildlife to see
Response from Host, Jun 2026
I too go on similar tours with my wife and 9 year on when we are on vacation and I know we hope to be able to say "Great fun, our guide was great, great professional support and LOTS OF DOLPHINS!" As owner of Kayak Hilton Head for 25 years it has always been my goal to show our guests a great experience just like I hope to have when my family is on vacation. We know everyone works hard for their vacation money and we want all of our guests to feel like our tour was worth the hard work they put into those savings! Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review. It's very much appreciated! Dave
James_K, Jun 2026
Take plenty of sunscreen. Listen to the guide for interesting fact. Watch for the dolphins. Enjoy yourself.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks James! We very much appreciate you joining us for the tour and also for taking the time to write a review!
Definitely good advice......a hat, sunscreen, and a bottle of water are good things to bring along on your tour to those reading this! And of course watch for dolphins! Hopefully you saw some James as almost all of the tours we've done in the last few weeks (before that as well) have seen dolphins and most times very close up. There have been a lot of manatee in the last couple of weeks too! Dolphin live here and we see them year round. Manatee are summer visitors and many have been coming into our area in the last few weeks!
Thanks again James and we hope to see you again! Dave
David_Y, Jun 2026
Our guide knew a lot about the area and how best to navigate the river. And we found dolphins! Overall we had a great time.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for joining us David! And another big thanks for taking the time to write a review, it's very much appreciated. Glad you group found dolphins, we find them almost all the time but it's always still great to read when our guest say they and they had a great time! We hope to see you again on your next visit! Dave
Dan_S, Jun 2026
That you will have a good time, the guides are informative, friendly, and knowledgeable. Everyone in our group had a pleasant time
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks Dan! As the owner. it's important to me to be sure all of our staff is informative, friendly and knowledgable and we appreciate you taking the time to let others know! Have a great rest of your vacation and come see us the next time you visit Hilton Head! Dave
Joe_D, Jun 2026
This was a great way to send 2 hours of the day. Weather was perfect. Guide was friendly and very knowledgeable of the area and local wildlife. Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks for the "Highly recommend"! And another big thanks for taking the time to write a review. We'd love to see you again on your next visit to Hilton Head! Dave
Mikolaj_K, Jun 2026
Very fun, saw crabs and dolphins which was really nice. I would recommend it since it was fun and a good exercise!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a review! I sound like a broken record I know when I say this so often when responding to reviews but it is very important to us that our customers are having a great time and our guests let others know with comments like "very fun"! Glad the dolphins cooperated.......fortunately they almost always do! Thanks again! Dave
Ricki_C, May 2026
We had a great time on our kayak tour. Our tour guide knew exactly where to take us so we saw some dolphins.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thanks Ricki!! Definitely hope to see you again on your next visit to Hilton Head! Dave
Jen_P, May 2026
Todd was a great tour guide. My son and I had a great time on the water and we saw some playful dolphins. We loved it!
Response from Host, May 2026
Thanks so much for joining us to kayak with dolphins! We very much appreciate you taking the time to write a reservation and we hope to see you again on your next visit to Hilton Head! And of course thanks to Todd for always being a great tour guide! Dave
Jennifer_A, May 2026
Very professional group. We always have a great trip with this company. Guides are always informative and helpful. We had Zach and he was the best one yet :-) Thank you for a great time!
Response from Host, May 2026
Thanks for the kind words. I started Kayak Hilton Head about 26 years ago and we truly do strive to show everyone a great time when they are with us. We've got a great group of guides that I appreciate very much and the most important thing to me is seeing customers leaving with a smile on their face! Thanks for taking time to write this review! Dave
Debbie_G, May 2026
Really enjoyed our kayaking trip. Our guide Zach was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of wildlife information and local recommendations of places to visit.
Our group was larger than I thought it would be (there were 12 of us) but that didn't have a negative impact on how far we paddled. We got to see a few dolphins, and whilst you can never predict wildlife spotting, it really made the trip for us
Response from Host, May 2026
Thanks so much for joining our tour and an extra thanks for taking the time to write a review! Of course we are glad that the dolphins cooperated, (they usually do!) and there was other wildlife to be seen. For anyone reading this, 12 is about where we cap our numbers and most times there are less in the group. If we have more than that or if there's several adult couples as well as a couple family groups we will usually split tours so the couple of family groups are with a guide and the adult couples are with another guide. In general we keep our groups smaller than our competitors. And last of course, a big thanks to Zach who always does a great job with groups of all ages!
We hope to see you again on your next visit! The dolphins will hopefully again be waiting!
Dave
From $49.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
2 Hour Kayak Hilton Head Dolphin and Nature Tour
97
2 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$49.00
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Water Tours
- Nature and Wildlife Tours
- Sunset Cruises
- Cruises & Sailing
- Outdoor Activities
- Private and Luxury
- Private Sightseeing Tours
- Hilton Head Island
- Water Tours - Tybee Island
- Water Tours - Savannah
- Nature and Wildlife Tours - Savannah
- Sunset Cruises - Savannah
- Water Tours - Folly Beach
- Nature and Wildlife Tours - Folly Beach
Attractions in Hilton Head Island, USA
More attractions near Hilton Head Island, USA