The team and equipment at Makin Waves is superior. They provided great recommendations and suggestions that helped our group have an excellent experience. We had one rider with very limited experience and they helped her so much and she felt so comfortable and safe. Don lead our Dolphin Watch tour. We saw several dolphins during our hour ride and even a large pod with several young calves. We fully recommend Makin Waves. read more

Thank you for taking us early. We were your first customers of 2022 and what an honor it was. I had never been on a jet ski before so this was the experience of a life time for me! Thank you so much for taking us early!!!!! read more

We had an amazing day in the water with John Paul. He was a great tour guide! We saw dolphins and had a blast! This was my first time jet skiing and I felt well educated and John Paul was patient and checked in often. We saw dolphins, too!!! Amazing experience! read more

Everyone was super friendly and funny. We had a group of 6 with 4 kids from 8-16 and everyone had a great time! Highly recommend!

Great experience on Dolphin Safari! Thank you for accommodating a larger group, everyone had a great time. We will be back again next time in Top Sail. read more

This is the BEST rental company around. I lived in the area awhile and I am disappointed I didn't find them sooner!! The whole experience was AMAZING beginning to end. The customer service was so incredible and they really took their time to make myself and my family feel safe. They were adamant about discussing all the safety rules. We will definitely be coming back! read more

This was awesome, a great small business. I really appreciated that I could text their business number and set up an appointment for the next day. The guide was super polite and found some dolphins for us even though the water traffic was high that day. I would love the chance to go again. read more

Mike opened up before the season and we were able to enjoy a fabulous spring break adventure with our knowledgeable and wonderful guide Dylan. We even saw dolphins!! read more

My wife and I were looking for something a little more adventurous after several days of just lulling about on the beach so we set out to find a jet-ski outfitter near our rental house in Surf City. After reading several so-so reviews of this place I was concerned, but we decided to bite the bullet and go into it knowing about some of the criticisms and just enjoy our time on the water. The first thing you need to know is that the Yelp map for this business is flat out wrong. It looks like it is near the drawbridge in Surf City but it is NOT. You have to go all the way to the high bridge in North Topsail - about a 25-30 minute drive away. We didn't mind, but that might be a deal breaker for some. Now to the experience. The set up for this place is a little odd. You stop at a small kiosk on the side of the road to get your safety briefing, fill out a MOUNTAIN of paperwork, and pre-pay for the rental. Then the clerk contacts the owner by text message to see if he is "ready" for us to arrive. We waited around for about 15 minutes for the reply. Only after completing this do they tell you where to drive (about 3 miles away) to get on the water. Once there, they fitted us with life jackets, gave a quick tutorial on using the equipment, and led us to the "free style" area on the ICW. The area is long but quite narrow in a few spots, and the NC "100 foot" rule would make for a challenging ride if there was much other watercraft traffic. Luckily for us, we were just about the only people on the water, and we were able to get great speed, do slaloms, spin donuts, and generally have a blast. Partway into our ride the owner signaled to us to come closer to him, and he pointed out a family of six or so dolphins playing in the water nearby. We watched them and motored alongside them for a few minutes which was a great treat. At the end of the hour, another guide led us back to the dock. Some other reviews have called out the owner's personality, but we didn't have a problem. He is certainly a salty old dog, but is clear and direct in his communication and seemed mostly concerned with our safety. Overall we both found the experience enjoyable. Only their unusual pre-ride setup and the location mix-up keeps it from getting 5 stars. read more

We rented three jet skis to take our family of six on the Dolphin Safari. I appreciated the time spent on the rules and guidelines as this was our first time riding. Our guide, Christopher, was wonderful and found the Dolphins right away. We asked if we could ride a bit and he did a great job gauging our comfort level and adjusting speeds accordingly. We will definitely do this again next year as we had a fantastic time! read more

WORST COMPANY EVER! Made a reservation on the phone, called to cancel a couple days later and was at that point made aware of the cancellation policy...not before. They charged me the full amount of over $400!!! Jerks! read more

Firstly, how mismanaged can you be? Our ride was over 45 minutes late. Was told you have to be an idiot to flip a jet ski, and maybe you do, but that means I'm an idiot. After flipping it we got screamed at by the owner and thrown out and told we would have the police called on is if we didn't ride the jet ski we flipped back to shore. What a horrible experience. Would not recommend to anyone and everyone I ran into at the island had similar terrible experiences with the owner. Would never recommend to anyone. All the positive reviews of this place are from 2012 something must have changed since then. read more

Fantastic spot to get skis! Mike and his staff have been in business over thirty years and put a huge emphasis on safety. The intercostal was a great spot to open up the speed! Reasonable prices and friendly staff made for a great time! read more

Wanted to go jet skiing & this was a great pick! Very helpful with the instructions & made everything super easy to understand. If you're looking to go jet skiing whether your first timers or you're very comfortable behind a jet ski, this is the place for you! read more

This was amazing!!!!! Don was an incredible guide and took such good care of us! We had a blast! Finally checked jet skis off the bucket list! read more

My boyfriend and I had such a great time! It was professional and well managed!! They had 2 lifeguards always out on the water with the group which was very helpful and make everyone feel safe. Would recommend to everyone! read more

Great experience!! We had a large party and they were very accommodating. They had two lifeguards who gave very thorough instructions on boater safety, with safety being the first priority. The wave runners ran smoothly and were made for a great time. Overall I would recommend it for anyone looking to have some fun on the water. read more

Our group of 10 woke up today without a plan and we're able to reserve a same day spot with them. They made sure everyone understood exactly what they were doing and their jet skis were super nice. Captain Mike and the lifegaurds were very friendly... overall we had a really great experience! read more

They have the market cornered when it comes to Topsail Island vacationers and they know it. The owner has the personality of a rock and could care less about your satisfaction as a customer. My entire family went out on a trip and were supposed to get pictures to capture the vacation. Well, low and behold we get back to Ohio and the pictures never came. Repeated calls and promises have lead to insults at us that we lost the pictures. Nice. And we noticed on Trip Advisor that others have had the same issue. Skip this place. Go fishing. Go out dancing. Do NOT bother hopping on a jet ski at Makin Waves. They should be called Makin Bad Business Decisions. read more

One hour ride ends up taking two hours which we didn't plan on after signing paperwork and given twenty speeches about how you have to ride "100 feet" from the shore and everyone out on the water. Then we get out on the water and are given about one mile to ride! We were expecting to be able to actually ride and enjoy the scenery, and not have people yelling at us about how close to the shore we are. Basically plan on riding back and forth in a tiny area and getting bored after 5 minutes! Would not waste the money. read more

My husband and I decided to schedule the dolphin safari guided tour at Makin Waves as just a fun little thing to do while vacationing in Topsail. We had no idea it would be as much fun as it ended up being. The staff were super friendly & explained the rules thoroughly. When we arrived at the doc, they strapped a go-pro camera to the front of our ski so we could get video & pics of the whole adventure. It's $10 for the video & pics. That's a deal! The actual ski trip included plenty of dolphin watching and yes, we saw tons of dolphins, as well as some full-throttle, wake-making fun. The guide took us pretty far out and we ended up getting a good hour and a half on the water. We had a blast! I can't wait to see the video & pictures. read more

Just got back from renting 2 waverunners. The kids LOVED it! They saw lots of dolphins and had lots of laughs. Would highly recommend taking your family. It will be a highlight of your trip!!! read more

AWESOME PLACE TO JET SKI!! We tried a couple of other places when we first came to Topsail Island. Once we went to Makin Waves we've gone back there every year. They're super nice people and have great skis. They don't put governors to limit the speed and the riding territory has little traffic, so you can really open up and have tons of fun. We appreciate that they have "lifeguards" that are out in the water just in case we have any issues-although we never have. Captain Mike is the best! He even helped us jump start our battery when we had car trouble after our ride. We absolutely recommend them! read more

Took our entire family of four on the dolphin tour. The machines ran very well. It was a very cool experience. Would recommend for any family to take the dolphin tour. Captain Mike was very strong on safety and having fun (seemed like a crusty old pirate). Did get to see a large pod of dolphins 6-8 feet from us. Would recommend/go again. read more

Our family did the dolphin safari. Our guide was awesome- very professional and kind. Everyone was very thorough in explaining how to use the jet skis before we went out. The owner offered to take our pictures event though we didn't pay for the package. Only complaint: We were scheduled for a 2:00 ride. We arrived at 1:30 as instructed and did not get out on the water until 2:45. No apology or explanation offered and it was obvious the next group would start late as well. Overall though, a good experience. read more