Dechlan was an awesome tour guide, this was our second time going and it's always very enjoyable and fun because it's such a unique experience. You can see everything below you and change the light color, and you paddle all the way to Ivars which is a beautiful atmosphere. It's very relaxed and calm if you're looking for a fun date night or just something new to try with friends! read more

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Call out to Connor! His knowledge of the river, the history, the Texas rice, and the aquifer information help us better understand the importance of the San Marcos area. The tour itself is beautiful, calm (except when trying to paddle upstream where it gets a little narrower), and we saw some fish, bats, and a blue heron flew overhead. read more

Came for the evening glow kayak and had a mostly disappointing experience. The paddle was pretty short, we reached the turn around point in about 20 minutes, and you trudge through some thick greenery for a significant part of it. In total the experience was around 50 minutes, well short of the advertised 75-90m. Given we had a few older folks who required very involved help getting in and out of the kayaks, I'd imagine we weren't on the shorter end of rides Given the introduction, I expected a lot of interesting information related to the plants and wildlife in the area, but our guides were mostly just along for the ride. Overall, id strongly recommend looking elsewhere for interpretive paddle experiences in the area, especially given the price point read more

Cassy was an amazing guide. Very thoughtful and helpful. She made sure everyone had a great time! She was very knowledgeable and shared interesting facts about the river and the bats that have taken up residence in a low bridge. We decided to do this on the 4th of July and were able to view the fireworks which made the trip even more amazing. If all of the guides are as friendly, caring and capable, then you are in for a memorable experience. Can't recommend it enough! -Jane U read more

Had a great with the family. Got to see some animals along the way. Pretty cool experience. Martin was great, very knowledgeable. He showed us a couple different interesting spots along the river and some wild life along the way. I do recommend this if you're looking for something cool, easy, and fun to do with the family. read more

Paddle SMTX - Late night paddle - Paddleboarding Near Me

This experience was pretty neat. You are on the water for about an hour and go down about a half a mile. There were little stops along the way where the guide talked. Our guide was Matt. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about the water but he was a little soft spoken and hard to hear over the other people on the river. He did talk to everyone one and one and made sure people enjoyed the experience. He was very patient with the kids on the tour too. Overall though we had a great time and learned a lot. We wished the company offered an add on free time to kayak to make the experience longer. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

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We were not sure what to expect when we booked this, but hoped for the best. This experience far exceeded expectations, was really fun, interesting and cool. We went looking for a glow paddle boarding trip, but the options in Austin appeared only to be group boats, which we did not really want. We decided to opt for this more unique looking idea that was just a 35 min drive from Austin. We are so glad we did! Hudson, our guide, was amazing. He made sure we were equipped, got us into our boats and we headed out promptly. He explained along the way what we were seeing, including lots of animals he had named. Beavers, ducks, raccoons, herons. At the end, he took some super photos for everyone. Definitely recommend this. I will be back. read more

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Truly an excellent experience! Easy to find, friendly staff, cool kayaks and an overall great learning experience. Hudson was a knowledgeable and really friendly guide, and we felt safe with him. Highly recommend! read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

really fun unique experience. instructors are good too. is an out and back style path. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

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A fun experience or even a cute date night! Avery was our guide and she was friendly and also gave a ton of fun facts and history on the tour. Highly recommend. read more

I have been wanting to rent clear kayaks forever now after seeing some youtube videos of people online. Well I found some! A young couple own PADDLE SMTX. Super nice and gave wonderful service! I recommend renting the clear kayaks for the daytime since you can see through the kayak and is better to enjoy during the day. read more

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what a great experience! Shawn was a fabulous guide. we learned so much and had a wonderful time during this beautiful nighttime tour. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

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This was a great experience for our 26th anniversary. Laney was very knowledgeable about San Marcos and the River. It was very peaceful trip . I would definitely do this again. read more

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We came on a girl's weekend from Louisiana. The glow tour was the finale to our trip. We all had a great time. The river was beautiful. Ben was a great guide, the information he shared about the plant and animal life was interesting, he was helpful and friendly. read more

Paddle SMTX - Under the walkway - Paddleboarding Near Me

Nate was the Best tour guide! He was so friendly and really took the time to get to know you while also providing a lot of interesting facts about the Rio Vista Park. I would recommend this tour to anyone who is looking for a nightly adventure with great vibes. read more

Paddle SMTX - First Time Night Kayaking - Paddleboarding Near Me

Fun & informative! A great way to learn more about the river! Martin was a great tour guide and spoke with such passion about the river and the importance of conservation! We really enjoyed it! read more

Ben was great. Good slight workout but not too difficult for people of all ages. Unless you want to get wet you don't have to get out of the Kayak. My legs got wet but nothing else. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

I wanted to give a Big SHOUTOUT to are tour guy BEN!!! I want say he is SUPER SUPER AWESOME GUY . Ben is just a Great person . We had such a Great time with him showing us all on this and that on our tour last night and he Helped each with such grace and love for everyone he had on his tour . And for the older generation let say he a great Teacher if have never done this before he will teach you the ropes. Thank You so very much from the tequila made me do it group. Remember this forever thank you so very much. You're awesome!!! read more

Paddle SMTX - We had a Blast!! Thank you Ben - Paddleboarding Near Me

This is fantastic!! The water is crystal clear, the kayaks are aww through and light up. && you can change your light color. Our tour guide, Jimmy B, was AMAZINGG as well. Definitely something to do, and do again. read more

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Lots of fun! You don't need to have prior paddling experience but it would help. If you bring valuables, leave them in your vehicle or you can leave in the company van. We saw raccoons, turtles, water moccasins, and night herons. Maggie was a great guide with lots of knowledge of the river since it is related to her major. read more

What a fun and unique experience! We were a larger group that included some teens but our guide was so friendly and patient as we figured out how to steer and move along the river. It is definitely a workout but it was so worth it. We were able to see wildlife and turtles and fish under our feet. read more

My bf and I had an AMAZING time with Hudson!! He was so good at spotting wildlife and taking pictures :) 10/10 would recommend!!! It's worth every penny. read more

We had a great time last night on our kayak tour!! Nate was informative, friendly, and helpful! The kids had an awesome time! Both Nate and Triston took time to have genuine conversations with both my husband and I, and our kids, couldn't have asked for a better time. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

Such a fun date night! So cool to see the river this way- I grew up in San Marcos but have never done anything like the glow kayaking! Absolutely loved it and our guide Nate was the best- nothing but good things to say about this experience :) read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

My husband and I did a Glow Kayak tour with NATE. It was a very relaxing tour with a great view of the stars. The river's flow was slow enough that most people would probably be able to handle kayaking here. It was nice to learn about the local bat colony and other local tidbits. read more

our instructor Brianna coskey was awesome friendly and very knowledgeable about the area we had a blast thanks

This was one of the coolest experiences I'm not much of an outdoorsy person but omg my boyfriend got it for us for a date night and seriously it was so much fun. Our tour guide was jimmy and he did amazing. I would highly recommend doing this! I would also take extra clothes we got super wet! I was looking at reviews before I went because we didn't know what to wear, so some swimwear with shorts was recommended I wore some biker shorts and a long sleeve because it was chilly! But we did get super wet so I'd take extra clothes! read more

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AMAZING experience! Hudson was our guide. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and had great communication. It was my wife's first time ever on a kayak and he was very patient and helpful, along with the others in our group. I'd highly recommend checking out Paddle SMTX! read more

I have never been kayaking before and i was super nervous, but i had an amazing tour guide ( kainoa ) and he really knows what he's doing! had a great time! read more

My family and I had such a blast doing this night kayaking! All the tour guides were super helpful, the glow kayaking aspect of this was super fun, and I felt very safe. A special shout-out to Hudson who was our tour guide! Thank you for taking care of us and making the tour so enjoyable! Also thank you to Harmony for taking care of our belongings while we were having fun on our tour! I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone and I myself would even do this again! read more

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We had an amazing time with Kat as our tour guide! She was fun, helpful, and entertaining! We had a great evening on the river!

We just got done with your our paddle tour and it was amazing! They started right on time and were very helpful and patient as we got into the Kayaks. It was very beautiful and relaxing and our tour guide Nate was very kind, knowledgeable and helpful. The tour was perfectly paced and Nate gave us breaks while showing us the local wildlife. I was apprehensive about navigating the river at night but it wasn't difficult at all and was very smooth for the most part. We did get stuck in some grass but Nate helped us out! He also took some great photos of my sister, mom and myself. If you are looking for something to do in San Marcos, I recommend this place if you like being on the water and want to experience the river in a new way! Get Nate if you can but I'm sure they are all great. read more

Paddle SMTX - Paddleboarding Near Me

Kai was an amazing tour guide for this fun experience. We were celebrating our 24th anniversary and had the best time. The water is so clear and you can see everything with the clear lite up kayaks. Kai was knowledgeable and made it so much fun. read more

Three of us took the tour this past Sunday. Our guide was Avery and she was very attentive to our group and knowledgeable. She even took photos of the two different groups and made sure we were happy with our photos. She shared history of the San Marcos river and pointed out wildlife along the way. My tip would be to go with an even number of people, as they put two people in each kayak, so you may get seated with a stranger. read more

We very much enjoyed our tour. The kayaks were really hearty, even when we ran it over a concrete block! It was fun and it was beautiful. I would recommend you have a decent level of fitness before doing this; rowing up river was no joke. Our guide, Nick, did a great job! read more

Hudson, Harmony, and Nate were the absolute best!!! We had such a fun and unique adventure on the San Marcos river and have them to thank! The river was gorgeous and the light up, clear bottom boats are the coolest! read more

Terrible tour guide this evening. Stuart was my tour guide this evening, when I would ask him for clarification and better direction of the tour I feel he took offense to it and gave a smart ass degrading responses to me and the rest of the tour was very disrespectful . Towards the end of the tour when I asked him a question he responded to o me it's NOT his not his job to be nice to people. I reminded him that he works in customer service, he followed through with telling me that I needed help and needed to go to therapy! Unacceptable comment to give to a customer, no matter the circumstance! I continued the kayak trip, once my boyfriend and I got to the shore we had Johnathon that met us near the dock, I asked if I could get out of our kayak and use the stairs provided on the dock, he told me no and that I was to get out off the side of the boat. read more

Highly recommend doing this, we went at 8pm and it was beautiful, such a great time! For us being the only 2 girls on the tour at that time, our tour guide Nate really did a good job at making us feel comfortable and giving us a little background on the town and river. we saw beavers, turtles, fish and many more animals it was seriously a great time! oh and it's BYOB! read more

Paddle SMTX - me and my bestie photo cred to nate - Paddleboarding Near Me

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I wanted to do something different with my family as part of our dropping off our daughter to college. I never kayaked before and it definitely showed! Our guide Hudson's patience level is super high! He kept us safe while making sure we had fun spotting wild life as we paddled along. I think the highlight for my family was having a beaver swim between the kayak as if it did not even see the glowing neon kayak. Would definitely do again. Everyone working for paddle SMTX were great. Super professional, polite, and worked well as a team. Would do it again and will recommend to other to try out next time in San Marcos. read more

10/10 would do it again. Thanks to Hudson for being a helpful/entertaining tour guide. As well as Harmonee for helping us in and out of the water. Trip wasn't too long or too short, really fun and shouldn't be too much of a workout if you work as a team! read more