Right off the top: great website, great options, super easy booking, reasonable pricing and a great…read moreexperience.
I booked a pontoon with a tube and life jackets for a 4 hr afternoon block for my family. Website made it SUPER easy to explore availability, pricing and options. Everything was transparent - no hidden fees, no fuel surcharges - just: boat, date, time, options, life jackets, done. Lock it in with contact and payment info, done.
Once booked, some waivers needed signing (if this is your first boat rental experience, this is standard and to be expected) and that process was also super smooth and easy to complete electronically. Note: equally convenient was how clearly written and easy to understand the waiver docs were (note: all states require waivers like this to operate boats).
I called to ask some questions and got a text response right away, followed by a return call soon after from Russell, the owner. Russell handled my excited questions with ease and I was set.
I exchanged a few more text msgs on the day and his son Trent met us at the dock. He went over everything (controls, operation, safety, first-aid kit, tube, life-jackets - he even showed me of a few knots I hadn't seen before to use if we tied up anywhere). A few questions and within minutes we were boarded and on our way.
Boat: clean, very comfortable leather seats, shade, tables, cooler, ladder, ropes. Everything worked and having not operated a pontoon boat previously (or any boat in about 8 years) I was very comfortable and happy navigating on the lake.
Note: Lake Coeur d'Alene is BIG, with a lot of bays, inlets, topology and intricate shoreline.
Pro Tip: if this is your first time renting or operating a boat on a body of water this size? You can easily get lost.
Even with my past navigational experience on both oceans and lakes? I had to really concentrate on picking good way points and landmarks, and marking my throttle, speed and transit times, because hours later, after the sun shifted? Some of my marks had vanished!
Where to go?
We cruised South to fish for "ice cream" in Harrison proper. Plenty of space to dock and send the kids hunting for some mint chip or pralines and cream. Vibe there was super friendly and harbor was well marked and easy to navigate.
We then cruised North past our original departure dock and then just parked it in the middle and went for a dip.
We continued onward to explore Echo Bay and Arrow Point as well as a few others, then made our way back.
Docking was easy, we tied up, unloaded, took our trash and the return was even easier.
I've rented ski boats on Lake Tahoe and other vacation spots before but this was by far the best overall experience.
Bonus points: there's a great food truck and restaurant dockside that s got plenty of what you need once your day is through.
Cannot recommend Harrison Idaho Water Adventures more highly.
It is so easy to have a bad experience at a busy vacation spot rental shop (mediocre boat, cheap gear, wonky booking, overpriced, hidden fees, poor customer service, etc., etc., etc.) ----
we had NONE of those experiences.
This is a GREAT place to rent "fun" on Lake Coeur d'Alene!