We rented 2 single kayaks for 2 hours and had a great experience. It was very easy to communicate to book (we texted the company to set up a time the day before) and the landing (Old Oyster Factory) was a great landing to paddle out from. It was super high tide, so we were able to explore lots of the surrounding creeks and saw some wildlife. The equipment / boats were great and they got us into the water fast. We'll definitely rent from them again. Also, eating lunch after a 2 hour kayak trip at the Old Oyster Factory is hard to beat! read more

See all

We had a great time on the water! We rented Kayaks-without the tour so getting to go off where we wanted in the marsh was awesome! They had everything you needed as well. read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Double Kayak - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

I am sad to write this review because my husband and I have always loved kayaking here. Unfortunately, this morning's trip was not enjoyable. We were told to show up at 8 for an 8:30 trip. We arrived on time and shortly afterwards two more women arrived. The four of waited for our guide who showed up at 8:20. Why the 20 minute wait alone was necessary is not clear to me. There was a light rain falling and the guide, named Peter, asked the group if we wanted to wait until the rain stopped before we started our trip. My husband and I both said no. We had already been waiting since 8 am. The guide apparently didn't think it was up to us because he decided to wait on his own. At about 8:50, he finally got us our life jackets and paddles. We set out on out trip about 8:55. In the past, our guides have kept up a nice pace so you didn't feel rushed but like you were still taking a trip and getting exercise. This one acted like he didn't like paddling. Much of the time, he was just sitting in his kayak without moving. I finally said I would like to go somewhere and he said "I'm trying to save you paddling". Huh? Would we have signed up for a kayak trip if we didn't want to paddle? In the past, the guides we've had have kept up an informative talk about the environment and the wildlife. This one talked only to one member of our group. We arrived back at the dock at 10:05 giving us an hour and ten minute trip when we had payed for an hour and a half. read more

I went out on a kayaking tour in August, 2025. The tour was amazing!! The scenery was beautiful in the marshes and we saw wading birds (including pink Spoonbills!) and manatees! Our tour guides were very knowledgeable and you could tell that they enjoyed being out there too! Dean, the owner, was friendly and helpful and made us aware of safety when walking down to the water (where the rocks get slippery). Overall, it was a wonderful experience! read more

This was a fantastic kayak tour! The trip started promptly at 8:30 in the morning with not a cloud in the sky and very nice sunshine and temperature out. About five minutes in we saw a manatee who happened to reappear near the end of our trip accompanied by one of his friends. A dolphin made a rare appearance and swam around our kayaks for a bit. Most of the tour consisted of relaxing paddling and birdwatching. There were a ton of roseate spoonbills which we had never seen before, a stingray in the shallows, and some wrecks on the other side of the oyster factory. read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

This company is special. They are low key, friendly, and reasonably priced. You will see wildlife up close and personal. Bring water- have fun - and respect our Low Country environment- I am a local- I've rented kayaks here,had guided tours with Dean, gone out with friends on our own. Recently been Paddleboarding with Gabe as a guide- have fun read more

See all

definitely recommend this place to anyone who is interested in paddle boarding or kayaking in the HH area! My friend and I called last minute to see if we could get 2 kayaks for 2 hours, they got it all ready for us when we arrived shortly after, and it was only 20$/2 hrs! Beautiful scenery along the water ways and so much animal life around. We saw dolphins come up right beside us in the kayak. Loved it! Highlight of the trip :-) read more

See all

Lots of fun. Kayaks, paddles, and life jackets were in good condition. They weren't strict on time, so even though we were late, we had plenty of time. We didn't do the dolphin tour, but we still got to see some dolphins! Go to the end of the marsh where the main channel starts, and they like to feed there. read more

I heard about this from tour from Groupon. It is below the Oyster Factory if you're looking for rentals. My husband and I wanted to go kayaking so we just showed up to see how it worked. It wasn't super clear on if we were at the right spot. We just kinda wandered around the back of the restaurant hoping we weren't just somewhere we weren't supposed to be. There was also a worker who walked by us but said nothing. That was kinda weird. One we got to the back a man came out and asked us what we were looking for. He got us all set up on the kayaks. He even got us a lower price than the Groupon deal! That was nice. He also watched our stuff for us while we were out on the lagoon. We got two hours for $45. I hadn't done it before but he gave us a breakdown of how to turn it and row the kayak. He also gave us a rope in case we needed to tow each other. It was a lot of fun! read more

Nice location behind the Old Oyster Restaurant. The team was helpful and enjoyed a day out on the paddle board.

We did the kayak tour with two 14-year-olds on a tandem kayak, my husband with our 9-year-old on a tandem kayak, and I had my own. We went right after low tide, so we were able to see manatees, dolphins, and many birds out feeding. Our guide was ridiculously knowledgeable about sea life, the environment, and local history. DO NOT go without sunscreen and at least one bottle of water to drink while kayaking. It was sunny and 90F today, and we were glad we had both. We highly recommend this activity! read more

Great tour. A smaller group and able to see more. We saw three dolphins playing and my grandson was mesmerized. The guide was good and patient when it came to the group wanting to watch the dolphins more. Price was much better than others. read more

We've rented kayaks from Saltmarsh 4 times now and every year it's one of the highlights of our trip. It's a beautiful area with a lot of wildlife to see; we saw a dolphin before we even left the dock this year. My only complaint is that I had reserved 8 kayaks and 2 of our party dropped out at the last minute and he charged me for the 2 kayaks anyway. I realize he could've rented the kayaks to other people, but he had at least 50 kayaks there that were unused so it's not like we caused them a hardship. To charge us $40 was pretty steep and just unnecessary. I'll definitely check out other places next time we visit before I'd rent from them again. read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Blue Heron - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Fun, easy going, relaxed people to rent from. We had the most amazing experience. We saw a dolphin and several manatees while kayaking. Will definitely come back. read more

My family went on a 5 o'clock kayak adventure at salt marsh paddle tours. The tours are 35 bucks a person for two hours. Dean was super friendly and helpful with the kayaks. We had a great experience here!! We saw LOTS of dolphins!! Highly recommend coming here for your vacation attractions!!! read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

See all

We had an excellent experience renting kayaks from Dean while on vacation in Hilton Head. Great location, price and wildlife. Dean showed us exactly where we could go on the map and had our equipment ready when we arrived for our appointment time. Will definitely go back again! read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

See all

10/10 Would recommend! We didn't know what to expect with so many tours being offered in the area. This is a great price for a awesome tour! We saw a handful of dolphins, manatees, birds and fish! The tour guide was awesome and knowledgeable! Easy waters to navigate even in low tide. Tip: bring a water bottle and your phone in a waterproof container if you want pictures and videos of the wildlife. read more

Great service! Did single kayaks without a tour guide; we just enjoyed the canal for two hours and he was wonderful! Incredible relaxed and very friendly. We went around 11 am and realized that some of the branches of the canal were too shallow for the kayaks which was the only downside. Stay on the main canal though and it's beautiful! So much to see and really a great price for two hours. $3 credit card charge read more

Truly was one of the highlights of our recent trip. We had a wonderful experience! Jake our tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. We were lucky to have a great morning, low humidity and sunshine. Could not have been better. read more

Saltmarsh Paddle Tours - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

We both had a wonderful time on our tour. Although sweltering hot outside when we did our tour, I enjoyed every minute of the two hours. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and it was certainly a highlight of our trip to Hilton Head. If you're in the area i absolutely recommend a Saltmarsh Paddle Tour! read more

Definitely a fun and cheap way for amateur or experienced kayakers to see some of Broad Creek in the middle of Hilton Head Island. The equipment is in good condition, they supply you with everything you need including a life jacket. You have 2 hours to paddle in whichever direction you'd like which is plenty of time to see parts of the island and possibly some wildlife. You can also have a guide accompany if you'd like, but it's certainly not necessary. Finally, they offer single person and two person kayaks. Overall if you're looking to kayak around the island this is definitely a great choice as it's not as expensive as other services are and you really get plenty of time for what you pay. read more

Best paddle boats tours on Hilton Head! Dean had our Kayaks and gear ready when we arrived. Very friendly and knowledgeable. We had dolphins breaching mere feet from our kayak along with all manner of marine life. Highly recommended! Remember to bring sunscreen and clothing to protect from the sun. read more

Fantastic early evening kayaking! We chose the self guided tour and rented 3 doubles. We had a LOT of dolphin sightings and they came up so close to the boats. Very cool! Egrets, ibis, herons and fish jumping to boot! Service and reservations easy and very friendly accommodating us day of request. If I could give more than 5* rating I would for sure. Will definitely be back to kayak with Saltmarsh. read more

Had a great trip with our large extended family today with Jake as our tour guide. We had a lot of fun!

Had a great experience kayaking today. Dean set us up with 2 tandem kayaks to take the kids exploring the local waterways. Dean gave us pointers on where to see wildlife and dolphins. We saw lots of wildlife and most importantly we had some close encounters with several dolphins. Saltmarsh Paddle was not only affordable but Dean was terrific! We'll be back. read more

Had a great trip today and highly recommend Saltmarsh Paddle Tours. Met the owner who was there before my appointment and he gave great instructions on where to go and where to look for wildlife. Equipment was nice and clean and worked well. Lots to see in the area. No problems at all. Like that it is located behind the restaurant on a nice dock. Would definitely bring my family back here. read more

I had the nicest time on my kayak tour last weekend, Dean is the perfect mix of laid back and knowledgeable, I loved his energy and true passion for the lowcountry waters. Highly recommend you catch a paddle with the Salt Marsh Crew! Local or visitor, you will love your time out on the water! read more

My wife did stand up paddle board with Salt Marsh this morning. Absolutely loved it! We have done it with other outfitters on Hilton Head and this was #1....AND it was the least expensive we paid. Dean was very patient and knowledgeable about the area. We will be going back again. Thanks! read more

I have to say that when I saw the pricing for this company I was expecting a lot less than what we received in service, quality and overall experience! The price is the best on the island and so is the company! Whenever we have guests in town we go out on kayaks, this time was hands down the best experience we have had on HHI. First off, the location is great and getting in to kayaks from the land not a dock was super easy, especially with kids getting in to the kayaks. Then we were given nets for the kids to "fish" and they were occupied the entire time! I have kayaked out of almost every location in Hilton Head and this spot had the most dolphin sightings, very impressive! I will definitely be supporting this local family run business again, I am pretty sure they mentioned that they will also deliver equipment to you. Looking forward to doing that next go around! read more