summertide adventure tours, llc. -day tours

This is a MUST DO when visiting our area. Being a Sunset Beach local, I had heard raving reviews of Summertide Adventure Tours and been kayaking on my own before. My daughters & I had talked numerous times about going on the tour and our opportunity came during fall break. From beginning to end, Cari & Greg were attentive, energetic, and thorough with their instructions. We had my daughter's suite-mate from Nebraska, inexperienced in kayaking, who received impressive attention from Greg gently teaching her. We all had an amazing time! Cari & Greg made us all feel safe, shared interesting facts about the area & nature, and made the trip enjoyable for all ages & experience levels. No doubt we were tired afterwards, but it was a gorgeous day and an exhilarating adventure that I hope to do again!

I don't know which was more spectacular - the beautiful scenery or the awesome guides. Kari and Gregg expertly and patiently led us through our trip which included a couple hours of kayaking as well as a couple hours of exploring Bird Island. I'm a North Carolinian but had 4 friends from Minnesota with me and wanted to show them as much of the coastline and culture as possible. This kayaking trip exceeded our expectations. We've been going to Sunset Beach for over 20 years but had never explored these waters and now I want it to be an annual event. I can't wait to introduce the rest of my family to this tour company and their trips. Thanks, Kari and Gregg!

I took the 9:30 AM Bird Island Tour with SummerTide Adventure Tours on September 19th with Cari. This was my first time in a kayak and Cari's guidance and tour was instructive but not intimidating. She quickly had me paddling and navigating without issue (although I learned I cannot talk and paddle at the same time - LOL). I learned about kayaking and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing our beautiful coastal waters, plants, and wildlife from a very different perspective. The weather was perfect and I found kayaking to be so relaxing. I had so much fun that the four hour tour seemed to be over in a flash. I cannot wait to go again and bring the whole family. The kayaks and equipment are well-maintained and the operation is friendly and professional. Cari is a terrific guide. Their website guidance for what to bring is on-target. Note that the launching location/s are a short drive from their store front - which is no problem - just understand there is a difference and that's how it works. This is a great outdoor activity for individuals, couples, or groups and SummerTide is awesome!! Thanks Cari!!!

Would do it again without hesitation. Wonderful exercise and sightseeing adventure. Highly recommended!!

I had the opportunity to take a guided trip with Stewart on 8/20/2014. As an avid kayak fisherman myself, I had high expectations for a good trip and was certainly not disappointed. The gear, bait, and tackle (Penn rods and reels) were all of high quality and the Native Slayer kayak is a fishing specific design perfect for the areas we fished. More importantly, Stewart was an excellent guide. Not only does he obviously know the waters, species, and techniques, his easy going personality made for good conversation and an enjoyable trip regardless of the fishing results. As for the catching, I was able to catch my first ever red drum (not a species we have in any numbers in NJ) as well as some flounder and croaker. As we rounded a corner in one of the creeks, Stewart pointed out some feeding reds and I was able to cast to a tailing fish and hook up. The fight in the narrow, shallow creek was awesome and unlike anything I had experienced before. I hope to be able to come back and fish again with Stewart in the future. Highly recommended!

As a happy accident, my husband and I happened upon Summertide Tours after unsuccessfully trying to schedule a kayaking tour with other local companies. After calling Rip, (who called us back that same night at 9!), and looking up other local reviews of their tours, we were booked for the Bird Island tour the next morning. Cari and Greg lead the tour, and both were patient, knowledgeable about the area, completely relaxed and hilarious to hang out with. It was my first kayaking experience, as well as others within the 15+ group, and Cari and Greg had us paddling like pros within the first 10 minutes. We had plenty of downtime, explored 2 islands, and had lunch on the beach. I've already booked a trip next year to Sunset Beach and am planning to take more tours with Summertide!

We had a wonderful Bird Island Tour with Cari and Greg. Our experience was awesome from the minute I called to book the tour. We had no problem rescheduling because of bad weather on our original date. Kayaks are well cared for and so easy to paddle. Cari and Greg were so nice and helpful. It was easily the best part of our vacation!

Took the Bird Island trip with 8 from our family, ranging from age 6 to 74. We had a total of 3 kids ages 6,7 and 10, each paired with an adult. Cari and Greg made sure we all had a great time. Safe, too. Cari did a wonderful job leading us through easier paths, coaching us if there were any spots with a bit more current. Great alternative outdoor activity.

Rip and Kerry are awesome tour guides! We did the twilight tour in a "divorce" kayak (double). Had a blast! 2.5 hours leisurely paddling around the marshes of the intercostal. So much fun!! We loved it and plan to take out kids and extended family when we return for an upcoming labor vacation. Trip was about $49 a person - but the kayaks are all new and nice and the life jackets are clean and cozy.

13 of our group enjoying a family reunion, of sorts, at Sunset Beach signed up for the twilight tour. We were varying ages and abilities, with the youngest at 14, the oldest in his late 60s. Some of us are very fit, some of us not so much. We even had one with autism. Cari and Rip made every aspect of the trip extremely pleasant and easy to manage. The tour of the waterway at sunset was lovely. There was quite a wind, but they reassured us and got us easily and safely across the waterway with no fuss, muss, or drama. They brought us in just a smidge early as a storm was blowing in. We were all safe and sound at home when the skies opened and the thunder crashed.These guys are pros. All safety instruction is seen to, and they do a fabulous job of keeping everyone participating, together, and having fun. They get my highest recommendation for sure!! Thanks, Cari and Rip, for a wonderful time and great family memories!

My husband and I started kayaking about 4 months ago but we had only done rivers near our home. It was going to be our first experience in the Waterway and we had checked out paddling.net for launch sites and info. When we got to Calabash and Sunset, we found we still had questions about where we could put in, park safely and how to navigate. We saw Summertide's shop and Rip was outside cleaning kayaks, so my husband stopped and talked with him. Rip offered for us to bring our own kayaks and to follow their tour group the next morning for a nominal fee. The following morning, we tagged alone with Cari & Greg and the group, from Sunset to Ocean Isle. They were great tour guides! We gained knowledge on kayaking, navigating, history of area, birds and marine life. We had so much fun with them, we returned the next morning and tagged along again, this time from Calabash to Bird Island. Although we did not need gear, we were so impressed with how well their gear was taken care of and the pride that was taken to make their clients have the best experience! Thank you soooo much for your kindness to us! We had a blast! Abercrombie and Fish

Absolutely loved the tour. Cari and Rip are to of the nicest people you can ever meet. The Twilight Tour was amazing, beautiful, and informative. I cannot recommend them enough!

My group of 5 just wanted to rent some kayaks and go sans tour guide around the intercoastal waters of Sunset Beach, NC. We rented 2 double kayaks and 1 single kayak from an unnamed local store right on Main St. They were not able to deliver the kayaks to the drop off point so we had to make two trips of loading kayaks and dropping them off. After finally getting our gear where we needed it, we saw Summertide Adventure Tours coming in from their tour and heard everyone raving about what fun they had. After the group had cleared we started placing our kayaks into the water.Cari from Summertide Adventures noticed that our single kayak was actually a children's kayak and notified us that it wouldn't be very safe for our friend to be riding in that. She and the other tour guide inspected our other two tandem/double kayaks. It turns out that only one of them was fit to safely travel through the inter-coastal waters. And even at that, they had no back rests/supports. Cari and her fellow tour guide decided to lend us one of their single kayaks AND one of their tandem kayaks AT NO CHARGE!!! They took our two unsafe kayaks back to their store and left us with their new state of the art ones. After we were done kayaking, we gave them a call and they came back to drop off our rented kayaks and pick up those that they had lent us. We were so grateful and will never go back to the store on the main strip for kayaks. We even called the store that we rented from and gently let them know that they had given us one kayak that was a children's kayak and could not be used and another one that was in bad shape. They simply said "we don't give refunds". Needless to say Summertide Adventure Tours is where we will ALWAYS go in the future. They were kind, fun, knowledgable, and overall great people. Thank you so much Cari and team!!!

Living in Sunset Beach for the past 15 years has been a dream come true. Meeting Rip and Cari and Summertide Kayak Tours even makes it better. We went the night of the "Super Moon" and where treated to a beautiful sunset in the marshland and then that big bad Moon kept on rising.We enjoyed the trip so much we are going again this Fri. evening. it was so relaxing and peaceful I am even thinking of getting my own kayak.When in Sunset beach or nearby Ocean Isle Beach look up Rip and Cari at Summertide Kayak Tours, you won't be disappointed.

For the second year in a row our family spent an evening with Cari and Rip on a twilight tour. These two are a lot of fun and have a great way of sharing their love of the outdoors, Sunset Beach, and people in general. They were personable and professional in every circumstance. They knew our names our hometowns, and professions before we ever left the shore. They joked with our eleven-year old, and made our not-so-knowledgeable (or athletic) group feel confortable and confident as we toured. On top of that, the weather was perfect, and we witnessed a breath-taking sunset. We plan to make Summertide a regular part of every vacation, and think everyone else should too!