Channel Islands Adventure Company - Ventura, California

sharon S

Had an amazing time with the adventure company. Our guide Dustin was awesome, he was very experienced, attentive to everyone in the group, helped us through every challenging area and made sure everyone got through and had a great time doing. Dustins extensive knowledge and joy in his position truly made the trip that much more fantastic. Everyone I encountered was fun, kind, and made sure everyone was safe and having a good time. Loved it! 10 out of 10. Highly recommended!

The Wayward Nurse

This is an amazing company to go on a kayak tour with! Our guide, John, was very experienced and made us feel safe the entire trip. Keep in mind when your researching and booking, this is an ocean activity. There may be waves and swells. We had some challenging waters, but everything was a "do at your comfort level" if you didn't want to kayak into the cave, you didn't have too. We challenged ourselves and went in every cave, and it was rewarding. No one tipped the kayak on our tour, but only barely. Keep this in mind when deciding if you want to do this activity, while boating is normally a dry sport it's not guaranteed. All that said, if you have an adventurous spirit this is the tour for you. The caves are amazing, the water is beautiful, and all the sea creators are so cool! Before we got on the water John went over everything with us, from how to kayak, to how to get in and out of it.

Mikhael Madello

My daughter (13) and I did a kayak tour with Channel Islands Adventure Co out of Scorpion in May 2024. Our guide was Chuck Graham. We signed up for the longer, advanced tour, but after the first sea cave (where we saw seal pups and rare birds-amazing!), she became a little seasick and wanted to go back. After we dropped her off at camp, Chuck and I headed back out and did a version of the shorter tour. He has over 25 years experience paddling to all the Channel Islands, is a wildlife photographer and author, and a wealth of knowledge. I felt completely safe the entire time. It is a spectacularly beautiful place that can really only be fully appreciated via kayak. I plan to come back out in the spring and do the longer tour with my husband and will request Chuck. Also, his gorgeous book, "Paddling into a Natural Balance" is available at the Ventura visitors center (where you check in for the Island Packers Ferry). My only regret is that I only bought one copy. I plan to buy a few more as gifts for friends and family. The photos and stories are amazing, and the cover photo is from the same spot we saw on the tour. 100% recommend.

Brianna Harte

Thank you Parker and Marc for being awesome guides! They informed us of the water conditions and gave us all of our options. Despite the waves we decided to venture out- it was totally worth it! It was challenging but the guides gave us encouragement without pushing us beyond our limits. We saw seals, starfish, fish and lots of kelp. Incredible!

I would love to come back and do another kayak tour with them!

Ishita Shah

Our guide Zack on our discovery kayak tour was great! It was roughly 1.5 hrs of going into the ocean and the sea caves. Zack gave us all the safety gear and prepared us before we went in. He was super knowledgeable and made the tour fun - going into the caves was not necessary but challenging if you want to give it a go which I would recommend doing! Highly recommend doing this activity if you’re on Santa Cruz Island - it was so beautiful and a very unique experience.

Yuxuan Deng

Brian and Jessica are absolutely amazing guides. We went kayaking as a large group of 13. Despite that most of us are novices, who are all on the smaller side struggling against the current and winds, we all had the most amazing time. Brian and Jessica are funny, knowledgeable, and caring when some members needed a tow. I cannot give this establishment a higher praise. Definitely would recommend.

Lisa Eisen

Such an incredible experience! I went on the Discovery kayak tour. Brian was our guide and he was great. He shared lots of good info without being too conventional. Also he was very skilled at helping us through the caves. The caves were so so awesome. Some were really deep where you guided yourself in the narrow areas by pulling along the ceiling. Totally exceeded my expectations!

Andrew Vernon

We had an amazing time with the adventure company. Our guide Mark was awesome, he was very experienced, attentive to everyone in the group, helped us through every challenging area and made sure everyone got through and had fun. Tim and Alex on the boat were fun, kind, and also made sure everyone was safe and having a good time. The blankets were a great bonus as the ride was a little chilly. Be sure to ask Tim to tell you the pirate joke!