Family Kayak Tour

• Informative and exciting family kayak lesson and tour
• Qualified and knowledgeable family-friendly instructors
• Heated changing rooms and secure storage for your valuables
• Hot outdoor showers and male & female toilets
• Full safety briefing, kit familiarisation and weather condition checks
• Wetsuits, buoyancy aids, helmets, kayaks and paddles included
• Wildlife watching and identification
• Tales of the area’s rich history, biodiversity and heritage
• 10% off further Newquay Activity Centre activities
• Discount card for apres kayak food & drink at local bars and cafes
• 15% off at Newquay’s Rip Curl store
• A dog sitter if you require it. Just contact us for more details.
• Excellent bad weather options in case of adverse conditions – we’ll get you guys in the water! This activity can go ahead in the rain – no worries!

Epic Family Kayaking Adventure

Drawing from over 20 years worth of experience, our instructors have developed a family-friendly kayaking safari around Newquay’s incredible ‘Gazzle’ coastline. Explore dramatic cliff lines, sheltered caves, mysterious caverns and smugglers coves on the ultimate family adventure.

Our Family Kayak Tour will be a physical and mental adventure for the kids as their minds race with stories of pirates and treacherous tales during an adventurous and exciting paddle.

Kitting Up For Adventure

From the comfort of our on-site heated changing rooms, your family will be kitted up with Rip Curl wetsuits, buoyancy aids, helmets and paddles. This top quality kit will keep you warm and safe during your kayak tour in Newquay.

Once fully kitted up, your expert kayak instructor will lead you in the basics of paddle strokes, kit familiarity, water safety and signals – finishing with a short warm-up before heading down to the water.

We launch and land from two of Newquay’s lush, semi-secret coves. The start to experience is an adventure, as we walk down a rock path to the water’s edge. It’s worth it as the scenery is breath taking, there is some incredible coastal wildlife in the area, and you really are experiencing the best of Newquay’s coastal fringe. We take the walk down to the water slowly, the kayaks will be waiting in the cove for you.

We pride ourselves in sharing a well-rounded learning experience, which will on many tours see you given the opportunity to experience both a double and single kayak. If you start in a double kayak but want to try a single, we swap mid-way on either one of the secret beaches that we visit or in the ocean environment. We cannot guarantee that you will have a single or a double kayak for the duration of the tour. But will have the opportunity to experience both, or one or the other.

From here, the Family Kayak Tour will move at the group’s pace stopping at areas of interest to answer any questions and to explore the impressive coastline up close and personal. It’s in these moments that Newquay’s history really comes alive as you revisit the routes that sea-faring pirates would have regularly taken to avoid the authorities.

If the tides and conditions permit, you will explore inside and around old smugglers caves that were once used to store exotic plunder. Cast your mind back hundreds of years and imagine yourself in the boots of pirates that shared these very same waterways.

Our instructors will be excited to share stories of Newquay’s dramatic past as well as provide fun family games and challenges. Expect to hear about our historic smugglers, pirates and shipwrecks while upskilling in paddle strokes and coastal negotiation.

Hands-on Skills Development

Kayaking is the perfect way to explore our coastal habitats. Watch as your kids build new confidence in the ocean environment, engaging with wildlife that call our coastlines home and learning about the history that shaped it.

With paddle skills, epic games and guaranteed smiles, it’s the ultimate family activity! For younger ocean users we can also embed sea safety skills that will improve their awareness of the coastal environment whichever part of the world they travel to in the future.

What Happens If There Is Extreme Weather?

We are super fortunate to operate many of our activities in the shelter of Towan beach. We choose the tide and weather times that deliver the very best conditions for Kayak Tours. However, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature and sometimes she may have different plans for us. We always check the forecasted conditions but if the wind or swell picks up unexpectedly, we will move your session on to our Super SUPs, this will ensure you still cover the same route and session content but will be on a craft that is more resilient against the conditions. Alternatively, we may offer a different time or location for your tour.

Over 95% of our tours go ahead unaffected by the weather but, in the unlikely event that this does happen, we have excellent back-up options for you to choose from. We appreciate your understanding.

Kayaking with Newquay Activity Centre is about more than just paddling; it is a technical, curated journey through some of Cornwall’s most spectacular environments. From the rugged coastline to the tranquil Gannel Estuary, we offer a level of professionalism that standard rental shops simply cannot match.

Here is why we are the #1 rated provider in Newquay:

Official Paddle UK Delivery Partner

We are one of the few centers to hold this prestigious status. It is a testament to our sky-high standards of delivery. Our program is developed using technical advice from top-level paddlesports experts (like John Paul Eatock), ensuring that our lesson quality is industry-leading. You aren’t just going for a paddle; you are learning from the best.

Signature Routes & Weather Expertise

We don’t believe in a “one route fits all” approach. Over 30 years, we have developed signature routes that adapt to the daily conditions. Whether it’s high-tide cave exploration on the coast or a sluice-ride adventure in the Gannel Estuary, we possess the local knowledge to ensure you get the best water conditions every single day.

Elite Instructors

Our guides are career professionals. Every kayak instructor holds the prestigious Paddlesports Leader Award and they have completed ongoing CPD through our Outdoor Instructor Academy training programmes. They are also:

• SLSGB Beach Lifeguards
• Trained in Sea Kayak Leadership (Non-Tidal & Tidal).
• Experts in local history and geology, making your tour educational as well as active.

Unblemished Safety Record

We take safety as seriously as we take fun. We work alongside the RNLI to ensure conditions are appropriate, and we are the go-to choice for local schools (like Newquay Tretherras) because of our rigorous standards. We are:

• Fully AALA licensed (Adventure Activities Licensing Authority).
• Newquay’s only recognised SLSGB Training Centre.
• Covered by £10 million public liability insurance.

Trusted by VIPs & Media

When high-profile clients need a flawlessly executed experience, they come to us. We have hosted the England Rugby Team, the England Surfing Team, and have been featured by The Sunday Times and BBC Radio One. We are also proud 3x Cornwall Tourism Award Winners.