I’d never been kayaking before. I had visions of those movies where someone tries to get into a rowboat or canoe, it starts rocking, they can’t keep their balance, and they end up in the water, drenched. But what the hell. If I fall in, so what? I can swim and I’ll dry off. Even if everyone laughs, I’ll never see those people again anyway. So I signed up for a kayaking tour of Lido Key in Sarasota.
There were similar-sounding tours available for both Lido Key and Siesta Key. When I called, I was told the difference is that the tour of Siesta Key stays along the perimeter and the tour of Lido Key goes into the mangrove tunnels. It seemed like a no-brainer to me – more up close and personal.
Mangroves are a ubiquitous presence in Florida and range in size from shrubs to trees exceeding 50 feet. They thrive in salty waters along tropical and subtropical coastlines. Much of Florida is considered subtropical due to its proximity to the equator. We have a similar climate to places like Madagascar, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica.
The mangroves help protect us from tropical storms. They slow the water flow and lower surface waves. It’s estimated that mangroves saved about $1.5 billion in storm surge damage during Hurricane Irma in 2017. They also prevent shoreline erosion, improve water quality and are a habitat for all sorts of wildlife.
The website said I would be provided instructions and a life jacket. The “instructions” were about 30 seconds and it was suggested that since the water for most of the tour was wading depth, I could decide whether or not I needed a life jacket. The deepest section we got near was about 8′ but even so, our guide suggested that if we could swim at all, we were likely to be fine. I opted to go without.
I definitely recommend a visor, sunscreen, towel and probably sandals. I showed up in socks and sneakers and then realized I had to wade into the water to get into the kayak. Go figure. Maybe I thought I’d be airlifted in? Anyway, I went barefoot. I almost left the towel at home, but it came in handy. There was no way I was going to get through the tour without splashing myself at least once and it came in handy after wading ashore so I didn’t have to try to stuff wet, sandy feet into socks.
Originally, our tour was meant to have a group of 12 people with us but they canceled. We ended up with two of us and the guide. That meant special attention. When you don’t have to wait for 12 people in kayaks to get close enough to hear what the guide is saying at every stop, it cuts the time out on the water significantly. What that meant for us was that we got to venture out to that 8′ section of water and watch the dolphins playing nearby.
Then we made our way back to the wadeable shoreline and into the mangrove waterways. It was interesting and peaceful, and our guide Jesse kept us entertained with all kinds of information about the wildlife, both fish and fowl. Being a tad selfish, I’d have preferred not to have umpteen tour groups navigating the same small spaces, but it was still fun and I’d do it again.
- Kayaking SRQ
- 190 Taft Dr., Sarasota, Florida
- 941-799-1863
- Guided are $59 but with taxes, ends up being $66.67 (tandem kayaks are also available) / Private tours are $89 + taxes
- Three tours daily – 9:00 AM / 12:00 noon / 3:00 PM
Lisa Browder 
Leave a comment