Tag Archives: sea kayak

Baja Espiritu Santo Sea Kayak Journey – La Paz, Baja

La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico — Want a warm world class outdoor vacation this winter/spring without having to rough it?  Read on.  U.S.-based outfitter Sea Kayak Adventures Inc. is proud to announce the newest addition to their Loreto, Baja repertoire of fully guided luxury camping sea kayak and whale watching tours – paddling, snorkeling and exploring the wild and rugged Island of Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit Island) off La Paz, the capital city of southern Baja. The island is another jewel in the Sea of Cortez island collection off the southern half of Mexico’s forgotten desert peninsula, in waters teeming with whales, dolphins, colorful fish and seabirds.  The outfitter is world renowned for leading fully catered/guided groups of wanna-be novice kayakers to the turquoise coves and sea caves of uninhabited islands making up the Islands of the Sea of Cortez UNESCO World Heritage Site October through April and into remote gray whale calving lagoons along Baja’s wild west coast February through first week of  March.

“Just three hours by express van service north of Los Cabos (“Cabo”) where celebrities, mega resorts and tequila bars reign supreme, Espiritu Santo Island offers a tranquil, stress-free experience”, says company founder Terry Prichard.  “The accessibility, the history, the wildlife, the spectacular scenery and uncrowded nature of the uninhabited wilderness island makes this experience the polar opposite of the Cabo scene”.  “One could easily combine both La Paz and Cabo areas to visit on the same trip to the Baja peninsula if one wants”, he added.

“Each week we take groups of 12-13 travelers from all walks of life to a very remote part of Baja and we pamper them,” says owner Terry Prichard, a naturalist and veteran Baja guide since 1989.  He describes his guests as “open-minded people, ages 11-79, who enjoy being outdoors, being intimate with nature, but who do not want to be bothered with setting up camp and cooking.  We offer non-kayaking gray whale tours as well as sea kayaking tours. We delight in seeing our guests fall in love with Baja and the prolific marine life each week on our tours.”

Prichard and his crew paddle mostly two-person touring sea kayaks on 5 to 8-day tours departing weekly – note all tour itineraries include hotel nights in La Paz. Unlike its tippy whitewater cousin, a sea kayak is a comfortable and very stable craft, and basic paddling skills easily learned.  No previous kayaking or camping experience is necessary, as basic instruction and certified sea kayak guides are provided. Participants can enjoy naturalist-led hikes and snorkeling while the guides set up camp and prepare gourmet meals.   “Ah – savor margaritas and tapas on the beach as the sun sets, followed by sumptuous dinners crafted from the freshest ingredients. We take care of all the details while tailoring trips to meet everyone’s desires”, Prichard adds.

Espiritu Santo Island offers world class paddling in warm, pristinely clear, intensely blue waters and snorkeling in coves teeming with tropical fish, some found nowhere else on earth such as the Sea of Cortez angel fish. Opportunities for sightings of pods of playful dolphins, barking sea lions, leaping manta rays as well as fin and blue whales– the largest mammals on earth– await the patient paddler. With luck, we often see the occasional plankton eating whale shark Guests will explore sheltered turquoise coves, spectacular sea caves and headlands by sea kayak, discover lovely white sand beaches with sublime sunsets and brilliant star-gazing.  Custom tours for families and groups (such as all-women’s trips, yoga trips and families with teens only trips) can be arranged.

“For the active traveler, southern Baja has it all — striking desert scenery, sunny skies, warm water, uninhabited beaches and incredible marine life,” says Prichard of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, adding “our Baja tours continually make lists of the best outdoor adventures available by CNN, National Geographic Traveler Magazine, Outside Magazine, Yahoo.com, etc.  In the winter Baja is usually sunny and dry, in the 70-80’s F (26 C) in daytime and 50-60’s F (21) at night.”

All tours depart from and return to historic La Paz, the capital city of southern Baja, situated 1,000 miles south of the USA border (a 3-day drive), but just a 3-hour drive north of Cabo.  Prices start at $995 per person including airport transfer, taxes, 2 nights’ hotel, meals while kayaking, all sleeping/camping/kayaking gear, instruction and guides (1 guide per 3-4 guests). Alaska Airlines services La Paz on a daily basis from Los Angeles.  The company has operated in Mexico under full permit of the Mexican government since 1993.  The company is the first and only such outfitter to carry out all human waste, and go carbon neutral, and their local guides work actively with researchers to protect endangered sea turtles.  SKA is financially committed to the preservation of the local natural and cultural resources.

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a
family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

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Baja Whale Watching Safari

New Trip: Whale Watching Safari – Multi-Generational Family adventure in Baja’s Magdalena Bay

Why this trip: Family adventure travel, grandparents and parents share whale watching experience with their children (as young as eight), guaranteed whale sightings, chance to touch a whale.

PUERTO LOPEZ MATEOS, BAJA CALIFORNIA  — Sharing great nature experiences are the stuff family travel is made of, and Sea Kayak Adventures offers one of the best opportunities for this type of family adventure. On their family friendly “long weekend” trips out of Loreto, Baja, parents can share an exciting whale watching experience with their children as young as eight.

Sea Kayak Adventures’ Isla Santo Domingo base camp is located right in the heart of the largest gray whale calving area, all protected by Mexican federal law.  However, this family adventure offers much more than simply seeing whales.  On Sea Kayak Adventures’ five-day whale watching base camp excursion in Baja California’s Magdalena Bay, adults and children can often actually touch one of the 20,000 gray whales that calve in the waters each winter.

“It’s the moment of a lifetime,” says SKA president Terry Prichard, “and whale sightings are guaranteed February through mid March.”  Each day motorized skiffs take participants out to the deeper waters of Boca de Soledad, where ‘friendlies’ swim up to the boat.  In our exclusive safari-style beach camp in the heart of gray whale activity, as whales breach and spy-hop just offshore, guests can explore whalebone-littered beaches and look for herons, egrets, dolphins, and spouting grays.  That hollow sound after nightfall?  It’s whales breathing!  Guides versed in whale natural history lead fun activities for kids, point out wildlife and prepare all meals.  Whales enjoy full protection of the Mexican federal government and one must be with a licensed guide to go whale watching here.

Cost: $995 for adults and 10% off for children age 8 through 17; and includes first and last nights’ accommodation in Loreto. Airfare is not included. Alaska/Horizon Air provides the best fares directly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Loreto (LTO) in southern Baja California, Mexico.

Departures begin January 25 and run through March 15, 2013 from Loreto, Mexico.  Dates include arrival and departure days, with three-days at the base camp, including long weekend tour dates.

 

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

FAMILY QUICK GETAWAYS TO WATERS OF THE WORLD’S ONLY ORCA PRESERVE – NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND BC CANADA

Why this trip:  First and only orca preserve in the world; best single time and place in the world to paddle with salmon-eating orcas; sheltered waters and quick tour perfect for novice paddlers; orcas guaranteed in August – or you get a free orca watching day cruise!


TELEGRAPH COVE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. invites outdoor-minded folks (novices welcome!) to join its four-day guided paddling trips July and August 2012 through the wilds of British Columbia’s Johnstone Strait off northern Vancouver Island, camping at an exclusive basecamp at THE heart of orca territory.  The company is now rounding its offerings to novice kayakers by adding this new “Orca Quick Adventure” four-day tour to its repertoire of six-day kayak tours in the area.  This narrow sheltered orca freeway is world renowned for its summer congregations of hundreds of “killer whales” following the salmon runs funneled from the sea into this specific area.  In fact, Canada is the first and only country in the world to establish and maintain an orca preserve there.  The Michael Biggs Robson Bight Orca Preserve is set aside specifically for this unique species called “northern resident orcas”.

Participants will paddle two-person sea kayaks through the glacier-carved waterways between Vancouver Island and the rugged mountains of mainland British Columbia.  Along the way, they’ll get close to wild orcas, as the strait is a traditional gathering place for these whales. Guides scan the calm waters for spouts and point out whale behavior.  Bald eagles dot the towering trees along the shore, feasting as do the orcas on the prolific salmon runs here.

The group will also explore the area’s rainforest on foot, visit the ancient First Nations sites, visit orca researchers and hopefully glimpse a black bear from their kayaks.  Each night, they’ll camp on secluded island beaches where they can watch orcas from their tents.

Normally trips depart from Port McNeill on Vancouver Island BC Canada – weekly July through mid September.  Pricing includes camping and kayaking equipment, meals, kayaking instruction and guide services.

 

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

Bucket List – Kayak With Baby Right Whales Argentina Patagonia

Why this trip: THE only place in the world one can paddle with southern right whales and their babies, each fall in Peninsula Valdes UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Argentina’s Patagonia.

Puerto Madryn – Sea Kayak Adventures Inc is proud to unveil a new trip – southern right whale watching by sea kayak and skiff in sheltered lagoons on fully catered guided tours each October through early December from our exclusive site. The tours are suitable for novices in good health.

“The two lagoons on the Peninsula Valdes are to Antarctica’s southern right whales what the lagoons of Baja are to the California gray whales, providing sheltered calving grounds in warmer waters” states Terry Prichard, founder of Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc, who has been running sea kayak and whale watching tours in Baja since 1993. “The right whales feed in the rich waters of Antarctica the rest of the year, so this is THE perfect window of opportunity to view the babies.”

The company’s associate in Argentina has exclusive use to private land access to a remote, sheltered part of the lagoons, which are federally protected and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Whale researchers gather at this spot each year to study the whales as this is the only place they calve. “We could see the mother and baby whales right from our beach camp at all times” exclaimed Terry Prichard. “On two mornings the water was calm as glass, and we could see the babies breaching and tail slapping, and even hear the babies vocalizing – a soul-rejuvenating moment for me. In our kayaks we drifted along silently 70 meters away from a mother and baby as they were resting. These whales are much larger than the gray whales we see each Feb in Baja, so that felt quite close enough!”

Itineraries range from three to six days of paddling, whale watching and birding by kayak; mostly camping, with some hotel nights. To the kayaking can be added a 2-hour skiff cruise among the whales at the end, visits to a penguin colony and park headquarters. Guests will camp on beaches lined with cliffs full of fossils, view dozens of unique mammals such as llama-like guanacos and maras right behind camp, as well as the mom and baby whales just off the beach.

Other trip highlights are the expert local guides, delectable and bountiful camp meals including local specialties of lamb, seafood, beef, cheeses, fresh baked goods, mate tea and Malbec red wine.

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.

WHALES FROLICKING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL IS SOUL-REJUVENATING (Giveaway!)

BRITISH COLUMBIA  — For nearly 20 years, Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc. has pioneered wilderness whale watching and novice sea kayak trips in sheltered areas with the “biggest bang for your buck” close-up whale encounters. Since inception, the company has explored and obtained permits to operate in the best whale watching waters in the western hemisphere, including the orca waters of BC Canada’s Johnstone Strait by kayak, the gray whale calving lagoons of Baja by small skiff, humpback whales off Sitka Alaska by mothership, and the Southern Right whales of Argentine Patagonia. Check out the company’s YouTube channel for close encounters of the whale kind!

SKA co-founder Nancy Mertz remarks “each time we see whales frolicking up close and personal on our guided tours and see the faces of our guests light up with joy, we feel so lucky to be doing what we are. We all need this for our very souls.” She added, “since we’ve been in business since 1993, we have actually seen the numbers of whales increase in the areas we tour, which is thrilling. The local citizens have come to see whale watching and ecotourism as a very important source of revenue and pride in their communities. We also picked destinations that were relatively easy to get to by air, so that folks can spend their vacation whale watching”.

If you want to try kayak touring or whale watching, but have no desire to rough it or camp out, the company offers venues ranging from lodge-based trips, mothership trips (liveaboard a small 6-passenger ship), safari-style camping trips or even day tours from a hotel base. The company’s naturalist guides will inform and educate you about all things whale, while “wining and dining” you and providing all gear, transport and land costs needed to meet everyone’s needs.

From a sea kayak or small boat, you will have the opportunity to see whales, porpoises, sea lions and other marine mammals and sea birds frolicking in their natural habitat, attracted by the prolific and diverse sea life present in the world-class areas the company visits. All areas enjoy high levels of protection. Johnstone Strait off British Columbia’s northern Vancouver Island is home to the world’s only orca preserve – Robson Bight Ecological Preserve – a research focus for world-renowned orca researchers. Baja’s gray whale lagoons are federally protected and Baja’s Loreto Bay in Sea of Cortez is a national marine park and UNESCO World Heritage site. The calving lagoons of the Southern Right whales in Argentina are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Humpback whales are making an amazing comeback from Johnstone Strait to north Alaska.

After a day of wildlife watching, exploring, and nature walks, you will be back at your lodge, hotel, boat or safari-style campsite (depending on location/itinerary) to enjoy tasty hors d’œuvres and a delicious dinner watching sunset fade and stars appear. The meals are outstanding; featuring locally caught seafood and local wines – prepared fresh daily by the company staff.

People of all experience levels will find these tours an excellent introduction to whale watching and even novice sea kayak fully guided by the company’s naturalist and kayak guides.

You can win a FREE space on one of the upcoming adventure tours on the Johnstone Strait in BC Canada. Click the link to learn how. You can enter until May 23rd. Please read all instructions on how to enter. Thanks and good luck!

To plan your trip today:

All About Travel
6104 Northwest 63
Oklahoma City, OK 73132
info [at] allabout-travel.com
405.384.3880

About All About Travel

Opened in 1978, All About Travel is located in the Oklahoma City area.  We are a family owned and operated company that has strived to provide our clients with the highest quality of service for more than 30 years.  Our agents can arrange all your travel needs from the individual hotel and/or car reservation to an around the world cruise.  Nothing is out of reach.

We can help plan your honeymoon, your destination wedding or the much needed getaway for two.  Don’t forget about your business, we can handle all the travel needs for your company as well.  Anything from an airline flight and hotel for a meeting or all the planning needed for your next company-wide seminar.  We can arrange hotel space for all attendees and meeting rooms for all purposes.

Our agents travel to many destinations on FAM trips (Familiarization trips) these trips are designed by tour operators and cruise lines to make certain that travel agents are up-to-date on popular destinations and cruise ships.

So the next time you need to, or better yet, want to travel…Let us help, it’s what we do.