Doubtful Sound Kayak
Doubtful Sound Kayak
5
Historical & Heritage ToursNature & Wildlife ToursPhotography ToursBus ToursKayaking & Canoeing
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Kayak with us and experience Doubtful Sound from Sea Level during your 3.5 hour Kayak journey, 15km* into Doubtful Sound following Hall Arm, “The Sound of Silence”. Doubtful Sound Kayak Full Day Tour is designed to maximise the distance you travel, and the time spent on the water. We make sure you cover the most distance returning by water taxi so there is no need to paddle back to the start of your kayak journey. We are a local company showing Doubtful Sound to 10 guests per adventure. This ensures a personal experience is provided by your Kayak Nature Guide. Your Doubtful Sound Journey includes a coach from Te Anau to Manapouri where we take a relaxing cruise across Lake Manapouri and transport over the spectacular Wilmot Pass into Deep Cove. Join us for a unique personalised journey into the heart of Fiordland. Wildlife encounters may include Dolphins, Seals or Penguins. Operates: October to April, Monday to Friday (no weekend departures). No departures May to September.
Manapouri, New Zealand

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles114 reviews
Excellent
108
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
2

Jll
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Couples
We could not have found a better experience to discover the beauties of doubtful sound. Mark and Callum were the most welcoming and funniest guides, yet their professionalism made us feel perfectly safe through the entire trip. This local family business deserves to be working, and if you want to discover doubtful sound, this is the place to go !
Written 2 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Frances B
19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Wow, just WOW! Views and the solitude of kayaking the sound are amazing. The value of all that is included is remarkable - spending the day with this small group tour was an incredible unique experience. Van ride, water taxi, second van ride, to the kayak put in at the Doubtful Sound. The water taxi captain and guide are with you all day and are professional friendly and knowledgeable. Clothing layers provided by Doubtful Kayaks were more than adequate for comfort. Well worth the cost of the trip. Bring bug spray for the sand flies.
Written 20 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Seth
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023 • Couples
Wonderful experience and the nature is one of a kind in the world. Our guides Mark and Calum were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the area. They worked super hard to make the trip amazing. Would highly recommend (eating fjord lobster over lunch was worth it alone!)
Written 9 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Travel404746
Honolulu, HI34 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
Mark and Callum are simply the best. Superb guides, each a wealth of knowledge, great senses of humor, both entertaining and informative. We came away with a much greater understanding of the area, culture, history and geology. All the while they kept careful watch over their flock and made sure we were all safe at all times. We couldn't have been in better hands and our day on the Hall Arm was a memory of a lifetime. Thank you, Mark and Callum!
Written 3 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter M
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
We had a phenomenal time with Jesse and Cloudi. It was an unbelievable day combining unique-to-the-world natural beauty and the best Kiwi hospitality we experienced anywhere on our trip. Highly highly recommend over the larger commercial tour or cruise companies.
Written 13 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora, Thank you very much for your review of our Doubtful Sound one day kayak journey. It is fantastic to read that you enjoyed and highly recommend our journey. Thank you for taking the time to write about us and how amazing your experience was. Although we are a small company, our Doubtful Sound experience takes place using private boats and coaches, where other experiences of Doubtful Sound may mix with people from other tours. We are "on our own" for the whole journey and that does keep a strong sense of isolation and wilderness. We look forward to seeing you again in Fiordland. Doubtful Sound Kayak
Written 27 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

CRG
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
An amazing experience - incredible natural beauty, and much quieter than Milford Sound in terms of visitor and boat numbers. It's quite a mission to get to Doubtful Sound but the day is very well organised and it's all interesting and beautiful. You will switch from minibus to boat to minibus to kayak and then you get to spend a good big chunk of the day on the water in the solitude and wilderness of Fiordland which is pretty magical. We kayaked before and after lunch which we had on the boat, and ended our time in Doubtful Sound with a quick swim which was fab.
Big thanks to Brodie who was a fantastic leader for our group of 3 double kayaks - fun, knowledgeable and informative. Highly recommend this trip.
Written 23 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

StuartA324
Groningen, The Netherlands22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Solo
This was a long day. 6.30 meet in te anau, then a nice trip across the lake, then a bus ride to doubtful sound... This was all very cool. The views are stunning, the guides (Mark and Cloudy) are so chilled, informative, and seem like genuine decent guys.
I was lucky enough (unknown at the time) you book the last day of the season, so the water was clear of everyone else. Just 5 of us including Mark on the water and it is sooo beautiful. Every part of it was great. The muffins were really good too! We had 6 hours on the water. The time flew by. If you book a kayak in the area, I 100% recommend doing this one.
Written 30 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anna H
77 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Couples
This family-run company are the real deal. The whole day experience was really impeccable. Our guide, Cloudi, was so knowledgeable and passionate about the area and it's flora and fauna. Between him and Clent, their humour makes the car-boat-car journey to get to Doubtful Sound become part of the experience. Once you're on the water then you kayak in one direction, away from the other tour companies so you feel like you have the whole magical place to yourself. We met up with their small boat for a break for lunch and a spot of fishing and at the end when the boat brings you back to the jetty.

It's worth mentioning that the day before going on this tour, we did a kayak trip on Milford Sound with a different company. Though more expensive, this latter trip was of exceptional quality, a really unforgettable experience and the tour we would hands-down recommend to friends visiting the fiordland in the future.
Written 20 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

zavalaphilam
Danao City, Philippines130 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Ten people in our group including Jesse our guide. Claudi (?) was our driver of vans and boats. Each way was van-to- boat- to-van-to-boat to get to/ from Doubtful Sound. Both guys make our trip enjoyable, entertaining and informative. Lunch was included. My wife was a first timer and the activity level was acceptable to her. Jesse was well experienced and patient to all levels of participants. Both these guys made the experience so much nicer. I have paddled before but never on an enclosed kayak with a rudder. Bring a bathing suit. They provide wetsuits and life jackets. They are very good at teaching you how to get in and out of the canoes. Beautiful waterfalls and sights to see in a wind protected offshoot of Doubtful Sound. Kudos to Doubtful Sound Kayaking!
Written 11 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Delighted that you enjoyed an entertaining and informative day with Cloudi and Jesse. They are great at what they do for sure
Written 15 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Dan G
Belfast, UK36 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Doubtful sound kayaking trip with the boat to Manapouri and bus ride over the mountain before kayaking on the Sound. Cloudy and Jessie were our guides and they were fantastic giving us interesting info about the surroundings, history and wildlife. The scenery was spectacular and we saw dolphins, fish, eels and birds. This trip was a real highlight of our NZ holiday, thoroughly recommended.
Written 22 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow..... you had all the wildlife out to greet you !! Thanks for your feedback and so very pleased that you enjoyed your day . Cheers
Written 3 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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