If you're new to kayaking and preparing for your maiden voyage, the Coastal Bend offers endless opportunities to explore, enjoy, and learn from the experts.

Kayaking is a rewarding pastime. It’s fun and relatively inexpensive, burns calories, and gives you access to parts of the Coastal Bend you can't reach any other way. You can fish from a kayak or just absorb the natural beauty of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Below is a list of places that offer kayak rentals, excursions, and lessons in the Coastal Bend:

CORPUS CHRISTI

Glow Row

702-720-4569

The nighttime, guided tours take kayaking to a new level with LED-lighted, transparent watercraft that let you view marine life. Rockport and Port Aransas departures are also available. All trips begin with a short lesson.

Nature Trails Kayaking

4401 Gulf Breeze Blvd., 361-442-0628

Sign up for a lesson, rent a kayak or paddleboard, or book a guided tour of Nueces Bay, the Mustang Island wetlands, and more. (NOTE: Nature Trails Kayaking will be closed for vacation Aug. 12-Oct 17, 2023.)

Nauticool Adventures

13317 South Padre Island Drive, 361-423-0523

Rent several types of kayaks (and other watercraft) at Marker 37 near Snoopy’s Pier. Rentals last two to eight hours and include a brief instruction session before launch.

Wind & Wave Watersports

10721 South Padre Island Drive, 361-937-9283

Rent a fishing kayak or a recreational model to explore coastal waters. Call ahead to arrange test demonstrations. Rent by the day or week.

PORT ARANSAS

Island Surf Rentals and Golf Carts

130 E. Avenue G, 361-749-0822

Rent kayaks, golf carts, surfboards, and beach bikes at this one-stop shop.

ROCKPORT

Kraken Kayak Outfitters

361-219-0680

Release your Coastal Bend adventurer with kayak classes for different experience levels, guided historic and ecological tours, or a kayak rental for self-guided exploration.

Rockport Kayak

361-727-9966

Take a lesson or traverse Coastal Bend waterways on an eco-tour led by a certified wildlife guide.

Texas Coast Kayaking

361-480-3202

Rent a kayak all day or half a day and chart your own course. Texas Coast Kayaking delivers and picks up at your home or short-term rental. It also serves Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Aransas Pass, and Portland.

If you get hooked on kayaking, you won’t be alone. More than 13 million kayakers take to the water each year, navigating watercraft that originated some 4,000 years ago.

Here are several suggestions on where to kayak in the Coastal Bend. Happy paddling!

chuck@thepicayune.com

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