Doubtful Sound Kayak - Doubtful Sound Kayak 3/77 Manapouri-Te Anau Highway

Exceptional! Mark and Cloudi were superb guides and hosts. They kindly took us to see one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to! Sadly with did this right at the beginning of our NZ trip and everything else struggled to match up! I couldn't recommend them more strongly. The kit was excellent, modern, well maintained and looked after. They made sure everyone was well looked after. Completely professional but very personable and intimate at the same time. Mark's local knowledge of flora, fauna and geology was very impressive. If you are going to kayak DS or want one of the most secluded, imtimate experiences of NZ's incredible Fjordlands go with these guys!

Since we wanted to skip the crowds on Milford sound we decided to do this tour of the Doubtful sound instead. It was an amazing experience for us and absolutely worth the money if you consider all the transportation and gear etc. We were very lucky with the weather: sun all day. We had none to very little kayaking experience before, but we're guided very well and felt safe during the whole trip. Since we didnt end up with sore muscles, for a very experienced kayaker the tour might be easy, but you can always just concentrate on the views. If all the members of the group are very experienced I guess you could kayak a longer distance (we did about 12 -13 km as the guide said). Here a quick overview on what made the day so perfect for us: - meeting at 6:30: we found the office very easily and everybody was punctual - we were offered a cup of tea/coffee to start the day - all the gear seemed to be in a good state, sizes for wetsuit etc were picked absolutely right for everybody - quick stop at the top of wilmot pass to take a picture of Doubtful sound - we were seated into the kayaks (nobody fell into the water all day) and trained how to do a safety raft - lunchtime on the boat: again a cup of tea/coffee was served and a surprise muffin (very tasty) - before our trip we were a little worried about the Sandflies but it was not as bad as we imagined. Due to all the gear you are wearing they have very little places left to bite you- I think I only got one bite during the whole day - Mark (our kayak guide) and Cloudi (boat captain and bus driver) were friendly, respectful, had both so much knowledge about the area and so much more. We couldn't have wished for better guides! It was the perfect balance between easygoing (a little joke here and there) and making sure everybody knew what they were doing and safe. - I loved how the guides respect the nature very much, so even a crumble at lunch didnt make it's way into the water but into the bin and as we spotted some dolphins in the distance (yeah we got to see dolphins) we were told not to paddle anymore to not disturb the animals. - as we ended our kayaking and got back on the boat we changed into our own clothes (even on the rather small boat they provided some privacy for changing) and we had the option to go for a quick swim Overall we are really happy we chose this tour with these amazing guides. Thank you so much Mark and Cloudi!! We also learned that the company consists of only a handful of people. So if you choose this tour your money goes to a very local company and not to a big one. If we were asked on how this tour can be improved we would say: - maybe rewrite the packing list on what to bring or mark some things on it as optional. We packed our bags according to the list and our backpacks were very full. At the end we didn't need half the stuff (e.g. second set of clothes, insect repellent etc.). On the kayak you only have your water bottle and camera. And of course you need to bring your lunch. I found the second pair of shoes helpful, because mine got wet during kayaking. Everything else wasn't needed by us. - we were 10 people on the tour, so the tour was fully booked. The boat in doubtful sound and the bus to go over wilmot pass could not have fit more people. So it was a little tight here and there. But that's not really a big issue (especially if you dont pack your bags with too much stuff like we did) as you spend most of the time in the kayak anyway... :)

Amazing Kayak and Trip, in an amazing place. The route we were taken and the time they take you let’s you enjoy the fjord without seeing barely another soul. The kayak was perfect balance between relaxing and covering ground - moving 15km in just under 4 hours. The guide and skipper were awesome guys, really helpful, fun and incredibly informative - and most importantly passionate about the place they work in. Would recommend!

I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed my trip with these guys! Cloudi our guide was awesome and full of stories. He made the trip and experience and not just an adventure. I even spent the next day in Milford sound and missed the Doubtful pace and quite rather than the super busy Milford. Go with these guys!

This guys are awesome!! Why? Read on. 3 Company running tours into doubtful Sound and two of them offer kayaking. Orange and this guys. We choosed this company because it's a smaller and more personal one and that's what we get. Perfect! There is one more important reason why to choose this company as we could see later. They have a boat carrying all the kayaks in doubtful Sound. So if the wind is to hard from the start, they'll bring you behind the wind and you paddling back with kayaks. Means: more to see for you in the sound, nor problems with the wind or, even worse, with canceled tours. Anyway. They picked us up at the caravan park where we got some cookies and tea and had some time to get in touch with the group and our amazing tour guide "Cloudy". This man is awesome! He is really funny and does know a lot (I mean really a lot, no idea how he could remember all the details and dates) about nature, animals, history and more. So it wasn't only a kayak tour but a guided information tour too. Anyway, after picking us up we were driven to the wharf where the owner of the company who is the skipper to waited for us. He was kind from the very first beginning and he loves his job which was easily to see while he was doing his job. He organized a second man for one of our group because we were three of us and you need two for every kayak. Great! After a short boat trip you'll carried to the place with the next boat, having all the kayaks on top. And that was great because heavily wind and rain were coming in and while the other company was struggling we just skipped the wind with the boat and they let us out at a lonesome spot. Our Guide Cloudy gave us a short introduction into kayaking and we startet our unbelievable fantastic tour. As I sl said before, Cloudy was great. So many details about doubtful Sound, good spots like caves, some good laughs and a cookie with hot beverages back on board. We had a lot of fun, took some great pictures and saw beautiful sceneries. Because the owner himself was member of the tour it feels like a family ran company. We definetely recommend this company (even the campground were we stayed at night was cool with reasonable prices). Thanks a lot to the team (Cloudy, the owner and his cousin as well as our bus driver)!!

We had an absolutely amazing time with this company on a kayak tour of Doubtful Sound. The guides looked after us all the way through the transfers out to the sound and the kayak around it, lots of warm drinks in between. The knowledge of Mark our Guide was incredible, I'm not sure there was a question he couldn't answer. We were well kitted with wetsuits and warm kit so the light drizzle we had was no problem at all. A four hour kayak around one of the most beautiful places in the world, I can't recommend it enough.

Our favorite part of our entire 3 week adventure in the South Island! Marc and Cloudi do an absolutely amazing job of personalizing this excursion and delivering an unforgettable experience. These guys are funny, down to earth, and professional. Their knowledge of the Sound and all its features is exceptional and truly elevates this beyond a simple kayaking tour. The itinerary is so well thought out and expertly organized; not a single aspect of the day felt clumsy or scripted. my husband and I rarely do guided kayaking tours anymore since we have a good deal of experience, but we are SO glad we chose this excursion. It doesn't matter if you're new to kayaking or very experienced; this tour caters to everyone. We booked Doubtful Sound Kayaks because we wanted a more intimate experience than the tourist packed Milford options and boy, did these guys deliver. Truly an amazing day that we will never forget. Thanks Doubtful Sound Kayaks for adding so much magic to our 10th wedding anniversary trip!

Had an amazing trip with Doubtful Sound Kayaks - the weather really turned up for us, but it was amazing to see this fjord up close and personal from the water. Our guide Mark was very knowledgeable and you could tell he loved the place and wanted to share it with us. The trip was wonderful from start to end, I'll be coming back next time I'm in the area - great value!