Big Hickory's Kayak Launch Has No Address, Only a Trailer
The county has never issued a street address for the strip of Big Hickory Island where this outfit parks, so the directions arrive by email and text once you book. What you are looking for in the sand lot is a trailer with a manatee printed down the side. Two hours later you are threading a mangrove tunnel.
The water on this side of Bonita Springs is shallow, green, and almost entirely mangrove. Two hours covers the tunnels around Big Hickory Island, the inlets behind them, and a secluded beach stop.
The launch has no street address, because the county never issued one for it. After you book, the operator sends the spot by email and automated text, with links that open in Google Maps or Apple Maps. In the listing's own words, what you are looking for is the giant trailer with the manatee and dolphin on it.
The gear is all included: a carbon fiber paddle, a kayaking life jacket, a back rest seat, a dry bag, a mesh shelling bag, ice cold water, and free parking. Photos from the tour are included too.
Guiding is in English. The operator says plainly that wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed.
Confirmation is instant, and booking closes two hours before the departure time. One booking can carry up to thirty travellers, which is how the larger family groups go out together. Across 485 reviews the tour averages 4.94. Tickets are mobile or paper, one per booking.
Bonita Springs Eco Kayak Tour – Best Gear, Premium&Clear KayaksTwo hours guided in English around Big Hickory Island. Carbon fiber paddle, kayaking life jacket, back rest seat, dry bag, mesh shelling bag, ice cold water, photos and parking included. Ages 3 and up. Instant confirmation, free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.www.viator.comWhen the Manatees Are Actually There
The listing gives manatee season as April through October. The operator's own FAQ is more specific, and more useful if you are picking a week. Manatees move into these coastal waters from April through October, and the peak months are June, July and August. In warmer than average years the operator says sightings also run into February, March, November and December.
Dolphins are a different matter. The operator puts them in Southwest Florida year round, at any time of day, regardless of the tide.
Coastal birds fill in the rest. The operator's gallery from these waters includes a roseate spoonbill sitting deep in bare mangrove branches, which is the sort of thing a guide picks out before you do.
None of it is promised. The operator's own wording is that wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed, however good the odds look on a given morning.
The Hull You Choose Changes the Trip
Four craft go out on this tour: a standard single Crescent, a standard tandem Crescent, a clear tandem, and a stand up paddle board.
The clear kayaks are tandem only, so a solo paddler cannot take one. The operator describes them as a window into the marine life below, which in water this shallow means a fair amount of the paddle is spent looking down rather than ahead.
The Crescents are the workhorses here. The operator picks them for their seats and their tracking, and every guest gets a carbon fiber paddle whichever hull they end up in.
All four are arm powered. The pedal drive boats that appear in the company's own photographs belong to a different tour, so if your shoulders are the limiting factor, this is not the trip that solves it.
A Small Roster, and a Rescue Dog Named JJ
Mike's Coastal Expeditions is young. The listing dates it to May 2023 and the company's About page agrees on the year. The founder, Michael Furman, describes himself as a Florida native who left college to guide full time, and puts it at over five years of guiding experience and two years of running his own business. That is the company's account of itself, not an independent one.
The roster is small enough to name. Michael takes trips out himself. Doug, described by the company as its lead guide, grew up in Kenya and has guided from African savanna to Florida swamp. Buzz joined in the summer of 2024, by way of Texas and Ohio.
Buzz brings JJ, a five year old rescue dog the company says joins every tour. He travels on the bow.
Before You Drive Out There
The launch is a sand lot and not much else. There are no restrooms at the access point, and the operator's advice is to stop somewhere before you arrive. Beach parking just south of it, on the bridge, has portable ones. Parking at the launch itself is free.
What to bring, from the operator's own list:
- Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat
- Water shoes or sandals that can get wet
- A change of clothes
- A phone or camera, which goes in the dry bag they supply
Children are welcome from age three. Florida law requires a life jacket at all times for anyone under six, and the operator asks that children under twelve share a tandem with an adult. For a child under five, the operator wants to talk it through before you book.
No previous kayaking is needed. Guides give instruction at the start, and the operator states that no prior experience is necessary.
Cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead. If the operator cancels for weather, you choose between a reschedule and a full refund.
Two hours is not long. It is enough to get through the tunnels, sit still in an inlet while a guide points out something you would have paddled straight past, and spend a while on a beach the listing calls secluded.
Then you come back to the same sand lot, hand back the carbon paddle, and drive out over the bridge with wet shoes and whatever ended up in the shelling bag.