The Dana Point Adventure That Switches From Paddle to Trail
Book a three-hour guided kayak-and-hike outing to a sea cave, with sea-lion sightings possible and kayak rental included.
Dana Point Harbor is a working marina, and the sea lions have claimed the floating docks. From a kayak you pass them at their own eye level, threading between moored sailboats on water the harbor keeps flat. The first hour of this half day happens afloat. The rest happens on foot.
Rafiki Tours runs it as one guided block, every day, leaving at 10:00 AM. The kayak rental is in the price, and a local guide comes with it.
Three hours, start to finish: 10:00 AM at the harbor, 1:00 PM back at the same spot. Rafiki's own itinerary asks you to arrive fifteen minutes early and sets the meeting point at Dana Wharf Sportfishing on Golden Lantern. Your guide wears a hat and a shirt carrying the company name front and back, which is how you find the group.
Booking starts at 99 dollars a person. One booking takes up to twenty travelers. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure and the refund is full.
Dana Point Kayak and Hike to sea cave with Sea Lion SightingsRafiki Tours. Three hours, daily at 10:00 AM. Kayak rental and a local guide included. From USD 99 per person.www.viator.comThe Sea Lions Are Not a Scheduled Stop
Sea lions haul out on floating docks and swim platforms all around this harbor, and nothing about it is staged. Nothing is fed and nothing is timed. Rafiki's own account of the tour places them on the docks or in the water nearby, which describes a sighting and not a guarantee. The hour afloat is spent looking for them between moored boats rather than waiting at one spot.
The channel is enclosed, so you are paddling inside a marina instead of out in the swell. The operator calls the tour suitable for all fitness levels, and seats are sold for ages six and up with an adult on every booking.
The Kayaks Go Back, and the Walking Starts
At 11:45 the kayaks return to the racks, there is a bathroom stop, and at noon the group sets off along the coast. Rafiki puts the walk at roughly a mile there and back over a rocky but easy stretch, with the cave about half a mile in. That is why sturdy shoes sit high on the company's packing list.
Tide pools come first. The operator's own description of the walk names sea anemones and starfish in them, and tells the caves as a place where early settlers once moved goods by sea. Take that last part as the guide's telling of local history rather than something posted on the rock.
You Will Get Wet, and the List Says So
The company's note on the paddle hour is blunt: you will get a bit wet. Its packing list is short enough to memorise. Identification, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, weather-appropriate clothes, and a refillable bottle.
The kayak rental and the guide are included in the fare. Gratuities are not, and neither is food. There is no lunch stop in a tour that ends at one in the afternoon.
A Former Flight Attendant Who Kept Making Itineraries
Samuel founded Rafiki Tours after years of flying. On the company's own account he has visited 66 countries, has lived in Colombia, Brazil, Egypt, Dubai and Greece, and spent his layovers building itineraries for the rest of the crew before he did it for a living. The company says it takes its name from a word meaning friend and companion.
That shows up in one detail a visitor from abroad will notice. This tour is offered with guides in English, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese.
The tour begins and ends at the same address, three hours apart. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund; inside that window there is none. The company also flags the paddle as unsuitable for travellers with spinal injuries, for anyone in poor cardiovascular health, and for pregnant travellers.
The tour holds 4.8 from 39 reviews. And at the bottom of its own itinerary, Rafiki prints one last instruction: ask your guide to take photos.