Get Up And Go Kayaking - Silver Springs — Attraction in Ocala

We booked the 11:30 AM–1:00 PM tour with Get Up and Go Kayaking today and had a terrible experience.

As instructed, we arrived at the meeting location around 10:50 AM—more than 30 minutes early. We spoke to staff nearby who told us to wait at the usual meeting point. They mentioned they had seen the guides earlier and that they might still be out on the river, so we waited patiently.

From 10:55 AM to 11:30 AM, no guide showed up. We had to borrow a phone from a staff member to call the company. Shockingly, the person who answered said there was no 11:30 AM tour scheduled for today. We were asked to text them and send a screenshot of our confirmation email. Only after that did they acknowledge our booking. The representative said they needed to check with a supervisor and told us to wait for an email—since we’re international tourists from Canada and unable to make calls with our phones.

By 12:00 PM, we were still waiting with no reply. We were even told “we might have to wait until 1:00 PM to join the next tour.”That was simply not possible for us—we had plans to visit Tampa in the afternoon and couldn’t waste the whole day waiting.(if tour at 1pm are fully booked we may need to wait another 2 hours)

Instead, we ended up renting kayaks on our own for only $75—more than $100 cheaper than the original booking. The river is extremely calm and easy to navigate, with only one clear route, and the rental place provided a free map. Honestly, if you have even a little paddling experience, you’re better off renting on your own.

Later, while we were already on the way to Tampa, the company finally responded, offering to either reschedule or give us a full refund. We immediately asked for a full refund, but have not yet received a clear confirmation or any follow-up.(3.5 hours after we replied their email)

We came all the way from Canada and even drove two hours from Orlando for this experience—only to have our entire day’s plan ruined. We chose this company because of the great reviews online, but our experience was nothing like what we expected.

If you’re thinking about coming here because of the positive reviews—my advice is: if you have any kayaking experience at all, just come directly and rent your own kayak. It’s cheaper, stress-free, and you don’t risk your reservation...

BEWARE of their strict (ZERO-EMPATHY) late policy!!

We booked a kayak tour with them, but due to heavy rain and slow traffic, we arrived 20-30min late after a 2+ hour drive. I called ahead when we were stuck in the traffic to explain and asked if they could consider rescheduling or putting us on standby for a later spot — even partial rescheduling. My parents were visiting from overseas, and I just wanted them to experience the beauty of central Florida (though the weather wasn’t ideal). I noticed there were open spots for later tours that day and pleaded multiple times, saying we were willing to wait around, even if only some of us could join.

They refused without any empathy, but just charged us in full. Later, I saw reviews saying they do occasionally allow rescheduling or standby — just not for us, I guess. We ended up renting from another company on-site. A really disappointing and unfair experience.

I strongly recommend people to read the negative reviews before booking. I would not recommend this company at all — especially if you’re not local and might need even the slightest flexibility in your plans. ——— Visit date: Feb 17, 2024. I thought I had already left a negative review right after our experience, but couldn’t find it anymore (I looked it up again when a friend recently asked me for travel tips — warning them to avoid GUAGK was at the top of my list). So I’m writing again in hopes of helping others make an...

AMAZING experience! Our clear kayak tour with Get Up and Go Kayaking in Silver Springs was magical. We considered taking our own kayak and floating through the springs but we are so glad we toured first this way. Josh, our guide, was PHENOMENAL. He shared a wealth of knowledge about the wildlife and history that brought the Springs and the experience to life on so many levels that we never would have otherwise appreciated. He asked what we were most excited to see, and for us we really wanted to see manatees and monkeys, and he brought us to the spots most likely to spot them. Not only did we enjoy several manatee moments (and he was amazing in sharing some underwater videos with us of the manatees), but we saw alligators, loads of water birds, several types of turtles, monkeys and even a river otter or two. We learned about all the creatures we spotted and more. A cool feature in the clear kayak, of course, is you can see what you are floating over, and Josh pointed out some of the historic leftovers from storms or early boating activity on the Springs. The 1.5 hours in the kayak were transportive. We felt we had entered another world... so peaceful and beautiful. We were fully happy with the experience and thrilled with our guide, Josh, and would highly recommend. Especially if you have limited time in the area, make the most of it with a...