Rainbow River Kayak Adventures LLC — Attraction in Dunnellon

Where do I even start? DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY.

When we arrived we were “greeted” by an unfriendly man at the front desk who we later learned is the manger or maybe even owner, Justin. We were given little to no explanation of the process and were treated very poorly, for which we had thought was maybe due to not having a reservation 24 hours in advance (later we realized they treat every paying customer poorly).

Our credit cards were charged an amount that neither the brochure we were given or the website reflected as the price of the kayak. So once I reviewed my receipt I asked what the price difference reflected, to which Justin responded “the prices on the brochure are outdated since April, our prices have gone up.” Okay cool, should have known before my card was ran but that’s okay.

We arrived at 12:30pm and Justin did not give us an ETA on the shuttle that takes you to KP Hole. After chatting with some other people outside waiting we learned that the shuttle was running late. The 1pm shuttle we had expected to take did not arrive until 1:40pm.

Once we got to KP hole we waited as people in our group were set up with kayaks one at a time. The kayak we rented was given to another group and the response from a team member was “did you have a reservation” to which we answered “no, but we were just able to reserve a kayak at the front desk” which was in response was followed by a smirk and “so you drove 2 hours without a reservation.”

Side note: the group in front of us made a reservation weeks in advance and received the wrong kayaks and were told “u should have told us you had a reservation” ??? So they still aren’t on top of things or even friendly to people who make a reservation. A paying customer is a paying customer, reservation or not.

We were given about 0 instruction on where to go & what there was to see. Our kayak had leftover food in it from another group (obviously not sanitized despite COVID). Compared to the previous weekend at Crystal River (with no reservation LOL) this was legitimately the worst experience.

When we made it back down the river to the unloading zone we were not even greeted or asked how our trip was. This company is being run by a group of 20-something year old men, who as another family mentioned “seem to be high and not able to function”

Out of a group of 20, I don’t think one person was having a positive experience. I would urge you NOT TO BOOK with this company. Next time we will book with Get Up and Go...

First time kayaker here who’s super scared of open/dark water and omigod this was SO MUCH FUN. Went yesterday with my friend and we had a blast!

(Early November during the week? Best time to go 👌🏼)

Everyone at the rental we encountered were really friendly, very informative, and answered questions no problem. The driver was super chill and friendly, his small-talk and reassurance definitely eased my anxiety a bit :)

The river was GOREGOUS. Water is 72 degrees all year round (as per the driver and it was true), very clear and clean. It was so nice to see an area in FL unpolluted and naturally beautiful.

Goregous weather, no gators or snakes, just a lot of birds, turtles, and cute little otters~ My friend and I took about 3 - 3 1/2 hours to do the whole river. There’s a tuber’s exit just left past Swampy’s and an overpass bridge where you dock, haul the kayak up the walk, and then call for a pick-up. (Remember: Bar, bridge, left).

I see people giving negative reviews for weather or crowding or animal sightings and I wanna just say none of that is the rental place’s fault. As someone born/raised in FL and who works in hospitality, Florida is a tropical state with tropical weather and nobody can control that 🤷🏻‍♀️ The animals were here before us, just be attentive and respectful, everything will be okay!

Please also take into consideration COVID has made it a hard time for small businesses and some tourist attractions, please give the staff a break for doing their best and remember to TIP your driver! They work hard so you can have fun!

Definitely will be back again...

Rainbow River Kayak Adventures is a wonderful place to rent kayaks from. The kayak rental was very easy and fast. They load the kayaks for you onto the trailer on the back of the shuttle. They shuttle you on a nice air-conditioned bus to the KP Hole. When at the KP Hole expect to have your belongs checked for any alcohol and plastic. No alcohol and no disposable plastic are allowed. We paid a fee of $7pp to Kayak. Our driver unloaded the kayaks, and he helped us launch off the ramp. We paddled and floated all downstream, which was very nice to our end destination. Be sure to get the QR code that has the map address to your end ramp. I followed the red dot (end address) down the river in Google maps to guide us there. Of course, if you do this, follow the river, not the road. Finally, about 3 hrs later, we made it to the address given. You will see a house with a ramp and a sign on the dock that says Rainbow River Kayak Adventures. When we arrived, we pulled our kayaks in ourselves and called the number the shop for someone to pick us up. They arrived within 5 minutes. The driver loaded the kayaks and shuttled us back to the shop. Both drivers were very nice. Remember to tip your deivers. The shop lady was very nice and held our plastic water bottles in her fridge for us when we learned we couldn't have them. It was great having cold water when we returned. The shop was clean and welcoming. I would definitely do this again. It was a breeze. Thank you, Rainbow River Kayak Adventures, for making this experience stress-free, fun, and easy...