Venture Quest Kayak — Local services in Santa Cruz

My experience at Venture Quest Kayak was nothing short of infuriating! Sure, the location is decent and they have a variety of kayaking gear, but my interaction with the staff? Absolutely abysmal! After I returned from what was supposed to be a joyous kayaking adventure, I found myself in a horrifying situation—some reckless fisherman had the audacity to cast his fishhook right over my head, and I was merely 10 yards from the dock! Can you even imagine how terrifying that was? I was left feeling completely exposed and vulnerable, with danger lurking far too close for comfort! So, naturally, I thought it was only fair to bring this life-threatening incident to the attention of the store owner, expecting at least a glimmer of concern or some kind of action to ensure no one else had to endure such a nerve-wracking experience. But what did I get? Utter indifference and a robotic lecture about “sharing the dock” as if that somehow absolves the fisherman’s careless behavior! It was maddening! Not a single indication that the owner cared about my safety or the behavior of that fisherman—just a dismissive shrug and a rehearsed line! How do they not understand that a moment of action could have turned this whole situation around and created a safer environment for everyone? While maybe the equipment and location can accommodate some folks, the blatant lack of customer care and utter disregard for safety is utterly unacceptable! This experience has left me incredibly hesitant to return. It’s a disgrace! If only the staff had shown some measure of attentiveness and responsibility, this could have been a...

This was a great weekend activity, the rates are good, it is easy to set out from the pier and kayak around the place. The waters we had weren't too bad and the kayaking wasn't too difficult. We got to kayak out to the kelp forest and see some sea otters. We were also able to kayak around and under the pier, we saw a lot of sea lions both drying under the pier as well as swimming around. What was really cool was seeing birds dive down into the water. Two minor complaints. While we got to see a lot of stuff, felt like it was a little limited in the area that we could explore. Also, on the day we went there, apparently one of the people didn't show up to man the booth and the poor guy who was there had to set up so many people by himself and give a tour. He was a good sport about it and later on other people showed up (but I'm guess while he was gone, there was no one there to rent out kayaks, so that might have been frustrating to...

My mom and I did this together. Dave was incredibly patient, friendly, and knowledgeable! We went to Moss Landing and were able to observe sea lions, otters, many different species of birds, and some very curious seals up close and personal! It was great to have Dave there to tell us about the animals. The equipment was very good; We each were in a very nice kayak with foot operated rudders that made navigating in the currents much easier. He also had warm waterproof pull-overs for us, and there were drip covers, too, which was important to us because it was a cool 60 degree day in early March. We were both warm and comfortable for the entire duration. He also had these very cool sails that he stuck in to the back of the kayaks when we were able to catch some wind and drift back to the harbor, that was a lot of fun in itself! Both my mom and I had an amazing experience and we can't recommend it...