Bioluminescence Kayak Tour

This was a once in a lifetime experience. If you have ever wanted to shoot little stars from the ends of your fingers as you drag your hand in the water this is for you! The water really performed its magic well for us by the light of a half moon. Our guides were knowledgeable and very helpful. Their whistle signals were clear and easily heard. There are only TWO signals to remember easy peasy! We felt safe the whole trip. I cannot stress enough how magical this was. Sign up and go. There’s nothing to fear but missing out!

We had a fantastic time on our bioluminescent tour! Had a 10 year old with us and he was thrilled and totally worth the late night.

The moon was nearly full and it was still so very cool! Guides are excellent and so helpful.

Overall and incredible experience that I would do again for sure!

An experience not to be missed! The owner and guides are deeply committed to preserving the land and protecting the wildlife. They did an amazing job keeping the group together, helping us take photos, and making sure my senior mother felt safe and comfortable on the water.
We also loved learning to kayak. My mother's favorite part was seeing the electric-blue glow in the water—a truly unforgettable natural phenomenon.

Olympic Outdoor Center’s Bioluminescence Kayak Tour in Port Gamble was absolutely a highlight of our trip to the PNW. We had 5 guides that evening, each of whom were amazing and very informative. They also set the expectations for what we hoped to encounter as well as information regarding the area and other things we may see that evening (i.e., harbor seals- hoped, but none that night hah) The night we went was absolutely perfect. As it had been a cloudy evening, the sole light pollution in the area (ahem, the MOON) was not an issue that night! Additionally, the water was as still as the night and like glass as we glided through the waters leading to the Puget Sound. We were blown away once we saw what can only be described as illuminated glitter on the water! Such a unique experience that we have already recommended to friends and family. We had this experience in August and definitely wore pants and dressed with the evening temperatures in mind (sweatshirts, jackets). Though, we did warm up pretty quickly once we began kayaking.

We were a group of mixed kayaking experience (first timer to very experinced) and we all loved this tour! The guides did a great job of covering the pre-launch safety talk and included some interesting info from a Naturalist on bioluminescence and other wildlife in the area. We were on the water early and had plenty of time to paddle to the prime viewing area and plenty of time to play in the marine phenomenon of bioluminescence. It was fantastic! The guides checked in with each boat regularly throughout and made sure we were all having a fulfilling experience. Wear layers and have dry clothes to change into afterward, including shoes. Rainpants might also be a good suggestion to keep your legs dry while paddling. Highly recommend!

Too many kayaks. We also spent a long time waiting for the safety talk to begin. The guides talked for a long time. They told us to listen for whistles for directions and told us we had to remember those signals. The entire time we were kayaking we didn't hear a single whistle. Also it took forever to launch all the kayaks. Me and my partner could definately have handled getting in the kayaks. And so could many other groups there. It took like a half hour until everyone was ready to go. By the time we could start kayaking our backs hurt so much from sitting in the uncomfortable kayaks. I would just buy my own kayak next time and go without the guides. The tour was definately not worth the price. Especially since it was only for 45 minutes of paddling.

The biolumenesence was spectacular, location was decent and the reduced artificial light along the coast helped greatly. The guides were young, lacked situational awareness, and difficult to understand at times. Being an experienced kayaker I wasn't worried about myself or my wife but I wasn't confident the guides could effectively handle an emergency situation. There were some older supervision and the overall risk is fairly low even for new kayakers.

Great!

a perfect experience with easy going guides, good preparation, calm waters on a gorgeous evening after a warm day and magical bioluminescence… i felt very safe (after almost bailing due to nervousness) and comfortable. make sure to take a little nap beforehand as we were done close to midnight!

Bio was amazing. Poor safety pre brief and general briefing rather sketchy. I worry less experienced folks, especially those who have a child on a two person open kayak, may experience a disaster.

This was fun, and the tiny sparkly creatures cooperated on a beautiful clear night.
My only suggestions for improvement: (1) the pre-trip instructions said we'd get a headlight/flashlight if we didn't have one, but that did not happen. (2) As we reached the furthest point where we turned around, our staffer was nowhere to be found. (3) As we came back, there was no one there to help get the boat onto the shore.
But, it was a unique experience. Bundle up, and try it out!

Amazing trip!

I had so much fun! The guides were awesome!

Cool experience

Wasn't sure what to expect when we signed up. We didn't see the whole water glowing blue like you see in some videos, but there were lots of definite sparkles and light glowing when you paddled. The route is just along the shore in a very sheltered bay - no waves or anything - a very pleasant paddle. I wasn't expecting to see anything, so I was pleased that we did.

It was a great nighttime paddle.

It was really great ! Very knowledgeable guides. Felt safe the whole time. I would like to see more kayaks available instead of paddle boards for some of us age challenged folks ! :sunglasses: