A three-hour guided paddle through the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary at Port Adelaide, along mangrove creeks about 10,000 years old and past the abandoned hulks of the Ships Graveyard, with a good chance of seeing the Port River dolphins on the way.
Days
- 3 hours
Age
- 10 and over
Group size
- Guided group tour
Start / finish
- Garden Island, Port Adelaide / Garden Island, Port Adelaide
Return
- See itinerary for details
Transport
- Double kayaks; make your own way to Garden Island
Meals
- No meals are listed as included
Route
Included experiences
- Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary — paddle where the Port River dolphins feed and rest
- Mangrove creeks — sheltered waterways in a forest about 10,000 years old
- Ships Graveyard — paddle past old shipwrecks when the tide allows
- Marine biologist guide — talks on dolphins, birds and the estuary
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
5.0
Based on 81 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 81 reviews
Travellers consistently praise the guides for their knowledge, friendliness and professionalism, whilst the dolphin sightings emerge as the most memorable aspect of the tour, often featuring close encounters with wild dolphins and sometimes mothers with calves. The mangrove creeks, shipwrecks and their historical context are also frequently highlighted as beautiful and informative components of the experience. Most reviewers appreciate that the tour is well-organised, accessible to those with no kayaking experience, and runs for approximately three hours with stable, well-maintained equipment. The primary caveat mentioned by several travellers concerns the wet conditions—reviewers recommend bringing dry clothes, sandals rather than trainers, and applying sunscreen beforehand—whilst a few note that dolphin sightings, being dependent on wildlife behaviour, are not guaranteed, and that strong currents occasionally prevent reaching all planned locations.
How we collect and publish reviews
Where they come from. Our reviews are gathered from independent review sites and from guests who share feedback with us directly after their trip. They come from people who have actually travelled on the tour. Some longer trips are made up of shorter tours we also sell, run back to back — where a review was written about one of those legs, the review says so.
Why some are edited. Many of our guests travel in their second or third language. Where a review is hard to read, we lightly edit spelling, grammar and punctuation, or paraphrase a sentence for clarity. We never change the rating, the meaning or the sentiment, and we never write a review on a guest's behalf.
Reading the originals. Reviews sourced from public review sites appear there in their original form, and can be read in full at their original source at any time.
A relaxed tour and we saw dolphins. My favourite part was paddling up the mangrove creek. Mark was knowledgeable and friendly, with plenty of paddling but time to rest too.
It lived up to expectations. We saw dolphins, the shipwrecks were amazing and we loved the mangrove creeks. Mark was a knowledgeable guide.
A fun day out seeing the dolphins and learning about the area's ecology from our expert guide Paddy.
Paddy was a knowledgeable, fun guide, and we were lucky enough to follow a group of five dolphins around the sanctuary.
An amazing kayak tour on the weekend. No luck with the dolphins, but we saw so much and it was beautiful. Mark was a legend and very knowledgeable.
A fun day, and we didn't expect to see so many dolphins. Liam was knowledgeable and clearly loves what he does.
