Great multi-age experience - The five of us, ranging in age from 15 to 63, had a great time kayaking with Todd, who was a patient and thorough guide. The route is lovely and good for novices. Highly recommended.

Kayaking was so enjoyable with my partner!Our guide was excellent because of her amicable personality and experience! - My experience was wonderful all in all. City Kayak I certainly reccommend for other travlers. With a great tour guide, navigating the waters of San Francisco bay was so enjoyable. The kayak experience was quite beautiful with the view of the oracle park the parts of mission bay.

A Great First Time Kayaking Experience - We chose the Downtown San Francisco Tour. We saw the Bay Bridge, Cupid's Span, historic Fireboat, Lefty O'Doul Drawbridge and McCovey Cove during the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Giants baseball game. Mitch was a great guide and gave great instruction. Allow 3 hours. 1st hour is spent getting oriented and fitted for your kayak.

Something Different To Do While in San Francisco - My wife and I have been to San Francisco five or six times. A small hiking tour company owner we've gotten to know from going on his hikes told us about City Kayak during a 2017 visit. We're big baseball fans and longtime avid kayakers. We've always thought it would be unique to spend a game in McCovey Cove. We did that for the Giants home opener on April 3, 2018. It was an excellent experience! We reserved the kayaks via phone with the owner, Ted, the day before. That process was quick and smooth. When we arrived at the shop in Pier 40, Ted and his employee were welcoming and helpful. Safety is very important to them so they went over that with us. Since we're kayakers anyway we were well aware of what they were talking about. The kayaks and paddles were of very good quality. The life jackets were comfortable and clean. We've rented kayaks on other trips and sometimes the life jackets are filthy and smelly. That may not seem like a big deal, but if you're wearing one for several hours, it is. If you're a first time kayaker, don't fret. Ted and his staff will guide you through what you need to know. It's not a difficult activity. Their website is very informative and easy to navigate. You'll see on the website they offer many more rentals and trips than just McCovey Cove. As a side note, when we came back to the shop when we were finished, it was interesting talking to Ted about when The Amazing Race used his services for the show's competitors to go to McCovey Cove.

Splash Hit Tour - 1st time kayaking but we were in good hands w/Ken & Jemma; they gave excellent instructions on how to, when to and keep a watchful eye on us while on the bay. We had an exciting trip to AT&T Field & listened to the game from renowned McCovey Cove; how exciting that was to hear the roar of the crowd. I'd definitely recommend City Kayak for one or two of their many tours. I felt quite safe & comfortable w/our guide, Ken.

A must do experience - My two girls, 12 and 17, and me rented a kayak with City Kayak, helped out by Ted. Ted instructed with tips as we were mainly beginners, provided us a route, and all the equipment we needed. He was extremely helpful. This was a highlight of our 6 day trip in San Fransisco. We only went out for 2 hours but it was a fun way to experience the Bay. We all highly recommend it!

Fantastic fun - I recently did the night paddle with my family and we had a great time. Having had just a few previous paddling experiences the advice from Ted and Jordan before we went out was enough to make us feel comfortable and safe on the water. The views of San Francisco from the bay were great, and paddling under Bay Bridge was an experience. We were fortunate enough to go out on a night when the Giants were playing and got to experience a superb fireworks display which was awesome, but even without that, this was a great experience for our family and I'd definitely recommend it to others looking for a more active sightseeing experience.

Awesome scenery - Quality Kayaks - helpful staff - The only reason I did not give a 5 is because the pre-kayak talk was just a bit too long. We are experienced and Ted was bringing up scenarios that were not going to happen on this day. The trip was amazing, the views are spectacular, and the rest of the staff were very helpful.

Groupon Buyer Beware - My low rating is not for crazy currents or a disenchanted kayaking experience because we never actually hit the water. My low rating is for the truly dismissive and unaccommodating service that we received at City Kayak. My Yelp reviews are typically glowing and usually forgiving of little mishaps here and there, but there is nothing redeeming about our experience. A group of us purchased a Groupon and placed a call to City Kayak informing that we were purchasing the Groupon to use the following day and asked if we could walk in (and also asked what time they closed). We were greeted by a friendly gentleman on the phone who told us to come on in without a reservation...so we were really looking forward to the experience. Upon arriving, the woman behind the counter was friendly until we asked about redeeming our Groupon. She told us that this offer was not valid for another couple of months (not stated on the Groupon website). She proceeded to tell us that we needed a reservation, which was concerning since the man on the phone the previous day told us otherwise. She brought the owner out who told us the same thing. He invited us to pull up the Groupon website on his iPad and disappeared back to the dock while we did so. We did notice the Groupon specified "Reservation Required," but we thought we took care of this in the phone call the day before. He then told us that the reason for needing a reservation is because we need a tour guide, which we did not want, and the Groupon description did not specify. Apparently the confusion set in because the Groupon states "Kayaking Trip," which is supposed to imply that we get a certain type of kayak, performance gear, and a guided tour...which was supposed to be assumed by us and implied by the word "trip." This is further compounded when you read the Groupon description in detail, where you see a specification for a "guided or unguided trek." The owner blamed us for making the incorrect assumption and then went on to blame Groupon, stating that he had previous issues with Groupon (wouldn't you rectify that before posting another...?). We asked him not to direct his displeasure with Groupon towards us. He then suggested that we ask for a refund, and that was the end of it. Had they been willing to work with us and at least allow us to apply the amount we paid for the Groupon ($32) to a rental since we were already there, we would have happily done so, but this was never an option. He was not willing to work with us at all. One could think that our perception of the terrible customer service is just a product of our disappointment with the situation, however, the lack of professionalism was called out by another customer standing by who heard the entire situation and recommended that we contact the owner...when we told him that we were talking to the owner, he was shocked. It wasn't just us who felt this was inappropriate.