Plum Island Kayak

Friendly owner and staff, reasonable rates, great location.
The under an hour drive from Boston to Newburyport is totally worth it. The owner and the staff at Plum Island Kayak are extremely friendly and accommodating. They cater to both beginners with guided tours and to veterans with discounted rentals. We opted to go on the guided tour which we joined without having made a reservation and it was a great experience. Despite being colder and windier than anticipated, the tour was not too intense. The pace was comfortable and the water in the Merrimack River was surprisingly warm. There was a lot of fog on the way out which made the trip both eerie and serene. We even got to see some seals.
After you come back, be sure to check out the cute Newburyport downtown area.
They have some limited parking in the back and street parking seems easy to find.
I definitely want to do some more Kayaking at Plum Island again this summer.

Upon arrival, parking is extremely limited.
I was advised to arrive 30 minutes before our departure to check in. Check in took about 45 min. I couldn’t tell if it was because people where arriving late or because they were taking a long time to fill out a consent form. The young girl was very friendly.
Next, we hop on a little bus which takes us to our departure. They tell us to sit in a kayak and they help us adjust. Once we are settled in we have get out of them and the owner talks to us. I could barely hear him. He did say his voice isn’t very loud.
At first, I felt like we took too long checking in and having that talk. But the time we were on the water was perfect! We kayaked to a small beach, rested for about 10 – 15 min. At this point some had the option to return on a bus, which was really nice.
Overall, the staff is extremely friendly. The guides are helpful and they make sure everyone is enjoying their time and never left behind.
At the end of the trip, we weren’t informed of we could use their facilities to change into dry clothes or not. The people that were in the tour with us basically scattered as soon as they got on land.
I enjoyed my time and I would go again with this company!

We took the late night kayak tour and loved it! Staff were friendly and helpful and we got to enjoy the fireworks from Salisbury Beach as a bonus while we paddled!

We came in to rent two kayaks and the very young teenagers working there where not able to tell us where we could launch from, describe the area to us, or basically provide the simple service of renting us the kayaks… it felt like a huge waste of time that we even stopped here. At one point after the two boys agreed that they did not know the direction of the tide, they offered for us to wait 30 plus minutes for the owner to come back. Totally disappointed with this experience.

Great time today renting paddle boards from Plum Island Kayak. The service was friendly and helpful. We will definitely go back and highly recommend.

These guys were fantastic. We rented four stand up paddle boards and they were super friendly. They helped us load them up on our SUV and recommended us a great place to ride. The owner even loaned us a water free box for our cell phones for free!
Boards were in great condition and the water was beautiful!
The only letdown is they told us the water was super calm where we were headed. Little did we know he meant there would be slightly decent size waves and so paddle boarding was a little difficult for a couple of the girls with me, as it was their first time. To them that might mean calm, for us it meant gigantized waves!
But 5 stars overall!

Our recent group paddle resulted in an avoidable near disaster and demonstrated a clear lack of preparation, preparedness, protocols, and an ability to respond in an emergency on the part of Plum Island Kayak staff. Please go elsewhere. And when you do check to see if your guides are ACA certified, have rescue equipment and training, and know the current water conditions and weather, and make sure your life jacket is fitted properly and tightened!
Paddle safely, and not with this company.

I have done a few tours with this company and have had a great time. I have done the Isle of Shoals tour and the 3 hour morning tour on the Merrimac. I had a great time on each tour. The staff is friendly and helpful. I think they should, however, try to send groups out by experience level (I know this would be difficult.) On the Merrimac tout, due to the winds and currents, with some inexperienced kayakers, a few needed to be towed in, some capsized… my group had a great time, though.

We’ve kayaked with Plum Island on at least three occasions. The best one was the most recent: a full-​day trip to the Isles of Shoals to see the seals. The outfitters were fun and professional, as always. They charted the Erica Lee, a local boat, to take our group up to the New Hampshire/​Maine border. The paddling was relaxing and fun, done at our own pace, with the option to split the group if some people wanted to go faster. We saw dozens (possibly over a hundred) cute little harbor seals and BIG, 600 – 800 lb gray seals, both lounging on the rocks and swimming in the waters around us. After paddling across a channel, we met back up with the Erica Lee for a fine barbeque lunch. In the afternoon, we were turned loose to explore on our own, with many of the group opting to paddle over to Star Island and explore the hotel/​conference center (and grab homemade ice cream). The return trip included beer and wine. Amazing day, and thanks to Plum Island Kayak for being so relaxed and flexible!

This is a business that should be put out my misery. I was signed up for a full day trip, meeting at their shop at 7 am. No one showed, no one called me to say the trip was cancelled, no one returned my calls. And this was their second chance after a bad experience early in the season when they were late, lacked equipment, and failed to keep a commitment about groupings. Go to ERBA. Go to Charles River Canoe and Kayak. Go anywhere but here.

FYI, this business is located in Newburyport, MA.
Great place, great staff! They are flexible and easygoing. After traveling by canoe from Lawrence to Newburyport, Ken the owner drove me and my canoe back to my car for 45 $. A great time!

New to Lowell this Spring we can now travel the Merrimack!
Very easy to rent, they helped me load it on the car and worked out a longer day then they were open for me. For a short ride up the Merrimack a bit, or for a longer journey they are great. If you’ve never kayaked before, they’ll teach you everything you’ll need.