Balboa Boat Rentals

My friend and I didn’t have much planned today, but it seemed like a nice warm day to head down to the beach area, so we decided to go on a spontaneous kayak ride. First of all, we want to give a shout out to our hero, Andrew, an outstanding employee at Balboa Boat Rentals. My friend, Jahzeel had never been on a kayak and it was on her bucket list, and I had only been in one once before. We paddled all the way to the mouth of the peninsula when «it» happened. We began to turn the kayak to head back to the loading dock, but while we were turning a wave tipped our kayak, and we lost stability. Both my friend and I were trying to get back onto the kayak, but it almost seemed impossible with the waves moving the kayak. After about an exhausting 40 minutes we began to feel hopeless, so we called Balboa Boat Rentals and a friendly voice answered the phone. I explained the situation, and he said don’t worry, they were going to send a boat out to help us. Sure enough, the boat arrived with our hero, Andrew. He was not only professionally helpful, but he made us feel like everything was going to be okay and comfortable. At first we were unsure of how to get us and everything into the boat, but he thought quickly and jumped right into action. He guided us step-​by-​step too. On the way back he even gave us some helpful tips & advice for our next time. We really appreciated that. Once we got back to the dock my friend and I said we were going to do the walk of shame, but all the staff were very friendly and cool. We were stuck out there for over 3 hours, but rented the Kayak for 2 hours. I thought it was awesome of Balboa Boat Rentals to be fair and charge me for what I had expected to pay for initially before the unfortunate incident. Eventhough, our kayak trip did not go as planned it was such a fun experience, and we would do it all over again, and we have to thank our hero Andrew & the staff for that! We are definitely returning to this place, and bringing more friends along!

We rented a boat yesterday for Memorial Day. Had a great time. Thank you!
No complaints about the equipment. Nice friendly employees.

Balboa boat rentals is a 5 star. I decided to take my family out for an electric boat ride last Sunday morning. Tried reaching out to the first 5 rental agencies but none were able to accommodate. Finally, my last call was the rental group mentioned above. Heather answered our call and immediately booked our trip. After artiving at 11am, the 2 younger gentleman escorted my family and we were off for the sail. The boat functioned well and was very clean. Overall great experience and reasonable pricing. Thanks to everyone involved. Happy to recommend.

Pretty rude and shitty service for a tourist spot. Are the employees not getting paid enough or what? Seems like they almost don’t want people’s business.

Powerboats pontoons n duffys o my!!! Rest thine tired glutes on these decks. its nice. They have AUX cords in the boats WHOAAAA

Had a great time on the boat despite the fact the iPhones axillary cord didn’t work. They gave me an extra half hour which was awesome that kind of made up for it. When I arrived they told me I needed to leave my drivers license and credit card with them I don’t recall ever leaving my credit card with them before maybe my drivers license. Unfortunately 3 days later I got a call from my credit card company and there is fraudulent activity on it please don’t let it be you.

Great idea to beat the 104 degree heat! Quick and painless reservations. Called same day, gave a credit card to lock-​in our time slot for an 18′ Duffy. Customer service was great on the phone and in person. Brought drinks and snacks to enjoy during our ride around Balboa Bay.

My Family has taken many of these ‘mini cruises’ together over the past 50 years. Its always a fun time, the water, the houses, the yachts, always something new to see or reminisce about. Its a lot like sitting around a campfire together. So, over the past few weeks I organized a 3 hour sunset cruise for my parents 50^th Anniversary. I did visit the booth in person at the Funzone and talk with them by phone. Both times they were friendly and answered my questions with no issues. We have rented Duffys (from another company) quite a few times but this time I wanted some space to move around and the Pontoon Boats at this location had caught my eye. It was a great decision. The Duffys are iconic and fun but a little cramped if you have 10 people. The pontoon boat was the perfect solution, was very comfortable for everyone. Plenty of room for our large rolling ice chest, 2 large pizzas, box of cookies, etc.
I booked/​reserved online so the checkin process was quick and easy. Again, they were friendly and informative.
The overall condition of the boats here are a bit un-​polished. Its rental after all. I understand that anything that lives in saltwater isn’t going to remain in pristine condition.
I would rent here again.

I was running behind because when I called I asked where are you located they said by the ferry and it turned out to be on the fun zone side, which they should have said. They had a line with one window opened even with 4 people inside purposely ignoring us. I had to wait 15 minutes to be helped and he was so rude about it and would not give us any extra time even though I clearly made it evident I was rushing. He said he could not because others had reservations but every boat was there and was still there when we got back. I would have been fine and excepted the fact, but there was no need to be so rude. I just simply asked. It was a great experience and will be renting the boats again but not though this company. Very rude!

We went to Newport Beach in order to go on a whale watching tour at a different company there in the harbor.
Unfortunately each tour was booked this Friday already and all they could do for us was to put us on the waiting list. However, we didn’t want to spoil our day by waiting for availability. Therefore we decided spontaneously to rent a self-​driven motor boat. Rates were totally OK and much cheaper than we were used to it in Germany. Since I have driven motor boats several times already, I had no problem to handle the boat.
The boat was nice and in very good condition. We got a very friendly welcome and the whole rental procedure was extremely easy and relaxed. I just showed the credit card and my drivers license and we were on our way within minutes.
Our tour was great. We have seen a lot and had wonderful weather.
However, we drove solely within the port but it was very nice to chug along the wonderful villas and expensive yachts.
We would definitely return any time.
It was really a highlight during our vacation in SoCal.

Pleasant staff & well maintained boats. It’s a great relaxing time out in the harbor.

This place is exceptional. To make a long story short we showed up at 6:00pm because I made a reservation to take my family out on a Duffy electric boat. The prices were very fair and we had a wonderful time. If you are on the fence about taking a Duffy boat out, please do. This is the place to go, very professional and the deck hands were very helpful and informative too.

Staff was very kind, had a great time on the boat. Went for a little sunset cruise with my family. Boat quality was just alright… I got a 21′ Duffy

Checking in was quick and easy, and they got us in the water with no troubles at all! We saw so many seals, and the view was beautiful; thank you!

Man where do I start? The person who runs the place, Charlie, is a complete jerk. He treated us like we were a burden. The place is small and the boats were dirty. But really Charlie was the main problem. Would never come back here.

I took my family out for their first boat ride abd it was priceless. Great service, great prices and great boats

This is a response to Charlie.
Please note: Do you think I’m physic and should know your reservations policies? Because they are no where stated on your website or your Unilocal page!
Reservation or not, I see many reviews on here that had reservations but were still turned away. So please don’t tell me you should’ve gotten a reservation because like I said before, there is no where stated on your site or Unilocal page your reservation policies.
Second. Your staff are blatantly rude! So end of the story, you need to re-​train your staff and update your sites! The customer is always right and in this case I prove my point!
By the way, you need a customer service refresher course too because how are you to make excuses after excuses for each negative Unilocal review? Apologize and try to make it up to your customers! Not just hide behind every excuse and leave it at that!
I will definitely not be coming back and I suggest potential customers to find a different boat rental shop.
Do not come here! These people are soooo rude! Mostly the girl! Not accommodating at all! They have 5 boats just sitting on the dock get she said they are totally booked until 7pm. But they close at 7. They are ridiculous!

Great 4^th of July customer service!!! Our boat reservation was ready and waiting for us on a hectic holiday! Charlie at the reservation desk took excellent care of our party! Amazing time and great experience! Thanks again for making our Independence Day a memorable one!

Had to wait in line for awhile to rent paddle boards but the experience was really fun. Two paddle boards cost us $ 50 for two hours. We didn’t have a reservation but were able to be accommodated. The location was really convenient and close to the ferries.

Great experience!!! We went out on a Sunday afternoon. Got to the dock and greeted by Charlie. He was very funny and accommodating even though I reserved our Duffy for the wrong date. (DOHHHHHH) It was a busy day out but he was resourceful and made a little magic happen. (Thanks Charlie).
The Duffy was clean, ran well and we had a awesome time! We picked up some friends at The Cannery, took a swim, mixed up some cocktails. Radio is on board. Nice table space with cup holders. Brought a ice chest full of snacks, beer, adult drinks etc. and made ourselves right at home.
I just booked 2 Duffys today for the beginning of August. We had such a good time we decided to bring more friends back for another Sunday Funday in Newport!!! So glad to know this place is right down he street. Thanks again to Charlie and his staff. You were all so funny, friendly and helpful. We can’t wait for our next visit!