Mission Bay Aquatic Center

The staff here are super friendly and it’s an awesome place to rent stand up paddle boards. I went on one of their REI coordinated open house events. For beginners, they had a person teaching very patiently. I think the rates are pretty great for renting various equipment. For UCSD students, I know they have free open house sessions so check them out on library walk when they’re here. They have great prices for lessons too, only downside being is that you need to find a way to get yourself there. Depending on weather and certain events, it might be hard to find parking.

I will let you in on a secret… I used to come here a lot when I had my staycations at Paradise Point. My husband and I would come here to go kayaking or paddleboarding. This time, we return with our kids and went kayaking. Rentals are decently priced and the best part is that you’re in the Bay, so you won’t have to worry too much about high tides and young children together. They provided life jackets and all, but it’s always a better feeling as a parent when the water is pretty still.

My boyfriend and I took the Free Rider Wakeboarding class 8−11am with Toni who was an awesome instructor! We had engaging conversations even while he paid close attention to the wakeboarders and of course, the boat. His instructions were great, he was very encouraging, patient and knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Definitely recommend him as an instructor!

Great place to rent! Organized, clean, friendly & helpful staff, great prices, and great location! We were on vacation and rented from MBAC and had a great time paddle boarding on the bay. Some of our group rented surf boards and had the best time surfing. I can’t wait to go back again and try sailing! Thanks to the staff for making our rental experience fast, easy, and fun!

Great place to rent water sports equipment. Staff was nice and very knowledgable and helpful. Prices for rentals a super cheap compared to the place across the way and other in the area. We rented 2 kayaks and after checking in on Unilocal– only spent $ 49 for 2 for 3 hours! You can tell they care for their equipment — it was all in good shape including the paddles and life jackets. We tried to go back over the weekend but it was loses so we got stuck at the sports center (and paid double for them with not so great staff and shoddy equipment).

I’ve rented paddles boards here a few times. The girls at the front desk are very friendly, helpful and was kind enough to hold on to my cell phone. The Dockmaster (Tom) was great! He explained everything and was very patience with my friends and I.
They have 3 different size paddle boards to choose from which I love and life vest hip packs instead of full life jackets.
This is a great place to rent paddle boards if your a first timer.

Great place to rent. Excellent prices. The staff were attentive and friendly. We rented stand up paddle boards. Although I am not a seasoned paddle boarder and have not seen a lot of boards, I would say our gear and boards were in very good condition. We will definitely be coming back here in the future.

Awesome spot to rent stand up paddle boards! Went here on a Sunday afternoon, weather was perfect, and the beach was not crowded at all. It’s somewhat secluded from the other more famous mission bay beaches. There are a lot of paddle boarders, kayakers, and sail boats around the area, so you just have to watch out for the sail boats sometimes.
First time doing SUP and it was hard to get my balance right at first, but eventually got used to it. Beginning, it might be a good idea to start out on your knees. Then work your way to standing up. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun, but also a workout!

Great experience! My son was visiting from out of town and they had extended care before and after my work. 6am — 6 pm. My son loved the multi– sport program. One day they couldn’t go in the water because of the rain and they made it up by throwing a BBQ the next day! The staff and leadership is outstanding and they really took care of us! I have co– worker who brought her daughter from the east coast for her business trip just so she can put her in this camp. I highly recommend this camp for kids!

Best deal around for SUP — 2.5 hours on the beautiful bay and so much fun! Be sure to paddle over to the slide :)

Great place to rent SUP’s in the Mission Bay area. If you check in on Unilocal they give you a $ 5 dollar discount! It can get windy out there on the bay so make sure you save adequate strength to bring you back! The boards are a little beat up (to be expected), so that is the only reason I am docking a star. Very friendly staff!
Tip-​bring a lock to lock your stuff in their metal bins for no charge!

Another amazing summer for my son at camp! Last year when he did half day intro to water sports he didn’t want to try surfing so I was really surprised to see this year that he wanted to sign up for morning surf camp! He did a great job and he lucked out and Nick was his counselor again! You’ve got to love when the counselors enjoy the camp so much that they return year after year to have more fun with the kids. My son came home exhausted for working hard all day so that was a nice bonus for me

Tomorrow I finish up my advanced sailing class with our instructor Nick. I am loving it.
I’ve been sailing since I was little, but just little boats, so I e-​mailed the head of sailing to ask for advice about which class to take. He wrote me back quickly and thoughtfully and recommended advanced sailing.
Nick has been great with us and very patient. One of the crew on my boat was struggling with the capsize test and the stuck with us through it.
I’m super pumped to rent some boats and head out once I finish the class, and I hope to take another class soon!

I found this place using Unilocal and I am so glad I did! My 14 year old niece and I wanted to go stand up paddle boarding and chose this place out of so many places in the Mission Bay Area. We could not be more pleased with our experience.
It was our first time doing SUP and were a bit worried about not having a guide but our worries were unneeded. Corey, the young man who set us up with the equipment was thorough in his tutorial of how to use the paddle and board and how to navigate the waters. He even gave us extra tips of areas to check out in the bay and those areas to avoid which was helpful for us newbies.
The Bay Area is perfect for SUP as the waters are calm and uncrowded. We went on a Monday and arrived about noon. Looked like some summer camps were going on there as they were very crowded but we had no trouble getting equipment. The only glitch was because of our late arrival in the day, the locks for the lockers were already all rented out. Be aware of this and either bring your own combination lock or be prepared to walk back to your car to store your valuables.
Parking is sometimes an issue so you may, like us, choose to park your car at a nearby park and walk along the bay walk.
Bring your cell and check in with Unilocal to get $ 5 off your rental. We were able to get 2.5 hour rentals for $ 21 each.
Front desk staff was super nice and accommodating. Be sure to bring a water resistant watch if you want to know what time it is while you’re SUPing. Also if you ask nicely, Corey will take your pic for posting on Instagram before you head out. Because if you’re 14, it didn’t really happen if you can’t post a pic on Instagram!
One more thing, they are not nickel and dime-​ing here. We were late bringing our boards back and no one said a word. Great classy professional people here. We will be back!

WOW!!! $ 26 for 2.5 hours of paddle boarding! By far the best price in town and great service. I Che Jed in on Unilocal and got $ 5 off. So make it right and use there services

If you go to UCSD or SDSU, this place gives you the best deal for paddle boarding rates. With the Unilocal discount ($ 5off) & student discount ($ 5off), the rental only ends up being $ 16 for 2.5 hours. The staff is super nice as well.
Will definitely be back for some SUP fun.

I love that this is all on-​site rentals and you don’t have to lug a huge paddle board somewhere.
The staff here are very friendly, from the check in desk in front to the guys helping you get your equipment.
I didn’t get his name, but the guy who helped me learn the swing of things like how to hold my paddle and maneuver myself on the water was so friendly, and made me feel really confident going out.
I have gone out SUPing many times before but without any type of instructions so I always did just okay/​mediocre. With the help and guide of the guys here at Mission Bay Aquatica, I was able to stand, paddle efficiently, and turn myself around easily.
I do also like that this is in the bay and we don’t have any waves to «knock us down». All of my previous times paddle boarding I went out in the ocean and it was hard to just stand up or get past the waves.
With the student price, it only comes out to be $ 21 for 2 hours which I think is a fair price.
Can’t wait to come back again sometime soon!

Here’s the shameless truth, I workout so I can eat more. But I get tired of the gym and am always looking for different ways to burn the calories! And at Mission bay aquatics they really have a lot to offer for those looking to learn, to rent and to try new water activities for a cheap price ! UCSD student? SDSU student? Even cheaper for you, because of the awesome deals they have esp for students.
When I came here for the first time I didn’t realize how much of a pain parking would be, I went around and around and around. So plan to come early to look for parking. But service was fast and efficient, since it was my first time I just needed to fill out some papers, then off we went to get our Paddle boards. And perks of renting from here?, The bay was right there and we didn’t need to transport the Paddleboards anywhere!
2 ½ hours is a pretty long time, right about an hr in I would get tired but I keep going to get my money worth. And you’ll for sure be working on your core and abs!

We came here on a Friday afternoon to go paddle boarding. Having never gone before we didn’t think about the fact that the wind was picking up. By the time we got our boards, etc the wind was pretty strong and we only went out for 30 hour because you just fought against the wind the entire time. I wish the staff would have given us a heads up but oh well.
Staff was nice!
There are lockers in the bathrooms which are wire baskets. They do not have locks but if you bring a padlock you can lock them. There are also cubby’s available to put your shoes before you go in the water.
You have to carry your board out to the water and back into the wash off area. I was unable to carry mine as it was too heavy for me (have neck injury). I was lucky to have my husband there to carry it but otherwise not sure what I would have done.
It was pretty expensive for such a short period of time. $ 42 for the two of us. I am sure there are cheaper rentals somewhere. Might be a good idea to go somewhere that charges by the hour until you figure out if you like it or not.
Giving it only three stars due to high price for such a short period on the water and for not warning us about the wind until after we paid.

Finally got to cross paddleboarding here off of my bucket list! I love paddleboarding & I love this location because of the view that you get with all the palm trees and whatnot. For $ 15/​hr, it’s not too bad. Also lockers available for $ 3