St. Augustine kayak tour around Fort Matanzas National Monument.
Local Kayak Guide. Authentic Experience.
Locals return to kayak this location often. Watch for dolphins chasing fish. Spot sea turtles surfacing. Marvel at the beauty of Matanzas Inlet.
From $50/ person
What’s included
- Kayak
- Personal flotation device (PFD)
- Paddle
- Safety instruction
- Professional guide
What’s not included
- Snacks and water
Highlights
- Paddle the salt-marsh maze around Rattlesnake Island and Fort Matanzas
- Spot dolphins, sea turtles, jumping fish, and birds
- Launch from Helen Mellon Schmidt Park at Matanzas Inlet
- Learn inlet history and marsh ecology from a Florida Master Naturalist
Kayak slow and low past oyster bars, mangrove edges, and coquina walls the Spanish raised in 1742 to guard St. Augustine’s back door.
Local favorite. Floridian-owned. Owner operated.
Meet AyoLane
Matanzas Ecotour Meeting Point
High tide is the hour to kayak at Matanzas Inlet. The marsh fills. Creeks become corridors.
Wild Florida Experience Close to Town
Paddle comfortable touring kayaks through tidal creeks and winding salt‑marsh channels around Rattlesnake Island and Fort Matanzas. An expert Florida Master Naturalist guide provides safety instruction and shares inlet history—including the 1565 events that named Matanzas—along with marsh ecology and birdlife. Expect moving water and timed currents that create an authentic inlet experience where you may see dolphins, sea turtles and jumping fish.
Bring Your Own Kayak Discount
An eco-tour is the only way to see the fort from a kayak—unless you bring your own. Even then, Matanzas Inlet’s tides and currents are tricky.
Fort Matanzas Nationl Monumnet
Matanzas means “slaughters” in Spanish. In 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés named this inlet after the French Huguenots were executed on its shore. Still, the word sounds like an ‘Age of Discovery’ romance.
Fourteen miles south of the historic district, the river opens into a salt-marsh maze around Rattlesnake Island and Fort Matanzas National Monument—the last undredged inlet on Florida’s east coast, and the richest water you can paddle here.
Contact our St. Augustine based customer service
Text or VM: (904) 701-3272
eMail: bkkayker@gmail.com
GeoTrippin is a network of local kayak guides, outfitters, and liveries across St. Augustine, Hastings, and Palatka. Don’t waste time searching—let our local pros find the ideal tour for your next St. Augustine paddle.
Tour location varies. Headquartered at Genung’s Fishcamp. 291 Cubbedge Road, Saint. Augustine, Florida 32180.
Not looking for a guide? Here are your St Augustine’s Kayak Rental Options