Sea kayaking travel guide

You don’t want to get wet. Adrenaline sports are the only thing you are after. You can find this sea kayaking, but it depends on the conditions. Try white water river kayaking instead for guaranteed rush. Rubber isn’t your thing. In colder waters, you will layer up with a lot of Neoprene to allow plenty of time on the water, and to make for a pleasant kayak. Even in the depths of winter. You want to conquer a skill in a day. It takes practise if you want to really perfect your paddling.

First step on any trip is to choose a kayak. Sea kayaks are designed to cope with ocean conditions. Compared with open canoes, they are flush with the water, enclosing the paddler in a little nest.

The hole in which you sit might also be covered with a spray deck to keep you splash free. In fact, being free of everything is what sea kayaking is all about. Free of people, free of stress, free of constraints.

Sea kayaks vary according to your experience and comfort zones. You can either go for a sit in or a sit on, the latter being less enclosed and favoured by families, and they come in singles or doubles.

You will be given wetsuits and shoes depending on the climate, and always a buoyancy aid (plus helmet for choppier conditions). For those new to kayaking, or paddling as it is often called, you will be given some basic instructions, and no matter how experienced you are, you should always be reminded of safety procedures.

On day trips, you might spend a little time doing a warm up, with a few water games to get the paddle power in your muscles warmed up. At this point, sea kayaking becomes what you want it to be. In places like Pembrokeshire in Wales you can seek the adrenaline of white water and orienteering through ‘rock gardens’ if you wish, or you just chill and let the rhythm of the paddle transport you in tranquil bays. In calmer climes sea kayaking will usually be more about exploration than adrenaline. But this is where good guiding and instruction come into play. Longer trips might also involve kayaking to a remote spot and wild camping, which is the ultimate outdoor experience.