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Dublin Bay Seal Kayaking Safari at Dalkey
Dalkey, Ireland
From $85.93
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Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Dublin Tours
Attractions
Recommendations
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Meet the wild seals of Dublin Bay, a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve known for its sand dunes and picturesque beaches, on this kayaking tour. With all your kayaking equipment provided free of charge, take to the waters of Bullock Harbor and enjoy the company of seals from the colony on nearby Dalkey Island. Look out for rare birds and enjoy the harbor views on this half-day escape into nature.
- Visit the island that the seals call home: disembark for a walk on Dalkey Island
- Head out in the morning or go kayaking after lunch: two tour times a day
- Easy to access: tour location on the outskirts of Dublin, accessible by train
- Check in without wasting paper: download your tickets to your mobile phone
What's Included
- wetsuit, kayak, paddle, buoyancy aid
- Please bring spare footwear and something to wear under a wetsuit eg. swimming togs or base layers
Meeting And Pickup
Meeting point
- Kayaking.ieBullock Harbour, Glenageary, Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Our meeting point is the Slipway at Bullock Harbour and we will meet you there at the tour start time.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
about cancellations.
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Featured review
Christin_M
Tour guides were really amazing. Had a ton of fun, even played some tug of war! Saw some seals so would recommend this one!
Reviews
5.0
265 reviews
Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 265 reviews
Greyling Great!
Concetta_Y, Sep 2022
All of the tour team were friendly and informative. It was great to be doing an activity that included exercise, nature and a bit of history as well.
Good trip, nice...
Charles_M, Sep 2022
Good trip, nice knowledgeable guides, good equipment, scenic tour, cool seeing the seals, nice venue
Definitely do this!
Sandi_H, Aug 2022
A fantastic experience. Myself & my husband are local and it was so brilliant to see our area from this really beautiful perspective.
Lovely Journey
Eman_A, Aug 2022
Guides were patient. They taught us how to Kayak the right way. We enjoyed the beautiful scenes in the trip and learned alot about the history. Seeing the laid back seals made our day.
Tour guides were really...
Christin_M, Jul 2022
Tour guides were really amazing. Had a ton of fun, even played some tug of war! Saw some seals so would recommend this one!
1 traveler found this review helpful
Not as advertised
Heather_D, Jul 2022
After looking forward to this experience, unfortunately I was left disappointed. Due to windy weather, the location was moved from Dalkey to Sandycove. The guide was late to arrive at the meeting point, then the group spent 15mins walking from the original meeting point to the new base. We only got into the water at 3pm after a 2pm start time and were back in 15mins early. Whilst I understand the location was moved due to safety and am sympathetic to the instructors who had to try to make the best of the situation, the experience was certainly not as advertised. The seal population at Sandycove is far smaller that that at Dalkey, the scenery less impressive, the area much smaller (distance covered was the equivalent to a 15min walk) and an awful lot of time was spent waiting around whilst the instructors lead some basic games - certainly no ‘safari’ as mentioned in the activity title. For those in the group who were on their first trip to Dublin and just wanted to see a few seals I imagine the experience was sufficient, but as a local to the area, having booked specifically to visit Dalkey Island and knowing the vast difference between what I paid for versus what I received I was left deeply disappointed for the price. My expectation would have been to have been to be given advanced notice that the location had been moved, even on the day, and allowed to reschedule my booking to another date if preferred, however no such option was offered at any point.
Response from Host, Jul 2022
Hi There,
Many thanks for your feedback.
Firstly, just to correct an inaccuracy in your review. The guide was not late. He was there early. Some clients were late. So a note to all participants; please don't arrive late as it inconveniences and annoys other travelers and we will leave without you so that other travelers can make flights, dinner reservations etc.
With regard to the length of the tour. It takes approximately 3 hours from time of arrival to time of leaving. This includes the time it takes to get into the gear, to do safety drills and to spend time practicing near the shore before going on the journey so we can make sure everyone is comfortable. All of we guides are current or former members of a national team and/or international expedition paddlers and we would struggle to paddle non-stop for 3 hours! Sometimes the whole experience takes a little longer than 3 hours, and sometimes it takes a little less depending on who is in the group etc.
It makes me a little sad that as a local person you think that a colony of 20 playful seals, beautiful views of Dublin Bay, crystal clear water, numerous sea birds, historic buildings and sites including the Joyce Tower and the 40 foot which are all part of the Unesco Dublin Bay Biosphere are a bit "meh". We think it's fantastic!
We will change the location slightly if we need due to weather/sea state so as to make sure everyone is comfortable on the tour. Sometimes this decision needs to be made very close to the start time of the tour as weather forecasts are frequently inaccurate and a visual inspection may suggest a slightly different location is required. In that case, the simplest thing to do is to meet where there is plenty of parking and an easy landmark to find rather than meeting in a busy area where there is no parking. Plus a last minute change in a meeting point is unsettling to visitors who may have planned a route, booked a taxi etc. So better to meet where we planned to meet and make the short walk together to the new starting point. This is done for the benefit of the participants.
I hope that this clarifies things for you.
Thank you for coming on our kayak tour and best wishes for a lovely summer. 🙏
Great Activity
Nadine_E, Jul 2022
It was a really cool trip and the seals were great. There where coming really close to us and they were really cute
Amazing experience
Victoria_M, Jul 2022
Best day was amazing having the seals swim up to the kayaks and going underneath them, the team were all fab and Adams knowledge of the area was brilliant.
Awesome Experience
Mlanie_F, Jul 2022
Awesome experience
Awesome experience! The seals were so cute and the people super friendly. Also very beginner friendly! The walk around the Island was also wonderful. Very neat things to see! My only suggestion for improvement is that I would of liked a little more time to explore the Island- felt a little rushed to go all the way to the other end to also be able to see the ruins of the well and make it back in time for 5-10 minutes. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to have a little dip in the ocean if we wanted to! I’d highly recommend this trip :)
Must do in Dalkey
Shannon_F, Jul 2022
Rob, Phil and James provided an excellent kayaking safari to Dalkey Island. Rob stopped for quite a few breaks to give us some rest and to provide some information regarding the area and Dalkey Island. It was a bonus seeing the friendly seals, Larry and Roger (the names picked by James) playing around the kayaks.
Questions?
Product code: 163852P1
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