Rainbow River Kayak Throwback
While parts of the U.S. are experiencing record cold, I can’t say the same for Germany. I’m sitting at my desk with my window open, listening to the birds and enjoying the breeze. Even though it’s 50°F outside, I’m still missing the Florida heat a little bit (something I thought I’d never say).
I think even more than the weather, I’m missing some of the adventures I had last summer. I was definitely counting down the days until we moved to Germany (and until we could stop doing long-distance marriage), but I was also trying to make the most of my time in Tampa.
Kayaking at one of the springs near Tampa was one of the things I wanted to cross off on my Tampa to-do list. I found that some of the more popular springs are Weeki Wachee, Rainbow River and Three Sisters Springs. In the hot summer months, I definitely wasn’t the only one with the bright idea to cool off with a relaxing kayak trip and they were booked pretty fast. Based on availability, I went with Rainbow River (twice!) and it did not disappoint!
Both times, I booked through Rainbow River Kayak Adventures. They provided excellent service, transportation to and from the docks at the springs and great prices. I tried both the peel-a-boo (clear bottom) kayaks and the regular ones. Personally, I would just go with the regular ones because the peek-a-boo kayaks were a bit underwhelming and the water is so clear, so you can see all of the underwater life anyway. They offer paddleboards and tubes as well. You can also bring your own kayaks/paddleboards/tubes and just pay the park entrance fee. Sadly, my Honda Civic doesn’t provide the best transportation options and I was leaving Florida soon anyway, so it wasn’t worth it to me to invest in outdoor gear.
No matter which option you choose for the trip, I would definitely recommend sunscreen, snacks, cash for park entry and water. The whole adventure is a few hours long (a little longer if you just float and a little shorter if you’re paddling most of the way). You can also bring a speaker (mine was, sadly, out of commission). I will warn you that disposable containers of any kind and alcohol are not allowed in the park, so plan accordingly. I’ll link the Rainbow Springs website here so I don’t bore you with the details.
The drive from my house in South Tampa was less than two hours and we left with plenty of time to get there. The website has both half-day and a full-day trips. The half-day offered ample time for us to leisurely float and paddle and I can’t really see needing the full day unless you’re tubing and taking your time. I didn’t feel like we needed to rush at all and I think we had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, chat and relax while still finishing early.
The second time I went, we stopped at Swampy’s Bar and Grill (the food was ok but the piña coladas were muy deliciosas and worth the stop ;). It was also kind of a fun novelty to paddle up to the restaurant, dock our kayaks and eat on the shore but it was also fun to eat our sandwiches in the kayaks when we brought food. Even with the lunch stop, we had plenty of time before our reservation time slot was up for the half-day booking.
I don’t think my pictures were able to capture how beautiful the scenery was, but I did my best. There were definitely places where we could have gotten out and taken some more “for the ‘gram” type photos, but we opted to power through without being quite that basic. If you do get out, I would recommend some sort of water shoe since the bottom looked a little rough.
All in all, Rainbow River was a great little day trip to relax and enjoy some of the area’s more outdoorsy activities. I’m sure the other springs offer a similar experience. The cool breeze off of the springs was a welcome relief to the hot, humid summer weather and I’m so glad I was able to check this off of my Florida bucket list!
XOXO,Natasha