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Sea Kayaking and Whale Watching Tours in British Columbia and Baja. Since 1993, thousands of happy guests.

Sea Kayak Adventures Sea Kayak Adventures

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1 (208) 765-3116 or Email

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Johnstone Strait Sea Kayaking

About Us

Inspiring Adventures
Our Company
Our Crew

Inspiring Adventures Since 1993, Sea Kayak Adventures has created simply outstanding sea kayaking trips and incredible wildlife encounters for outdoor-minded travelers by offering not only fun and excitement, but also inspiring adventures designed to rejuvenate your body and spirit. We're all about getting away from everything, learning new things, observing wildlife, meeting great people and introducing you to a new way of travel. So that you can experience the dream vacation you deserve, we emphasize unparalleled customer service, superb sea kayaking and whale watching destinations, and unbeatable support and camaraderie from each of our SKA guides. We serve gourmet meals and provide all the equipment needed.

"The trip went way beyond my expectations. It was so great. Everything about it is a wonderful memory - the nature is just spectacular, the guides were great fun and very knowledgeable, the camping and kayaking equipment were superb and the food - were we really on a camping trip?"
-- Vanja Dukic, Sea of Cortez

Nancy and Terry
Terry Prichard and Nancy Mertz Prichard,
Sea Kayak Adventures Founders

Our Company

Sea Kayak Adventures, Inc is actually three companies - we are fully licensed and permitted by the Mexican and Canadian governments to operate in their waters. We maintain offices in these countries, pay all the required fees and taxes; and we are committed to the hiring, training and development of local personnel. Our office in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA handles your reservations and takes care of you before and after your trip.

In 1993 Terry Prichard and Nancy Mertz, after working as sea kayak guides for many years in Baja and the Pacific Northwest, created Sea Kayak Adventures. We wanted to share our love of nature and exciting work with others in our own way. Meeting great people, kayaking close to whales, sleeping under the stars. Being intimate with nature. It's an incredible experience.

Laurie Powell

Laurie started working for us Nov 2005 and is an integral part of our team. She is the cheery person who answers most of our incoming phone calls, and goes above and beyond to see that every aspect of your pre-trip planning goes without a hitch.

We operate at all times with environmental ethics in mind. We hire local guides as well as guides from Canada and USA on each tour in Mexico and put as much money as we can into the local economy of our destinations. We were the first company to design and implement porta potties for double kayaks, which is now standard in the industry in Loreto. We run mostly self-supported tours (ie no motorboat support) thus rely on the greater carrying capacity of double kayaks. Some of our tours are motorboat-supported - ie a motorboat goes along, usually going ahead to camp each day with the camp gear, which can carry more amenities than a self-supported trip. We have 1-2 single kayaks on each trip for guests to rotate into (we do not guarantee exclusive use of single kayaks). Our guides are eager to help you learn and develop your paddling skills.

"I especially liked the special touches: voluminous instructions, directions & advice prior to the trip, reservations for additional nights, new kayaking equipment, and flexibility in kayaking itinerary and activities".
-- Pat Hollyday, Sea of Cortez

Our Crew

"Our guides were truly responsible for making this trip so exceptional. They were fun and adventurous and their enthusiasm was irresistible. We could not have been in more competent and assured hands".
-- Margery Ricards, Johnstone Strait

Cesareo "Charo" Castro

Cesareo "Charo" Castro
Charo grew up fishing and whale watching in Magdalena Bay. He has been kayak guiding since 1997 and enjoys sharing his vast knowledge of whales, birds and flora of Baja. He guides our sea kayaking expeditions in the Sea of Cortez and is also our camp manager/naturalist in our Mag Bay Whale Watching Camp. Charo is a graduate of the RARE program which is an eco-tourism and guide training program for Mexicans. He also works for Grupo Tortuguero with sea turtle conservation. SKA guide since 2005.

Alex Magana Ruiz

Alex Magana Ruiz
Alex, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, now lives in Loreto where he has been a whale watching and sea kayak guide and logistics coordinator for SKA. He personifies guest service and adds panache to our tours.  He also runs his own business selling day tours in Loreto and is a wonderful artist and photographer.  His website will be up soon.  SKA since 2002

Paola Aguilar Guide

Paola Aguilar
A vital part of our operation in our Loreto office is the sunny capable presence of Paola.  She truly holds the Loreto operation together behind the scenes, gracefully handling most of the details such as national park permits, trip food shopping and a million other critical details. She is a also a teacher at the university in Loreto and plans to go on to graduate school in literature.

Vladimir de la Toba Valladolid

Vladimir de la Toba Valladolid
Vlady is our most promising up-and-coming young Mexican guide, who already has his 3 Star British Canoe Union kayak rating. He grew up fishing, boating and body surfing on Baja's Pacific coast, and knows the ocean and the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) intimately. In summers, he works for Grupo Tortuguero, educating fishermen about not killing sea turtles and other important species in their fishing bycatch. He is eager to practice his English and show visitors the natural wildlife he loves.

Lorena Pedrin Guide

Lorena Pedrin
Lorena is our senior Mexican woman trip leader, capable and calm, she loves introducing visitors to the Baja California that she is passionate about. She did a summer for us in BC Canada as well in 2008, so ask her about any of our tours. She truly has a "can do" attitude.

Ramon Murillo Guide

Ramon Murillo
Ramon can trace his roots to generations of fishermen in the Loreto area, and his knowledge of the Sea of Cortez and its weather is boundless. We are truly honored to have him provide motorboat support on some of our Sea of Cortez tours in Baja (called pangas in Baja California). He is a master panga captain, with many amazing stories of the high seas to relate.

Serina Bain Guide

Serina Bain
Serina hails from Vancouver Island BC Canada and would win the "most infectious laugh" and "most energetic" awards. She is a patient teacher, as well as confident capable trip leader, impressing folks of all ages with her knowledge and enthusiasm about kayaking and the areas we visit. An integral part of our team in both Mexico and BC Canada since 2006.

Lennie Allison

Lennie Allison
Lennie, from Vancouver Island BC Canada, is always smiling. His upbeat and "can do" attitude and sense of humor makes him a favorite leader with our guests. Lennie has led kayak tours and kayaked extensively all over Vancouver Island for many years, and can handle anything that comes his way. SKA guide in Mexico since 2006.

Lexie Owen Guide

Lexie Owen
A world traveller, and film festival and folk music festival manager in her spare time, Lexie hails from Vancouver Island and is a top notch trip leader in BC Canada. Lexie is a born teacher, and her passion is sharing natural history with others. We are honored to have her on our team, and we so enjoy her boundless, good-natured energy.

Cara Andre Guide

Cara Andre
Cara is full of fun, yet don't let her silly side fool you - she is a skilled paddler, (who paddled around Vancouver Island in two stints June 2008 and June 2009), as well as a tirelessly hard working certified BC Canada sea kayak guide, a certified personal trainer and Muay Thai martial arts/rock climbing/skiing devotee. We are delighted to have her on our team.

Dan Pichette Guide

Dan Pichette
Dan Pichette is a BC certified lead kayak guide with extensive first aid knowledge. Previously a river guide, Dan has spent the last 3 summers guiding anywhere from the Canadian Rockies to the remote south end of the Gwaii Haanas National Park in the Queen Charlotte Islands. He has an outstanding passion for the outdoors, is an excellent cook, with the utmost in positive energy. In the winters he can be found on the frozen form of water ski patrolling at his local hill of Nelson BC.

Mike Brown Guide

Mike Brown
Mike is a new addition to our team and is excited to be working on the BC coast. He is a graduate of the COLT program at Strathcona Park Lodge and is a BC certified guide, he also has a diploma in Ecotourism studies. Originally from Saskatchewan, and having lived in England for several years, Mike is a now a resident of Vancouver Island. He has explored many parts of the island, from alpine to coastline. He is skilled with many facets of backcountry travel and is looking forward to developing into an experienced trip leader.

Laura Shaw

Laura Shaw
Born in Ontario, Canada, Laura spent many summers paddling in Algonquin Park and Temagami. In 2000, she embarked on a 5.5 month canoe expedition across Canada to raise awareness of the landscape and people of Canada's Boreal forest. Laura has also worked at Strathcona Park lodge and many other outdoor education centers and schools in B.C. and Ontario. Passionate about experiential and environmental education, Laura now holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Education and Communications through Royal RoadsUniversity and is the lead academic instructor of the Adventure Tourism Business Operations program at the College of the Rockies in Golden, B.C. When she's not hiking in the mountains or paddling, Laura is likely to be found tending to her vegetable garden or strumming her guitar.

Manuel Gonzales

Manuel Gonzalez
is a marine biologist, guiding for us while planing to get a Master's degree. He is a holder of two of the Mexican records in free diving, with future plans to work as a free diver instructor and combine it with kayak guiding. He is very interested in ecologic developments and sustainable projects for the future of the Baja California peninsula.  A true extrovert, he loves learning about others and teaching guests about Mexican culture and natural history.

Pablo Lobera Guide

Pablo Lobera
is a marine biologist, who has worked on projects researching and protecting sea turtles, and loves to lead birding tours.  Ask him how to tell a male from female crab - he is a wealth of knowledge.

Edgar Escobar Guide

Edgar Escobar
is a marine biologist, NOLS graduate (USA-based National Outdoor Leadership School) and sea kayak guide who has many kayak tours under his belt. We love his enthusiasm, passion for teaching and deep love of music from around the world.


We are truly fortunate to have local experts who are proud of and passionate about their beautiful Baja California Sur and Vancouver Island, British Columbia Canada. They love to share natural and cultural history with guests and are gifted in helping guests feel at home in the wilderness.

Former SKA guide Hayley Shephard to be the first person to solo paddle around South Georgia Island to save albatross Jan 2009 - click on her name to find out how to save the albatross.

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