Kayaking to the mangroves & Capivaras

Highlights

Inclusions

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 100 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 1Horrible experience

  Very much debated whether to actually leave this review but on reflection had we read one similar to our experience we wouldn’t have booked this tour. Firstly, it’s not relaxing at all, my husband and I are pretty fit and active people but we were taken out on to the open water against the wind and our kayak was constantly filling with water making it really difficult to kayak and keep up with the group. Then I started to feel quite sick due to the rough seas against our Kayak, something which I later mentioned to the guide once we got to a shore. We were then taken down a waterway which had a lot of waste pipes flowing in to it and our kayak kept getting stuck as there wasn’t enough water, this meant we constantly had to get out and pull it whilst sinking in to the mud which was actually really difficult to get out of when you’re waist deep in it and when you’re not expecting that, quite scary and not ideal when you’re already feeling sick. Why take people down such low water ways? Bizarre. When we were back on actual water we could kayak on we were again left behind as our kayak was again filling with water and becoming difficult to get anywhere. I was feeling like I needed to throw up so we went to a shoreline and I got out and we were then screamed at by the guide to get back in and she wouldn’t listen to us that I was feeling unwell. My husband and I decided that I would walk back and he would get the kayak back but the guide then started calling us “horrible gringos” (nice!) and grabbed the ore from my husband and again carried on calling us names. It was at that point we simply walked away from her and went home, we are sorry for leaving the kayak on the shore but she was not understanding at all and screaming at people to get back in the kayak when they’re not well was a most unenjoyable experience. She also made a remark about it “making sense” when we said we were from London… she was just really condescending and rude. It takes a lot for us to make any kind fuss at all, we are simply not those kind of people and would rather grin and bare something over making a scene but this tour was unbearably bad. I really do think there was something wrong with our kayak as I cannot fathom how children would be able to do this tour my husband is a very strong man so for him to struggle was very very strange. Anyway I am sure they will likely reply back to this review with more rudeness but I just wanted to prewarn other travellers.

  cehh19October 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Paraty Kayaking to the mangroves & Capivaros

  I thoroughly enjoyed this guided kayak tour. The guide, Brenda, was very informative and started with a good safety briefing and warm up. The trip itself and a great range of sights. We launched from the beach, paddled out into the bay, around a small island, then came back inshore & entered the mangroves. The channel through the mangroves joined up with the canal in the township, which lead us back to the starting point. This made for a great circuit.

  GrantH611August 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Loved it

  We loved it! Relaxing tour of around 2 hours. No prior experience necessary. Our son (10 years) also managed it in his own kayak.

  winners_curseAugust 2026via Tripadvisor

• 4Capybara sighting!

  We went as a family of 5 so we shared two double kayaks and our older daughter was in a single. The sea kayaking might have been a bit tricky if we were beginners. We kayaked out into the sea and around an island before heading into the mangrove area which was very quiet and calm. We saw some capybaras which was great!

  Megan_SAugust 2026via Viator

• 5Great kayak trip

  We had a wonderful kayak trip with our guide Mila - nice activity and great way to see other parts of Paraty.

  Navigator816250May 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5A most relaxing and delightful experience

  Kayaking the mangroves with Brenda was extremely enjoyable: so relaxing and easy, even for inexperienced kayakers like us. What a beautiful, quiet way to start the day. We first went around a little island and then through the mangroves. So very peaceful. Along the way, Brenda explained things and told us the names of the many birds and tress we saw. Highly recommend.

  matthiash49May 2026via Tripadvisor

Know before you go

How it compares in Paraty

• Its from-price is 58% below the median of the 102 experiences we list in Paraty.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 10 of 102.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Paraty

Paraty is a Portuguese colonial port on Brazil's Green Coast, with whitewashed houses, cobbled streets and a bay full of forested islands.

Paraty grew rich in the eighteenth century as the port where Minas Gerais gold was shipped towards Rio and Portugal, and its historic centre, a World Heritage Site, keeps the whitewashed houses, painted doors and rounded stone streets of that time. The streets slope so that the highest tides flood them, a design said to wash them clean. Small churches once served different communities, among them Santa Rita, Nossa Senhora do Rosário and Nossa Senhora das Dores.

Top-ranked sights in Paraty: Paraty Bay, Cachoeira Toboga, Gold Path (Caminho do Ouro).

See all 102 experiences in Paraty