Sea kayaking is a fantastic activity that offers a huge range of experiences - from relaxed exploration of the UK’s magnificent coastal environment to challenging encounters with wind, waves and tides - sea kayaking delivers a lifetime of outdoor adventure.

Anglesey is a superb place to discover sea kayaking - this beautiful corner of north Wales offers sheltered tidal estuaries and harbours, exposed rocky headlands and sea cliffs, secluded sandy beaches and discreet coastal villages. In all, it’s the perfect paddling environment!

Tell me more!

Our Discover Sea Kayaking course introduces the essential skills of sea kayaking - technical skills to control your kayak, trip planning and tactics to stay safe afloat, and includes rescues and problem-solving techniques. We’ll help you to develop solid foundations that will speed your learning, maximise your fun, and will open the door to this magnificent world of sea kayaking adventure.

Is this sea kayaking course for me?

This course is ideal if you have 2-5 days’ recent kayaking experience (in any type of paddle craft), and are already comfortable paddling a kayak on flat water. We will introduce you to specialist sea kayaks and will help you to develop useful skills - commencing on flat water and progressing to friendly coastal sea conditions.

You need to be sufficiently fit and active to maintain up to six hours of moderate exercise, comparable to a day of hiking in flat terrain. You should be willing to get wet during the course (we provide wetsuits!) and have water confidence. There’s no requirement to be a strong swimmer (we wear flotation jackets) but you must be happy with the prospect of paddling a small craft on coastal waters.

We follow a careful and supportive approach in our coaching - your safety and wellbeing is important to us. If you’re uncertain of your suitability for this course, please contact us for further advice.

Kayak equipment & clothing

We provide all required specialist equipment for the duration of the course - this is an excellent opportunity to experience a variety of sea kayak designs and to learn more about essential kit for independent sea kayakers. Please read the lists below, and ensure that you bring the required personal items

We provide:
Sea kayak - paddle - spraydeck
Wetsuit - paddling jacket - flotation jacket (PFD) - helmet

You need to bring:
Thin synthetic base layers and thin fleece top - to wear under your wetsuit / paddling jacket.
- avoid cotton (cold when wet) and bring spare layers / warm hat to wear at lunch time.
Please also bring footwear (old trainers are good) - the Summit to Sea shop also has a stock of inexpensive neoprene shoes.

Suncream & sunglasses - Anglesey is surprisingly sunny!
Please also bring food and refreshment for your days afloat - this is a non-catered course.

You’re welcome to bring your phone to capture photo memories, but only if you have a reliable waterproof case - we can take no responsibility for any loss or damage. We will take plenty of photos to share with you - if in doubt, leave your phone at home!

Meeting place & timings

We will meet at Summit to Sea each morning: 10a Penrhos Industrial Estate, Holyhead LL65 2UQ (Google Maps)

Please aim to arrive 9am each day - we will chat about our aims for the day, plan a venue and collect clothing and equipment - we will then drive a short distance to our chosen paddling area. We aim to be afloat by 10:30am and will return to our launch point at approx. 4pm. Excluding our lunch break, we aim to provide 5 active kayaking hours each day. We will return to our activity base at Summit to Sea - the course ends each day at approx. 5pm.

Transport

We do not provide transport to / from Summit to Sea and our coaching venues - we encourage you to follow us in your own vehicles. Most of our preferred paddling areas are only a few minutes’ drive away, mostly with free parking. If you are without transport, please contact us to discuss options - we’ll find a solution for you!

I’m on board! What next?

Click the Book Now button to access our online booking site - complete the required information and make payment. You’ll receive a confirmation email and we’ll receive your booking details. You’re all set to join our Discover Sea Kayaking course!