Cover image by Tien Nguyen (the photo was taken at East Sea Challenge 2018)
I go kayaking every summer when the beach is warm and the Tien Sa water is calm enough for an easy paddling to the sea. Last weekend, I registered for a session with Da Nang Kayak on a Sunday afternoon and like any previous times, I enjoyed the outdoors to the fullest!
We gathered at Tien Sa beach (3a Yết Kiêu, Thọ Quang Ward, Sơn Trà District), at 3.30 when it’s still scorching hot.
There is a hotel right on the beach where some people access toilets and changing rooms.
The session started with warming up and practicing basic paddling movement (how to hold the paddle, how to turn left/right, how to stop, how to turn over) on land. I did kayaking several times before but it was the first time for some participants so a full introduction to the equipment was provided by the guide.
The kayaks which we used are Sit-on-top kayaks which do not have a closed cockpit, so they are easy to get into and out of. If you are careful you can stay dry, but most of the time you will get a little wet from splashes, which is I think, nice in the summer! There are two seats on each kayak (tandem kayak) so it is best for a friendly paddling and two-person paddling power allowed us to cover more territory with less effort. Our groups had 6 people so perfectly formed 3 teams.
There were also sit-in kayaks when our legs are enclosed within a cockpit. A spray skirt is attached, which stops water from coming in over the top. The guide used one of these to accompany us.
My friend and I are both experienced kayakers so we paddled fast, the other groups had someone who never experienced before so they were quite struggled at the beginning (the kayaks did not move towards the directions they wanted). The key thing about double kayaking is that paddlers have to co-ordinate their paddle strokes for maneuvers. It took them like 10-15 minutes to not go zigzag but in a straight line. After that, at some points of the trip, they even moved much faster than us, who were paddling while watching teams of fish jumping out of the sparkling water, singing, pointing the mountains over there, the clouds over here.
When everyone was pretty good with basic techniques, the guide stopped us the first time to ask all teams practicing kayak to a shore nearby (50 meters) and turn back. The second time he stopped us was to teach how to exit and re-enter a sit-on kayak underwater while we gathered.
The guide led us to Bai cat vang (the golden sand beach), Bai Tau dam (shrunk ships area) where we had some short breaks, and swam.
We started to head back to Tien Sa Beach at 6 pm when it was the golden time on the sea to watch the sunset. That was magnificent! The closer the sun moved toward the horizon the deeper we felt that we were so small in nature. The water was getting dark very quickly, the wind was getting stronger and we paddled much faster to arrive land just before the last sunlight vanished.
To sum up, if you are a sea lover then you should embark on a new and exciting adventure with this kayaking experience. A great way to get active and explore Son Tra Penisula with a different view. The kayaks are stable, fast, easy to paddle, fun to roll and they allow us to share the joys of kayaking in this amazing place with folks who might never have paddled on the ocean before.
Note:
I paid 380.000VND for a session (after a discount), the normal price was 480.000VND
I registered the session on the Da Nang Kayak club Facebook page
Remember to bring a waterproof bag to keep your phone, keys, etc, or you can ask the guide to store them for you in a safe (on land). I was too excited and totally forgot to ask the guide so when I jumped out of the kayak into the water for a swim WITH my phone with me. That was a shame :’(
If you’ve already had a friend to paddle with, that’s great, if not you can also ask the organizers to pair someone with you or to go with the single kayak.
The guide can speak English
You can also hire a kayak (not on a tour and not with a guide). There is a place on My Khe beach that offers hour kayaks/sups hire.
For Guests staying at The NAVIS, contact us if you want to join similar trips, we could possibly organize a small event for guests of The NAVIS.