My family and I participated in a two day kayaking trip in the San Juan Islands in July 2012 and it was not at all as described. Due to poor planning on Sea Quest's part we spent our entire trip searching for a campsite rather than enjoying the beauty of nature around us.
After traversing heavily trafficked boat lanes for most of the first day we ended up at what the guide described as "the campground of last resort" which was on the front lawn of an oyster farm about 5 miles from downtown Friday Harbor. We could have walked there. There was a huge wedding next door with DJ, disco lights, and loud music until 11pm.
Because Sea Quest didn't properly plan for the tides, the next morning we had to carry our fully loaded kayaks out through ~ 75 feet of calf deep mud. People were losing their shoes and falling down in the oyster muck. It was only through sheer luck that someone didn't badly cut themselves on the broken oyster shells embeded in the mud.
When we contacted Martine to let her know that we didn't feel like we had received the wilderness experience promised she told us that's just the way it goes sometime and essentially to suck it up. No apology, no remorse, no offer of a makeup trip, no offer of a refund of any sort.
The islands are beautiful and kayaking is a great way to get out on the water. There are dozens of kayaking companies in the San Juans. Save yourself some disappointment and go with a different company that will provide the experience they promise.
Update: After posting this review I was contacted by Sea Quest who offered us a voucher for a free kayaking day trip but ONLY if we rescinded this posting. Until I posted this review I could not get a response from them regarding my request for a partial refund. It is my understanding that their offer is in direct violation of Yelp's ethics policies which prohibit businesses from offering incentives to users to change or remove postings. Pretty much inline with the rest of our experience with this company.
Stay away from Sea Quest and go with kayaking with someone else; anyone else!
