Penguin Paddling

My boyfriend and I went out on a Kayak tour that started in Old Town Occoquan. Our tour guide was the owner Danny. As soon as we arrived his staff and him were very nice and answered any questions we had. His cute dog was running around on the dock and greeting everybody as we came down the ramp. We are pretty new to Kayaking so this was going to be our longest trip so far. It was GREAT! The weather was perfect, we got to see some animals around the area. I would recommend Danny and his crew at Penguin Paddling to anybody and at any experience level!

Loved loved LOVED the experience my hubs and and I had while kayaking here at the Hamptons landing marina in Woodbridge, VA! We live near by and love that the owner Danny decided to offer this. The staff is super nice and funny. We had such a great time and can’t wait to go back out again soon. The views are just amazing! I’m originally from Miami and it’s great to have this pretty much a walk away. I can’t wait till we have our relatives visit so that we can take them kayaking :) I highly recommend this to everyone!

Recently went kayaking at this place with a big group over Memorial Day Weekend and loved it! We happen to be camping close by at Prince William Forest Park so it was a great activity to do during the day. The facilities were really nice looking and clean and all the equipment was super new. They even had a grilling area that looked like a great place to do lunch next time. The customer service was awesome and they even let me take my pug out on the kayak with us. We had our own life jacket but they had some as well which I thought was great. Prices were great too and it was just overall a great experience!

This place is fantastic! Danny really takes care of his customers. I went today with a 10 and 3 year old and we had an awesome time. Will definitely tell all my friends about this diamond in the rough.

I just attended the kickoff of Danny’s rental facility at hamptons landing marina in Woodbridge va. Great place, rentals very economical and a great spot to picnic. There’s even a grill set up and available for use before or after your trip!
Family friendly (my 3 yo loved it) and inexpensive too!!!
I recommend calling them and setting up a trip

i went on this tour over last summer and i’m just getting around to my review, but it made that much of an impact i’m still willing to do it months later! went on this tour with my girlfriend and her family! i had a great time and it was definitely worth it! i consider myself educated on the landmarks in dc having lived here all my life but even my guide was able to teach me some things! thank you so much! the seeing the city at sunset was also the best way to cap it all off! i highly recommend this tour!

A year after reflecting on our kayaking tour in DC, my boyfriend and I realized it was so awesome that we should have left a review way back then. Our guide was very knowledgeable about DC and informed us about all the essential landmarks. Having lived in the area most of my life I was able to take away not only a peaceful afternoon on the Potomac, but also some information I did not know before. Kayaking was something I had never tried before, but after this trip I would feel completely comfortable jumping into one. I was surprised how easy it was to learn, regardless of my fear of tipping over.
Getting to the marina was easy and parking was free and easily accessible. Our guide was very friendly and hospitable, offering us snacks and water before launching out of Columbia Island Marina. The equipment itself appeared brand new and the life vests came in a variety of sizes. During the trip, he stopped us at great photo spots and offered to take pictures of us together.
We went on this trip with my family (age range 18 – 52) as well and our guide was able keep the whole family together regardless of stamina and strength. I would love to do this again if in the area and would even be willing to pay full price. If you are familiar with the area, this is a great way to put a spin on the hum-​drum touristy things to do. Definitely a repeat if you are in the area!

The BF and saw this offered on travelzoo 2 days before we arrived in DC for a 4 day vacation, and after reading the disappointing reviews of some of the boating /​cruises that all seemed to be geared towards booze rather than relaxing or enjoying DC, decided to give this a chance. We love kayaking, as a form of relaxing and enjoying an environment and are decent at it (not strong or fit enough to race or survive kayaking rapids), so we decided to give this a shot. I bought the travelzoo and emailed the company immediately, and Danny responded within a few hours (pretty quick especially for things that are promoted on travelzoo). We signed up for a double kayak for ⁷⁄₁₇ Washington DC Riverfront Sunset tour.
It was so much fun, very organized, and very low stress! We arrived around 6:15 pm (at the launching point (Columbia Island Marina) and saw Danny setting up the new kayaks he has. He was super friendly and offered us water/​soda/​juice and snacks (even packing a little snack bag for each kayaker to take on the near-​3 hour trip. We ended up in a small group of 6, and everyone had kayaked before, but Danny was good about making sure we were still comfortable in our kayaks and knew what we were doing, and making sure to observe the safety precautions. The Kayaks, paddles, and life vests all looked new with no sign of wear. He helped us all launch, and we kept a decent pace though we stopped every once in a while to let people catch up /​take photos /​just enjoy the views and sunset (I uploaded some photos), but he really does a good job in balancing the group of faster kayakers with the ones who were just enjoying themselves while still keeping a tab on everyone. It was beautiful and relaxing — there wasn’t too much of a tide to battle, and the views were amazing. And he was super friendly about spending time talking to people individually and giving suggestions on where to go /​when to visit /​great food suggestions.
TOTALLY recommend this! It’s well worth the money (even at full price) and we would definitely do it again if we’re ever back in DC. Total other way to enjoy the city, the waterfront and some monuments, and the sunset in a very unique way. You can definitely tell he loves kayaking, and knows DC well, and he’ll make sure you love his city and sport too.