It is amazing to be able to bring the entire family out for a nice experience on the water - and a tour in GLASS KAYAK® is just extra special and unique. Here, you can enjoy quality time together, and both children and adults can have fun, explore, and really get an extraordinary experience.
Below, we have gathered a few tips and tricks/recommendations, as well as answered the most common questions from families looking for a kayak tour on the water with their children.
How old must my child be to participate in a kayak tour in GLASS KAYAK®?
Children of all ages can participate in the tours, and it is usually a huge hit! The trips in GLASKAJAK® are a perfect experience for families with children - and we are always very happy to have children and their families with us on the tours. The children enjoy both the quality time with their adults and siblings, and the rich plant/animal life that is under and above the water. There is plenty to see, talk about, and experience on the trips.
Most often, the children sit with their noses pressed against the bottom of the kayak, while they direct their adults behind in a criss-cross pattern after a crab they have spotted on the bottom. They count the jellyfish, are fascinated by the eel grass that "tickles" the bottom of the kayak, or flap their arms like the seagulls do their wings. We believe that it is important to show the future generations, our children, how lovely (Danish) nature is, so that they are (even more) motivated to take good care of our planet.
We have bouyancy aids/vests down to size 2 years. The smallest size is a life jacket with a collar, while the other sizes are regular swimming vests with greater freedom of movement. If you have other preferences for your child, you are welcome to bring your preferred type of vest yourself.
No one knows your child as well as you, so it is of course important that you assess whether your child would enjoy to come on the water with the family. The tours take a total of 1,5-2 hours including instructions on land, putting on your vests, getting in and out of the kayaks, etc.
In our experience, all kids really enjoy this active way of spending quality time with their family.
We are an uneven number of people with more adults than children (e.g. to adults and one child). How do we sit in the kayaks?
It is no problem as an adult to row the kayak by yourself, regarless of the reason being you sit in the kayak alone, or sit with a small child who cannot row yet. The kayaks are easy to steer, and you easily get good momentum. You can therefore easily join the trips, even if you are an odd number of people with more adults than children. The kayaks have two seats, but you can easily row them alone and/or with a young child.
We are very flexible, and if you want other suggestions, we are happy to help you find a good solution for your family.
The kayaks have two seats, and it is therefore most comfortable if you sit one or two people in the kayak. That being said, families of three people with two adults/one smaller child, sometimes choose to sit in the same kayak all three. Some of the pictures on the page show this constellation; with mother and son sitting together at the back of the kayak, and aunt (who took the pictures) sitting in the front.
When choosing to sit three people in the same kayak, it is a good idea to bring a towel/blanket for the child to sit on.
We are an uneven number of people with more children than adults (e.g. to adults and three children). How do we sit in the kayaks?
The kayaks have two seats, and it is therefore of course most comfortable if you sit one person in one seat. That being said, many families with more children than adults often choose to seat three people in some of the kayaks.
In such cases, the adults will have the smallest children sitting between their legs (possibly on a blanket/towel) at the back seat of the kayak. There's plenty of room between the back and front seat of the kayak for you to sit this way. Depending on the age of the other children and the number of adults, you will then either:
1) distribute the oldest children on the front seats in the 3-person kayaks, so that they may/can help rowing little sister/little brother
2) if there are many children and the oldest are of a certain age/teenagers, have the oldest row together in another kayak. Then, have the children of the "medium age" (not the eldest, not the youngest) at the front seat in the 3-person kayaks with an adult and a small child.
We are happy to help distribute you in the most appropriate way. Please send an email or call if you have any questions.
My child is to small to be able to row. Will that work?
It is no problem to row the kayak alone as an adult. You can therefore easily take smaller children with you, even if they are too young to be able to row. Then, in turn, the child has plenty of opportunity to enjoy the tour and the water - and their adult rowing them. :-)
For smaller children who might be too young to row, we still recommend taking the extra paddle with you - even if the adults don't necessarily think that the child is interested/can row. The child often gets the urge to try it themselves during the tour as they watch their parents/siblings row, and it's really nice when mum/dad/similar can conjure up a paddle for them. There is room in the side of the kayak for the paddle to be tucked away in until the child wants to give it a go with their own paddle.
Safety with children onboard
The tours are safe and secure; the kayaks are wide, open, and stable, so much that that the kayaks are almost impossible to tip over and capsize. We row close to the coast in shallow water at a pace that everyone feels comfortable with, and as you steer the kayak yourself you can easily choose to row so close to the coast during the whole trip that you and your child can stand up at the bottom/seabed should you for some reason need to.
Of course, you will all be given bouyancy aids of your respective sizes. These must be worn throughout the trip. We have vests down to size 2 years, of which the smallest size is a life jacket with a collar, while the other sizes are swimming vests. If you have other preferences for your child, you are very welcome to bring your preferred type of vest for the tour yourself.
You will receive instruction on land so that you know the basic steering techniques for the kayaks, as well as how to (dryly!) get in and out of your GLASSKAYAK® - and of course receive safety instructions.
There is always at least one instructor from VisionKayak with you on the tour to ensure safety and answer any questions along the way - as well as help you spot the plants and animals both above and below the surface of the water during the trip.
Heroes are nothing without food and drink, as we say in Danish. This also applies to kayak tours - both with and without children. You are more than welcome to bring food, snacks, and beverages for your family tour, so everyone stays fed and happy during the kayaking. We always recommend to at the very least bring a bottle of water.
It's always better to feel too warm and be able to take a layer off than to be cold and not be able to do anything about it. Therefore, remember to dress appropriately for the weather. At the same time, the air is also often a little cooler on the water, which can be really nice on a hot summer's day - but if it's already cool on land, you should therefore expect to wear some extra clothes.
At the same time, children often sit more still on the trips than the adults, who are often given the task of being the "propulsion engine". Therefore, the children can get more cold. It is a good idea to bring an extra jacket, warm sweater, or similar for your kids - either make them wear it from the get-go, so you can help them take if off if they feel warm, or bring it with you in a drybag (can be bought from VisionKayak). You can also encourage your child to move a little along the way on the cooler days, so that their body helps them generate a little extra warmth.
If you want to bring extra sweaters/jackets/clothes on the trip, you can buy drybags from us if you don't already have one. In the drybag, you can pack extra clothes that needs to stay dry during the tour untill it is needed.
It is a great idea for all family members to wear waterproof rain pants - it can drip a little from the paddle when you row, and it's nice to have a waterproof layer on your legs so that the water can just bead and roll off instead of soaking the pants and risk getting cold.
The is still important to wear sunscreen, sunglasses, sunhats, even if it isn't a very hot day. The UV can still be high, and the light is extra-strong on the water. The surface reflects the sunlight, so it is really, really important to take good care of you skin and eyes. Even on cooler days.
On hot summer days, bathing suits or t-shirts/shorts are a great choice. If you'd like, you can bring a light, windproof jacket if you are in doubt - you can purchase drybags from us, if you want to bring some extra clothes on the tour.
As mentioned under "Clothing on cooler days", it is always better to feel a little too warm and be able to take off a layer, than it is to feel too cold and not be able to do anything about it. There's often a slight breeze on the ater, which is really nice on a hot summer's day - but remember that especially children often easier get cold, so rather a little too much clothes than too little.
The most important is sunscreen, sunglasses, sunhats! The UV is high in the summer, and the light is extra-strong on the water. The surface reflects the sunlight, so it is really, really important to take good care of you skin and eyes.
