Canoe or Kayak? What You Actually Get in La Jolla
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Check ticket availabilityWhat is a sit-on-top sea kayak?
It is exactly what it sounds like: you sit on top of the hull, not inside it, with your legs hanging over the edge. A two-seat tandem is a single 17–18 foot hull with two seat wells. They are self-draining — water runs out through the scuppers rather than pooling inside. They are stable enough that a partial flip usually just soaks you, not tips you over completely. They are the industry standard for cave and snorkel tours because they are stable, safe, fast enough for a 1.5-mile crossing, and the operator can fit two people in one boat instead of doubling the fleet.
Why the word "canoe" stuck
The domain is lajollacanoetours.com because thousands of people a month type "La Jolla canoe tours" into a search box. Listing sites like Airbnb and ToursByLocals file the activity under a combined category called "Kayaking & Canoeing" — one bucket for two very different boats. A person searching "canoe La Jolla" lands on a kayak tour listing, and the word sticks. It is not accurate, but it is where the search traffic lives, so this site meets it there.
The word also survives in an unexpected place: the City of San Diego’s own kayak concession requirements. Guides must hold a valid Canoeing Safety Test star rating certification from the British Canoe Union. The word "canoe" appears inside the regulation that governs every sea kayak guide in San Diego, which means it has an official pedigree even in a place where nobody paddles a canoe.
Canoe vs. kayak: what’s the difference?
Canoes use a single-bladed paddle; kayaks use a double-bladed paddle. Canoes are typically open and sit higher in the water. Sea kayaks are built for open-ocean conditions and are often covered (though sit-on-tops are not). The sea kayak is faster, more efficient, and more stable in waves. The tandem kayaks used in La Jolla are designed for exactly this kind of tour: stable, fast enough to cross open water in a reasonable time, and wide enough that two people can paddle without their strokes interfering. You get a double-bladed paddle, so you are paddling a kayak, not a canoe.
What you are actually booking
When you search "La Jolla canoe tour" and land on this site, what you find are sea kayak tours. Read which tour to book for the options, or what it actually costs to clear up the most common mistake people make about price. And yes, you can paddle out yourself if you rent a kayak instead.
Book the boat you will actually be paddling
This is the most-reviewed sea cave tour in La Jolla and the one most people end up on. The listed price covers the whole two-seat kayak rather than one seat, so for a pair it works out at roughly half what the headline suggests — the cost page shows every tour priced both ways.
Frequently asked questions
Is a canoe tour the same as a kayak tour?
No. La Jolla runs kayak tours, not canoe tours. Kayaks use a double-bladed paddle, canoes a single blade. The tandem sit-on-top used on these tours is a sea kayak, built for ocean crossings. See the sea cave kayak tour page.
Why does the search say "canoe"?
Most booking sites combine "Kayaking & Canoeing" into one activity category, so the search phrase "La Jolla canoe tour" lands on kayak listings. Thousands of people search that term each month, so this site meets them there.
What boat do I actually paddle?
A sit-on-top tandem sea kayak. You sit on top of the hull (not inside), side-by-side with your paddling partner, with your legs hanging over the edge. It is self-draining and stable in waves — the industry standard for cave tours.
Does the guide paddle too?
On tandem tours, the guide typically paddles one seat while you paddle the other. On the premium small-group tour, you get a dedicated guide in a separate kayak who manages the group and watches safety.