How to Take a Fort Lauderdale Paddleboard Tour with a Corgi
During our trip to Fort Lauderdale, we did a lot of fun things, but the absolute highlight of the trip was taking a paddleboard tour with Mr. Beaches! If you don’t know who that is, he is an adorable corgi known throughout Fort Lauderdale for his tours through the Las Olas canals. As corgi lovers, we had to take a Fort Lauderdale paddleboard tour with him and did not regret it!
Regardless if you have never tried Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP) before or you are a pro at it, this an excellent experience for all. Natasha, Mr. Beaches’ owner, runs these intimate tour groups through her business SUP PUP on a daily basis. There are a variety of times to choose from and she will cater the tour to your group’s abilities and desires. We had an amazing time and this blog post will share everything you need to know about taking a Fort Lauderdale paddleboard tour with Mr. Beaches the corgi.
Location and Planning
This Fort Lauderdale paddleboard tour takes place through the Las Olas canals, so it is less than a ten-minute drive from most of the popular hotels. You can Uber here as well, but be sure to bring a towel, sunscreen and wear a bathing suit. Between the sun and the paddling, you will want to get wet and cool off at times!
Andrew and I chose to go on an 11 AM paddleboard tour, so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast before. It’s smart to eat something beforehand and be hydrated so you can fully enjoy your tour. Natasha does have water, beer and wine if you get thirsty during the tour though!
For our Saturday morning tour, only Andrew and I were the only atendees. It was basically a private tour! Natasha keeps the groups as small as possible and so they can be more flexible and fun. We got there a few minutes early to get acquainted and meet Mr. Beaches and then we were ready for the tour.
Our Experience
Once introductions and waivers were taken care of, while wearing masks because of the pandemic, it was time to get on the water! Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and started raining right when we were about to leave. Even though we would get wet on the tour, we waited it out on the boat giving Mr. Beaches lots of pets, until it was sunny again. Natasha also assured us that we could still get a full hour and a half on the water. Being typical Florida, we only had to wait fifteen minutes and then our Fort Lauderdale paddleboard tour began.
Andrew and I are frequent paddleboarders, so we did not need instructions at the start of our tour. We headed out into the canals first past some of the millionaire dollar mansions, many with unique architecture. Natasha had a lot of fun facts about the area, but of course we were in love with Mr. Beaches and his paddleboard skills. You can tell he loves being on the water and looks so relaxed laying out on the board!
Past the houses, we also got to see the more natural side of Fort Lauderdale with lots of mangroves and trees. This city really is integrated with the environment, so it was cool to see how the canals have taken shape. It was hard to believe that there were high-rises less than a mile away on parts of this tour!
If you are as comfortable at paddlebording as we are, Natasha will take you out towards the main river for a stunning view of the downtown. This was the most challenging part of the tour and I definitely got tired paddling against the current. Once you turn around though, it is a smooth, quick journey back to the dock, with a couple of exceptions-tunnels! We got to go under a few overpasses thanks to the tide not being too high and this added a little adventure aspect to the tour.
We brought waterproof phone cases so we could take pictures on the tour and did so with ease. However, Natasha will also take pictures of you and even with Mr. Beaches! This tour really had everything we could need and is great for pretty much all ages. I can’t stress enough how memorable of an experience this was for us!
SUP PUP Fort Lauderdale Paddleboard Tour Options
The tour option we choose was the canal tour. This is offered daily at 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM. This tour lasts for 75 minutes and you get to see all the sights we saw. If you want to bring your kids, but are not sure how long their attention spans will last, you can opt for the 45-minute kids tour at 10 AM each day. This is a perfect introduction to SUP for little ones
If you want your Fort Lauderdale Paddleboard Tour to be even more scenic, you can take a sunrise or a sunset tour. The times for these vary by time of year. If you want a certain time, you can always email Natasha and see if it is available.
Other SUP PUP Experiences
I know some people like exploring on their own, and for those you can simply rent a paddleboard from SUP PUP. Rentals last between 2-4 hours and traverse the canals as you like! This is ideal for those who have past paddleboard experience. There are also kayak rentals, in case your group is split on which type of paddling they want to do.
Another cool experience that SUP Pup offers is Paddleboard Yoga! These classes are about half an hour of paddling and then an hour-long class. Surrounded by mangroves and trees, you can test your balance on the board while doing different yoga poses. I have done this before and it’s not as hard as you think, although you may fall off a few times! Currently, these classes take place on Saturday at 10 AM or 6 PM. It is ideal to have some paddleboard experience beforehand for this experience as well.
Know Before You Go: Fort Lauderdale Paddleboard Tour
I can’t imagine a better way to experience Fort Lauderdale then by taking a paddleboard tour with a corgi guiding the way! Andrew and I are still laughing about Mr. Beaches ducking as we went through the tunnel, even though his short little body could easily fit. Even if you aren’t as big of dog lovers as we are, Natasha and Mr. Beaches really make this a fun and memorable experience on the water. Here’s everything you need to know before booking a SUPPUP Fort Lauderdale Paddleboard Tour.
- Paddleboard tours of the Fort Lauderdale canals are available daily at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM.
- Sunset and Sunrise tours, as well as paddleboard yoga classes, are frequently available as well.
- Tours range from $25 to $50s, depending on the time and experience.
- You can book Fort Lauderdale Paddlboard tours or rentals through the website here
- Natasha guides the tours with Mr. Beaches riding on her paddleboard. He is so friendly and cute!
- You will want to eat and drink before the tour, but there are some drinks available during it.
- Wear a bathing suit and sunscreen to the tour, ideally sunscreen without oxybenzone because it is harmful to coral reefs!
Have you ever been paddleboarding with a dog before? We used to take our corgi Charlie, but he was not nearly as good at it as Mr. Beaches! For more ideas for things to do in Fort Lauderdale, check out my guide here.
If you would like to get a printable Fort Lauderdale bucket list, check out my Etsy shop here and get one to download!