How Long of a Kayaking Trip Should I Take?

Going for kayak trips, be it traveling through serene lake waters or battling against strong river currents is an excellent way to view some of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders you cannot access on foot. Nevertheless, before commencing on your trip, you must first ensure that you distinctly know the amount of time you are planning to kayak since the getting out of the kayak is usually the hardest part. Typically, while on water, attending your other responsibilities, for instance, going to work, eating and sleeping are difficult due to the tremendous amount of fun you are having

Subsequently, deciding on how long your kayaking trip should take even before venturing into the waters vital, particularly for your safety. There are several factors you must first consider before starting your kayaking adventure so that you do not end up being stranded at some point by extreme fatigue while still far from the shores. Henceforth, below is a brief description of all factors you must ponder when deciding on the distance you should cover to have an excellent kayaking adventure.

Come Up With a Plan

Before even starting your kayaking expedition, you must make a comprehensive plan to act as a guide on the distance you should cover to have for a great kayaking experience. Thus, set aside a few minutes and compose your plan with extended trips requiring a more thorough plan that encompasses a whole range of issues to prevent challenges that might completely ruin your tour. Additionally, make use of maps of the coastal region or waterway you intend to travel through to be better placed in case you encounter any obstacles, for example, a dam. Such barriers can significantly hinder the distance you can travel thus ruining your kayaking experience and cause you great inconvenience

Factors That Help You Decide How Long You Kayaking Trip Should be.

Experience Level

If you are a recreational kayaker with little experience, you typically travel at speeds of about two miles per hour thereby taking a longer duration to cover the same distance a veteran kayaker would take. It is because after just covering a short distance, the less skilled kayaker starts to feel fatigue with the arms sometimes even becoming sore. Moreover, recreational kayakers usually tend to make lots of stopovers along the way to either eat some snacks or take pictures of the stunning views, consequently taking a lot more time to cover the same distance. Contrary, expert kayakers, on the other hand, are more physically fit and have better kayaking techniques thus take a much shorter time to cover the same distance a novice kayaker would cover. Therefore, when deciding the length of your kayaking trip, you must first consider your level of experience and from there get to resolve how long you want your kayaking trip to be.

The Size of your Kayak

The amount of time you intend to spend kayaking considerably influences the size of the kayak you should purchase. If you are planning to spend a lot of time kayaking, you should go for the sea and touring kayaks that come with a vast amount of storage space that perfectly fits all your luggage. Consequently, you can spend a more extended period on the water since all the necessary equipment is on your kayak whereas still being comfy as you kayak. Conversely, if you have a small recreational kayak, you will not have adequate space to carry lots of equipment thus the amount of time to spend kayaking is constrained. Therefore, if you are planning to take extended trips, you should opt for a bigger kayak to handily accommodate every gear and guarantee you comfort.

The Type of kayaking you Intend To Do

The type of kayaking you aim to do affects how long your kayaking trip can last. Some kinds of kayaking such as whitewater kayaking needing a constrained time frame whereas sea kayaking necessitates a longer time frame in the waters.

Due to the intense physical requirements of whitewater kayaking, your kayaking trip will be short since you will need to have rest occasionally. Furthermore, traveling through rivers or creeks requires you to do so in the shortest duration possible therefore the time you will spend kayaking will be minimal. Nonetheless, sea kayakers usually spend a lot of time on the water moving from one point to another while enjoying the gorgeous scenes they find along the way. As a result, the kayaking trip can even last the whole day. Thus, your preference for either of this two will determine how long your kayaking trip will be.

Weather and Water Conditions

Before starting your kayaking expedition, first asses the water and weather conditions since this two considerably affect the duration you will spend kayaking. It is because both affect the speed at which you can paddle.

Traveling through waters with strong currents, for instance, a running river or the sea dramatically reduces the speed at which you can move. However, still and calm waters found in wetlands or lakes is excellent if you want to kayak at high speeds.

Also, paddling is windy conditions dramatically affects the speed at which you can travel with this depending on whether you are kayaking against the winds or with the winds. If kayaking with the direction of the wind, you will go at faster speeds than if you are traveling against the winds. Therefore, these two conditions are critical to consider since they affect how long your kayaking tour will take.

The Design of the Kayak

Lastly, another issue that affects the duration of your kayaking tour is the design of the kayak. Usually, the narrower and longer a kayak is, the faster it travels through the water due to its streamlined design, and even continues to move even after you stop paddling. It is because of this reason that racing kayaks adopt this design. Kayaks that are shorter and wider have more surface area that is in contact with water thereby increasing friction as it moves through water significantly reducing its speed. Thus, if you want to take extended kayaking trips at slow speeds, you should opt for the shorter and broader kayaks, but if you are into speed, the longer and narrower kayak would be the perfect fit an excellent kayaking experience.