Delaware beaches ecotourism aims to keep it fresh for returning customers
Outfitters and tour guides in the Delaware beaches have long offered visitors the chance to see the region’s natural wonders from inside a kayak or atop a stand-up paddleboard.
They say much of their business comes from repeat customers, so how do they keep it fresh year after year?
Quest Adventures
If you’re looking for a chill experience, try one of Quest’s huge, 6-by-21-foot floating mats, which it has offered for the past year or so.
“Imagine a huge yoga mat,” owner Matt Carter said, capable of holding 15 to 20 people. “That’s been a big hit. They take turns chilling out on the mats while others kayak.”
Though it’s not really ecotourism, the company has been expanding into beach parties by renting equipment — chairs, umbrellas, games, that sort of thing.
Its most popular tour is called Dogfish Pints & Paddles, an easy out-and-back paddle on the Broadkill River, including a tour of Dogfish Head Brewery.
Stand-up paddleboards, which took off at the start of this decade, continue to be popular at Quest, as elsewhere. Carter recommends mornings and evenings for bay stand-up paddleboarding.
Echoing other guides, Carter said families can enjoy repeat tours as their families grow and change.
“Same tour, new group of people,” he said.
More: https://www.questkayak.com
Sun Otter Tours
Sun Otter Tours, which opened in June, distinguishes itself with a more rigorous science focus, said co-owner Jody Dengler.
“One thing we’re quick to point out is we’re not scientists,” she said as our conversation began. “We’re self-proclaimed science nerds.”
For example, their marine ecology tour starts with a water sample at the bay near Lewes. The sample is then analyzed under a microscope at a nearby University of Delaware lab.
“People are always surprised at the life that goes on in the water,” she said. “We talk about all the things that are going on in the bay and how important that life is.”
Then, the tour goes to Cape Henlopen State Park, where the group casts nets (it’s called “seining”) to survey the marine life.
“We pull out the critters, fish, crabs, jellyfish and talk about marine creatures,” Dengler said. “That marine life depends on the phytoplankton we had pulled out of the bay previously.”
They also offer a tour to learn how alcohol is made at Dogfish Head Brewery and a night tour at Trap Pond State Park.
More: www.sunotter.com.
Ecobay Kayak & SUP
Owner Lisa Daisey has been giving tours for 13 years out of the James Farm Ecological Preserve and says the landscape still amazes.
“What I do to keep people interested is education,” she said, “training our guides to teach the public and helping people slow down because life is so busy.”
If a green heron tosses a stick in the water, for example, an Ecobay guide can note that the bird is actually using it as bait to lure a fish.
Like other guides, Daisey offers full moon tours.
“It adds a different element at night,” she said. Yes, you can’t see as well, “but your other senses come alive, so it’s a tradeoff.”
More: http://www.ecobaykayak.com.
DelMarVa Board Sport Adventures
“Good service, No. 1, is what brings people back,” says Janis Markopoulos, who owns the company with her husband, George.
They offer LED paddleboard excursions, where the boards light up and illuminate the water and wildlife in it. More and more people are just renting a stand-up paddleboard and going off on their own, she said.
“In the beginning, everybody needed a lesson,” Markopoulos said, but now “the sport’s eight years into this market.”
Again, though it is not exactly ecotourism, the company is expanding into another area: historic tours.
“It’s all about the experience economy, giving people a fantastic experience,” she said. “Our goal is to get people into the nooks and crannies of our area and share the hidden gems.”
More: www.delmarvaboardsportadventures.com.
Coastal Kayak
Owner Mitch Mitchell says they keep the experience new for customers partly by virtue of how many tours they offer.
“Since we’ve got five different tours, we’ve had tons of people take all five of them,” he said.
That includes the Assateague Back Bay Pony Tour, a salt marsh tour exploring the back bays of the island, which is home to the famous Assateague Island wild horses.
Like other tour operators, Mitchell notes that even the same tour can be vastly different one day to the next.
“This year we’re seeing a ton of pelicans,” he said.
Eagles and osprey are also doing well, though other species, such as black skimmers, are not as common as they once were.
Michell said Coastal is distinguished by its staff, who are familiar with the natural resources and wildlife of the area.
More: https://coastalkayak.com
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