Florida COVID GUIDELINES
Adventure Paddle Tours is committed to keeping staff and guests safe during these challenging times. Please, read through what precautions, requirements, and protocols we have implemented to keep our staff and guests as safe as possible. In addition, we implore you to CONTACT US if you or your family have additional requirements or requests to ensure your complete satisfaction and confidence in us in keeping you, your family, and our staff safe.
It is understood that outdoor activities pose a lesser risk of COVID-19 infection. Please read the following article from the Mayo Clinic for more information on outdoor activities. Even with the decreased chance of COVID-19 infection outdoors we are still utilizing the following practices. More helpful information on COVID-19 can be found on the CDC Website.
Social Distancing:
Since day one, our Florida kayak tours have been capped at eight guests unless a larger private party has booked.
Capacities:
Kayak Tours – Maximum of 8, with the option for a private tour for a flat $100 fee
Boat Tours – All boat tours are private, Your family and our captain. Our tour boat is designed to keep passengers at the bow (front) while your captain operates the boat from the stern (back).
Distancing in the Field:
Throughout the process, from booking to our introduction and while on tour, our guides will remind guests of the recommended 6-foot distancing. Our kayak paddles are great reminder tools. Extend your paddle the full length, and that is the minimum suggested spacing. Guests are always encouraged to spread out just enough to stay in earshot but close enough to spot things their guide might find.
Passenger Van Shuttle:
Our Manatees and Mangroves Tour is the only route that utilizes a passenger van. The travel time from the meeting location to the put-in is 4 miles or 7 minutes. Separate households or reservations are shuttled separately. Please, understand to utilize this additional safety measure, GUESTS MUST ARRIVE EARLY.
Sanitizing & Disinfecting:
Equipment:
Paddles – Paddles are cleaned with FDA approved disinfecting solution before and after every use.
PFDs – PFDs (life jackets) are rotated between tours, allowing for 24 hours of sun exposure between each use. Each jacket is sprayed with an FDA approved disinfectant and left in full sunlight.
Passenger Van – High use areas (seat belts, seats, and armrests are cleaned thoroughly between uses. We require windows to be fully open during use.
Face masks:
Face masks are required while riding in our passenger van and during any interactions where the required 6-foot distancing is unlikely. We kindly ask all customers to respect OUR right as a small business to enforce OUR chosen implemented safety policies. If you are not willing to wear a mask while utilizing our services, you have the right to support any other business, and we will happily offer recommendations to some of our competitors with whom we have an excellent working relationship.
Face masks and ADA compliance:
“The ADA does not provide a blanket exemption to people with disabilities from complying with legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operations,”
the Department of Justice Department.
Lastly, for the most part, a face mask is only required while riding in our van. The Fakahatchee Wilderness Tour, The Rookery Bay Tours, and our Boat Tours do not utilize the van. In addition, we can operate a variation of our Manatees and Mangroves Tour without using the van. However, the addition of the passenger van does remove difficult variables such as tide and wind. During our first year of running the Manatees and Mangroves Tour, we did not utilize a van. Feel free to CONTACT US if you still have concerns with our COVID-19 decisions. We will not mix politics and business, but if anyone knows me, they will know I always wear my life jacket when kayaking, my seat belt when driving, my helmet when mountain biking and skiing, and I only drive at max nine mph over the speed limit.
Customer Screening:
Guests are kindly asked to cancel their tour with a full refund if they have experienced any of these symptoms:
Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, the recent loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
If you answer yes to any of the following questions, we kindly ask you to cancel with a full refund.
Within the past 14 days, have you had contact with anyone that you know had COVID-19 or COVID-like symptoms? Contact is being 6 feet (2 meters) or closer for more than 15 minutes with a person, or having direct contact with fluids from a person with COVID-19 (for example, being coughed or sneezed on).
Have you had a positive COVID-19 test for active virus in the past ten days?
Within the past 14 days, has a public health or medical professional told you to self-monitor, self-isolate, or self-quarantine because of concerns about COVID-19 infection?
Employee Screening:
Adventure Paddle Tours is a very small operation. There are three of us working at the Naples location, and we are all following the above guidelines and screening questions. We are offering paid time off if employees must miss work due to COVID-19