Bioluminescent Kayak Trip

Kayak Salt River Bay’s Luminous Lagoon

Ready for an indescribable experience you’ll remember for a lifetime? Our Bioluminescent Kayak Trip is by far one of our most popular St. Croix tours!

Your trip sets out before sundown, in “Bio Bay” on the east side of Salt River and one km kayak trip from our launch site. From there, your guide will fill you in on all the local ecology, history, and spiritual mysteries of Salt River before we head to Mangrove Lagoon to see the glowing water.

A truly mystical and natural wonder of nature, it is impossible to describe bioluminescent water other than a blue-ish aura that appears when you disturb the water. Truly one of St Croix’s most beautiful hidden gems!

Bioluminescence is the natural phenomenon of living creatures emitting light, and these glowing organisms are on display year-round inside the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Reserve.

Within the bay is a smaller bay, formerly known as Mangrove Lagoon, which houses a large population of bioluminescent plankton known as dinoflagellates. In what biologists theorize is a defense mechanism, these dinoflagellates respond to physical contact by emitting light, scaring off any would-be predators.

In order to observe these creatures we require complete darkness, thus our excursions are dependent on the moon cycle! We run Bioluminescent Kayak Trips when the moon will be below the horizon during evening hours (that’s true for two weeks following the full moon), or when the moon is in its crescent phase.

You have to see this natural phenomenon to believe it! Book your St. Croix kayaking trip online today.

Please note that rates are ticketed per person and each kayak holds up to two people.