Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Urban Water Sports

Locations in this article:  Austin, TX Louisville, KY Miami, FL New York City, NY San Francisco, CA

Can’t get away to a tropical island for vacation, but have a craving to play in azure waters?

Not to worry, there are plenty of ways to get your water fix even if you’re in a big city.

How about … jet skiing in Manhattan?

That’s right, Jetty Jumpers offers urban jet skiing in New York City, as well as other cities like Louisville, Miami, and San Francisco.

Just don’t forget to ask about local laws and mandatory classes, since each city has different rules.

Charles River Canoe & Kayak has locations throughout Massachusetts. In addition to canoe and kayak classes, they offer a very cool sport called stand-up paddle boarding.

And where else but Austin, Texas, can you combine kayaking with spotting urban bats?

That’s right, a company called Live, Love, Paddle will take you by kayak up Lady Bird Lake to see the colony of 1.5 million bats flying off Congress Bridge every night.

Just one caveat: urban waters are often not as clean as their coastal counterparts, so follow some general guidelines from the EPA … in a nutshell, don’t swallow the water or eat without washing your hands first.

Find more ways to play in our Water Sports section.

And check out the rest of our Daily Travel Tips here.