One of the greatest natural marvels is bioluminescence. It is generally found in the deep waters and caverns. You can do bioluminescent kayaking Florida in Merritt Island’s National Wildlife Refuge located in Titusville. I bet you’ll love the experience of bioluminescent kayaking Florida. With all that beauty and wonder, peace and shine in absolute darkness.
What Should You Expect on Your Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida
Surprisingly, you must be ready for a lot of surprises and relax and cherish the moments. Night kayaking certainly hits differently than rowing your boat in the bright sun. The serendipity you’ll experience while kayaking at night is unmatchable with anything else.
Mosquito Lagoon in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of the best spots to go bioluminescent kayaking Florida.
When you’re on your boat, and with the sunset as the water starts glowing up, you can’t stop but be in awe. As the dusk falls upon water, with every splash and ripple, you’ll be able to see the magical, starry, glittery shine. It’s just not describable, and you’ll have to visit and try bioluminescent kayaking Florida by yourself.
Places to Go Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida
There are several places to go for bioluminescent kayaking in Florida. One such place where you’ll get satisfied is Titusville. It is situated between two beaches, Daytona and Cocoa and is also the birthplace of Cape Canaveral, NASA and the National Wildlife Refuge of Merritt Island.
In the daytime, the Indian River and Merritt Island are filled with Manatees throughout the year. And from June to October, in the nighttime, it gets flooded with people worldwide for witnessing the high density of bioluminescent plankton.
Other than these well-known places, there are many even undiscovered places you can go and visit yourself.
Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida Tours
As you might already know, there are a lot of options to choose from for your bioluminescent kayaking experience in Florida, some of the most chosen fall in the area of Fort De Soto, which is near Saint Petersburg on the Gulf of Mexico, which goes to the Space Coast on Atlantic.
If you live in Florida, have equipments and gears and know this area well, you can definitely go on your own, but grabbing a tour is highly suggested.
Guided Tours for Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida in Titusville
In Titusville, you’ll find some tour organizers who mainly go on the Haulover Canal. The groups that they take for kayaking may vary from small to medium to large. They also offer private tours, which are a bit more expensive and most of the tours go for around ninety minutes, encompassing the same places.
Find a tour that will have fewer people on the kayak so that your bioluminescent kayaking Florida experience will be quite quiet & nice.
Some Other Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida Tours
There is a huge list to choose from kayaking in Florida, irrelevant to your current state. You will have to inquire about Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida near the Gulf side and around Tampa Bay. But many experienced guides organize tours through the springs and islands of Florida you won’t want to miss on!
Things You Must Remember Before Going to Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida
1. It Is Really Very Dark on the Water While You Are Kayaking
As bioluminescence is nothing but lights that are visible and produced by small plankton or dinoflagellates. And it requires darkness to get the lightest visible to your bare eyes.
Some of the most famous bioluminescent kayaking in Florida is done at Merritt Island NWR. It is safe and secured by the federal and quite near the NASA space programme’s launch site. Hence the area is extremely dark.
Suppose you are afraid of darkness or have a history of anxiety, claustrophobia or something else, sorry to break your heart. Bioluminescent kayaking is not the best activity for you. Kayaking without decent visibility can freak some people out, and you wouldn’t want that when you are on a kayak on a dark black night. You have to stay calm.
The tour guides often have with them headlamps, glow sticks and flashlights, but the light isn’t really enough to mask up the huge darkness; it’s just like a needle in front of an elephant.
So it’s not suggested to go alone, at least bring some experienced kayaker with you and some glow sticks too.
2. Get Ready for Mosquito Bites!
Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida generally takes places on the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon in Titusville.
The name says it all! Mosquito Lagoon is the place where the invention of diet was found and tested.
There are some ways to keep yourself free from these irritating insects while bioluminescent kayaking Florida.
3. Tips to Stay Itchy-Free while Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida in Mosquito Lagoon
i)Don’t wear Half Sleeves or Three-Fourths
Ensure that you wear clothes that will keep you cool in Florida’s hot weather, and keep in mind that the fabric must be thick enough to shield the mosquito bites through them.
ii.)Have Bug Spray in Handy
Apply bug spray after you arrive at the site and keep it near you. You can also reapply even before when you’re in the parking area. It’ll help not totally, but something is better than nothing!
Apply bug spray once getting into your kayak as it might fade away and lose power.
iii.) Keep Moving
It’s really hard always to keep moving, but as you know, sitting still will help the mosquitoes suck your blood easily.
The wind is blowing while kayaking, and when you move, it gets even harder for mosquitos to sit and suck your blood.
When you are paddling or kayaking, it’ll naturally make it easy to move, but when you’re not on the water, make sure you keep moving.
4. Taking Photographs of Bioluminescence is A Hard Task
It’s not at all easy to have a perfect or desired picture of bioluminescence. When you’re kayaking and look at that shimmering water, you get amazed and stunned!
But when you see that bioluminescence, you forget that your eyes slowly adapted to the darkness and the surroundings, while your camera is still the same.
If you think having done some adjustments and settings, it’ll be possible; there’s nothing wrong in giving it a try.
5. Don’t Stick to Take Pictures of Bioluminescence
If you just kept setting up your camera for clicking your perfect Bioluminescence photos, you’ll miss many present beauty and memories.
Bioluminescent Kayaking, Florida, is one of the very few activities that allow you to enjoy nature at its best without disturbing gadgets or technology. Observe and wonder the marvellous nature.
Tips for Bioluminescent Photography
As mentioned above, it’s hard to capture the Bioluminescent dinoflagellates. Don’t even try to take pictures of marine life in the complete night!
Even to have some okayish photos, you’ll have to get an expensive camera and professional gears and equipments.
It’s hard, but not impossible, to get a few Bioluminescence photographs with the right gear.
Below are Some Tricks to Take Good Photos of Bioluminescence With a Phone:
i.)It would help if you had a phone with the feature of “night sight” for that.
ii.)Turn on the night sight feature, let someone else move the paddle or hands fast in the water to activate the glowing dinoflagellates or plankton. While doing this, try to keep your kayak as stable as possible.
iii.) Stay calm and still, sit on stand firmly and take the beautiful pictures of glittery bioluminescent waters.
Also, if you’re on the water a couple of moments before the sunset, you can have even better shots. How?
Set your phone with the sunset behind the kayaker when the sun is about to set and let him paddle aggressively. The glowing splashes will look really great in your photos.
However, if you don’t get photographs as you wanted to be, don’t be upset; Bioluminescent Photography is really, really tough.
6. Past Experience of Paddling Might Be Rewarding, But It’s Not Compulsory
Bioluminescent Kayaking, Florida, is a unique activity to do. So don’t get under-confident or nervous if you’ve never had any experience of kayaking or paddling. You don’t need to be a pro kayaker for enjoying this natural phenomenon; you should know how to control thought kayak and don’t panic in the water.
Seeing the glowing waters and marine life like Manatees and dolphins, jellyfishes, plankton and much more.
If you’re new to kayaking and don’t want to mess up, having a local guide will be a great help for you.
Bioluminescent Kayaking Florida is done at night, and with the night, it gets really very uncertain that too with so much wildlife.
Try to get on the water a couple of times before or during sunset, which will not only make you confident but will help you know the area a bit.
However, if you panic and get anxious when trying something new or in some new place or get afraid of darkness, have an experienced paddler with you. (Some local guide will be great!)
7. The Warmer The Weather, The Brighter The Bioluminescent
Suppose you are roaming round in Florida, visiting NASA at Kennedy Space Center or Daytona beach, and it’s scorching you can’t stop sweating! But wait, it is the perfect chance to get the most of Bioluminescent kayaking Florida.
As the weather is warm, water gets warm too, and warm water helps the bioluminescent plankton to rise on the surface as much and as bright as possible.
Of course, the temperature falls after sunset, but the water doesn’t get cool rapidly. Especially on sweltering days, when even the wind is blowing hot airs, the dinoflagellates are most thick and easier than ever to float on water.
The shiny, shimmery, glowy water in the absence of all kinds of lights is something really very exciting. It’s one of the most interesting and astounding natural phenomena. And this is the reason which makes bioluminescent kayaking Florida a must inclusive in your bucket list.