Balboa Water Sports

We’ll be back!!! We went here to paddle board. We had never done it before and we were a little worried it would be hard and guess what?!?. It was hard lol but so much fun. ALL of the staff are great, patient, friendly and they explained every single step in great detail. Such a blast! Thanks Guys for making our first time awesome!

Had a Blast !! Me, boyfriend & friends rented the sea doo and definitely enjoyed our ride, equipment was up to date, check in was easy the staff was great and explained everything to us in detail, it’s was our 1^st time riding in the ocean and we ALL loved it, I would definitely recommend Balboa water sports for a day of fun with ur loved ones.

I called and the girl told me they had «plenty» of available jet skis. We show up 20 mins later and she says they have zero availability. The girl behind the counter (same girl that answers the phone) seemed confused and disoriented when I told her I just called. Made me feel very awkward and like I did something wrong.
This is supposed to be a fun experience. If you don’t take reservations, that’s fine. But don’t tell people that call in that you have jet skis available when in fact you have none.
If driving foot traffic to your store to purchase sunscreen and other beach related toys is you business, then promote that. Don’t try to get people to your store by telling them you have rentals available when in fact YOU DONT!
Incompetent workers and poor business model.
Good luck.

Had a blast !! Staff was very friendly and informative !! Absolutely loved the entire experience !! Definitely will be a yearly sea doo adventure for me and my family !!

Kelly, thank you for the exceptional service this weekend. You definitely under promised and over delivered. We will be coming back for sure.

Loved this place!
The guy who was there was really helpful. There were 4 of us looking to rent paddleboards for a couple of hours. Most other places came out to $ 30 for 2 hours. But a few of the stores weren’t near the water, so it seemed we would have to walk the giant boards over somewhere and get in.
This place is right next to the ferry (i.e. ON the water). And it was $ 25 for 2 hours. AND all other shops were rented out of most of their boards, this place had enough for our group.
The guy talked with us and gave us a little lesson real quick. Great experience. I definitely will go back to them.

I grabbed the gf and we rented a couple wave runners here two Saturdays ago. It could not have been more fun. The whole process was simple, the rates very fair for the experience, and the guys working couldn’t have been nicer or more informative (I think they are brothers?). We ended up with a couple 2015 wave runners. I got mine up to about 50 mph which was more than plenty on the open ocean. The views from the ocean of the peninsula and the mountains beyond were amazing. If it were up to the gf we would be back every weekend. Much thanks for a great experience guys, and we will be back!

Great experience! Super friendly employees, very informative. We caught the 2 hrs/​$ 25 special. We saw a few seals along the way as well!

1^st time paddelboarding, we were able to use our Living Social vouchers with no hassle. They were able to get us in when we wanted (called a couple of days ahead of time to ensure spots were open). We opted for the guided tour, Andre was our guide. He was full of info about Balboa & the surrounding islands, which was interesting. We will be back! Great staff! Don’t forget to tip if you opt for the guided tour!

$ 50 for 1 hr of paddle. boarding! ! Way too expensive. Should have gotten a groupon for anotjer place. Otherwise, it was a beautiful day for me and my bf to paddle around newport harbor and have mini races. Saw some otters too. It was fun.

Bought the tandem tour on groupon. Reservations was easy to make, place was easy to find (next to Ferris wheel). Don’t park in the lot nearby, but on the other side of palm street next to balboa pier.
Check-​in was simple. Was placed in a group with 4 other people so very small group of 3 seadoos.
Tour guide named Sky was very unnecessary. He quickly went over how to ride, but none of that scenery stuff you ride across was talked about. He took off as soon as we were out of the harbor. I understand he wants to accommodate for the speedy people, but it was definitely not a tour. More like follow the leader.
The ride itself was amazinggggg beyond compare! Bf barely hit 25 mph and I freaked. Ride was bumpy and kind of scary. I mean we’re in the middle of the ocean and I can’t swim even if there’s a life vest. The underwater life is a horrifying thought. Haha when I switched to drive, I could only go 10 mph :(switching was a bit tough since the seadoo gets a little shaky, but it’s doable. Forgot to wear sunscreen, overcast still darkens you. After an hour and a half of searching, I finally saw the school of dolphins. Incredible, beautiful, magnificent. Swimming next to us, jumping out of the water. Amazingggg.
Saw some lazy seals too, but eh. My goal on this tour was to do something different & to see dolphins. Mission accomplished! :D would definitely come back again when I see the groupon. Regular price is a little too steep for me.

I would give this place 10 stars if I could. I’m a very picky person usually and there’s not one bad thing I can say about the two hour guided tour we took today. I loved every minute. Although there was a guide he was super cool and we got to do anything we wanted. Plenty of time to play around and showed us some sea lions and I caught a glimpse of a dolphin. We had so much fun we’ll definitely be back.

Super Awesome!
People there were very helpful. We rented jet-​skis. Made me feel very safe. I would definitely rent from them again

Total awesomeness! Brand new new sea doos that will rock your socks!
Those skis have different modes so you can pick which one you’d like to cruise on. I rode on the sport setting most of the time. These skis also have brakes, which is new to me. They just halt, Lol so be very careful.
Took about 10 minutes to get from the harbor to the ocean, but you aren’t charged for that time. There’s plenty to see on your way out. There’s sea lions, and dolphins!
When I was actually out about 1.5 miles from shore, a dolphin came right up to me! So amazing!
I was only charged $ 125 for an hour (mind you, they spot you 10 minutes). That includes a life jacket and wet suit. Skyler was very knowledgeable and helpful. Very nice gentleman.
Be sure to check out their website for deals!

My husband and I rented a Seadoo for 2 hours and had a blast. Their equipment is high quality and they were very helpful and friendly. We saw 1 whale, hundreds of dolphins and lots of sea lions. Thanks Ballboa Water Sports for t
he great day!

Been there last weekend and booked for just 1 hour on the SEA DOO. Everyone are so friendly and helpful and one important thing is that they make you feel relax. I had experience many different rental out there that make sure you feel the pressure of not damaging their equipment.
Got to see Whales, Dolphines, and Sea Lions swimming next to you!
It is totally and make sure you maintain your speed below 5MPG before exiting the jetty, we are warned that the speeding ticket goes as high as $ 700 and you do really see Sherrif’s boat wandering around.
Some pointers to keep in mind:
— Go early, if not parking is a NIGHTMARE, IT IS HELL!
— Book more than just 1 hr, I booked only 1 hr and regretted cause it is way too short and so much more to see and explore with one more hour.
— There are storage on the Sea Doo, A LOT of STORAGE but I would suggest bringing a waterproof cellphone case to protect your phone
— There are reception when you are out in the open sea!

It was great! Didn’t even need a reservation for the weekday. Very nice and accomodating. They had great jetskis and even had some special edition ones that looked amazing.
Best rental experience for sea doos in the OC!

My wife and I had a rare couple days away from the kiddos and wanted to try something new, so we decided to give Stand Up Paddle boarding a try. We visited Balboa Water Sports on a clear, sunny day, and were excited to get out on the water. Kelly and Skye were so accommodating and friendly! Skye gave us newbies a quick lesson and Kelly showed us a couple routes that would be a good fit for us on a map. We got out on the water and it was amazing!
Such a unique experience, such amazing views (and waterfront homes to see); it was even better than we anticipated. Thanks Kelly and Skye for making our experience so memorable!

These guys really know how to show you a good time. I’ve used them for an individual one hour rental of their top end Seadoos and bought their 2 hour guided Seadoo tour down to Laguna. The 2 hour tour was the best. I was able to play around on the way down to Laguna without feeling constrained and the guide kept us safe and was able to show us an AWESOME pack of dolphins (Video here
) I would definitely recommend these guys and go back any time. GREAT TIME!!!

Jet ski and other water sport rentals. Reserve your jet ski for 11am online or by calling. Get there fifteen minutes early to fill out paper work. First come first serve after 2pm. Two hours for $ 175 online special. One hour for $ 125.
Great customer service from the guy and girl that worked there on Labor Day. It takes 30 minutes to get out of the canal and into the ocean, and they take that into account. They were also friendly and helpful.
What an awesome experience! It was totally different jet skiing on the ocean as opposed to a calm lake. The waves were huge and we skipped along other boats’ tracks.
The dock is located right behind the ferris wheel.