We have a fleet of 6 canoes with a capacity to get 60 adults out on the water at any one time, up to 69 if you have very small children:
Optional extras for private groups:
Coach access is possible from Totnes and Dartmouth, and smaller buses can get to Stoke Gabriel within a five minute walk to the quay.
Take your party out onto the water! With our fleet of 6 canoes we can get up to 60 adults out in one go, 69 if you have little children!
Parties. Reunions. Charity Fundraisers. Corporate Events. Fun and adventurous days out for groups of all ages and abilties. If you're organising an event for a mixed bag of people, we'll help you get all of them out on the water and have a great time.
We know you are organising a lot to bring many people together on one day. We can help you plan your logistics and we will take care of all of you once you're here.
Give us a call or send us an email to discuss your requirements and we'll be happy to create a unique adventure just for you and your group.
'The perfect day out' we have been running for over 21 years. Remembered as 'the best day of the holidays' by children up and down the country, many of whom are now grown up and bringing their own children!
Paddling, ice cream, firebuilding, catching crabs, tea, hot chocolate and laughter, all rolled into one great adventure. Proper, timeless, healthy fun for friends and family to enjoy together on the water and on the shore.
Think of your Canoe Adventure as a whole day out. Adventures last for 3.5 to 5 hours and we're not paddling all the time. In fact we spend as much time on the shore as we do on the water. We break the paddling up into 20-50 minute sections, with two decent breaks on the shore in between.
One 'civilised' stop to visit the River Shack Cafe at Stoke Gabriel, with toilets and ice creams.
One longer, ‘wild’ stop where we stop on the shore somewhere only accessible by boat. Here we have a picnic (bring your own), chill out, build a fire, have a brew (we provide), maybe play some games, catch some crabs, chat, whatever is appropriate to the age and interests of the group. We watch the tide turn and once it is running in our favour we paddle back.
And most adventures start and end at The Maltsters Arms pub so allow some time for a drink or meal there afterwards (booking essential if you want to eat there).
Tuesday 20th August we will start at Stoke Gabriel and hope to get as far as Dartmouth on a big tide.
Its crazy how much kids love Riverschool! Each day we paddle by giant canoe to our woodland basecamp for activities, free-play, fun, friendship and adventure, or we journey out to explore the Dart estuary.
We normally gather at The Quay, Stoke Gabriel, but sometimes it is Tuckenhay or Totnes depending on the tides (so check your booking details carefully).
We are once again be able to offer both HAF-funded* and privately-funded, Open-to-All Riverschool Holiday Clubs. * (HAF = Holiday Activities and Food programme -for those eligible for Free School Meals in the Devon Authority area, more details below)
Below are our planned dates for Riverschool and some explanations. Some dates are yet to be confirmed, so please save dates for now.
Bookings will open 26th March here.
Easter Holidays: 07-09th April, Mon, Tues, Weds. HAF-funded with some pay-for places.
Summer Half term: 27-29 May incl. Tues, Wed, Thurs. Open-to-All, Privately-funded places only.
Summer Holidays: all dates TBC, please save the dates for now.
Either 28-30th July, Mon to Wed, or 29th - 31st July, Tues to Thurs. TBC. Open-to-All, Privately-funded places only.
4-8th August, Mon-Fri. HAF-funded with some pay-for places.
11-15 August, Mon-Fri. HAF-funded with some pay-for places.
18-22 August, Mon-Fri. HAF-funded with some pay-for places.
26-28 August, Tues, Wed, Thurs. Open-to-All, Privately-funded places only.
October Half-term: 27-29 October. Mon to Wed. Open-to-All, Privately-funded places only.
Please check below for clarity on the different holiday clubs. Some things are a little bit different for 2025.
We have been doing our best to take into consideration feedback from recent years and the financial times we are living in.
We realise budgets are tight and we are really feeing this at Canoe Adventures. We are keeping prices the same as last year (and the year before and the year before that!). We are also very pleased to have HAF funding again this year but it is tighter than ever per child.
Pay-for places on HAF sessions. We are very pleased we can include some pay-for / privately-funded places on the HAF-funded blocks so non-Free School Meal eligible children can join. We will prioritise these places for local schools as best we can. The main aim of doing this is so friends from the same schools can go on the same holiday clubs, irrespective of their free school meal eligibility. To make this work, please book as quick as you can.
How to book: Please click here for a new booking system provided by Devon County Council which will handle all bookings, both HAF and paid-for / self-funded places.
Booking in advance helps us massively.
Seven year olds: We promote Riverschool as ages 8-14. We can take some seven year olds at our discretion, especially children we know and siblings. But we can’t take too many or we don’t have enough muscle power to paddle the canoes, they take more supervision and staff and we are keen to have a good mix of ages. I am sure you understand! Please contacts us directly, if in doubt.
'Open to All' vs HAF
Please note HAF-funded days are shorter than the Open-to-All, Privately-funded Holiday clubs, and they include a hot meal that we all take part in cooking together on the open fire.
Open-to-All, Privately-funded holiday clubs involve some cooking on the fire but it is not intended as a substantial meal, so your children need to bring a packed lunch.
Open-to-All, Privately-funded Riverschoool:
HAF-funded Riverschool, (including pay-for places on same sessions):
Our aim is to be fully inclusive and open to everyone. However, given the nature of our activities, please note we may need to limit numbers of very small children so that we have enough paddlers to operate our canoes safely, and also some SEN children if we can't satisfy the staffing levels that maybe needed to ensure a safe environment. It is important you declare any SENDs, ADHD etc.
3. School trips, Youth groups, overnight camps and private birthday parties, please contact: hello@canoeadventures.co.uk or 07706 343744; schools/youth groups click here.
RIVERSCHOOL is an Ofsted registered childcare provider (Registration / Reference number 27317450)
Our aim is to be fully inclusive and open to everyone but, given the nature of our activities, please note we may need to limit numbers of very small children so that we have enough paddlers to operate our canoes safely, or some SEN children if we can't satisfy the staffing levels that maybe needed to ensure a safe environment.
We do great stag and hen parties! Oh yes.
Give your best mates and lifelong buddies an adventure and a send-off they'll remember for the rest of their lives! We can make it as civilised or adventurous as you like.
We'll get you safely to and from the pub with time to build a fire to cook on and brew a great cuppa on the way home.
Starting from £35 per person, £220 minimum charge. For group rates see our prices here.
Why not make it an overnight adventure? Camp out in the wild under your own 'basha' and add a few bushcraft activities. See our 'Overnight Wild Camp Adventures' for details.
You’ll find some of Devon’s finest pubs on the shores of the River Dart estuary. What better way to visit them than in a giant canoe, taking in all the amazing scenery along the way?
We normally set out in the early evening/late afternoon, paddling to the pub for dinner. On the way back from the pub, we stop on the shore, build a fire and have a brew as the sun goes down. Then we paddle home under the stars. Magical.
Join a scheduled trip which you can book 'by-the-seat'. Up and coming trips will be scheduled below. Or book your own private adventure for groups of six or more.
Please note child and family tickets are not valid on our late evening adventures.
- Wednesday 14th August, 1700 Stoke Gabriel to Dittisham for the Ferry Boat Inn.
- Wednesday 21st August, 1800 Stoke Gabriel to Tuckenhay for the Maltsters Arms.
- Friday 13th September, 1800 Stoke Gabriel to Dittisham for the Ferry Boat Inn.
Camp wild on the shores of the River Dart estuary with your mates, colleagues or family. Paddle to your campsite, build your own shelter to sleep under and a fire to cook on. A paddle to the excellent Ferry Boat Inn for pizza and a pint is very often on the itinerary. As are various activities back at camp, such as some basic bushcraft skills, fishing, swimming or paddling in small craft such as traditional canoes and paddleboards. Stay up into the night chatting round the fire and wake with the dawn to the birdsong and a beautiful view. Our crew will take good care of you in the morning as they cook you up a hearty breakfast over the fire before we break camp and paddle home.
Ideal for stags, hens, birthdays, reunions, team building and generally just getting away from it all.
We normally start and end at the Maltsters Arms, Tuckenhay, or at the Quay in Stoke Gabrie, between 1000-1200, and are back on shore 1000-1100 the following morning. Shorter overnight options and longer 'residential' camps are available. Please see bottom of page for options and practicalities.
Get your crew out on the river in our BIG canoes where we have lots of fun both on the water and on the shore. New skills, team work, great banter, a perfect balance of full-on canoe racing and relaxing, chill-out time drifting on the river. Stop on the shore to brew or cook on the fire you've just built yoursleves using your ancient firelighting skills, sit back and enjoy the view, maybe spot some seals as we wait for the tide to turn. And perhaps a pub or two en-route?
Our staff have experience of team and group work in a range of settings and will make this a special experience for you and your staff.
We can get 6-60 people out on the water at the same time. Give us a call or send us a message to discuss your requirements and we'll be happy to create a unique trip just for your company or team.
£35 per person, starting from £220. For group rates see our prices here.
Please call or email to arrange your trip. We'll work with you to plan the best and most cost effective adventure for your group.
This route is an option for private groups and we don't have any Totnes to Dartmouth trips available as scheduled trips this year but Tuesday 20th August we will start at Stoke Gabriel and hope to get as far as Dartmouth on a big tide. You can book this on our All Aboard Adventures.
Explore the full length of the estuary for a proper expedition. Experience how the environment changes and the stunning scenery opens up as we paddle with the tide downriver, from a freshwater river to a deep marine harbour with stunning views out to sea. The historic towns of Totnes and Dartmouth with their prominent castles stand at either end, and the journey is punctuated with history, such as the Sharpham, Sandridge and Greenway estates. This could be the 12 most beautiful miles in England!
This may sound like a long way for those of us who are not regular paddlers, but we take it easy. There are pubs and ice creams en route and we always make one stop for a fire and a brew and maybe even a swim.
Alternatively you can explore sections of the estuary, with one-way adventures starting or ending in Totnes, Sharpham Campsite, Tuckenhay, Stoke Gabriel, Dittisham, Greenway or Dartmouth.
This is mainly an option for private groups. Please see bottom of this page for information on plannning the costs and logistics which we will talk through with you.
We occassionally offer Totnes to Dartmouth to book 'By-the-Seat' and any up and coming trips will be listed here.
