southeast expeditions

My 3 grandchildren (6, 8, &10) have enjoyed paddle boarding and kayaking with SouthEast Expeditions for the last 2 summers. I sat on the deck with a beverage at Mallards and enjoyed watching. They took a break to have lunch with me at Mallards (2 steps away) then went out again!

We toured Chatham Vineyards via kayak. About a 90 minute paddle to the vineyards and half that to get back. Stayed in quiet waters, with many birds to be seen from the water, as we hugged the shore and steered around the crab pots. Our guide was Margaret and found her very cheerful, competent and helpful.

Having heard wonderful things from friends about Mary and Bill Burnhams who run SouthEast Expeditions, my husband and I decided we wanted to sign up for a two night overnight camping/kayak trip on the Chesapeake Bay. We understand that our guides, the Burnhams, are also outdoor writers and guides who have written many books about hiking, camping, and kayaking.Being the professionals that they both are, Mary and Bill are familiar with the waterways, weather, tide, and wind conditions of each of our planned days....which happened to end up being a picture perfect weekend. Because they are so knowledgeable, we felt confident traveling with them on our paddling adventure. Wherever we paddled or walked, the Burnhams pointed out interesting wildlife and vegetation, or provided information regarding historic sites. Each evening as we set up our camp along the water in a beautiful location, the Burnhams would prepare a fabulous dinner....they know their craft, are excellent cooks, are well organized and are fun to be around. Even though my husband and I are not new to kayaking, we are unfamiliar with the waters of the Eastern Shore and wanted to learn about that region from the BEST...which we did. We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we plan to sign up in the future for more adventures with SouthEast Expedition and the Burnhams!!!

I've been wanting to kayak the waters around Onancock ever since I started coming down a few years ago to work on my genealogy. Finally decided to try this company and I couldn't have been more pleased. Bill, the owner and his wife, were very nice and accommodating (since the weather was kind of iffy) but we ended up taking a 2 hour tour around the creeks of Onancock as the weather started to break. This was a great tour for beginners and even though I'm what I would call an intermediate I thoroughly enjoyed all the information our guide Wil provided as we paddled the creeks. I felt as if I was back in time and wondered what it must have been like when the Indians lived on the land and shores here. So, definitely try this place out if you want to have some fun kayaking. They have other tours and the one I'll try next is the paddle to the winery!

At the suggestion of a friend, we took the historic Onancock kayak tour. We were created by Bill who was a gracious host and worked with our guide Will, to get us settled in the right kayak. We were both new to kayaking, and they were exceptionally patient and provided us with all the instruction and guidance we needed. Will was an outstanding guide and gave a very nice tour full of historic information. He also answered any and all questions about the local ecology. The tour lasted about 2 hours and it was tons of fun. You stay close to shore and the water was very calm, so a good workout, but not over strenuous. There is a great bar next door for the post kayak rehydration. We were delighted about a week after we returned home to receive a post card from Will thanking us for joining him on the tour - a very nice touch. Looking forward to returning for the Paddle Your Glass Off winery kayak tour next visit.

On a recent visit to the Eastern Shore my husband and I joined SouthEast Expeditions for a kayak and clamming tour. Our guides were Ben and Tyler who were both excellent and made the trip both fun and informative. Neither of us had ever been in a kayak before or been clamming so Ben and Tyler led us through the basic education on shore and then had us in the kayaks and paddling in about 10 minutes. We paddled across Cherrystone Inlet and then back to a private clam bed. Information and history of the area, of clamming, of kayaking and many other topics made conversations during our 2 hour trip lively and fun. Clamming was easy and fun as we explored the clam bed first with our toes, then with our hands to bring up fistfuls of clams and sort out the keeper sizes. If you are reluctant to try kayaking because of age or mobility, let me say that I found it remarkably easy and I am both over fifty and have health issues. It was very easy to move through the water on a kayak and I wasn't even sore the next morning so give it a try!

Bill & Mary Burnham provide a wonderful experience in kayaking and history as you paddle the tributaries and small beaches of Onancock Creek, VA. Experienced & inexperienced, young & old can enjoy this adventure together. The Burnhams provide it all at their rental shop at the Onancock Wharf. Restaurants are nearby, as are restrooms and ample parking. They also provide other types of kayaking experiences.....paddle to Chatham Vineyards, enjoy a wine tasting, buy some vintages and paddle back down a beautiful secluded creek to your vehicle! Tours through the seaside marshes of the Eastern Shore of Virginia are also highly recommended.

My husband, daughter and I rented stand up paddleboards while in Onancock this year. Mary gave us a lesson and sent us on our way. Mary and Bill are experienced kayakers and know the area so well. We felt very comfortable within minutes. This is a great area to kayak and SUP because the water is calm and there is not a lot of boat traffic. There are also several branches of Onancock Creek to explore.

Onancock Creek offers a 7 mile journey to the Chesapeake Bay past gracious homes and beautiful wildlife. The kayaks we rented at SouthEast Expeditions allowed us to enjoy all the beauty the area holds.

hang gliding and a kayaking wine tour. The hang gliding had to be rescheduled but the lunch and wine tour were great

My wife and I made a stay in Onancock part of our late August trip because of the great reviews about SouthEast expeditions from other Trip Advisor members. And we were not disappointed!! Besides being a lovely town with super friendly people, great places to eat and cool shops, we went out on the Kayak Winery tour. Our guide was Will Cummings, was super knowledgeable about the area, kayaking, and the wildlife, really made it a special trip. We had kayaked before, so we had some experience, but Will helped us to improve out technique by showing us how to hold the paddles and the proper stroke motion. We kayaked over to a local winery (Chatham), participated in a tasting, had a private tour by the owner, bought a few bottles, and kayaked back to our start point. Overall the trip was about three hours and our only disappointment was not being in town longer to take advantage of other kayaking spots and tours. Also, I didn't meet Mary Burnham in person, but had several phone / email conversations. She was also very knowledgeable and helpful to us in deciding which trip to go on.

Just wanted to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to Bill and Mary who run the Onancock Va kayak shop, SouthEast Expeditions. My wife and I are avid stillwater kayakers and have paddled around much of the eastern shore of MD. We decided to do some exploring around the eastern shore of VA last week. Never having been there before, I randomly called SouthEast Expeditions and spoke with Mary Burnham (an adventure travel writer too) who provided some great ideas on what to do around the area (she is partial to Onancock, but only because it's a great town). Husband Bill had some great recommendations too on where to paddle, and loaned us a map (very much a necessity). We signed up for a "rescue and rolling" lesson with Bill as well to hone some paddling skills, and it was time well spent. Bill really worked with our skill level to help us learn and practice some basics of self and partner rescue. I would highly recommend any intermediate/novice paddler (and of course beginners) to hook up with Bill to help advance your skills - he's a great instructor who really focuses on your needs.On another day, I took a kayak surf lesson with Dave Burden on Assateague Island. We had some big surf that day (peak 4-6 ft) but I was comfortable in the sit-on-top. Dave really helped me out with reading the waves, positioning the boat, and getting my bracing mechanics into muscle memory. And when that didn't work, he graciously rounded up my boat after I would tumble out and hauled it back up the beach as we were getting a heavy drift. Dave is also a fabulous instructor with a lot of enthusiasm for kayak surfing. Kayakers looking to get to the next level, or simply out for a new experience, should check it out.

The Wings, Water, & Wine expedition package was an absolute blast! My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time from the moment we arrived at the airfield for hang gliding, until we returned to the dock after kayaking to a local winery for a tasting. Everyone we interacted with was pleasant, knowledgeable, and very helpful, even when I got lost on the way to the airfield and arrived an hour late. Hang gliding at 2000 ft was very exciting and the instructor/pilot did an excellent job of showing me how the glider worked (and let me do a little steering!) and pointing out the sights below us. Once we got to the winery, the wine tasting was delicious, and seeing the historic vineyard only added to the experience. While kayaking, our guide pointed out all sorts of interesting wildlife (a bald eagle, ospreys, a cow-nose ray, and a heron nesting site, among others) and went out of her way to ensure we had an enjoyable paddle to and from the winery. Overall this expedition was one of the most enjoyable day trips I've ever taken. I recommend this expedition and SouthEast Expeditions to *everyone* and can't wait to go back!

Had a great trip to Onancock, VA and was able to utilize a kayak for the weekend. SouthEast Expeditions was great to deal with and delivered the kayak to our doorstep. The owners were great and when they came to drop off the kayak he was sure to point out points of interests that we might want to go and see in the kayak. Very friendly and customer oriented. We will use each time we go out to the area and will try some other rentals they have as well.

Our guide, Dave, taught us the ins and outs of kayaking and we were off an exploring in no time at all. He was extremely knowledgable about just about everything on Eastern Shore National Wildlife Preserve. We kept saying "What's this?" and he always had an answer and a great story. Our kids learned more on vacation than most kids learn in school. The conversation and being up close and personal with the environment was definitely the highlight of our trip to the Eastern Shore. All four kids, ages 9-17, loved it and so did mom and dad. This was our first guided expedition and I would highly recommend a SouthEast Expeditions trip to anyone.