VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It was a sunny Wednesday at Long Bay Pointe In Virginia Beach.
Out on the docks, there’s a little piece of paradise in the form of a 26-foot tiki boat.
“The tiki boat is named Rum Shaker,” said VB Tiki Tours owner Tory Hegrenes.
The Minnesota transplant has called Hampton Roads home for the last 20 years, and he got the idea for a local tiki cruise after spending time in Key West, Florida.
“I saw these tiki boats,” said Hegrenes. “People on them cheering, having some drinks, having some food.”
And that’s how VB Tiki Tours started.
They launched about a month and a half ago and have been taking people out on the water for good times ever since.
“You’re kind of like a rockstar, everyone is pulling out their phones and taking pictures,” said Hegrenes.
You bring your own food and drinks, they provide the rest.
The tiki boat is a specialty built from a place in Iowa, and it’s essentially a floating dock with a motor, making it a nice, steady ride down Long Creek. Hegrenes said each tour lasts two hours.
One of Hegrenes’s favorite parts of the business is the sense of community.
“Getting to know locals and tourists, that’s been the really cool part of being out on the water,” said Hegrenes.
According to the VB Tiki Tours website, tours can fit up to six people. Boats travel towards the Lesner Bridge, in the Lynnhaven Basin and through Broad Bay. For more information on the tours, click here.