Kauai is a relatively remote island. It’s known for having only one highway and an abundance of feral chickens. Like the rest of the State, you’ll be hard pressed to find a bareboat to sail out in the ocean without a captain on Kauai. Nonetheless, we can still find some great opportunities to get out on the water with somebody else’s boat. It is an island after all.
- Pros
- Some of the most incredible natural beauty anywhere in the world
- Great options for kayakers
- Easy flight from the Continental US; no passport needed
- Cons
- Many worthwhile sites can be crowded
- Limited options beyond kayaking
- Conditions can get rough, especially in the afternoons
- Colder water than in the Caribbean
Paddling
Kauai combines one of the wettest climates on earth with incredibly breathtaking topography to make an ideal location for kayaking…and waterfalls. In fact, Kauai is the only island in Hawaii with navigable rivers.
Wailua River Secret Falls Paddle
The only kayak trip we’ve done here is a paddle up the Wailua River to the Uluwehi Secret Falls. This paddle starts at the mouth of the Wailua river, just North of the airport, and goes upstream to a path that leads to an incredible waterfall. While I wouldn’t fly to Kauai just to do this, if you are already on the island it ticks a lot of Busy Boater Boxes: easy access, reasonable price, and doable in one morning while still being a fun adventure unlike anything we could find back home.
Choosing Your Kayak and Outfitter
After looking at a few options for rental and tour companies, we chose Wailua Kayak & Canoe. They offered several advantages that we liked: self-guided paddles, a location on the river (no need to car top or take a shuttle), free parking, and a choice of single or tandem kayaks. Their rentals also include dry bags, soft-sided coolers, and water shoes in case you didn’t pack them.
Generally, at Busy Boater, we prefer single kayaks because tandems (two person kayaks) can test the strength of your marriage. If both paddlers don’t have their strokes well synced, they can hit each others paddles. This is very annoying, especially for the person in front that doesn’t see it coming. This conflict is compounded further because you normally put the weaker paddler up front since the rear paddler is responsible for steering. The front paddler can’t see the paddle smacks coming.
We ended up taking one single and one tandem on this trip because we had a group of three, with inexperienced paddler. Having one of each gave us an opportunity to appreciate why most kayaks in Kauai are tandems: long paddle excursions against the wind are easier in a tandem. Not only is a tandem more efficient, you’ll have an easier time gettting an injured or tired paddler home.
Wailua Kayak’s tandems included a great feature that I had not experienced before: they are long enough that it is almost impossible to get your paddles tangled. At the same time, I found the single to be a real chore to paddle back downriver against the wind from the ocean. Given the challenges of this excursion and the deluxe accommodations in this long kayak, I would always recommend opting for tandems here. Some of the other outfitters rent shorter boats, so consider checking on this.
Setting Out on the River
From the rental office, you wheel your boat on a dolly about 300 yards to the boat ramp. After dropping your boat, you’ve got to double back about half way to bring your dolly back onto the boat rental property because the ramp in a public park. There are restrooms here too; consider using them because you won’t see another for several hours. The ramp itself is a bit steep and bumpy and there’s no dock, so it can be a bit precarious climbing into your boat here. Have some patience and a good sense of humor.
The river has a fork with the right leg leading to the waterfall and the left to a fern grotto. The rental company told us we’d only have time to choose one, so we did the waterfall. Along this route, you paddle about two miles up the river and eventually get to a point in the river that is too shallow to paddle. Pull your kayak out of the river and you’ll have to hike the rest of the way to the waterfall. Remember the dry bag and cooler? Use them to carry your lunch and other gear when you leave the boat. Another tip: bring some ribbon to mark your kayak. There will be dozens of similar looking [rental] kayaks on the beach. We didn’t notice any issues with stolen kayaks, as you need to bring a kayak up the river to get there.
The Hike
The hike to the waterfall is about 3/4 of a mile each way. There isn’t much elevation change, but you have to wade through the fast moving river twice, climb some rocks, and navigate some slippery paths. So you must be in decent physical condition and wear shoes with a back (no flip flops) that can get wet. It is not treacherous, and there are crowds, which is less peaceful, but feels safer if you aren’t accustomed to adventure. You’ll get to see some friendly chickens and red footed boobys along the way.
The Waterfall
The waterfall is set deep in a ravine. When we went, there were probably close to 100 people sitting on the rocks eating lunch (and leaving behind and absurd amount of trash). While the water is chilly, its also only about 4 feet deep, so take your time to go stand under the waterfall, get some photos and soak it all in.
The return paddle back down river toward the ocean is surprisingly challenging. The wind blows up the canyon from the ocean. This slows your progress and, since it is blowing against your bow, makes steering difficult. The wind gets stronger later in the day, so try to go early in the day and either check the weather or consult the rental company to make sure you’ve got a journey home that you are comfortable with. Roundtrip, including the hike, we spent about four hours to complete this journey.
How Much Is It?
Cost is $147 for tandem or $76 for single including taxes and park fees for 5 hours. Still think inflation is transitory? This is about 35% more than what we paid pre-pandemic in Jan 2020. Kayak Kaua‘i is $15 cheaper but charges for extras like dry bags and you’ll need to strap the kayaks to your roof and drive them down to the river.
What kind of Skills and Experience do You Need?
If you’ve never paddled, you could do this with a tour group. You can go your own successfully with minimal experience, or with an experienced paddler along for the ride. One of my crew members had never paddled before, and the other has aquaphobia, but they both had a great time.
Other Paddles
Another option for a paddle and hike to a waterfall is the Hidden Valley Falls trek up the Hule’ia River with Outfitters Kauai. This is a similar experience to the Secret Falls tour above, but an easier paddle because you’ll paddle upriver but downwind, and return upwind by motorized canoe. The cost is $143/person with tax and park fees for a tandem, so $286 for a couple.
Kayak Hanalei offers self-guided paddles or tours on the Hanalei River on the North side of the island. You can paddle up-river or out to the ocean. This gives you options depending on the wind. Note, however, you’ll be more likely to see rain on this side of the island. This is a less expensive option at $40 single / $65 tandem for the day or $30/$50 after 1:00.
Kauai Kayak Rentals ents kayaks by the day or week. If you are looking to escape the crowds, or spend more time on the water, you can cartop these boats and go anywhere on the island.
Napali Kayak offers a 10 or 17 mile paddle along the Napali Coast. Having seen this area on our sunset cruise (below), I highly recommend this trip if you and your party have it in you to take on a full day ocean paddle. There are also options to camp along the way.
The 10 or 17 mile distance is one way with a shuttle back so you maximize what you can see in a day without retracing your steps. If you’ve never paddled this distance, I’d say the 10 mile paddle is very doable in a tandem for anyone that’s reasonably fit. For reference, the Portland Bridge Swim covers about 12 miles in a single day on the Willamette River. I can’t swim that distance, but I’ve paddled it twice as an escort in a sea kayak. At a swimmers pace it took 5 hours and I never felt tired…and I am not an athlete.
Sailing
If you aren’t up for a 10-mile ocean paddle, another way to see the beauty of the Napali coast is on a catamaran charter. There are large sailing catamarans that depart from Hanapepe Bay on the South side of the island to cruise up the Napali coast. They offer sunset cruises, whale watching, and snorkeling tours. One thing you shouldn’t go for though, is the sailing: while the website for our charter says they sail on almost every trip, our crew never put the sails up, and when I asked about it, it seemed like a very uncommon, if ever, occurrence. None of the other catamarans we saw had their sails up either.
The Views
The miles upon miles of coastline that can only be seen from the water or air are breathtaking and ongoing. The rolling hills of vibrant color, the caverns and beaches and sea washing ashore. Hollywood has used a number of areas along here as movie sets for good reason. As a realtor would say: must see to appreciate.
Whales
If you aren’t going to snorkel, I recommend the sunset cruise. You’ll see the whales the Napali coast on all of the tours. We stopped several times to see some of the most up close, breathtaking tail slaps and breaches we’d seen anywhere. More than half of the world’s humpback whales spend winter in Hawaii where they birth and nurture their calves. So, the months of January and February here offer the best opportunity to see them.
Choosing a Boat
We chartered a ‘luxury sunset cruise’ on the Southern Star from Captain Andy’s. The luxury means a larger, more nicely finished boat along with a plated steak dinner instead of a buffet. We made this choice mainly for the more comfortable ride of a larger boat since Mrs. Busy Boater can get sea-sick. With more space, you’ll also be a bit less crowded if everyone ends up in the cabin to get out of the weather; although the weather was perfect for our trip.
On the Boat
Speaking of seasickness: we were told to go up to the helm if we felt queasy. However, the helm is high enough that you get more roll, exacerbating the problem. Maybe they send seasick to the helm so the captain can keep an eye on them, but I’d recommend finding a seat on the bow. Just know that you can get wet up there if the seas get rough. It is a long rolling cruise, so sea sickness can be a very real issue for many. If you’ve ever needed Dramamine, take it for this one.
The service was great. The food and beverages were great. Our tickets included a plated salad, plated steak/shrimp/veggy main, and plated desert as well as an open bar. We enjoyed all of the food.
We did opt to spend some time at the helm where we were able to sit with our captain, Claire. She started on the Southern Star as a cook, and was very knowledgeable of the area. It was also fun to watch her teach that evening’s cook to dock the boat, hopefully following in her footsteps as well. This slowed us down a bit on the departure, but was a good reminder that we’re not the only ones that could use some additional skills at the dock. It was also great to see one woman, quite literally, turning the helm over the another.
How Much Is it?
We spent $205 per person for the four hour ‘luxury’ sunset sail including dinner and drinks. The standard sunset dinner or a four hour snorkel picnic is $185. You can also go for a two hour whale watching tour on a smaller boat for $99. Just keep in mind what you’ll spend on dinner and drinks elsewhere before writing off the dinner cruise. Parking is free for all cruises leaving Hanapepe Bay.
Have you taken any boats out in Kauai? Let us know about it in the comments below.