Maui & Kaui activities
 

Our first hawaii vacation (6 days Maui + 5 days Kauai) is in late September. For Maui we've planned a Molikini snorkel tour trip to Hana and in Kauai a helicopter tour. <BR>We'd like to either do a sunset Na Pali cruise or horseback ride also in Kauai. Any suggestions for the best sails/rides? Other 'must do' activities?

We just did a NaPali coast tour with Kauai Sea Tours. While we did do a morning one they do have them in the evening. We had a great time and the scenery is unbelievable. The boat was great. It was only a week old and was immaculate. It was called the Lucky Lady and it was a powered catamaran though they did open the sales for a bit. Very comfortable with a lot of seating.

On Kauai I'd recommend doing a zodiac raft trip along Na Pali. I did Captain Zodiac in August of 1998, but was told that it had shut down operations in Kauai. Raft is the way to go as you can get into all of the little coves and other small areas that the other larger boats can't. Also went horeseback riding through a stable not far from the Sheraton. Great trip and was able to ride a horse on a beach for part of trip. You'll love Kauai. As for Maui, I've done the Molikini snorkel tour and I'd suggest skipping it and taking a day trip to Lanai instead. They usually offer snorkeling on the trip and it seems to be more fun. Hana is great, just give yourself enough time to hike up the Seven Sacred Pools (by the way there are actually more than seven)

Last trip to Kaui, we rented a boat and explored a couple rivers on our own,,The Wailua river, and the river where Harrison Ford swings from the tree in "Raiders of the lost ark". <BR> The Wailua was the best. A great place for some cliff diving and had a rope swing at the upper end,Also a trail to a nice waterfall off one fork. If you time it right you can get into Fern grotto between the big tour boats. We did and were the only ones there. Well except for the chickens, which seem to be everywhere, Also alot of peacocks at one spot alone the river. <BR>

Just came back from Kauai Monday. In Kauai, we went on Captain Andy's Napali Coast catamaran trip, 5 1/2 hours including about 1 1/2 hours of snorkeling. The coast scenery is great, but a warning, the trip was very rough, and it was a nice day. Both my kids were sick, and my wife is only starting to speak to me again. But, then, we're not big on sailing, so maybe others would have not had a hard time. However, it looked like around 1/2 the 50 people on board were in some distress. Wailua River is nice, we went waterskiing there, there is an office on the main street just passed the turnoff to the river itself where they arrange it. Expensive at $100 per hour, but a lot of fun.