My boyfriend and I are going to Kauai in a few weeks. We are interested in taking a catamaran or raft trip along the Napali coast.

Any recommendations of a good company?

Liko Kauai Cruises is a great catamaran company and tour - leaves from a port north of Waimea. Friendly, fun, good food, nice snorkeling and awesome scenery.

We took a Captain Zodiac motorized raft trip and loved it. They take you under the waterfalls and into the caves, something a catamaran can't do.

Leslie, When did you take the Zodiac tour, I thought they had ceased operations of this tour?! Can anyone confirm that????

We went out on a monohull ketch with Bluewater Sailing Company on the North Shore...The trip was great, but we didn't go all the way to Napali.

Caprtain Zodiac is no longer there. The state pulled all the licenses in the hanalei area, so only th big boats make the long tours now.

Returned from Kauai last week. I second the motion for Liko's. Large enough boat to feel secure in- nice seats facing forward only. Small group-- boat can go into one of the sea caves. Fun trip-- but take Bonine before you go no matter what!

If you are staying on the North Shore, I can recommend Captain Sundown. He leaves out of Hanalei Bay. It is acatamaran. He leaves at 8:30, takes you along the coast and then lets you snorkle for an hour. You return about 3;00. We couldn't snorkle the day we went-it was too rough and windy. The captian owns the boat and his son Larry is his first mate. He motored on the way there and sailed the way back. It was a really rough ride-seas about 10ft. high, and the captain really knew his stuff about sailing. He has a website-captain sundown.com

Wehave been on Captain Andy's and really enjoyed it. They left from the South Shore.

Liked Captain Andy's until one of the engines died and we limped into harbor in the pitch black much later than planned, but I suppose that could happen to anyone. I got a a little worried when we all had to go to one side of the boat though. Gilligan's Island reruns were playing with my mind.

hobojo -What time of the year did you use Captain Sundown. Even with Bonine, 10 ft. swells just do not siund like fun, especially on a small catamaran. I thought that they were supposed to cancel the trip if the seas are like that. I am anxious to know when you were in Kauai. I will be there in August. Thanks!

I would highly recommend the HoloHolo tour it goes thru the Napali coast and you get to snorkel in a crater off the forbidden island. Only two tour companies do this type of tour. Which is nice as the crater is not crowded with people. I believe it was a 6hr tour. Well worth it.

Dear Nervous,I took captain sundown's trip this July 9th. I had pre-booked because I did not want to drive all the way to the south end, since I was staying in Princeville. The catamaran was larger than those other boats you mentioned, and they also were out that day. The cat can fit up to 30 people on it-we had about 15 plus the crew of 2. I asked the son to rate the sailing conditions on a scale of danger from 1-10 for that day, and he rated our day as a 6. It's much worse in the winter. The lifegaurd at Hanalei beach said there was a storm in Alaska that week that was causing all the swells-we were boogie boarding at the beach where it is normally flat that time of year there. These companies I suspect will only cancel if the weather is REALLY bad-my trip wasn't dangerous-it was an adventure! It was only rough on the way back.

I have never heard of Napali tour not being stomach cherning. Sure you can hop on one of the giant vessels out of port allen but why would you? It might be more stable but you have crowds of people, likely some smokers. I can imagine that those large vessels also alarm fish away.

Wendy and hobojobo -thanks for the input. Hobojobo- do you think that, with Bonine, those 10 ft waves would be fine? How were the other people on the boat feeling?

X -if you do not think a tour is a good idea, what would you suggest?

We went with Captain Andy and had a great time -- because we wore motion-sickness patches. An awful lot of people on our boat got very, very seasick. These were the same people telling us as we were waiting to board that they weren't worried about it because they had been on boats many times and had never been seasick. The key things to keep in mind are: (1) you have to use the patch or take the meds hours in advance of boarding, because if you wait until you're on the boat and starting to feel queasy, it's way too late (there is nothing to "cure" seasickness aside from getting back on dry land; it can only be prevented); and (2) if you do get sick, there's nothing you can do but be sick -- you can't get off the boat, and the trip lasts several hours, which will seem like the longest hours of your life.

One of the crew members told us that people get sick on pretty much every trip. Do yourselves a favor and plan ahead: call your doctor and get a prescription for the patches or whatever your doctor recommends. I personally would not go on this trip without taking something. You will hear a lot about the possibilities of natural remedies like ginger, peppermint, or rubber bands around the wrists. While I am normally a fan of herbal and alternative healing, all I can tell you is that there were people on our boat who relied on those things and they were simply no match for the swells.

The scenery on the trip was amazing, the food was good, and the crew was excellent.

Lisa, thanks for your detailed and honest answer. I would prefer not using the patch because many people have bad reactions to it. I am glad that you were one of the lucky ones that used it successfully. When you say use meds, if not the patch,do you mean that you think Dramamine or Bonine will be enough, or will I need to get a stronger prescription? Also, was the trip less enjoyable for you because so many others were so sick? That might sound like a strange question but it can't be pleasant listening to people moaning or possibly watching people being sick.

There were only about 15 people on the trip that I took with Captain Sundown and not one was seasick.
I took two dramamines right after breakfast 7:45. As I said, it wasn't bad going-it was on the way back that it was bad, so the meds had plenty of time to kick in. I ususally don't get seasick-it only affects me after I snorkle and then get onto a bobbing boat. The other way to see the Na Pali coast is a helicopter ride-but if you are worried about a boat, you'll probably get sick on that too, or take the 4 mile round trip hike at Ke'e beach-it is tough if you do not hike regularly but can be done. You could drive to the lookout at the end of the road in Kok'ee State Park-that faces the opposite end of the Na Pali coast. Either way, you should take a boat or helicopter tour to do this beautiful area of our planet justice.

hobojobo -I already have a helicopter ride planned. I just thought it would be very different seeing the coast from a boat than from a helicopter, so decided to do both. Maybe, if I take the Dramamine, it won't be bad. I don't usually get seasick either, but this seems to be a particularly turbulent boat ride. I can't take 2 Dramamine, though, because then I would be OUT! Unless the non-drowsy formula works as well as the regular formula. Now that I think about it, I have never taken Dramamine -just Bonine. I know that when my son takes Dramamine it puts him right to sleep, though.

Here's another question for you, if you don't mind. I will be at the Hyatt for 4 nights and Princeville for 2 nights. I thought that it would be best to take a boat tour from the North Shore since you see more of the Na Pali Coast that way. I have heard that tours leaving from the South can get teious because it takes longer just to get to the coast. My question is, since I am already taking a helicopter ride (leaving from the south), do you think that I should spend almost a whole day, of the 2 days I have at Princeville, on this boat tour? Or, should I take a boat tour from the south. Or, should I just forget the boat tour altogether? If I go, I will have to take Captain Sundown on my only full day in Princeville and, as you know, we will be on the boat from 8:15 - 3:00. That's almost the whole day. Would our time be better spent exploring the North Shore beaches and Hanalei? I would love to know your opinion.

Anyway, I am leaving in four days! Very exciting! I guess I'll have to make up my mind soon. Thanks again hobojobo!

Like hobojo I also took Captain Sundown. Loved that the moters were off and that we actually sailed. Small number of people made it really enjoyable. I'll second what hobojo says also about the Captain knowing his stuff. He and his crew were great. We went in Sept and we couldn't snorkle either because of the waves. Nobody could. At least with Captain Sundown we got to see the most beautiful part of the coast as he departs from Hanalei Bay. You go out to the boat in an outrigger. Your stuff is kept dry in waterproof bags. Coming back to shore is great especially if you can catch a wave and ride all the way in!!!

Lunch and drinks are provided.