My wife and going to Kauai for the first time next week. We have booked an AM cruise with Captain Andy's to the NaPali coast. Does anyone have any opinion (good or bad) on the outfit? Any other charters that you would recommend? Any other must-dos?

Thanks.

Ed

Waimea Canyon is a must.

Here are some sites that may help you find things:

www.kauaidiscovery.com

www.kauai-hawaii.com

www.gohawaii.com

www.spotlighthawaii.com (Kauai Gold)

www.thisweek.com (This Week on Kauai)

www.101thingstodo.com (101 Things to do on Kauai)

You can pick up hard copies of these free brochures (Kauai Gold, 101 Things To Do Kauai, and This Week on Kauai) at the baggage area at the airport and other places on Kauai. Also pick up a free copy of 'The Aloha MAPS of Hawaii'.

www.driveguidemagazines.com has good driving tour maps and some detailed maps. Also has a good restaurant guide.

www.alternative-hawaii.com has good narrative drive tours.

Be sure to ask what their policy is when weather or surf conditions are negative.

Today on Kaua`i we've got 20-25 ft surf on the north shore; "only" 15-20 ft on the west side -- with another big swell due to arrive Sunday or Monday.

To answer your first question -- Capt. Andy has a _great_ reputation on the island.

To answer your "other must-dos?" questions, this time of year I always urge visitors to tour Kilauea Lighthouse. Winter birds are here and nesting aplenty!

My husband and I went on an AM Capt. Andy's cruise on our honeymoon in August. It was great! The crew was so nice and answered a lot of my questions about the island. If your stomach can take it get a seat on the trampoline on the way back..it was better than an amusement park. Plus to be honest the view of the coast is something that should not be missed on Kauai

We went on the AM cruise with Captain Andy's a few years ago, and it was great! Be prepared to get totally soaked. On the way back we sat at the front of the boat (by the trampolines), and it was (like ericsgirl said) like an amusement park roller coaster ride. This was in August, so I'm not sure what it would be like in January.

Sorry, I know you did not ask, but I would not be caught dead on a small boat off the north shore in the winter. I'm getting green amp; just thinking about it. I'm remembering the 8 - 10 foot swells coming back from Nihau in July and what that was like and that was on a 60' power catamaran.

I'd be content to sit on the shore in Hanalei and watch the breakers come in. Have a great visit.
-Bill

We are looking at Cap'n Andy for our February cruise along the NaPali coast, but also considering:
Liko Kauai cruises
http://www.liko-kauai.com/
and
NaPali Explorer
http://www.napali-explorer.com/

Folks on this thread seem to like Andy. Does anyone have experience with the others, and have an opinion about it? In their respective marketing, Liko states that it is owned and operated by a native Hawaiian while NaPali Explorer states that it is owned and operated by a marine biologist. This sounds great, but are the cruises good value/experience?

We took the Holoholo sunset cruise out of Port Allen, and it was fantastic. I would highly recommend it. You can get a 25% off coupon from the Entertainment Book -- at least you could last year.

It was about 4 hours w/open bar (beer & mai tais & soda, champagne and food at the end.

It took a little longer to get out to NaPali from Port Allen, but who cares -- it was a nice boat ride with a few cold ones.

It's a barefoot cruise. You leave your shoes at the pier. My wife was thankful she got that pedicure before we traveled over there.

We did the Liko NaPali cruise two years ago. They were friends of my DH cousins, so we got a friends rate. They were very professional. Unfortunately, huge swells were coming in from the Gulf of Alaska, so it was a bit scary and we couldn't snorkle. Plus, my 82 year old mom was with us and got very sea sick. The crew was very good with helping her out.

Most cruises are recommended for the morning, because of winds in the afternoon. I noticed the sun angle in the morning didn't hit the Na Pali, so photos weren't that great. The afternoon sun would show off the coast better. Just my opinion.

MY

Budman & Michelle, thanks for the info.
I've looked at the websites for the cruises you mentioned, and considered your advice. It seems that seas are normally calmer in the AM, but in the PM the sun is behind you and you get a better view of the coast in all its glory. Liko Kauai cruises only does morning cruises, while Holoholo and NaPali Explorer offer afternoon cruises (both sunset cruises and dinner cruises). Based on Michelle's grandmother's experience with seasickness, and others as well, taking Bonine or Gravol or some other meds would be a wise precaution. We'll probably wait and book on one of those 3 providers when we get to Kauai, depending on the weather and sea conditions. I just might get a pedicure, pop some Gravol, and take the barefoot booze cruise regardless of the weather!
Thanks again.

Dear Hiker:

FYI - we were there at Thanksgiving, so it was winter weather. We had all taken Bonine; except for my mom. She still won't let me forget it!!!

MY

We were in Kauai in late September, and cruised the Na'pali coast with Capt. Sundown, out of Hanalei (sailing catamaran, 15 passengers). Even then, the surf was so high that they were doubtful about being able to sail that day. In the end, we did -- and it was a great adventure, but indeed very surfy and wet on the 2-hour trip home: definitely not for anyone prone to seasickness! (Thankfully, DH and I are not...)

I believe the trips out of Hanalei are in summer only because winter is the high surf season on the north coast (as Auntiemaria said). But leaving out of Hanalei is the only way to see the whole coastline to the very end. (If you look at the map of Kauai, you will see that if you leave from Port Allen you'll sail along the west coast just to the west end of Napali.) A couple of days later, we drove up Waimea Canyon to Koke'e and saw that fabulous view from above! Loved the canyon drive, don't miss it.

And as AuntieM also said, Kilauea Lighthouse is a great place to visit -- we would have spent more time there if we had discovered it sooner.

We loved Kauai, as you can probably tell! Have a great trip.

SB Trvlr, thanks for the advice. We will make a point of seeking out the Kilauea lighthouse when we are up north and we look forward to seeing the Waimea Canyon and the beautiful vistas from up top, and to doing a bit of hiking there. We will probably stick with our plan to sail out of the south, since we are staying at a B&B in Kalaheo and it will be more convenient in that respect, and the seas up north are said to be inhospitable in winter.

We have never been to Hawaii before, and really are looking forward to the trip. We will spend a week on Oahu and then a week on Kauai and though I plan to enjoy the entire trip immensely, I am more excited about the Kauai leg for some reason. I think it's got something to do with the high level of enthusiasm that fellow travelers, and especially the repeat visitors, show for Kauai.

Aloha Hikerboy,
I think it was Kahanu Catamaran (local family operation) we won in a silent auction while living on Kaua`i, and it was wonderful! It was a snorkeling expedition--MUST go in the morning for calmer waters. Aloha is very real on Kaua`i, we are building our dream home there now! Considering hiking the Na Pali coast when you have more time--it
s a life-changing trek. Must get permit way ahead of time, go in summer.

Hi, I'm not trying to hijack this thread but was wondering if any of you can tell what the "cruise waves" will be like in March? That's when I'll be there and was hoping to do a sunset cruise/whale watch/Napali view.

Aloha hikerboy:
Our September trip was also our first visit to Hawaii -- started in Oahu, then 4 nights in Maui, 8 nights in Kauai. I think your Oahu/Kauai plan is a great idea, you'll see a huge contrast between the islands.

We only stopped in Waikiki because we wanted to visit Pearl Harbor, and we stayed at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. Loved the hotel -- built in the 1920's, and we had a room (as requested) in the original building. The setting is very evocative of "old Hawaii", but totally in the midst of the bustle of Waikiki, which is a very busy and touristy place. We went early our first day to Pearl Harbor, which we really enjoyed -- then took a drive round the island. I'm very glad we made time to do that and see more than just Honolulu/Waikiki. The west and north shores give you a very different picture. (The "Oahu Revealed" guide was an invaluable resource in planning, as were the other island guides in that series.)

If you search on "Oahu" on this list , you'll find lots of posts that helped us plan our short time on the island.

Planning a trip in June to Kauai and having a tough time deciding between doing zodiac boat tour that lands on the ancient fishing village, or to do catamaran tour. I'm wanting to know if anyone can reccomend either one based on experience. Also which tour company to go with as there are so many. I'm taking kids age 8 and 11. Thanks for any help.

The Holoholo Cat looked like one of the largest of the boats we saw when we did NaPali.

We did the sunset cruise on Holoholo, and I don't recall any children. It was an open bar (beer/soft drinks/wine (maybe) and mai tais) with food served near the end, and champagne served at sunset.