Whale Watching in Kauai
 

Hi, We will be in Kauai this month. What are the best cruises to take for whale watching. Most of the
cruises I see are very long (5 hours or more) that include other activities. Are there any tour operators
that provide only whale watching cruises (2 hrs max).

Sorry, when I think of whale watching, I tend to think about the island of Hawaii and Maui. Although you will see the occasional whales off the coast of Kauai, it is my understanding and experience that whale watching isn't a big industry.

Not really no, most of the boat tours go to visit the Na Pali and due to the distance it takes 4-5.5 hours. You may see whales, you will for sure see spinner dolphins. They are much more plentiful on Maui. You might also be able to see some from shore.
The only two hour tour I am aware of is Captain Andy's sunset Poipu tour.

I have often observed whales (from the shore) off of Poipu. Thus, you might well see them on a sunset cruise off of Poipu. But one of the 4-5 hour cruises along the Na Pali coast will have more spectacular scenery and you are likely to see lots of whales this time of year.

Not true. There are plenty of whales that can be seen from Kauai. I'm there right now (on the North Shore) and I see lots of whales every time I walk past the Bali Hai lookout (near the St. Regis Hotel) or I walk on the walking path north of Kealia Beach. Friends of mine went on a catamaran excursion that left from Port Allen a few days ago and saw quite a few whales -- but I doubt you will find any trip under two hours.

Tomorrow I'll go to Maha'ulepu and I have always seen whales from there and from Spouting Horn. The Kilauea Lighthouse has always been a good place for whale watching on Kauai, but it's closed for repairs. Kauai doesn't have as many whales as you'll find in the waters around Maui and the Big Island, but there are still plenty of whales--and they're more laid back than the ones on Maui. hahaha.

I hope you have a whale of a time ;-)

I humbly stand corrected, although I think most boat trips do highlight Napali rather then whale watch. It seems if the whales are in their path that is a great bonus, but they don't search the whales. And once again, I could be wrong.

The boat my friends took toured the Napali coast (which is AMAZING) but it definitely was a whale watching excursion. They told me they were close enough to the whales to have to turn off their motors.

Today we walked the Maha'ulepu Trail (one of my favorites). I couldn't begin to count how many whales we saw from the beach at the Grand Hyatt and along the trail. We ended the day with a beautiful sunset and more whales at the overlook near the St.Regis. Of course, they're much farther away than from a boat, but I saw several breaches, tail slaps, and backs, in addition to the spouts.

Gosh, if I keep this up I won't need to write a trip report! :-)

Songdoc, thank you so much. What was the boat your friends took ? Which tour operator ?

You're welcome!

Captain Andy's.

depending on where you stay and if you have a lanai that faces the ocean, you can sit there and cannot count the number of whales you see passing s they re plentiful. Granted they are not right up to the shore but plenty of flaps and lots of water spouting into the air. We love going to Kauai in February and we are never disappointed in seeing whales. However, if you want to get closer then you need to take a whaling excursion and it is a long day but worth it.