Choosing a Kauai Sailing Tour: Morning Snorkel Sail, Sunset Dinner Cruise or Bay Cruise

There is no ticket for the Na Pali Coast, so choosing a trip is choosing a way to spend a morning or an evening on the water. Pick the kind of trip first and the right one of the Kauai catamaran tours is usually obvious. Start with the time of day.

Which Kauai sailing tour should you book?

Every boat here makes one of three kinds of trip. Each leaves from a fixed harbour, and each asks something different of you.

Fares are per person and move with the date. Each is the whole cost apart from tips. The rest of this guide takes you through the questions that decide between them.

Will the boat use its sails?

Only some promise to, and none promises it every day. Holo Holo's Leila raises its sails on the sunset trip when the wind allows, and the lower-fare listing of Holo Holo's morning trip sails along the coast when the weather permits. Holo Holo's own morning listing describes a sailing catamaran without that promise.

The Lucky Lady listings say catamaran and make no promise about sailing, so book one for the coast and the food, not for the canvas. The bay cruise does not sail. If the sailing is the point of your day, book Leila in the evening, which sails when the wind allows, and read the post on morning against evening before you pick a date.

Morning or sunset: what changes?

Almost everything but the coast. A morning boat gives you breakfast, a reef stop and lunch, and you are back by early afternoon with the day ahead of you. It suits you if you came to snorkel, or if you want the calmer hours DLNR recommends to paddlers.

A sunset boat leaves in the afternoon, serves dinner and brings you back after dark. There is no swimming, the light on the ridges is lower and warmer, and the bar stays open. It suits you if you came for the view, travel with a non-swimmer, or want a dinner that plans itself.

How long is each trip on the water?

The Na Pali trips all run four to five and a half hours; the bay cruise runs 90 minutes. Add the drive and the check-in, and a Na Pali trip takes most of a morning or an evening.

• Lucky Lady snorkel cruise: five and a half hours, from a 6:45 a.m. check-in.
• Holo Holo's snorkel sail: five hours on the water.
• Lucky Lady sunset cruise: five hours, from an afternoon check-in.
• Leila sunset sail: four to five hours.
• Bay cruise: an hour and a half.

What does each fare feed you?

The morning boats serve two meals. Holo Holo gives you breakfast and lunch, with beer and wine only after the snorkelling. The Lucky Lady brings breakfast treats, then build-your-own sandwiches, pasta salad and cookies, with an open bar for over-21s.

The Na Pali sunset cruises serve dinner. Leila pours mai tais on the way out and a champagne toast at sunset, and the Lucky Lady keeps its open bar running. The bay cruise pours cocktails, wine and beer but lists no food, so eat before or after it.

Which boats are biggest, and how many share them?

The Lucky Lady is a 60-foot catamaran and takes up to 49 people. Leila, Holo Holo's boat for the snorkel sail and the sunset sail, is 50 feet and takes up to 41. The bay cruise's boat is sold as a 50-foot catamaran, with no maximum stated.

A bigger boat carries more people and more deck. On either you will share the rail with strangers, so a front seat goes to whoever reaches it first. Our visitors guide has the boarding rules.

Which tour suits young children?

Start with the age rule. The Lucky Lady boats take children from age 3 with an adult. Holo Holo takes nobody under 5, and the bay cruise operator's own site lists ages 6 and up.

For a child who can swim, the Lucky Lady snorkel cruise has the waterslide and the youngest age limit. For a toddler, the Lucky Lady sunset cruise has no water time. The post on sailing with children goes through each boat's rules.

Which tour if you get seasick?

The bay cruise, which stays on the bay and the river for 90 minutes. On a Na Pali trip you are at sea for four hours or more, the boats do not turn back early, and no operator refunds for seasickness.

If you still want the coast, take a remedy before you board and choose a summer morning. The guide to seasickness and rough water has the rest.

Na Pali or Nawiliwili: does it matter?

It decides everything. Every Na Pali trip leaves from Port Allen Marina Center in Eleele, on the south-west shore. The bay cruise leaves from Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor, next to Lihue, about 20 nautical miles away by sea and on the other side of the island.

From the Nawiliwili side you do not see Na Pali at all. Book the bay cruise only if the sunset is the point and your hotel is on the east side. The map of the harbours shows both harbours.

Holo Holo, Kauai Sea Tours or Kauai Beach Boys?

Holo Holo Charters runs Leila from Port Allen, for the snorkel sail and the sunset sail. Its rules are the strictest: nobody under 5, no mobility aids on board, and no non-swimmers in the water.

Kauai Sea Tours runs the Lucky Lady from the same marina, for a snorkel cruise and a sunset cruise. It takes children from 3, has the most reviews, and may reroute to the south coast when the sea closes the north. Kauai Beach Boys runs the bay cruise from Nawiliwili.

Which trip suits a couple, a family or a group?

A couple usually wants the evening. Leila's sunset sail gives you dinner, mai tais and a champagne toast, and raises its sails when the wind allows. The Lucky Lady sunset cruise costs less and runs longer, with an open bar.

A family with young swimmers wants the Lucky Lady snorkel cruise: children from age 3, a waterslide, and a sandwich lunch they will eat. A family with a toddler or a non-swimmer is better on a sunset boat, where nobody gets in the water.

A group of ten or more should read the cancellation terms twice. Holo Holo's own site asks parties of that size for 72 hours' notice to cancel, and its lower-fare listings ask everyone for 7 days.

When should you book?

As early in your stay as you can. The sea cancels or reroutes boats on some days, and a booking on your first or second full day leaves you time to go again. Avoid your arrival day on a snorkel trip: Holo Holo asks you not to snorkel within 24 hours of a flight over five hours.

Humpback whales are here from November to April, and the whale months page covers what you might see. The Lucky Lady sunset cruise runs only on Sundays and Tuesdays from June to August, so check its calendar first in summer.

Every boat side by side

The table sets out each boat's day. Pick the row that sounds like yours, then read its card.

The morning snorkel boats are gathered on one page as Na Pali snorkel tours, and the evening boats as Kauai sunset cruises. The guide to what each fare buys sets the prices against the hours.

Frequently asked questions

Trips for each time of day

Kauai’s Na Pali Coast Snorkel and Sail Tour

Five hours from Port Allen on a 50-foot sailing catamaran: breakfast, the Na Pali cliffs from the water, a snorkel stop with gear and instruction, then lunch, with beer and wine once the snorkelling is done. From age 5, up to 41 aboard.

From $292 per person

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Kauai: Deluxe Na Pali Sunset Cruise aboard Lucky Lady

Five hours on a 60-foot catamaran from Port Allen in the afternoon: the Na Pali Coast towards sunset, dinner on board and an open bar with mai tais for over-21s. No swimming on this one; children from age 3.

From $222 per person

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Kauai: Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Ninety minutes from Nawiliwili on the bay and up the Huleia River at sunset, with the captain's stories, wine, beer and cocktails. It does not go to the Na Pali Coast.

From $114 per person

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