Kauai Sailing Tour Prices, and What Each Fare Buys

A Kauai sailing trip costs $114 to $292 a person, and the difference is hours, meals and harbour, not quality. The Na Pali snorkel tours sit at the top of the range because they buy the most. This guide sets every fare against what it buys.

How much does a Kauai sailing tour cost?

Three bands, one for each kind of trip. The bay cruise from Nawiliwili costs $114. The Na Pali sunset dinner cruises cost $222 to $263, and the morning snorkel sails $233 to $292.

Each fare is per person and is the whole cost of the trip apart from tips. No boat adds a fee on board, and none sells a park ticket, because the water has no gate. Fares move with the date, so the figure on the booking page is the one you pay.

What does the $114 fare buy?

Ninety minutes on Nawiliwili Bay and up the Huleia River at sunset, with the captain's stories about the Kalapaki shore. Drinks are in the fare: fruit juice, soda, water, wine, local beers and cocktails. There is no food and no swimming.

It is the cheapest boat on the island, and the shortest. It does not go to the Na Pali Coast, so it is good value only if a sunset on the east side is what you want.

What does $222 to $263 buy at sunset?

Four to five hours from Port Allen up the Na Pali Coast in the evening, with dinner on board and drinks through the trip. The Lucky Lady sunset cruise, at $222 a person, is the lowest fare and the longest, five hours on a 60-foot catamaran with an open bar for over-21s.

Leila, at $263 a person, is a 50-foot sailing catamaran that raises its sails when the wind allows. It pours mai tais on the way out and a champagne toast at sunset. Neither includes a swim.

What does $233 to $292 buy in the morning?

Five to five and a half hours, two meals and a reef stop with the gear and instruction in the fare. The Lucky Lady snorkel cruise, at $233 a person, adds a waterslide and an open bar for over-21s, and takes children from age 3.

Holo Holo's snorkel sail, at $292 a person, is the top of the range. It gives you breakfast and lunch, beer and wine after the snorkelling, flotation devices at the reef, and restrooms and showers on board. Children must be 5 or older.

Is the most expensive fare worth it?

It depends on what you value. Holo Holo's snorkel sail costs $58 more than the Lucky Lady snorkel cruise. For that you get a smaller boat load, up to 41 rather than 49, a sailing catamaran, flotation devices at the reef and beer and wine once the snorkelling is done.

The Lucky Lady gives you half an hour more on the water, a waterslide, an open bar for over-21s and a lower age limit, 3 rather than 5. For a family with young children it is the better buy; for a couple who want the sail, Holo Holo's trip earns its fare.

Why does the same Holo Holo trip have two prices?

Because Holo Holo sells its morning trip and its sunset trip through two booking sites, and the fares differ by $16 to $18. The lower fares are the snorkel sail at a lower fare, $274 a person, and the sunset sail at a lower fare, $247 a person.

What you give up for the saving is flexibility. The lower-fare listings refund only if you cancel at least 7 days ahead; the others refund up to 24 hours before. If your plans are fixed, take the saving. If the weather or a flight might move you, pay for the shorter window.

Which cancellation window are you buying?

Most fares here refund in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead. The two lower-fare Holo Holo listings need 7 days. Holo Holo's own site asks parties of ten or more for 72 hours' notice.

If the operator cancels for weather, Holo Holo gives a full refund, and it offers a new date or a refund when the captain changes the route at check-in. The Lucky Lady does not refund a reroute to the south coast, a missed swim or a no-show. The guide to rough water has the detail.

Are food and drinks all in the fare?

On the Na Pali trips, yes. The morning boats serve breakfast and lunch, the evening boats dinner, and every one pours beer, wine and soft drinks. Mai tais are on the Lucky Lady boats and the Leila sunset sail, for over-21s.

Two limits apply. Holo Holo pours beer and wine on the morning trip only after the snorkelling, and you may not bring your own alcohol on its boats. The bay cruise pours drinks but serves no food.

What is never included?

Three things, on every listing.

• Tips: every fare leaves gratuities for the crew to you.
• Hotel pickup: every boat meets you at the harbour, so you drive and park.
• A refund for seasickness: no operator gives one, and the boats do not turn back early.

Holo Holo's lower-fare morning listing does add ocean-friendly sunscreen to the fare. On any other boat, bring your own lotion sunscreen that is safe for the reef, because spray cans are not allowed on Holo Holo's boats.

Do children pay less?

On Holo Holo's boats, children aged 5 to 12 pay a child rate, and anyone 13 or over pays the adult fare. Nobody under 5 may board.

The Lucky Lady takes children from age 3 with an adult; the booking page shows the rate for your party and date. The bay cruise listing sets no age, and its operator's own site lists 6 and up. Our post on sailing with children goes through each boat's rules.

What is the price per hour on the water?

Divide each fare by its hours on the water and the order changes. The bay cruise, the cheapest fare, costs about $76 an hour. The Lucky Lady snorkel cruise costs about $42 an hour, and the Lucky Lady sunset cruise $44.

Holo Holo's trips sit higher: the snorkel sail costs about $58 an hour, and Leila's sunset sail $52 to $65, depending on how long the evening runs. The lower-fare listings of the same trips come in a few dollars an hour cheaper.

So the Lucky Lady boats cost the least by the hour, and every Na Pali trip includes a meal the bay cruise does not. The bay cruise wins only on the total, and on the time it leaves you for the rest of your evening.

How do you pay less without losing the day?

Four ways, none of which costs you the coast.

• Take the 7-day window: Holo Holo's lower-fare listings save you $16 to $18 a person if your dates are fixed.
• Pick the Lucky Lady: it is the lower fare for both the morning and the evening Na Pali trips.
• Go in the evening: the Lucky Lady sunset cruise at $222 a person is the cheapest way to see Na Pali, with dinner in the fare.
• Drop the coast: if a sunset with a drink is enough, the bay cruise costs $114 a person.

What you should not trim is the spare day. A boat cancelled on your last day is a fare refunded but a coast unseen.

Every fare side by side

Every listing here, cheapest first. Hours are each listing's own figure for time on the water.

The morning boats are gathered as Na Pali snorkel tours and the evening boats as Kauai sunset cruises, each with its own cards. The guide to choosing a trip weighs them on everything but price.

Frequently asked questions

The fares that cost less

Kauai: Napali Coast Sail & Snorkel Tour from Port Allen

Five hours from Port Allen with breakfast and a deli lunch, a reef snorkel with gear and a waterslide, and sails when the wind allows. Cancel free up to 7 days ahead.

From $274 per person

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Kauai: Napali Coast Sunset Sailboat Tour with Dinner

Four and a half hours from Port Allen on a sailing catamaran: appetisers on the way out, dinner on board and a champagne toast at sunset. Cancel free up to 7 days ahead.

From $247 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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