Kauai sunset cruises leave in the afternoon for the Na Pali Coast or Nawiliwili Bay, with dinner or drinks as the sun goes down. Pick the harbour first: one side of the island gives you the cliffs, the other a short evening on the bay.
The lowest Na Pali sunset fare: five hours from Port Allen on a 60-foot catamaran with a sundeck and cabin, dinner as the sun goes down and an open bar for over-21s. No swimming, and children from age 3.
From $222 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four to five hours on Leila, which raises its sails when the wind allows. Mai tais on the way out, dinner as the sun sets, then a champagne toast. Up to 41 aboard, nobody under 5.
From $263 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes on Nawiliwili Bay and up the Huleia River, not the Na Pali Coast, with the captain's stories, cocktails, wine and beer. No food is served. The cheapest boat on Kauai here, and the shortest.
From $114 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four to five hours on a 50-foot sailing catamaran from Port Allen: mai tais on the way out, dinner as the sun sets and a champagne toast. Up to 41 aboard, from age 5.
Check availabilityIt is an afternoon or evening boat that times its route to the light. On this island it means one of two very different trips, and the harbour decides which.
From Port Allen Marina Center, on the south-west shore, the Na Pali dinner cruises run four to five hours. You ride up the west coast in the afternoon, see the cliffs and valleys in low light, eat dinner on board as the sun goes down and come back after dark.
From Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor, next to Lihue on the other side of the island, the bay cruise runs 90 minutes. It stays on the bay and the Huleia River, past the Alekoko Fishpond, with drinks and the captain's stories. It never goes near Na Pali, so it suits you only if you want the sunset rather than the coast.
Because you see the coast in its best light, dinner is handled, and nobody asks you to get in the water. Five differences decide it.
The Na Pali cruises go out in the afternoon and turn back in the evening, so you see the ridges and waterfalls under a low sun, and you are still out on the water as it sets.
Every Na Pali sunset cruise serves dinner on board. You save an evening's restaurant bill, and you eat as the light goes rather than racing it back to the car.
The Lucky Lady pours beer, wine and mai tais for over-21s throughout. Leila serves mai tais on the way out and a champagne toast at sunset, and the bay cruise mixes cocktails.
The Lucky Lady sunset cruise has no water time at all, and neither do the others. If someone in your party cannot or will not swim, this is the trip that treats you all the same.
If you are staying near Lihue, have young children or a tight evening, the bay cruise gives you a sunset in 90 minutes for $114 a person. It is the shortest and cheapest time on the water here.
These are different trips that share a word. Set them side by side before you book.
| Na Pali sunset dinner cruise | Nawiliwili bay sunset cruise | |
|---|---|---|
| Harbour | Port Allen, south-west shore | Nawiliwili, next to Lihue |
| Hours on the water | 4 to 5 | 1.5 |
| What you see | The Na Pali cliffs and valleys | The bay, the Haupu range and the Huleia River |
| Food | Dinner on board | Drinks, no food |
| Drinks | Mai tais, beer, wine, soft drinks | Cocktails, wine, beer, juice, soda |
| Sails | Leila, when the wind allows | No |
| Youngest age | 3 on the Lucky Lady, 5 on Leila | 6, on the operator's own site |
| Fare | $222 to $263 | $114 |
See the Na Pali sunset cruise from $222
If the Na Pali Coast is why you came, the bay cruise will disappoint you however good the sunset. If you want a relaxed hour and a half with a drink, and you are staying on the east side, it is the easy choice.
On a Na Pali sunset cruise you get the boat, a captain and crew, dinner, and drinks through the evening. Leila adds a champagne toast, and the Lucky Lady gives you a sundeck, a cabin and an upper deck.
Five hours on a 60-foot catamaran from Port Allen, with dinner on board and an open bar for over-21s. Children from age 3.
See this tripFares run from $114 for the bay cruise to $263 a person for a Na Pali dinner cruise, and each is the whole cost apart from tips. On Na Pali the Lucky Lady is the lower fare and Leila the higher.
The same Leila evening is also sold at a lower fare, $247 a person, with 7 days' notice to cancel instead of 24 hours. The Lucky Lady and the bay cruise refund in full up to 24 hours ahead.
Hawaii keeps no daylight saving time, so sunset moves by the season alone: about 5:56 p.m. in mid-November and 7:24 p.m. in mid-July, by the US Naval Observatory's tables for Port Allen. The boats shift their start to match, so read the time on your confirmation.
Kauai Sea Tours runs the Lucky Lady sunset daily, but only on Sundays and Tuesdays from June to August. Its calendar also shows no April 2027 dates, so check it first if you travel then.
After Hurricane Lowell, the Lucky Lady came back on 21 September 2026. On 28 September 2026, Holo Holo Charters said its tours were still paused while it waited for a report on the harbour ramp and finished annual maintenance. Our best time to sail covers the months, and the whale months page says when humpbacks are around.
A sunset cruise is a dinner with a view. It is the wrong booking if any of these is you.
Deciding between an evening and a morning? The guide to choosing a trip weighs them together.
Set the sunset cruises beside the morning snorkel boats on Kauai Sailing Tours.