Kauai Sailing Visitors Guide: Check-In, Harbours and What to Bring

You cannot drive to most of the Na Pali Coast, and there is no ticket for the water: the boat fare is the whole cost, plus tips. Before your Kauai sailing trip, settle three things: which harbour you leave from, whether you can board, and what to bring for a wet, barefoot day.

Which harbour your boat leaves from

Kauai's sailing trips use two harbours on opposite sides of the island, and neither offers hotel pickup. You drive yourself, so check the harbour on your confirmation before you plan the morning.

At Port Allen Marina Center, Holo Holo Charters checks you in at Suite 5A and Kauai Sea Tours at 2B. The Lucky Lady's own directions say to drive to the end of the complex, turn right and park in the third lot on your left, by its sign. At Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor, look for the Kalapaki Kai II. Both harbours are plotted on the map.

Checking in at Port Allen

1. Read your confirmation the night before. The check-in time is on it. The Lucky Lady snorkel cruise starts at 6:45 a.m., so you leave your hotel in the dark.
2. Park, then find your operator's desk. One reviewer found the parking limited and not right at the check-in address, so allow a few minutes more.
3. Take your seasickness remedy. Holo Holo sells remedies at check-in, but some work only if you take them a few hours ahead.
4. Hear the day's route. The captain decides the route at check-in from the wind and the swell, and tells you if it has changed.
5. Shoes off at the boat. Every Na Pali boat is barefoot, so leave your shoes in the car or in a bag.

What to bring, and what is not allowed

The food and the drinks are in the fare on the Na Pali trips: breakfast and lunch in the morning, dinner at sunset, with beer, wine and soft drinks. Snorkel gear, fins and instruction come with the morning sails, so you need bring nothing for the water but yourself.

Seasickness, back problems and who cannot board

A Na Pali trip is five hours or more on the open ocean, and it can be rough. Both Na Pali operators turn away expectant mothers and warn off anyone with back, neck, hip or knee problems or recent surgery. No listing refunds you for seasickness, and the boats do not turn back early.

Children under 5 cannot board Holo Holo's boats, and one parent learned that only on the day. If you are travelling with a three- or four-year-old, the Lucky Lady takes children from age 3. Non-swimmers may not snorkel on Holo Holo's trips and stay aboard during the stop.

If you are prone to seasickness, take a remedy before you set out and sit where the crew suggests. The shortest time on the water is the 90-minute cruise on Nawiliwili Bay. The kids post sets out every age rule by boat.

When the sea cancels your trip

Wind and swell decide the day, not rain. Holo Holo says it does not cancel for rain alone unless there is a safety concern. When the trade winds are strong, the captain may change the route, and a cancelled trip is refunded in full.

If you have a spare day, book early in your stay, so a weather cancellation leaves you time to go again. The month-by-month picture is on the weather page.

Getting to the harbour

Most visitors land at Lihue Airport, on the east side, which is the side the Nawiliwili cruise leaves from. Port Allen is on the south-west shore, on the way to Waimea, so the Na Pali boats are the longer drive. No captured listing includes a transfer, so you need a car or a taxi to reach either harbour.

Tips, ID and the drinks rules

Is the tip included?

No. Every listing leaves gratuities out of the fare, so plan to tip the crew at the end.

When is alcohol served?

On Holo Holo's morning sails, beer and wine come out only after everyone is back from the snorkel. On the sunset cruises it is poured from the start, and the Lucky Lady bar is 21 and over.

Do I need ID?

Yes, for a drink. Holo Holo checks IDs for age before it serves you.

Can I fly and snorkel on the same day?

Holo Holo asks you not to snorkel within 24 hours of a flight longer than five hours, so book the morning sail for your second day or later.

What you see from the boat, and what you cannot do

From the water you see the cliffs, the valleys, the waterfalls and the beaches. You may see spinner dolphins and turtles, and humpback whales from November to April. No catamaran lands you on a beach: the state lets only its permitted raft tours land passengers, at Nualolo Kai. The small rafts are also the only boats that go inside the sea caves.

On land, the coast is a wilderness park. Entry to Haena State Park needs an advance reservation for visitors, and the Kalalau Trail beyond Hanakapiai needs a camping permit, so a boat is the easy way to see all of it in one day.

Hawaiian place names on this coast

You will see two spellings on signs and maps. The state parks write Kauaʻi and Nāpali, with the ʻokina and the kahakō that mark how the words are said; the boat operators mostly write Kauai and Na Pali. The places are the same, and every page here uses the plain spelling the listings use.

Asked before you go