This small-group tour offers a more intimate experience of the Na Pali Coast than most. Traveling by Zodiac, you'll maneuever easily in and out of sea caves that bigger boats can't reach. As you snorkel in uncrowded sites and soak up the views of jagged cliffs and waterfalls, your ecologist guide will share their knowledge of the marine life that calls the area home.

Explore the Na Pali coast, the gem of Kauai
Traveling by Zodiac allows access to places big boats can't reach
Small-group tour (maximum 14 guests): Ensures a more personalized experience
Learn about the landscape and marine life from your ecologist guide

What's Included

Lunch
Use of Snorkeling equipment

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Kīkīaola Harbor
Kīkīaola Harbor, Hawaii 96796, USA
Please refer to the detailed confirmation email that WE will send you once you provide all of the necessary details to finalize your reservation. There will be picture and exact details as to where we meet!

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Na Pali Coast

5 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a strong physical fitness level
If prone to motion sickness, we recommend taking a preventative ahead of time.

Not recommended for travelers with recent surgeries of any kind
This is an ADVENTURE boat, NOT a Leisure Cruise. Anyone with physical aliments of any kind should not join this tour.
This is an ocean adventure. Ocean conditions can vary and may turn rough at times; this tour may not be suitable for everyone.
Not for people who have any any recent surgeries of any kind.
Not foe people with chronic back, neck or hip injuries, or back pains and/or limb impairment/injuries of any kind.
**"Not Recommended" Above means NOT for those travelers: No Bad Backs, No Pregnant Travelers, No Heart or serious medical conditions**
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Gabrielle_J

This tour is absolutely amazing. We had captn Rich and Ona (love that name). Both were very knowledgeable about EVERYTHING and provide a fun environment. We were able to have a blast, while our safety was still number one. I enjoyed every minute on the boat and I’d 10000% do it again. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before you book, and decide to leave a negative review. This boat is a RAFT, very small, fast, bumpy, intimate, and you will get wet. All of this makes the tour so great. You get to be up close with dolphins, turtles, go inside sea caves, and snorkel. If that’s not what you’re looking for, book another tour. The food is catered from a local restaurant who only uses ingredients sourced from the island. Don’t expect anything fancy for you ARE on a boat on the Pacific Ocean, mot in a restaurant. You’re paying for the tour, not so much a sandwich. Be sure to wear sunscreen and a long sleeve shirt, there is no shade the entire day. Staff provides water whenever you like so don’t panic if you forget your bottle.

Reviews

4.5

50 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 50 reviews

Awesome

Gary_B, Sep 2023

The knowledge of the captain and crew and everything involved in the trip including the snorkeling .. ,.............

Da Bestest Na Pali Tour There Is.

Gabrielle_J, Sep 2023

Just amazing

Solomon_R, Sep 2023

The captains knowledge and experience. The coastline was so beautiful. The cave experience was once in a lifetime.

Unbelievable experience

Kelley_C, Sep 2023

Captain Rich and Ona were wonderful. Full of history, legends, and info regarding the whole area of the coastline. The sea cave experience was amazing!! Such a great day on the water and getting up close to NaPali.

Good to See Spectacular Na Pali Coast Line

Alex_L, Aug 2023

The boat sailed from the island southwest to the north around Hanalei Bay. We can see the spectacular Na Pali Coast Line and many caves along the route. The captain and tour guide introduced the scenery very well. It is a very good tour, only disappointed that the captain canceled the snorkel section.

Worst day in Kauai

Dena_V, Aug 2023

The tour was 4 hours of holding on for dear life to the side of a raft. I knew it would be rough at times but thought there would be more time to enjoy the scenery. I thought there would be an opportunity to get off the boat and explore a bit. There was none of that. We even had to eat the “lunch” they provided on the boat while holding on to the sides. We basically got beat down for 4 hours and got maybe 2 minutes in a cave. I went with my husband and our two kids (15 and 13). We all hated it. We are fairly in shape and don’t shy away from adventure but this was not worth it. There was no reward.

Manta Ray jumps out of the ocean.

Chris_M, Aug 2023

The trip was amazing with lots of wildlife. We saw dolphins, turtles and manta rays. We had Capt Black and Cali and they were awesome.

Unforgettable experience thanks to Captain Black and Izzie

Joanne_H, Aug 2023

Captain Black and Izzie were the dream team! Beyond knowledgeable, incredibly responsible about the safety of all on board, and doted on my two boys the entire ride. We felt the thrill of the speed on the zodiac but never once felt unsafe or in danger- it was an unforgettable morning and we were gifted with great weather and amazing wildlife spotting- including sea turtles, dolphins, seals and a manta!

Terrible

Kim_O, Jul 2023

Terrible,we go up early in the morning .Traveled 40 miles to where we were supposed to get in the boat and then got a phone call that the boat had broken down ,ruined our day !You(viator)should be notified of this so we can get reimbursed ,Please let me know that this has been taken care of ,,,

Nordic Excursions are not meant to be fun!

Shauna_H, Jul 2023

The entire experience kicked off in a negative way due to the attitude of Captain Black. It was obvious he did not want to be there, thank goodness for his first mate, Izzy. He berated my husband for walking up “late,” even though we were there - we just forgot our water in the car and he ran back and got it. He then continued to single out my husband’s for “not paying attention” to the rules of the ocean and said he was going to be “the problem for the entire ride.” The Captain was so anxious and had an incredible need to to express his importance and authority. Please know, we never gave him any reason to think we didn’t respect his authority as our Captain. We followed the rules, complied and actually remained very quiet for the entire five hours because we were afraid to set him off. He would always make this underlying threat that he had the power to cancel the ride at any time. Captain Black showed us one cave and wouldn’t let us speak because he had to focus and the snorkeling was awful. It was for about 15 minutes, in a crappy area and he said we need to just deal with what he wanted to tolerate that day. All of the other boats snorkeling were in a different area but he had us in a random spot away from everything. I just came aboard b/c he kept yelling at us to stay close and to look up every three seconds because he did not want to be responsible for us. Again, thankfully his assistant was trying so hard to make people happy to Compensate for his attitude. One of the other passengers, a Father, jumped in the water to snorkel, but apparently didn’t paddle correctly and the Captain said he wasn’t a good swimmer and forced him to hang on to a bouy attached to the boat the entire time. He tried to explain he could swim But was just getting settled in the water, but the Captain would not allow him to snorkel. We felt so bad for the Father and could tell he was embarrassed. The last part of the ride was the Captain racing us back to port. He tried to save face by asking us us what we are grateful for and had each child steer the boat for a few minutes which was nice, but we didn’t need to film a video for his girlfriend via text and hear more about his personal life and issues with tourists’ lack of respect for the islands versus the sites on the tour. Needless to say, it was a long, long excursion. We left completely annoyed and stressed. We were hoping for a really fun and exciting day and it was just filled with negativity and intimidation. Again, we were very thankful for his first-mate, Izzy- she was so sweet And outstanding!

Amazing adventure hosted by an incredible crew

Kate_G, Jul 2023

Ku'ulei and Captain Black were the most fabulous team and hosts. They shared beautiful stories and rich history of the Na Pali coast and Hawaii. They ensured we were safe and had a magical time. The trip was incredible, beauty and majestical views the entire trip. Snorkeling was fun and we saw tons of fish and a turtle. A true adventure hosted by genuinely kind people.

Captain Rich!

Sophie_F, Jun 2023

Captain Rich and his deckhand (forgot her name so sorry) were great! They were both born and raised on Kaua’i and were incredibly knowledgeable about the island and had many tales to tell about the ancient Hawaiians and their culture. They also had interesting facts to tell us about various sea life. They kept us safe while also ensuring we had a super fun ride, where we saw dolphins, explored sea caves, snorkeled the Napali coast and had an incredible time.

A Masochist’s Dream

Suzie_G, Jun 2023

Group of 8 ages 17-55 y/o. We were warned by guide before going that it would be rough “a 5 hour roller coaster that you can’t get off of”, “a 5 hour ride on a mechanical bull” but we all thought…’how bad can it be?’ Sore muscles in arms and legs holding on to our “3 points of contact at all times”. Friction burns on the top our feet from the “feet belt”. Friction burns on our bottoms from bouncing up and down for 5 hours holding on for dear life. It stopped being fun about 30 minutes into it.

Best experience ever!

Janine_A, Jun 2023

We are absolutly satisfied with this boat tour! We had a great staff with Captain Black and Izzy and also a nice, small group. Because of the wave the tour ist very rough and surely not for everyone. But when you like adventures, than this tour is more than perfect! The communication was very professional. We saw dolphins, a seal, turtles and lots of beautiful fishs during this tour and absolutly loved listening to a lot of interesting facts about history & culture of this Hawaiian Island. We would recommend this activity to all adventurers who are planning a trip to Kauai! This tour is absolutly worth it!!! Mahalo!

Best way to see the Nepali coast!

Mickel_S, Jun 2023

We had an amazing time! The boat is small enough to go into the caves, and Gabe, our captain was an amazing driver.

Sea Riders Raft

Che_G, Jun 2023

The sites were beautiful! Although, the trip was rough. This excursion is not for the weak, it is for the adventurous. If you are looking for a relaxing boat ride, look at other options. This is a small raft ride that will go into the caves since it's a smaller vessel. That was a perk! Weather conditions; like cloud cover could also affect the trip since you will get wet on this boat. Overall, the captain did the best he could to make the boat ride as enjoyable as possible.

Memorable upclose coastal experiance

Robert_K, Aug 2022

This tour was very up-close! If there was an interesting sight we were definitely a part of the interaction; sea caves, land sights, waterfalls, sea life, along with other boater/kayakers. The Captain even made time for some fun play up the coast on the water with the boat for a good ride. We got a chance to stop and snorkle, to see beautiful fish and sea turtles and on the way back ride with a pod of dolphins next to the boat for a while. A very enjoyable and memorable experience, one we would definitely do again.

Great trip to see the Na...

Lisa_K, Jul 2022

Great trip to see the Na Pali coastline. The staff on board were very acknowledgable, friendly and experienced. I did not give the trip a 5 because there are no actual seats, except for the bench in the middle. It's a long trip to just be sitting on the outside of the boat holding a rope. Snorkeling is done at the end and it was very nice.

Simply the best!

Elaine_B, Jun 2022

Our crew, Nick & Liam were great! I can’t say enough wonderful things about them. They were skilled, entertaining & certainly made everyone feel special. The dolphins, the turtles, fish and even an octopus made for an awesome show! We loved caves & the exhilarating ride back! My family have been in other Zodiiac tours. This was by far the best!!! Thank you for a lifetime memory….on our 51st wedding anniversary!

Excellent Na Pali adventure!

Kim_B, Jun 2022

Great experience! The zodiac was super fun, you get absolutely soaked! Sea caves were fascinating and the crew had some fun stories. Snorkeling was nice. Would highly recommend!