Sailing and Snorkeling Along the Napili Coast in Kauai

There are a variety of sailing/snorkeling tours of the famed Napili Coast offered on the island. Most tours leave from Port Allen, on the south side of Kauai. We choose Blue Dolphin Charters because they guarantee dolphin sightings on their morning tour.

The landscape at the beginning of the tour is quite stark and barren. I was a little disappointed at first, because I was expecting the lush valleys and cliffs that we had seen on the helicopter ride. 

It wasn’t long before the landscape became more interesting. The erosion from the wind and ocean is remarkable.

There are quite a few secluded little beaches along the coast. The only way to access them is from the ocean. There are tours that will take you to one. You can see one of those boats in the photo. They are smaller and have a much rougher ride. If that doesn’t faze you, it would be an amazing experience!

We were soon spotting multiple waterfalls.

This video is quite washed out (sorry, but video editing is not my thing) because the sun was so intense, but I wanted you to see parts of the coastline that generally aren’t shown in pictures. You might want to hit mute, there are people babbling in the background.

It takes over an hour to reach the point of the tour that most people would recognize easily as the Napali Coast. The total tour time is 5 1/2 hours. 

Once you reach the snorkeling site, you will have about 45 minutes to an hour to be in the water. The time will vary a little depending on weather conditions, which impact how fast the catamaran can get you there. For anyone who read about my first snorkeling misadventure and are wondering, yes, I did get in the water. And no, I did not trip and fall onto the captain on my way back on the boat. 

On our way back to Port Allen a pod of dolphins came to swim around and play by the boat. 

The dolphins are so much fun to watch! We also saw hundreds of flying fish. The captain called them the ‘french fries’ of the sea. He said dolphins and sharks love them. We didn’t see any sharks, but we did see a whale breaching in the distance. We were lucky with that sighting, as it was a little early for them to be coming back to the warmer waters of the Pacific.

Things to Know Before You Go:

1. Current cost is $180/adult, $160/17-12 years old, $150/11-2 years old. If you book ten days in advance there is a $10 discount. They do allow full refunds with 24 hour notice. Check their website for the most up to date costs, deals, and refund policies.
2. They provide you with a light breakfast (pastries, muffins, fruit) and non-alcoholic drinks on the way to the snorkel site. They provide lunch on the way back, with both non-alcoholic drinks and mai tais. (I didn’t think the mai tais were very good. The food was good, very fresh.)
3. Check in is at 8am. They have a gift shop and bathrooms at check in. You can also buy motion sickness items here, but many need to be taken hours or even a day beforehand to work properly. If you are prone to seasickness, I’d recommend buying something ahead of time and reading the directions before you leave for your trip, so you know exactly how far in advance you need to take it.
4. Wear sunscreen and bring it with you to reapply. If you don’t, you will most likely get a sunburn if you stay on the deck the whole time. Also, sunglasses, sunhats, towels, and a change of clothes if you don’t want to stay in your bathing suit.
5. There are bathrooms on the catamaran.
6. They provide the snorkel gear. You can rent a wetsuit if you wish. 
7. Check their website for any covid restrictions and to sign waivers for the trip.
8. The snorkeling area was ok. My husband said he saw a lot more fish when he was snorkeling at Poipu beach (which is free).

Although the snorkeling area was nothing spectacular, we thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride. The crew was funny and professional, the scenery was stunning, and the flying fish and dolphins were the icing on the cake. I definitely recommend choosing Blue Dolphin Charters. At this time, they offer 8 different tour options. 

We spent our next day back at Poipu Beach and the day after that, we went back to Waimea Canyon to do some hiking. Spoiler alert, that didn’t go as well as we had planned. As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.

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More Great Places to Snorkel

Kealakekua Bay ~ Hawaii

Poipu Beach ~ Kauai

Napali Beach ~ Maui

 

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