A Na Pali Boat Tour I Will Never Forget

Rising Early for Our Na Pali Boat Tour

During my vacation in Hawaii, I decided to sign my family up for a Na Pali boat tour with Na Pali Riders. Their company utilizes Zodiac® rafts for their Na Pali Coast tours, which was intriguing to me since I'd never been on this type of boat before. The kicker was that I would need to drive from Kauai's North Shore all the way to Waimea, to meet the Na Pali boat tour at the terribly early time of 6:15am. Everyone in my family protested, but I managed to convince them that it would be worth it. So why did I drag my family out of bed at the crack of dawn for a boat tour on a rubber raft?

Na Pali Riders offers a dawn-patrol, early-morning Na Pali boat tour for several good reasons. For one thing, the seas are much calmer earlier on in the day versus later in the afternoon when the tradewinds pick up. Another reason is that the experience of being at the Na Pali Coast is spiritual, it's a magnificent place of raw, untouched nature. Seeing a bunch of boat tour boats everywhere can take away that feeling, so getting up there before the rest do is a definite plus. And Na Pali Riders departs from Kikiaola Harbor, several miles nearer to Na Pali Coast than Port Allen, where most boat tour companies are based out of. This means less time transiting to Na Pali Coast and most importantly, more time up there actually seeing it.

When we arrived at Na Pali Riders, we were greeted by the enthusiastic "Captain Chris," who gave us a briefing about what to expect on the Na Pali boat tour (dolphins, turtles, whales, seacaves, and snorkeling with fish). I was told that Na Pali Riders had been touring the infamous Na Pali Coast for over a decade, and that this would be one of the best experiences of our lives. Now my weary eyes were gone and I was anxious to get this tour started and see the infamous Na Pali Coast for the first time in my life!

Boat Tour on the Zodiac® Raft

I had never been on a raft, so the Na Pali Riders' Zodiac® boats were something new to me. The boat is a 30-foot, rigid-hull, inflatable raft called the "Seabiscuit" and offers a lively ride definitely not meant for the faint-at-heart. Basically, you sit along the sides of the boat, and hold on to ropes which secure you as you bounce along the water. But what the boat tour lacks in comfort, it makes up for in the thrill of the adventure, and most importantly maneuverability. The Zodiac® raft allows the boat tour to get you into mystic seacaves and right under waterfalls coming off the cliffs. It also allows explorations of shallow inlets (the nooks and crannies of Na Pali Coast that larger catamarans can't access).

15 minutes out from the harbor, my son saw a huge green sea turtle (honu) swimming right by our boat. There were also tons of dolphins surrounding the raft, with babies springing into the air and performing aerial spins right in front of the bow. I fumbled to get my camera, and missed the shot, but luckily the Na Pali Riders crew person was taking photos and videos of the entire trip for all of us to take home at the end. In fact, all of the amazing sights we encountered were being captured on a Na Pali boat tour video, which really allowed me to relax, knowing I'd have the memories forever.

Tour of the Na Pali Seacaves

As we passed around one of the jagged cliffs, we came across our first sea cave. The cave was massive, had an open ceiling, and our Na Pali boat tour took us right into the center of it. The inside of it has a collapsed ceiling and gave us a great view of the sky above. Further down the coast we went through a spooky cave that had a separate entrance and exit. We were told that only a Zodiac® could get us into and out of this tight space safely, and boy was it worth the thrill. The sea cave explorations on this Na Pali boat tour were exhilirating, to say the least.

Snorkeling on Our Boat Tour - Great Fun!

On our way back from Na Pali we stopped at a place called Makaha Ridge where the boat tour anchored and everyone jumped in for a snorkel adventure. There's a reef at Makaha Ridge that has a lot of fish to see, and the water was warm and inviting. I spotted a green sea turtle swimming right overhead me. The water was crystal clear, it was magical!

The End of Our Tour...I Will Be Back Na Pali!

On our way back to the harbor, I saw boats of all types heading up towards the Na Pali Coast to the places I had visited earlier that morning. It was a nice feeling to know we had avoided the crowds, and made our early morning rise well-worth it. I had a wonderful time on this tour, and will definitely repeat the tour on my next trip(s) back to Kauai. Thanks Na Pali Riders!