Na Pali Riders

If you seek adventure, then the Na Pali Riders is the company for you. If you enjoy speed and the desire to see more of the Na Pali coastline without hiking, then the zodiac is the way to go. The captain and crew are very safety conscious forewarning everyone of the potential of seasickness and bumps along the ocean; all potential side effects when you want to enjoy the ocean. Due to mother nature, we were not able to go into the sea caves nor snorkel. Yet we were highly rewarded with beautiful sights of the humpback whales breaching and diving and pods of spinner dolphins. The absolute BEST whale watching I’ve ever done….even after 11 years of living in Hawaii.

Very dishonest people; Ooops, is too rough to see the Na Pali coast after being in the boat for over 2 hours. They knew that right off the bat, but didn't want people to cancel. Then, we proceeded to drive all over the place, with no exact goal because the wind was too bad to anchor the boat and snorkle. They were just buying their time to avoid reimbursing people....DON"T GO with this company. Scums!!

The wind and swells were bad on the North shore and a trip to Na Pali was out of discussion that day (which I'm sure they knew) but instead of telling us that and maybe give us the option to cancel, they took us anyway. The swells and waves were so bad, making the boat ride very rough. The captain was going very fast (not sure why, but i'm guessing to get a good laugh at all of us who were terrified). Then, he decided the weather was too bad and could not do the Na Pali coast (it took him 40 min to realize that...again, not sure why); so we were going to concentrate on snorkeling only and we headed back for the S shore, another long rough rough rough ride for only 20 min of snorkeling. And like the other reviews here that I agree with: the captain was trying to make the trip sound so wonderful, which in reality was a disaster and everytime anybody would ask a question he would laugh of give a very sarcastic answer. VERY BAD!!!

The tour was great, as was the captain. The 4 hours were enough to see the entire length of the NaPali Coast, dolphins, some turtles etc. The captain also told us some nice stories and had interesting information on most points of interest along the way. They advertise snorkeling for this tour also, but we didn't get to do much of that - I think you should look into some other tours (you can also easily go snorkeling on your own in Kauai) maybe catamarans or longer trips if you are into snorkeling.

I would highly not recommend Na Pali Riders. Our experience with them was awful. First of all, there were so many medical disasters it was unbelievable. One girl started hyperventilating, two others started getting seriously ill and were vomiting and going #2 over the side of the boat. The "captain" was really "selling' the tour though. Trying to make it seem better than it was. When I asked for a life vest, the owner literally rolled his eyes at me and did not want to give me one! This is appalling, especially considering I cannot swim and how unbelievably ROUGH this boat ride was. In addition, when I asked if they happen to have sea sickness medicine on them before the boat ride. They laughed at me and made me feel stupid for asking!

The atmosphere was laid back and the on boat photographer was extremely friendly. The raft is powerful and it is a fun ride. They put the more athletic and younger people in the front and allowed the older couples and o sit in the back. The captain stopped the boat and gave a brief history on each area. They ensured we saw the spinner dolphins and we actually saw a few humpback whales. The captain and photographer really knew the water and took us the length of the coast. My wife and I had a great time. The raft is fast and its a good thrill; everyone on our boat had a good time.

My husband and I were here for our honeymoon. We wanted to see the Napili coast so we booked a trip through Na Pail Riders. The Captain was showing off the whole time up on the side of the boat going as fast as he could, I felt like I was with an 18 year old teenage except the man was like 45! There were no life vests given and there was a high surf advisory. He was driving so bad when we finally stoped to snorkle, for 20 mins, there were 2 kids on the boat puking over the sides. After snorkleing there was supose to be snacks but the captain had lost them over the side! surprise. On the way back to the harbor he decided to fish for 45 mins in the rolling surf that made almost everyone feel sick. Finally we were back at the dock about 4 hrs later we had rope burns on our hands and feet because that is how you stay on the boat when it is on it's side and we were exhausted. The scenery was beautiful we saw dolphins, waterfalls, and some beautiful caves and fish but I would sugest a large non inflateble zodiac.

This zodiac raft trip was the highlight of our vacation. The Napali coast is breath taking and exploring the cost by zodiac allowed us to get up close to the shore with getting the most thrilling ride you can imagine. One our trip we went through several caves, saw dolphins and a whale. The guide had a great personality and made the trip a blast. A must do and it is priced better then most with a very experienced driver.