We booked this experience with less than 48 hours' notice, which was super convenient. The check-in process was quick and smooth--just arrive at your scheduled time, get ready, and head out. You pull your kayak (on wheels) to the launch site and push off from there; it's definitely doable. We opted to go without a guide and simply followed the provided map, which was very straightforward. However, in my opinion, the activity wasn't worth the price. Paddling two miles each way was pretty strenuous, especially with kids. The hike to Secret Falls was extremely muddy, particularly after rain, and we saw lots of people slipping and falling. It's not a huge problem, but you'll definitely want to plan for a shower afterwards. They do provide a large wet bag, but ours smelled strongly of body odor from repeated use without proper cleaning--definitely unpleasant. If I could do it over again, I would have canceled and just explored the state park on foot. For the amount of effort required, I felt the experience was overpriced. read more

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We did the Guided Wailua River "Secret Fall" Adventure with Wailua Kayak & Canoe, and it was an absolute blast! The scenery along the river and hike was stunning, and the whole experience felt like the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. Our guide, Michael, really made the trip special. He shared so much interesting information about the river, the history of the area, the plants, and the wildlife--and kept us laughing the whole way with his endless supply of dad jokes (now upgraded with 10% more!). If you're looking for a unique way to experience the natural beauty of Kauai, this tour is it. Come for the adventure, stay for Michael's humor. Highly recommended! read more

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Daniel, our tour guide was the BEST tour guide we have ever had in any country, any state, and any tour and we have been on and we have been on dozens of tours through the years. You are seriously missing out if you dont request him. He knew the background and stories about the land, the fruits, the trees, the people, and the flowers. We ate certain flowers through his direction and even picked the root of what the natives used as shampoo ( now used by Paul Mitchell haha). He had a wild bird land on his hand and feed from him. It was an incredible experience. I am telling you!!!! Request Daniel!!!! read more

If you plan on bringing children please be aware that you will have to pull your kayaks down to the river from the shack up by the main road. You will also have to wait for half an hour after you arrive to do a safety briefing that the guide zips through. When you get to the river it's a 2 mile paddle, they will allow small children to kayak alone. When you show concern about your child's age before you leave you'll be brushed off and told " it should be fine" it was not fine. The paddles are not in great shape, I have two blisters on my thumbs days later because there was no foam. Not a great experience, and the customer service is contrite at best. read more

We had agreat time paddling/hiking to Uluwehi Falls, AKA the "Not-So-Secret Falls". We didn't join a tour because it was less expensive and we have some kayaking experience. This outfit was pretty good and we would use them again. The staff person was really nice and informative. They rate the trip as moderate and that was pretty accurate. We are senior citizens in decent shape and it was challenging but not too difficult. On the upside... 1. Pretty good tandem kayaks and fast 2. Reasonable pricing and good instructions. 3. Really beautiful scenery. On the downside... 1. Some parts of the trail are muddy, rocky or a maze of exposed tree roots. 2. There is a thigh deep river crossing. 3. The paddle back has a tradewinds headwind. Tips: Wear closed toe water shoes not sandals. Bring 1-2 hiking poles for the river crossing. Bring a lot of water, camera and snacks. It's a blast and highly recommended. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Not so secret falls LOL - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Had a great experience today with WKC! Rented a tandem kayak for 5 1/2 hours for $125. Great equipment and check in experience. The river is very easy to navigate and the hike is lots of fun! Highly recommend wearing water shoes like Tevas or Chacos. The trail is pretty muddy and slippery. You'll also walk through a number of streams and part of the river. Waterfall is beautiful but there are a a lot of people up there enjoying lunch and getting their pics. Go in the morning for less crowds and better weather (not as hot). Highly recommend renting from this company and experiencing the Wailua River in such a special way. read more

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Michael was our tour guide. Very knowledgeable, full of dad jokes. Did not disappoint! Water was brisk being early in the morning. Was worth the hike. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

These guys are great! We did a tour today to Secret Falls. Daniel was our guide and he was awesome! Lots of fun and interesting facts and stories on the river and the hike. Water was smooth, camping was fun and the hike is a beautiful, trek through rain forest and river trails. Lots of variety and then you come to a huge water fall to swim in and relax! Bring water and a snack or lunch for the falls. Daniel is a cool guy guy and super friendly and knowledgeable. He made the trip even more fun! read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Relaxing at Secret Falls. Worth the hike! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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Noni is very nice- I don't envy them. I work in hospitality, I know how over confident, under prepared and uninterested in instructions many people can be. I can only imagine what they deal with all the time. We rented two singles- like others say, you get a quick rundown for what to go and where to see. I'm so glad we hustled- we got the falls to ourselves (after an easy hike) and had a nice swim. The river is very pretty. On our way back, there was a LOT of tour groups- felt like so many people. So happy we got there early. One more thing- flip flops will be a nightmare, you do get very wet crossing the river, and yea- like all trails in hawaii it is muddy. One more thing: kayaking back is against the wind- that's not so easy. Thanks Noni, we enjoyed you. I love your sense of humor. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Unforgettable experience!! We booked the kayak with guide tour to secret falls and enjoyed every moment of it. Daniel our tour guide was clear with the instructions, made sure that we were moving in the river as a group. Later we hiked for about a mile and Daniel impressed us with his knowledge about Hawaii customs, about the plays, birds and different animals in the forest. The falls were amazing and overall great ~5hrs tour. We definitely recommend this place read more

We booked last minute and we're glad we could do a rental without guide. It was easy process to get to the water and get going!

Went for the guided Wailua river kayak and hike to secret falls. The kayak was super fun and challenging - about 1hr each way. The hike was 40-mins each way and relatively easy and we were able to swim in the waterfall which was awesome!! Be prepared to get your shoes and bottoms wet as you will be walking into the river and streams multiple times. Our tour guide Michael was v helpful and funny :) The only complaint I have is for the lady at the front desk/answering the phones who was extremely rude and needs to tone down the sarcasm and witty replies for simple questions. Not a great look for them & a reason I unfortunately wont be booking anything with them in the future. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Secret Falls - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Great SUP rental! Great and helpful staff! Highly recommend. Get there early for the quickest service and enjoy a less crowded river too. Will rent here again next time we are in Kauai. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Map up the river to the falls. It's worth it! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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We didn't want to pay a ton of money for a guided tour so this spot rents out the kayaks for the day and you follow the map on the oh so rustic board and make it happen yourself. I disagree with folks who say you need to have done this before doing it on your own. This is a very popular spot so there were already tours out in force on the river. We paddled per the directions when renting the kayak and easily found the spot to park since there were already several parked on the bank. We just hiked it and there were people coming and going the entire time; it is pretty fool proof to get lost. We did it and had never been before. Don't forget sunscreen! I thought I did so I didn't enjoy the falls as much as I would have liked to enjoy if I thought I could swim more and not worry about washing off the sunscreen I had on. My guy was nice enough to chat up some other nice folks and help me out but just come prepared then you don't have to worry about it, lol. Super busy but super pretty and I'd totally do this again! We went in April and weather was lovely. I've heard later in the year there are more issues with mosquitoes but when we went it wasn't a problem. I hiked in chaco's which are open toe sandals but strap on. I didn't want to bring extra shoes since I knew the hike was short - maybe 1 mile or so in. You cross through water though and I don't have tough feet so for me this was perfect. I was careful on the trail not to stub my toe and it was fine. I saw crazies going barefoot - more power to them but not this girl. My feet are not that tough! read more

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My wife and I are 63. We're active but not marathon runners or anything like that. Both the kayak and hiking portions of the trip are challenging but doable. We have experience kayaking, so we were the second people to arrive at the falls at about 9:15. We were part of the 7:15 group, so it took us about 1.5+ hours of paddling and walking to get there (after the check-in and orientation). There is a river crossing, 3 stream crossing and a lot of muddy, slippery trail and rocks to get over, so if your not reasonably agile, you might have problems. I'd never want to do this if it was raining or had been raining a lot in the previous few days. Just too much sloppy, slippery mud to deal with. Also, the return trip down the river is harder, even though you're going downstream, because the wind picks up and is blowing against you. This makes it significantly harder, and you're also likely tired by this point. There are also a LOT of people from the various tours that all end up at the same spot, so be prepared for a crowd. This equipment was okay, but heavily used. My paddle grip covering was torn up and uncomfortable. My wife ended up with blisters on her thumb by the end of the trip. The kayaks were stable, sit-on-top style. Heavy out of the water, which made loading the kayak back onto the wheel-carrier challenging. The employees give very basic instructions as to your route and some basic warnings about the mud and creek crossings. You have to roll the kayak maybe a hundred yards or so to the water, launch it to get the wheel carrier off, return the wheels, and repeat all this upon your return. You also need to be able to drag your kayak up the beach at the upstream landing site. They are pretty heavy. The strap that held the kayak onto the wheel-carrier was broken, so it was a bit of a nightmare to get the kayak back. When I told the attendant, he just laughed and said, yep there are some old ones that don't work very well. So I guess everyone else that used that wheel set had the same bad experience that we did, and they knew about it, but didn't fix it. It would be nice if they had staff available to help with the kayak loading onto the wheels. Off loading wasn't too bad, but everyone we saw on the return trip had trouble lifting the kayaks and getting them on the wheels properly. There's probably a trick to doing it easily, but no one was there to show you how. Overall, it was a good trip. The falls were pretty, and the jungle lush and beautiful. Consider the weather, and your ability to kayak and hike on rough trails for 3-4 hours. Make sure to have good footwear, water, a towel, and a few snacks or lunch. Sunscreen and bug spray too. Lots of people manage to make the trip, so if you're in decent physical shape, it should not be a problem. It was a fun adventure. I would hesitate to use this company again. They were okay, but not great. It's nice not to have to put your kayak on top of your car to take it to the river like some companies do, but I think at least one other company has direct river access. read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Crossing the final stream - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Thank you Kathy at Wailua Kayak and Canoe for being so helpful and accommodating to our family! Kathy was very helpful and kind. We will definitely join a tour next time we are on the island. Thank you from the Lopez Family. read more

Unfortunately, we didn't get to use this company. My husband and I reserved a tandem kayak on their website two days before desired date. We got a text at 5 a.m. the day of that due to high winds, our reservation had to be cancelled and to call back to reschedule or request a refund. We contacted them back and left a voice message for a refund which was promptly processed by the end of the day. I appreciated their timely response. We hope to use them when we return to Kauai. read more

My family and I did a guided tour to the Secret Falls yesterday. We had so much fun! It is definitely a little difficult at parts but highly recommend this company if you are looking for a guide! We had Michael and he was amazing and very knowledgeable about the area! Thanks for a great trip! read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Secret Falls - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Mike is the best tour guide we have ever had! He was funny and more than helpful and attentive to both adults and kids. The trip to secret falls was so much fun with him. He helped those who didn't know how to kayak and answered all of our questions and more. He is beyond patient with kids and engaged in there jokes. They provide water bags and coolers. If doing a guided tour we highly recommend requesting Mike! read more

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The river, the hike (its brutal, be on your A game that day) and waterfall were amazing. The whole experience getting the kayak to and from the water and where to leave your wheels and overall instructions are super vague. We ended up leaving our wheels in the wrong place and they were "stolen" When we got back to the dock I noticed the wheels weren't where we left them, I went to the front desk and told the lady working ( I don't remember her name) and she very quickly said "they were probably stolen" which I thought was a very quick assumption. So she walked me over to where some spare wheels were and she told me "you had the black wheels right?" And I said yes and she said "yeah I saw them over there in the wrong place" and I immediately thought then why wouldn't she go and grab them herself? We can't be the only people who do that, even on a daily basis. Long story short we get charged $100 for the "stolen" wheels even though SHE saw them sitting there in the wrong place. In my opinion she allowed them to be stolen or brought them back while we were out and charged us again to make some extra coin. SHADY! And frustrating! read more

Only because options were limited... Challenging to find an outfitter that will just rent to you so you can paddle the Wailua River without having to take a "tour". We weren't interested in hiking the over rated falls on the muddy trails with the masses. Just wanted to rent a 2 up kayak and paddles for a couple of hours. Options were limited, and despite being rated 18 of 30 boat tours, we decided to roll the dice. I called ahead to make sure there was availability. We were asked to give our credit card info over the phone. I'm not sure who in their right mind still does this, but we have played the "replace your credit card because of fraudulent charges" game too many times, so I told them I intended to pay with cash. We were informed the price is $13 cheaper if paying cash, and the lady said she had never had someone not give credit card info over the phone. If you take one thing from this review, it is to protect your data folks. Upon arrival, 1 female staff member was working, not wearing a mask. Fine by us, although whomever I talked to on the phone was adamant we wear masks when checking in. We had to fill out paper liability forms again asking for credit card info (we did not provide it). When the other staff member arrived, who seemed to be the boss, she immediately asked everyone to put masks on. Even though we are outside and properly distanced. It applies to everyone except the other female employee I guess, who never put one on. If you are going to ask customers to do something, at least be consistent and don't have another employee walking around contradicting your directions. The tutorial was a bit condescending, the equipment VERY used, but adequate. For the price we paid I would expect newer boats, newer life jackets and adjustable paddles, but everything is expensive in Hawaii, so what do I know... Like I said, with limited options available, it was what it was. We had a nice paddle and enjoyed the afternoon, checking back in when we were done was a breeze. read more

Michael was our guide, and he was great. Small group, about 12 or so. The kayaking is easy, and the hike is not long (about 3 miles round trip). This is the third time I've done this particular tour, and this company was the best one yet. Highly recommend! Note...make sure you wear secure shoes. No flip flops! You'll be hiking through muddy terrain...and will be walking through streams. I've worn Tevas, this time I wore hiking shoes and they served me well. read more

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Yesterday we were able to book two double kayaks for today's self-guided 7:15 am time slot. I was grateful we were able to book the kayaks on such short notice. We arrived about 7 am and found the check in, orientation, and instruction process to be not that great. First issue we encountered is that this company charged an additional $21.42 on a $200 charge for using a credit card. Who carries around $200 cash unless they know they need it? I mentioned that I wasn't aware of that and the answer I got was "we aren't allowed to advertise that." Maybe they can't advertise, but they could tell you when you have already booked it. You are offered a dry bag and a small cooler. You also get life vests. There is a map on the wall that you can take a photo of so you know where to go for the Secret Falls. There was very little instruction. Basically "grab your kayak, go down this path, go over this really lame small bridge, push kayak into water, take off wheels, be back by 12:15." The person asked if anyone had any kayak experience. Of the 20 or so people, only my two adult sons indicated they had any experience. One would think that with that many people with no experience that she would have taken a little time for some basic instruction. The only thing she said was put the stronger person in the back. Fortunately for me I was with my Eagle Scout son who gave me some basic easy info on how to properly hold paddle and stroke. He also told me to adjust backrest to make it more comfortable. He did all the steering, but that would also be helpful and easy info to give participants. The 3 star review is for the above info. The rest of the info really has nothing to do with the company, but I think it's helpful for anyone considering kayaking the Wailua River. Kayaking to Secret Falls wasn't too difficult because you are paddling down stream. The hike to Secret Falls is difficult. I would not say it is strenuous, but it is treacherous. There are parts through very tall grass and parts on fairly narrow wooden walkways. These are the easy parts. The rest is rocky, muddy, and slippery combined with big roots and crossing the river/stream 4 times. There are all sizes of rocks and some not only are muddy but have algae making them very slippery. Definitely bring a hiking stick or find a stick as it definitely helped. The falls are beautiful. There are only rocks to sit on near the falls so you just find a place to put your stuff. The water is cold, but definitely worth going in. Going in or behind the waterfall isn't the easiest thing to do, but it was fun. We were only at the falls for about 20 minutes as we needed to get back. Paddling upstream was harder, but we got by by 12 pm. I'm glad I did it, but don't think I would do it again. read more

I booked the kayak and hidden falls tour for my friend and I. We had a grand time. I think our guide was Michael---red haired guy. He was very informative and kept the conversation going with our small group. He provided walking sticks which was extremely helpful. We are pretty athletic and no stranger to mud. Those sticks kept us up upright. He also had food for the ducks. Very fun to feed them. Highly recommend this tour!! read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Hidden falls - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

We started at 7.30, we were first at the fall and we had it for ourselves for half an hour. It was amazing! Totally worth it. We stopped at the grotto.on the way back. Everyone was nice, helpful and funny, we really enjoyed it! Go early, we met a lot of guided tour on the way back and we were glad we were not with all of them at the fall! read more

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Due to a storm, we didn't actually get to use this but I am rating based on my experience with customer service. We were set to rent a kayak at 12pm. A storm was due to hit the island the following day, but heavier rain due to start at 2pm the day of our rental. We received a text from Kathy explaining everything and letting us know that they'd decided to stop all kayaks due to the storm. She asked if we wanted to reschedule, but we were departing so weren't able. She quickly refunded us in full without any difficulty or drawn out process. I appreciated the communication, customer service, and the prioritization of safety. While disappointed we didn't get to kayak, would 100% recommend this company to anyone else based on our experience. read more

This location is near Wailua river. The self guided tours start at 0700 or 1200. The price is 85 for a double and 50 for a single. We chose to go at 0700 and were given up to 1230 to return the kayak. The guy working at the time was friendly and offered our 2 groups dry bags and coolers. After a waiver is signed, he briefly goes over a map. Then you grab your canoes and pull it on wheels for about a 1/4 mile to the water. Definitely a work out. It poured for the first 15 minutes of the trip. Make sure you use the dry bags and strap them down. Playing around, my husband flipped over and everything remained dry that was in that bag. Be aware that no directions are given on how to kayak or what to do if you flip or veer in the wrong direction. We were informed that the first place we would pass is a stop off for snacks. We decided to pass and continued on to our first stop, which was the hike to secret falls. After you pull your kayaks onto the gravel, begin your hike by following the arrow on the tree that points right. The trail is a definite adventure. You cannot complete the trail in flip flops. You will cross a river that can be knee deep and the rocks are slippery. The trail is muddy and has many tree roots sticking out. There is also a slight incline at some points. Our whole group had water shoes that we bought at Wal-Mart for around 10 dollars. They did the job. Also there are many mosquitos. I had on bug spray with 40 percent deet and they still got me. The end of the trail leads you to the secret falls. There were still plenty of people there at this hour. Just make sure you get there before 10. We saw many guided tours arriving before we left. Great for a quick swim and photos. Careful when placing your hands on the rocks. There are bees and we saw a girl get stung. After we finished our hike back, we continued up the river and made a right when we got to the fern grotto. That led us to an area that you can dock your kayak and get out. There is a 12-15 ft cliff that you can jump off of. The way back was difficult due to the wind and the waves created by the boats passing. By this time, sunscreen was required. So be prepared to have a workout. Bring snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, water shoes. It's an awesome adventure and I'm glad we experienced it the way we did. read more

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Wailua Kayak & Canoe Is the best company to see the secret falls with. Our guide Daniel was so knowledgeable and super funny! It's a 2 mile kayak and then a mile hike to the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen. Somehow our itinerary email had the wrong time on it and Daniel was so kind and understanding. Hands down the best adventure we picked! Thank you Daniel and Wailua Kayak & Canoe. It was truly something I will never forget and will always cherish read more

It is not clear how one can actually rent a kayak from these people. We went to the "office" (shed) by the river and the guy said he was sold out for that day so we need to call the office for a reservation. So I did that, about 9am in the morning. No one answered the phone so I left a message and asked for a reservation the next day. The voice message said the call would be returned. No one ever called back. The entire day. I am writing this review 12 hours later, after the initial call. About noon, I went online and made a reservation for the next day, a Saturday, because they are closed Sunday. That reservation was never confirmed, so I have no idea if we have a reservation or not. I made yet another reservation for a different day. Maybe it will be confirmed, maybe not; maybe we can rent a kayak, maybe not. There is no way to plan a day around this company. Highly irresponsible and unreliable. read more

We got there 15 minutes early and stayed for 45 minutes waiting for someone to answer the gate. We finally asked some of the surrounding business if they knew were the owners or guides were. We were told that the shop closed down today. We had a 12:30 reservation. The business was a no show. We called, no answer. Left voicemails, no return call at the time of this post. No signage on the gate saying they were closed. No explanation or clues of any sort leading us to believe they were closed down for the day. If a business has an unexpected delay or need for cancellation, they should contact the customer. We wasted a day of our vacation on these plans to leave feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. read more

Very safe guided tour to secret waterfall. Our tour guide Thomas was professional and knowledgeable about the land and Hawaiian culture. The kayak ride was so relaxing and the hike was enjoyable. Thomas also prepared lunch for us which I attached a picture below. The owner Cynthia was present before we left to greet us and once we returned to thank us. A+ tour group and kayak rental. Highly recommend! read more

Wailua Kayak & Canoe - Lunch - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

The waterfall and the hike are awesome but our guide, Mike, was extremely rude and terrible during our trip last week. There were 6 of us in our group all at novice level, kayaking wise. When we asked him before we set out what the difficulty level of the kayaking was, his response was that we can leave the trip right away before even getting started. We were puzzled by his response but still went ahead given that their website nowhere mentions that one needs to have some experience to go on this kayaking trip. Our group had two ladies in a kayak who fell behind and he was extremely rude and condescending to them on the way back since he seemed to be in a hurry. We did make it back in the allotted time but here are some of the things he said to them: "One should never put two women on the same kayak", "I'll have to tow you and it'll cost you $20/head which you can't afford anyway",.. He towed about half a minute before he made the comment about us not being able to afford paying him and stopped tugging their kayak. Please avoid him if you are either a novice/woman/person of color. This company needs to do a much better job of specifying the expected kayaking experience for this trip if it is not meant for novices and/or they can't/won't be helpful to novices. Also, please teach your guides to be a little bit more respectful and kind to everybody. read more

Wailua Secret Falls tour 2 adults (1 Tandem kayak) - $181 total BOOK ONLINE! Do NOT book with lady over the phone. After 3 phone conversations, the last one ending with her taking our lunch order, names, credit card number, security code on back, address, etc; we arrived an hour early to find that we did NOT have reservations, and the phone lady was unreachable. I wanted to bail and go find another company but my husband convinced me not too. Luckily, their morning tour was not completely booked and we were able to get a last minute lunch made and get in on the tour. Our tour guide, Michael, is the only reason I'm giving this place 4 stars. He was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, passionate, helpful, and personable. He definitely salvaged the day for us. He's full of interesting facts about the area, and a great conversationalist. First thing to mention about the tour itself is that this is more of a hike than it is a kayaking trip. Second thing to mention is that you should wear hiking shoes NOT sandals or water shoes. You will have to walk through ankle deep mud, thigh high water, and there's lots of climbing over things. The people in our group who wore water shoes or sandals lost a shoe in the mud, slipped a lot, and had difficulty climbing. The amount of time spent hiking is exponentially greater than the time spent frolicking in the waterfall pool, or even kayaking. read more

My wife and I had saved for a big trip to Kauai with our daughters. We planned a day of kayaking on the Wailua river. Unbeknownst to us, many of the kayak adventure establishments were guided kayak tours requiring reservations. So, on the morning that we planned to go up the Wailua, we stopped first at Ali'i Kayaks. Not only was the cat behind the counter rude to me as he more-or-less told me to beat it, he barely looked up from his phone at me. Then we walked across the way to Wailua Kayak & Canoe where we met Hazel. She was super pleasant and accommodating and rented us our kayaks and sent us all off on a day we will never forget. Now, Wailua Kayak & Canoe isn't much to look at, but their folks are pure "aloha" and their gear and awesome advice got us right where we needed to be. Thank you so much!! read more

Rented a double kayak from these guys for a self tour. I liked that they allowed last minute requests, the kayak pick up time was 7-7:30am and they had one available when we called them at 6:30am. This was off-peak season (early May) on a Saturday. They give you a dry bag, life jacket and a cart to wheel your kayak onto the dock, so no car loading required! They also show you a map of the route which you can take pictures of on your phone, and you are all set! Since this was a self guided tour we were able to go at a relaxed pace and made a couple of diversions to the fern grotto (cannot dock so only viewed from the kayak). The main attraction was Secret Falls, which can be accessed by a 1 hour hike after you paddle for about 50 minutes. We arrived early and had the Falls to ourselves, but by the time we left the shore was filled with kayaks! Totally recommend doing this first thing in the morning. The hike to the Falls was more of a scramble and muddy because of recent rainfall, but pretty doable. Rental for 5 hours was 55$ - found this a bit steep, but way better than paying them 90$ for a guided tour! Also - I later found discount coupons inside a booklet :( Don't miss the paddle down the river, it's beautiful and very calm! And if you are a decent paddler you can totally skip the tour and do this on your own. read more

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We had a great experience booking with Cathy and renting the kayaks from Noni. They were very transparent, responsive, and honest. Great price for the two double kayaks that I reserved over the phone with Cathy. When we checked in Noni explained the entire process as we had expected in our review of the information online and with Cathy. Our family of 4 including 8 & 9 year old boys enjoyed of morning excursion to the falls, fern grotto, and back. We'd reserve with Kailua Kayak again without a doubt. Lastly, I have to commend Noni on her honesty. I forgot a very expensive item in one of their complementary dry bags. She found it and held it for me until I could get back to pick it up. Thank you Noni, Cathy, and Kailua Kayak! read more

Reserved our spot online for self-guided use, but could only input total number of people and they assumed we wanted 4x doubles and 1x single for our group of 9. We tried to switch out some of the doubles for singles, but they were all out when we got there at 8am (our spot was for 7:15am, oops!). Pricing was weird: priced per person rather than by double/single kayak, then it was actually higher when paying by credit card, which was not mentioned at any time. Also, please change your reservation system: requires a credit card to make a reservation but is not used for final payment. Staff member during check-in was extremely grumpy, but looked to have sweetened up during check-out; they must have forgotten to have their morning coffee! After handing off the kayaks, you're on your own to take it on a short trek across a small bridge to the water, unload and store wheels in a safe location, and board. It is very SELF-GUIDED indeed. The hike to the waterfall can be rough on muddy or wet conditions, but definitely do-able. The waterfall was actually quite crowded when we arrived, around 10:30am. Our group had a few first-timers, and we were able to complete the roundtrip to the waterfall comfortably within the time limit, although we did have to skip Fern Grotto. We picked this company because they were right on the river so we didn't have to haul it on our rented sedans, but later we saw there were a handful of other companies that are also right on the water; those others should consider increasing their online presence to make that fact more known to tourists! read more

We had a great time as we went on the self guided tour at 7:15 and we were back by noon. I would highly recommend this company. They provided waterproof bags and a cooler and the equipment was in pretty good shape. We were given an introduction at the beginning that covered everything we needed to know before we headed to the secret waterfall. The trail was manageable. I consider myself a casual walker and had to use a moderate effort To navigate the trail. From start to finish we were 4 1/2 hours and leaving early allowed us to avoid the crowds. On our way back down the hike we passed about 10 to 12 groups that had left quite a bit later than us and the swimming hole/waterfall would've been way too crowded had we have gone any later. Do it and have fun!!! read more

Genuinely the WORST customer service I've EVER experienced. The workers are unbelievably rude, hostile, and unprofessional. Before we even stepped foot out of the car, we were met with aggression from the lady in the front. She mouthed off to my kids as well and made us feel extremely unwelcome. There are too many other kayak tours, don't waste your time or money on these idiots and their crappy equipment. read more

Spoke with Cynthia and she confirmed our reservation for 730am. Took my credit card number and everything. We wake up early and get there at 730 only to find that she never put us down and that they were closed due to weather. However other places were open and luckily we were able to get a last minute kayak through Kayak Kauai. Cynthia should have called us to let us know that they were closed. And it's not even raining until late afternoon. Poor customer service. read more