Catamaran Kahanu

Booked a trip for an afternoon whale watching trip after a recommendation from Rich at Kapaa Snorkel Bobs (thanks Rich!). The wind was up pretty good, but Debbie assured us that we would be just fine. Captain Lani gave a good briefing before heading out and we were soon underway. With the wind waves around 4-​feet, it made finding whales a little bit of a challenge, but Captain Lani and Deckhand Jayce kept us entertained until the Humpbacks became a little less elusive. Once we found a pod of whales Captain Lani kept us close to them and we all got some great photos and videos. Jayce handed out cold soda pop and fresh pretzels half way through the trip. On our way back to port, Jayce spent some time telling entertaining stories to my wife and son about his former career. We’ve booked fishing trips on other Kauai charters, that were 3-​times as long; but no where near as entertaining as our 2-​hour tour. Thanks Captain Lani and Jayce! See you in July when we will do a snorkeling trip!

Great time! We saw whales and snorkeled in the ocean. The lunch was good and the Captain is very knowledgeable. I like to support good family businesses like this one. Jace who works on the boat was fantastic too. I would use them again!

Incredibly disappointed…
My fiancé and I are visiting Kauai and were wanting to go on a whale watching tour. About 7 weeks prior to our trip I found Catamaran Kahanu online. I called and left a message and heard back from the company within 24 hours. I was able to reserve ¹²⁄₂₉ for a sunset whale watching dinner cruise for 2. I gave my credit card to hold the reservation and was instructed to call 4 hours prior. Hooray!
Fast forward to 12/29…I start calling around 9am to confirm. Left VM #1. Called at noon. Called at 1:30. VM #2. Call again at 2… And we are told there is no sunset cruise today. The woman I spoke to simply says «I’m sorry. I must not have put it in online. There’s no cruise.» Silver lining, we were not charged but still no cruise. The company didn’t even offer to try and fix it. Incredibly disappointed with Catamaran Kahanu and would not recommend them.

If I could give these guys 10 stars I would. What an amazing trip, I was completely awestruck!
Most of the other boats were huge and packed with people. The Kahanu on the other hand was like a private cruise. Do yourself a favor, book a tour! The Na Pali coast was beyond spectacular…

Yet another five star review. The smaller boat was great; not crowded, still rode the waves well, and was able to get very close to the cliffs. The captain was a classic salty dog, and the first mate Jase was very friendly and helpful. All in all, a great experience.

By far the best catamaran cruise I’ve ever taken. Don’t get mixed in with the huge boats and their crowded tours, catamaran kahuna is small and personal and can go where the big boats can’t. My group and I absolutely loved our experience, got to nearly touch porpoises tracking our boat, drove under a waterfall, went into a cave, and had some awesome snorkeling time. The Napali coast is stunningly beautiful, and this tour makes it all the better.

We were in Kauai for the first time a couple of weeks ago and decided to go on this catamaran for the day. We did not regret it! It was awesome! Captain put us on some bottlenose dolphins and then he found some of the local spinner dolphin for us to check out and take pictures of. We loved hanging out with Jase and captain. Our six year old son didn’t want to go snorkeling so he stayed on the boat with the captain. He had a blast! The food was good and we felt like we made the right choice when we picked this boat. It’s smaller and more personal. We had only 9 people on the boat that day. Everyone had fun! On the way back the captain let our son drive the boat. Very cool for a 6 yr old! Thanks to captain, his wife and Jase for a great trip! See you next year!
Christine, Steve and Koa

Captain and Jayce are the real deal. Very cool dudes, Jayce was very knowledgable on the history of the island. Lunch was provided. Turkey or ham sandwiches, pineapple, pasta salad, and a cookie. Soda and juice. Bring your own water because it is not provided for you. We got to see caves and got the history run down of how they came to be. Waterfalls and dolphins. We snorkeled around the coral. It was more of an intimate tour; only 17 of us. Highly reccomend going with these guys over the more commercial ones. Captain is a true local and knows what he’s doing and Jayce is a real cool guy made the trip very enjoyable. The commercial ones are crowded and not as relaxing. 5 stars for sure

If you are looking for a more personal experience where you truly get to know other guests, this is the trip for you. The Captain and his first mate, Jase are an amazing team and work really well together. We were lucky to have great weather, and the Captain actually backed the catamaran up to a waterfall along the Na’poli coast. A fact that the guests on other catamarans watching were jealous (we met a couple later who commented)
Jase (j, sorry if I am spelling it wrong) has some great stories and is very knowledgable about the history of the island.
It’s a small operation compared to the bigger and flashier outfits right next door, but do not let that fact deter you from enjoying this amazing and safe experience!

Awesome tour with the captain and Jayce! It was my favorite on my 10-​day trip to Kauai. Not only did we see the beautiful Napali Coast, we were treated like family and received a personalized experience since the boat takes only a maximum of 18 passengers. The boat went up close to caves, waterfalls and porpoises. We snorkeled in a beautiful area and then had a lovely lunch on the boat before returning to Port Allen. We got to know the captain, whose family has lived here for generations and his friendly and knowledgeable first mate, Jayce. They gave us the history of the island and answered many of our questions. I couldn’t imagine going on this tour with anyone else. I will definitely go on this tour again when I return to Kauai.
Editing that I live in Los Angeles though the Unilocal review is picking up my city, state on the island currently.

My friend and I went on this tour yesterday, and it was spectacular. If you want a personal, safe, and adventurous trip, go on catamaran kahanu. If you want an impersonal, and packed like sardines tour, go with the other companies. We were able to get very close to the coastline, snorkel in a remote location, and even get under a waterfall! This was definitely one if the best experiences on the island!

Easy to feel smug – with Captain and Jayce – watching the other boats load 30 – 80 passengers and drop line 100s of yards deeper than us to snorkel. I got to lay on the bow of the boat and come within inches of touching dolphins (or «porpoises» as the locals call them). For being a «Polish from the mid-​west», Jayce was super knowledgeable about the native lore and the Captain was a totally kind character with a ton of experience riding those seas. The ride back was pretty rocky (literally), but the Cap got us through like a champ. Ride on the bow if you get a chance… it was an awesome and exhilarating experience! Also, be sure to ask (the very handsome) Jayce about his past. Thanks Cap and kids!

We had a great time! Very professional, and safety conscious. would do it again! We saw dolphins and sea turtles. Lunch was great! Crew was very nice. Thanks for a great day !!

The «Captain» and Jayce were by far the best Catamaran tour guide my wife and I have had. Not only were we impressed but we can’t wait to come back!!! At first my wife was hesitant because the group was small but the reviews have been great and to top it off each person joining couldn’t stop raving about the tour. There was a cute family with us that came back after 10 years!
Jayce has some of the most entertaining stories about his career and life so far which made our time extremely personable. He was also interested in our story and truly loved his «job.» He was very attentive to everyone on the boat and had so much knowledge to share about Kauai.
The «Captain» really knew the best spots to take us. Probably since he grew up in Kauai and built this boat himself!

Today’s catamaran trip to the NaPali coast was a once in a life time trip for my hubby and I. SO happy we went with this company. The captain was a native who knew the coast like the back of his hand. He was very concerned about safety which set my mind at ease. I knew we wrr3 in safe hands ! The tour guide Jase was so knowledge and personable and especially helpful to me in easing my anxiety about snokeling. We saw porpoise, 6 humpback whale and the most amazing views of the NaPali coast. If your considering a catamaran trip you MUST chose this company. If I could give them 20 stars I would ! Log off Unilocal and book this excursion right now !

Had the best trip with the captain and Jase. Our weather was perfect which is rare for this time of year. We got really close to the lava rock cliffs, sea caves, waterfalls and lava tubes. Jase even took great pictures of us as captain expertly backed the boat under a waterfall. They were really good with kids and my elderly parents.
Oh, and can’t forget the ½ hour of snorkeling we got to do also!
Captain is native Hawaiian and very knowledgeable about his island!!!

This is the one you want. Don’t bother chartering on the big tupperware catamarans that are loud and over crowded. They are a ripoff. This captain has lineage on Kuaii that goes back over 400 years. Because he is a native he is able to pull into the best snorkeling spots that other organizations can’t touch. Because his boat is smaller, it gets to the destinations faster and is able to get closer to all of the great sights.
If you want to avoid supporting local and sustainable businesses and have a fancy drink, take one of the other boats.
If you want to see the Na Pali coast and all the beautiful scenery and marine life? Take this boat.

Don’t look any further, book with this company. Would highly recommend. Captain was awesome, he found us porpoises and humpbacks before any of the other boats. He read the ocean the a pro, the sea was rough on our trip and made the call to turn around. He was dead on. We were passed by one of the other company boats but before you could say sea sickness, they were also turning around. Captain was friendly and the smaller boat occupancy was fantastic. Lunch was great and so was the snorkeling, with fewer people to supervise we got to swim longer and enjoy the day.

I would like to say «Aloha» and” Mahalo” to Captain ‘Uncle’ Lani and his neice. First of all, if you want to see Napali Coastline and feel like being on your own private Catamaran,
THIS IS THE ONE! Its not like the other ones around that area, and you feel like a bunch of herd cattle going on a catamaran and no place to move around the boat. This one only had 13 people, we had a party of 6 with me. Secondly, this catamaran went thru caves with a mini waterfall coming down on us, porpoises underneath us while laying down on our stomach in front of the boat, we could almost touch them. Took us out snorkeling to a perfect spot where you could see tropical fishes and sea turtles, from there the captain had lunch prepared for us. I can’t wait to go back again, my co workers knew I had the Island Blues when I headed back to work, State mainland. Like somebody said «Stop Searching & Book Now» you won’t regret it. Mahalo!

This tour is fantastic! The captain is great and has a wonderful sense of humor. The unique thing about this Catamaran is that you were able to get so much closer to the Napali coastline than you are with other boats. He even backed the boat up to a waterfall coming out of the cave from the Napali coast. Another great thing about this tour is that there were only 16 people which created a much more intimate environment.
We’ve been in Hawaii for 10 days now — we have snorkeled, kayaked, zip lined, etc. and this is by far our favorite thing we have done! It was amazing!