Ali’i Kayaks

My hubby and his friend did the kayak tour/​secret falls hike and loved it! We did the Internet special and added lunch on, and both boys said it was an incredible value. They had fun kayaking and the hike was not strenuous. They said lunch was good and they enjoyed hanging out at the falls! This is a great half day activity for anyone who can handle paddling and hiking.

The falls and kayak trip sell themselves… but the guide left something to be desired. I’ve done this trip with a different outfit, and enjoyed it so much I wanted to do it again with my boyfriend. I couldn’t remember the other outfit so we went with Ali’i.
We were in a group of 12, with all different abilities. We are middle aged, not the youngest in the group but certainly not the oldest. The guide was very friendly but he would not stop talking the entire time. Not on the river, not during the hike. And he stopped about 50 times during the hike to talk about the flora and fauna. Which would have been OK but by doing so, we had about 30 minutes to eat and enjoy the falls, which is the best part, in my opinion.
the hike into the falls was very strenuous, and two of the group were struggling. As I have done this tour before, I know there was an easier way into the falls, and I felt the guide should have tailored the tour to all members.
So, while the trip pretty much sells itself, be careful of the guide you get. We spent 2.5 hours on the hike (could have been cut down by an hour if the guide didn’t stop every 3 minutes to tell a repetitive story), 30 minutes at the falls, and two hours kayaking. I couldn’t recommend this company to anyone else.

The concierge at our resort (Wyndham Bali Hai Villas) recommended Ali’i Kayaks for a good hiking/​kayak tour. I am so glad my mom and I took their recommendation! Our tour guide TC (and his dog Pepe’au) were extremely helpful and knowledgeable of the area, and made the experience even better. The work of the 2 mile (each way) kayak and the hike were well worth it when you reach the waterfall and can relax and enjoy the beauty! I’d highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to have a little fun, see a lot of beautiful scenery, and put a little work into it.
For those wondering, there were all ages of people on our tour. It can be a bit muddy and rocky at times, but everyone came out unscathed!

My husband and I did the kayaking tour with Lono earlier this month. It was amazing! We did a two mile kayak trip down the river to a hiking trail and walked about a mile to a beautiful hidden waterfall. We stayed there for about a half hour while we ate lunch and some of our group swam in the VERY cold swimming hole! We then hiked out and kayaked back to the marina. Lono was the best guide we had during our honeymoon on the island. He was laid back and super knowledgable about Kauai. He made our trip that much more fun. I highly recommend this trip! Thanks again for an awesome day of new memories!

Loved the kayak and hike! Beautiful and exceeded all expectations. Our guide TC was funny and informative! The only negative was the lunch we paid extra for that they told me would be gluten free was not gluten free. At least they provided other snacks that I could eat since the sandwich was not gluten free.
Loves the kayak and hike. I do agree with other reviewers that this would not be something that everyone could do– you do need to be in some kind of physical shape.
Thank you for a beautiful experience!

This was a great adventure that isn’t for the faint of heart. The day starts off easy with the Tradewinds at your back up the river. The river narrows as you weave your way to a rocky wash where you pull out of the river. It wasn’t too muddy for the hike, despite the prior day of rain. Blake, our guide, weaved us over the roots and though the ancient water viaducts and tiered gardens to the (not so) secret falls with great pointers and history along the way. After a quick lunch, we jumped in the pool at the bottom of the falls, acclimated (it is cold to begin with), and backed into the massage of the waterfall for rejuvenation and a quick picture. It is well worth the whole adventure.
The sea kayaks and equipment were in decent shape. Their shop is minutes from the marina, and equipment was all ready to go for us, when we arrived after a short bus ride.
You are going to get an upper body workout, along with a light hike over slippery rocks, roots and mud holes.
Bring shoes with decent tread that you don’t mind getting wet and muddy. Bug spray and sunscreen are highly recommended.

1) Bring shoes you wouldn’t mind throwing away
2) Bring sunscreen and bug spray
3) Prepare to workout
4) This is not a cake walk!
I had a great time and I hate that I forgot my tour guide’s name, but he’s a local that tells great stories about the Hawaiian people and how the civilization was established before Captain Cook found the locals. This is a great experience and gives you a great feel for what nature in Kauai has to offer. Bring your kids if they don’t complain about a lot and like to exercise because it will be tiring.

This kayak adventure is truly amazing. The kayaking is pretty rough and if you’re out of shape, you’re going to be sore. The hike is pretty easy especially since you go kind of slow so the guide can tell you some stories and show you some cool things about Kauai. The waterfall at the end is breathtaking and we went for a nice swim. The water was very cold, but it was pretty refreshing. Also, we didn’t order the lunch, but some other people on our trip did. It looked amazing and we wish we would’ve forked out the money for it.
Now here is why I gave it a bad rating. The lady in the shop was extremely rude. We had packed a few too many things and she was very short with us telling us that we needed to get rid of the extra stuff. She wasn’t nice or helpful; just rude. The dry bag they gave us also only had one strap so it was extremely uncomfortable to hike with; I wish I would’ve just taken my own backpack. Everyone else in our group got a dry bag with two straps, so I think maybe they just ran out of those. Then this place keeps advertising their excursion as something anybody can do. Because of this, we had some older people on the excursion that could not complete it by themselves. One person on our tour didn’t complete the hike, and somebody on the tour before us also didn’t complete the hike. We had to go sooo slow. Mind-​numbingly slow. This took away from the time that we got to spend at the waterfall. Also, the couple couldn’t kayak back by themselves so another couple had to tie the two kayaks together. The guide said that people come out all the time and really struggle. Everyone on the excursion was sore after the kayaking. So my question is why does the company advertise that anybody can do it?! I wish they would at least break out the trips to be for people that are fit, or people that want to go slower. My husband and I were bored many times during this excursion.
I would totally kayak this river again and do the hike, but I probably wouldn’t pay Alii Kayaks to take me next time.

Today my wife and I went on a kayak /​Hike to the Secret Waterfalls with Alii tours and had a Great time.
T. C. made the trip memorable, he was funny and knew his stuff. His Dog Peppy au’ she never missed a step! She should also be on the payroll!
If your thinking about doing this trip, use Alii and ask for T. C. And his pup.

What an amazing experience. The 2 mile kayak trip up the river is spectacular, and many scenes from movies can be spotted along the river path. It’s relaxing, but also a good workout (especially the 2 miles back). Water shoes or shoes you don’t care about are a must. Bring plenty of water and food for when you rest. Our tour guide, TC is a great guide and his dog is such a great pet.
After kayaking, there’s a .75 mile hike (mostly flat surfaces) to the Secret Falls. It’s named such because it is only accessible via the river. However, the secrets out because there were 30 people there when we stopped for a dip and lunch. It’s a gorgeous place.
TC does a great job telling the native history of the island, making jokes and keeping pace. He even plays ukulele! The best tour guide we had on the island of all the activities we did.
This is a top 3 thing to do.

These folks deserve each and every one of the five stars. They treated us kindly (we were older than most of the people in our group) and made sure we were OK on the river. My wife and I have kayak experience, so we were fine although a bit slower than some of the others.
Great guide and good customer service! We were out nearly 6 hours overall and loved every minute of it. Beautiful scenery and good exercise to boot!
A unique opportunity to see some off-​the-​beaten-​path sights.
Don’t forget to tip your guide… but not your kayak!

We had a fantastic time on the Wailua River Kayak and Secret Falls hike. Our guide was Justin and he was extremely entertaining and knowledgeable. He played his ukulele on the hike and shared all kinds of information on Hawaiian customs, plants and animals.
Justin also handled a very difficult situation with class. A couple brought their toddler along on what they viewed as an opportunity to conduct a photo shoot of the mother. She was literally changing into dresses and posing for photos for her husband at Secret Falls while ignoring their toddler who could have drowned! Justin kept them on track as best he could so the rest of us could enjoy the trip.

I cannot say enough good things about this company, our guide, the safety they ensure and our overall experience. From our very first interaction with the office staff to our guide, Christian, everything was absolutely perfect. My 62-​year-​old mom, my husband, me and my children (ages 15, 11, 8 & 7) went on this tour in September 2015. It was $ 50 per person, and this included kayaking up the Wiamea river, and hiking to Secret falls.
Christian was a native Hawaiian, and grew up on Kauai. He was an absolute wealth of knowledge on the history of the island and its people. I don’t know what we enjoyed more… Christian as our guide or the tour itself.
The kayaking itself was not difficult, and our little ones did very well. But they were tired and could not paddle back. We asked Christian if we could anchor them to my husband’s kayak and he can tow them back. Before I know it, the kids are tethered to Christian’s kayak and they are having an awesome time. He was the most selfless guide… see, we really cannot say enough good things about him.
The hike was absolutely breathtaking, and not too strenuous. My dad has bad knees and it would have definitely been too much for him. But the rest of us made it just fine. All along the way, Christian had a ton of cool information to share with us about the foliage, the fruit, and how people lived in this area many years ago.
The falls were incredible, and the swimming hole below the falls was refreshing. And cold! We didn’t get to spend too much time at the falls. It would have been nice to stay there a bit longer. That is really my only criticism of our entire excursion. But it is not nearly a big enough criticism to warrant anything less than five stars for this company.
When we go back to Kauai, we will absolutely take this tour again. It was near perfect in every way. Thank you so much for a wonderful day!
One thing to keep in mind: it is always a nice gesture to tip your guide. I noticed that not many people did this, and that was unfortunate. If you had a great time and felt safe, then a nice tip is certainly warranted.

One of the best kayak tours I have ever been on! A lot has to do with our tour guide. His name is Christian and had so much knowledge about the history of the island and culture! A lot of great stories and traditions passed down and he shares all of that with the group. He was extremely helpful and let our whole group go at our own pace. He was very helpful to the people who were struggling on how trail! I would definitely recommend this kayak co when doing a tour and if ever in Kauai again, will come back to see Christian to answer more questions and for more information! THANKS CHRISTIAN! My family and I loved you (:

It’s my first time to Kauai and Ali’i kayaks was not only the cheapest but had the BEST tour guide ever named Christian. He had a very upbeat and enthusiastic attitude. I was impressed by the amount of Hawaiian history he shared with us as we kayaked up the river and all the plants/​flowers/​trees he pointed out and their importance. Returning to our kayaks we encountered a surge in the water and the river was more difficult to cross but the Ali’i kayak guides (especially Christian) ALWAYS kept our group’s safety a priority. Though our group didn’t contain any knuckleheads, we were able to safely kayak back to the beginning of the river and our entire group was very happy about the extra adventure we experienced.
Ali’i kayak is the ONLY locally owned kayak company and has the most local guides so choose them because they’ll make sure you have the best experience like we did!

One of the best deals on the island. We spent about 5 hours kayaking, hiking and visiting the «secret» waterfall today w/​Justin our guide. It’s a relatively easy kayak, moderate hike (mainly because of the mud and footing). The waterfall was beautiful and refreshing. Plan on getting in for a cooling dip. I actually really enjoyed my lunch they provided despite the negative reviews I read on here (maybe they have changed sandwich providers?). My roast beef sandwich had thin cucumber slices, sprouts and a creamy dressing that was quite good. You will work up an appetite so if you don’t order lunch bring your own. All in all, a great day of exercise, adventure and fun for about $ 50 a person. The tour guides (Justin, TC and pepe the dog) were funny and even played their ukeleles for us.

This was a GREAT, GREAT experience the best time I had all week. If you love the outdoors and love seeing and learning old facts about the island. Our guide Anson Agrade was very informative, adventurous, carrying and fun most of all he took us to secret trails saw the beautiful water fall and experienced everything about the tour and kayak I would really recommend people to have him as a guide he’s the best. Thanks once again Anson great Job. learned a whole lot about the island with him and about the plantations too. He’s the guy to have on a tour. Don’t loose him Ali’i Kayaks he’s the guy to have in your business.

We had done this kayak and hike to the Secret Falls a few years ago and enjoyed it so much that we did it again last week. Our guide was TC, who brought his adorable dog and played his ukelele on the hike. He was knowledgeable, funny, and great with my 9 and 11 year-​old boys who were eager to hike right along beside him.
My 63 year-​old mother and 11 year-​old son took some time to get the knack of kayaking together and TC was great, staying beside them and coaching them along. My mother in particular was really grateful for his patience and advice.
This is an eco-​adventure. Expect to get wet and dirty, but the terrain is beautiful and we fully earned our ice cream cones at the end of it. Highly recommend!

We had a great time doing this trip. It defiantly requires some arm and core strength. We love adventures like these and our instructor was amazing. And of course his little dog!

We got here a little later than the rest of the group so we had no idea what we were supposed to do or go. They were really really relaxed at this place. Didn’t even know that we got a dry back until after we checked in. The parking lot is hard to find as well.
That being said, it was the cheapest kayak tour to the falls that we found and included lunch. Lunch, though, wasn’t too appetizing as it had a bunch of some condiment on it. The waterfall is incredibly popular, so don’t go expecting that you will be there alone. Nothing hidden about this one.
The journey back was difficult for some people as we were going against the tide and the wind. Our guide saw that we were fine and stayed back to help the slower people. Luckily my husband used to teach kayaking so we were all set :) Waited for about 15 minutes for the rest of the group to catch up before we crossed the busy river mouth to the launching place.