Our party of 10 (2 families, plus grandparents) had a great time today on the Blue Dolphin Charters Na Pali snorkel tour and it was 100% thanks to Captain Evan and his amazing crew that consisted of Elia, JR, and Zek.

These guys worked nonstop during the trip to make sure everyone felt safe and taken care of. They served food and drinks to folks who couldn’t easily get to the counter, frequently helped the elderly up and down the stairs, and checked in on those who were getting seasick.

My 10-year old loved being at the front of the boat when it was going fast and really bouncing (felt like a bunch of mini drops on Splash Mountain). While fun and exciting, I didn’t want to be wet the entire time and was grateful to Zek for walking my son back up there and the rest of the crew for being so vigilant with everyone.

For those curious about general outline of the tour, here’s what to expect: check-in at 7am, walk over to the catamaran at around 7:10am, put shoes in a rack, get on the boat barefeet with your bags, find a seat either on the top deck or below, safety announcements, boat takes off and crew starts serving breakfast (warm cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, juice/soda/water), boat accelerates to a vigorous speed for about an hour until we reach our snorkeling site (slowed down at some point to look at a pod of dolphins with new babies), snorkel for about an hour and continue moving along the rest of the Na Pali coast, opportunity to stand under a waterfall and take group photos, lunch is served (pulled pork, turkey wrap or tofu salad), then 1-hour trip back to port with cookies served along the way. Great narration and music throughout.

Some notes: • Definitely take medicine in advance if you are prone to seasickness. When the catamaran is moving fast, it dips and bounces a lot and I saw a few people get sick. My family took Dramamine beforehand which helped make the faster parts feel like a fun amusement park ride. • They provide snorkel gear but you can bring your own if you want. And while they offer a wide range of sizes for flippers, the smallest they have is 11-13 for young kids. You could bring your own for them but, in my opinion, it isn’t necessary since you’ll probably want to hold on to your little ones in the water. • If you’re not a strong swimmer, don’t let that deter you from snorkeling! They offer noodles, boards, inflatable vests and have a lifeguard on duty while you snorkel. Zek was ours and he not only traded masks with me when I was struggling with mine, but also dove down to get my snorkel when I dropped it. • Bring cash to tip the hard working crew. Their care and attentiveness to everyone really made this a really fun and memorable adventure for our family. And I was more than happy to generously tip them for that.