Catamaran Kahanu — Attraction in Kauai

PLEASE READ EVEN THOUGH ITS LONG:

Beautiful day, excellent time on this tour owned and operated by a local family. A lot of companies say they are family owned but really aren't because larger commercial companies have bought them out and still use their old names so they seem like they are a family operation. We learned this over the years of travelling to Kauai and the Napali Coast.

We've been to the Na Pali Coast on 3 different tours, and this one was the best by far with a unique, family vibe. Excellent, smaller/intimate setting with just 18 people on board. The front desk staff mentioned that the boat holds 32 but they don't go over 20 for the safety, space and ability to best serve their guests. There was plenty of room for all the guests and you did not feel like a sardine. The children of the family helped us out. When were were snorkeling the eldest son swam with us in case our daughter who was on a floatie needed help or if we needed a breather. He even offered to swim her back for us which he did.

The Kahanu family even watched our daughter so my wife and I could snorkel on our own. Their daughter helped bring our 7-year old out of her shell and they were together at the front of the ship watching dolphins, swimming, snorkeling, and laughing together. It was really special for us as parents to watch her make a quick friend and smile the entire time with their daughter.

The crew was very knowledgeable about the Na Pali Coast and told us some great stories there and back along the tour. We learned about their lives, family history, Hawaiian culture/history and how the island has changed over the years. Along the tour they explained sites along the Napali Coast and tour...really awesome. They took the time to remember everyone's name and were super attentive to everyone's needs, especially those who had children on board. They also made sure to answer any questions along the way and sat and spoke with each group/family just to get to know them a little better. There were a lot of questions from all the groups.

Lunch was a very nice combo of make your own deli sandwiches, pasta salad w/dressing, pineapple, cookies and soda drinks. The Captain of the ship even served us which I've never seen a captain do. He could also trace his Kauai lineage to the 1600's!!! He was such a personality on the ship making us laugh and joking along the way. Excellent trip for anyone, and great for families with children. They really made you feel welcome and were truly above and beyond so many other companies who offer this tour. The Kahanu family took pictures of groups throughout the trip and texted/e-mailed them to you which was a very nice thing to do for 20 guests. We got the pictures which were awesome and they are added to our family album.

It was very family friendly so people with small children or children of all ages would especially enjoy Catamaran Kahanu. On our return to port the Kahanu family showed us how to make a tea leaf lei and they made some for their guests. Their sons made roses out of bambo for their female guests and their father mades several hats. This was the kind of touch we have never experienced before on other trips to the Napali Coast.

We took pictures as a boat group and with the Kahanu family and we are all forever a part of each other's life journeys. We ended up forgetting our daughter's floatie and they brought it to where we were staying. If you would like to enjoy a family friendly trip to the Napali Coast with a tight knit family who cares about your experience and support a deserving small family business this is the way to go. We will be back to Kauai and taking the Catamaran Kahanu back to paradise. Thank you...

I took my trip in June 2019. Still one of the highlights I can still see to this day.

Note - there are no bathrooms on this charter, but you won't even really notice that. Make sure you arrive early enough to use the bathrooms by the check in point (they will direct you to where they are!). Also, bring some water with you. I brought a bottle to refill but didn't bring water to drink, so I didn't have any until lunch. I survived, but if you get thirsty, you might want to have some with ya!

My review also on yelp:

They say good things come to those who wait. I had an issue with another charter (I booked the wrong date on my short trip to Kaua'i - I think the sprits & gods were telling me something), and I'm glad I did. I was really lucky to have found seats on this charter so last minute, and I am still stoked I was able to!

Captain Lani was awesome. Debbie was also a pleasure to deal with during the check in process. Her warm aloha was a great way to put us in high spirits at the start of the trip. Graham was also with us as Capt. Lani's crew and he was also a great pleasure to be around.

I chose this charter because of the fact that we could get really up close to the caves where the other charters couldn't. We saw porpoises too which was super cool. Snorkeling too was amazing. Everything was amazing. The beauty of the Na Pali coast is so breathtaking that it really is best seen by boat. Graham was also very knowledgable in telling us some history about the land and caves etc. Movie info for one of the secluded beaches was cool too - didn't realize so many were filmed on that one area! I will definitely do this trip again on my next trip back to Kaua'i! OH! and let us not forget the waterfall pictures they were able to get us to take by the cave if we wanted!

I have my sea legs, but my fiancé does not. The advice posted on the page to take Dramamine, not just 1 hour or 2 hours before, but the night before to have it in the system was a gem. We got really lucky too on the trip to the Coast because it was very calm, but on the way back the ocean was a bit rough. What I loved was that Capt Lani wouldn't push through, but would stop the boat, rock through the waves and keep going. Some of the other smaller charters on the 10-15 men rafts, went way out and pushed through (I saw one almost flip), but Capt rode the waves and we made it back in one piece. It's a lot of fun if you like a bumpy ride ha. Lunch was also great after the snorkel too.

This is a smaller charter unlike Dolphin or Holo Holo, but I loved how more intimate it was. I saw the other charters on the trip too crammed with 50 people, but ours has about 20-25 or so.

Trust me, you won't regret it. It will be filled with memories for years to come.

Thanks Capt. Lani, Debbie & Graham!

Much aloha, Mariko...

I have never written a review before, so here goes. (I need more room to write) (I wrote a review in Trip Advisor, this was the same one. The Ultimate GuideBook gave it good reviews. It is a smaller company, which I perfer, personal service. They called that morning because the weather was bad to let me know things were still on. We were running about 5 minutes late and got a call from Debbie to make sure we were on our way and were not lost. We found their ticket office which was a little green shack, my son-in-law's comment was "my tool shed looks better than that". We met Auntie Debbie there and she was real nice and helpful. We were the only car in the parking lot, I was somewhat concerned, too late to turn back. We walked down to the boat with Adam and he explained some of the rules of the boat. He said that the Captain will explain the rules also, but he does it in a different way then Capain. The Guide Book described the Captain, and I cannot remember the exact words, but they nailed it. All of my kids, 21 to 26 years old, were almost afraid. "Dad....what did you get us into..." The Captain was short in his safety rules, like "dont sit here.don't step over rope..hold on when walking..etc." We were all afraid to move at first.... We got underway, it was rough and the wind was blowing. The Captain and Adam suggested places for us to sit to keep drier from the waves and the spray. Adam told us stories and some history about the island and area. We were out for about 45 minutes and Captain put the boat right in the middle of a Porpoise (not Dolphins) school. It was amazing, they were jumping, spinning. Some of our group got right out on the front of the boat, inches away from the porpoises, it was amazing. There were other boats out looking for them, but our Captain found them first, right then I knew we booked the right trip. The Captain warmed up and explained more to us. We were first to find the second school of porpoises. Because his boat is smaller then the others out, we were able to get right into the sea caves, (it was amazing). We were backing into one, the seas were rough, and my daughter looked at me and said, "Dad, you nailed this trip." Snorkeling was amazing, we were in a small reef and the seas were calm. Lunch was very good. We saw the other boats out there and they were way off the shore. My daughter and friend spent the trip back on the front of the boat, Captain guided the boat so they had a great experience. Captain warmed up, we get his...