Smooth sailing!

Our great experience with Blue Dolphin began before we even set foot on the boat. We called on our first day on Kauai and asked the young lady on the phone for her recommendation for the smoothest day to do a sunset dinner trip up the NaPali coast. She was super friendly and helpful and recommended Thursday. She was right on! On our trip the captain remarked that it was definitely the smoothest day he’d seen in at least a month. So a huge kudos to her!

Things to know before you go:

1. Expect an amount of banter and joke-telling from the captain and crew. That’s just part of the territory on these types of tours. That being said, the captain was appropriately self-deprecating and struck a good balance between being entertaining and letting passengers have a relaxing experience that focused on the stunning views.

2. The safety and boarding procedures were easy and simple. But for the less mobile, know that moving around the boat can be tricky, especially when its choppy. I would hesitate to do the tour if you need a cane or walking assistance.

3. We had a super smooth day and only saw one person on our trip get a little green. But on a windy, choppy day this could be a tough trip. I highly recommend taking Dramamine before you get on board. It’s a long trip- why risk feeling sick?

Things we liked:

1. A very friendly crew who took great care to make sure everyone on board was fed and watered.

2. There is plenty of food on a dinner trip! Snacks and drinks flowed the whole time, and the buffet dinner was really good! We ran into the caterer as we boarded, and I think the kalau pork they served was the absolute best thing I ate on Kauai. They didn’t even come close to running out of food on our trip, even with people (including me) going back for seconds.

3. If you want to drink you’ll have plenty of opportunities. They serve beer, wine and mai tais and they had champagne for the sunset.

4. They did a great job chasing wildlife. We got very close to humpback whales (close enough to hear them expelling air), spinner dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. We saw turtles, seals and goats.

5. The boat was clean (even the bathrooms), large and had lots of different types of seating. Loved the bow area with the netting and the ability to walk right on to the front of the hulls.

6. We saw the whole coast, went in close to a sea cave and still made it back in a very speedy four hours. Definitely loved that they took care to be efficient but also made sure to let all of us enjoy everything NaPali has to offer.

In short, Blue Dolphin did a fantastic job. Definitely a highlight of our trip. I highly recommend them.

Brian S (from TripAdvisor)