Hanalei River for Kayaking or other river?

I would like to go kayaking on kauai this summer but am not sure which river would be the best for my family. My family includes my two daughters, 7 and 10, plus three adults. We considered the Wailua River but it seems too crowded and we are doing a waterfall swim when we do our ATV tour. Also a rental company that I talked to said that they were no longer renting kayaks without a tour on the Wailua River. Is that true for all companys? We also considered Kalihiwai since it is a shorter amount which I thought would be better with children but that would require transporting at least two kayaks...a lot of work for such a short trip? Then we looked at the Hanalei River which has a dock that we could put the kayaks in from (Kayak Kauai) but heard that the cattails are really big and make it hard to see the scenery and that you can%26#39;t stop the kayak because it%26#39;s a nature perserve. Which river would you recommend and why? Or is kayaking not that much of a ';must do'; activity on Kauai? We are also hiking, going on an ATV tour, going on a zodiac boat ride, snorkeling from beaches, and relaxing.

Hanalei River for Kayaking or other river?

I have been to Kauai the last 2 years and each time I had done a couple of big ticket touristy things, then spent the rest of the time snorkeling, drive to waimea canyon, some falls, spouting horn, etc. Both times said we would consider kayaking if had extra time and then never felt like we really wanted to do that after all.

Do have a picnic lunch from the fish taco truck at Anini Beach. It looks compromising but was very tasty and inexpensive and you can eat right there at the beach. He is very popular with the locals. He is not there on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Have fun!

PS If you like pizza, Brick Oven is the best with Pizetta running close behind.

Hanalei River for Kayaking or other river?

Oh, I sort of answered this on your other post, but some clarification:

Kayaking is not a must-do, in my opinion. We just did it because it%26#39;s relaxing and peaceful and you get to see parts of the interior of the island, which you can%26#39;t get to any other way.

We rented from Kayak Kauai in Kapa%26#39;a, who is authorized to rent to individuals - but only a few per day, so reserve ahead. I think it cost $70 to rent a 2-person sit on top kayak for the whole day. They give you pads and straps so you can throw it on top of your car - not too difficult to manage.

We started at about 9 am and the river was not very crowded going in. On our way back we saw a few groups of five or six kayaks, but it still didn%26#39;t seem very crowded. There was one tour group at the entrance to the Secret Falls trail, but we passed them quickly (it was a good thing they were there or we might have missed the trailhead). The waterfall is not the best part of the trip - I refused to go any closer than the sign said because I didn%26#39;t want to get bonked on the head by falling rocks - it%26#39;s the trail itself, which is like one long, muddy playground - roots to climb over and under, frogs and chickens to observe, and numerous photo ops along the way.

I am not a fan of ATV tours, but your kids would probably have a great time. I can%26#39;t believe girls that age wouldn%26#39;t want to go horseback riding... there are a number of guide services on the island.

I think my favorite activity on the island is relaxing, so be sure to leave enough time to do that!

Blueflamingo,

You are talking about the Wailua River, right? It DOES sound like fun! As far as the horseback riding goes, usually the age minimum is 8 and my younger daughter is 7. However, on the BI we are going horseback riding in Waima with Dahana Ranch because they DO allow younger children, although with a special kind of seat and lead by a guide.

Kayaking the Wailua WAS a fun day - my husband is a rafter/kayaker so I let him do most of the paddling! There are a couple of places on the trail where you have to wade through the river - you might have to give the girls piggyback rides at that point.

Do you have a copy of Kauai Revealed? They go into detail about some of the companies that do guided tours, if you don%26#39;t want to go by yourselves.

The rope swing that the book says has been cut down was there in September - maybe it%26#39;s on a different tree!

I would probably prefer to kayak the Hanalei river. The Wailua has a nice scenic view (it%26#39;s in a valley with tall mountains/hills on both sides), so it%26#39;s a nice paddle, but I didn%26#39;t find it all that peaceful. There were a lot of other people in the water (mainly tour groups) and power boats cruise by every now and then. Definately not that tranquil, but maybe we just went at a bad time. The hike to Secret Falls was also not that great. I love to hike and we%26#39;ve done several other hikes on Kauai, this one just wasn%26#39;t worth it. It was extremely muddy and had a ton of mosquitos. I like a good challenging hike, but avoiding mud bogs isn%26#39;t my idea of a challenge :) The falls were nice, but crowded.

The hanalei river may be somewhat less scenic, but I like it. You paddle through a bit of a plain with the north shore mountains around. It%26#39;s nice, and you%26#39;re likely to be about the only person out there. It%26#39;s peaceful. I like to kayak in a peaceful setting with just my wife along, not with a ton of other people or boats. This is why I would prefer going in hanalei.

Of course if you really want peace, you can drive a kayak out to either Hulei%26#39;a Stream or Kealia Stream both of which are almost certain to be isolated.

Just got back from Kauai and kayaked on the Hanalei River with Kayak Kauai. You must rent for 24 hours. We went up the river one day and out to the bay the other, nice, pleasant. easy ride. I%26#39;d suggest a ride to the beach with a picnic lunch and swimming. You can pull the boat to shore as you enter the bay. Took a zodiac boat ride from Waimea with Napli Explorer that was great. I would also look at the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook. They offer lots of good info.

SWY,

If you don%26#39;t want the kayak for 24 hours, you can%26#39;t return it sooner? Could you see the pretty taro fields that you can see from the Hanalei overlook? Did you think the cattails/reeds on the sides of the river made it hard to see much scenery?

Also, I am glad to hear you had a great time on the boat ride...we are using them too. Did you have the larger sized boat with a bathroom? Sunset tour or morning? Did you go inside sea caves? Was it very wet??? Any details would be greatly appreciated.

You can return the kayak at any time they just charge you for a 24 hour peiod. You couln%26#39;t see much from the river but it was still very pretty and relaxing. We did see some beautiful birds and turtles. The girls would probably enjoy the trip to the ocean, pack some food and pull the boat ashore for a picnic or some snorkling right in fron of the Princeville Hotel.

We took the morning cruise on the smaller zodiac boat, no bathroom, which wan%26#39;t a problem as we stopped on a beach and visited a Hawaiin fishing village, stopped at several sea caves, saw beautiful scenery. Wear bathing suits and water shoes or sandals. Bring an underwater camera as it%26#39;s too wet to have anything else. Have a great time.

Does the Hawaiian village you stop at have bathrooms? If so, maybe I should reconsider the sunset trip and do the longer one. That was mainly why I was worried with younger kids.

They do have a porta potty.