All Reviews for Wailua River Adventures

Awesome time! We were very pleased with our experience!

We would recommend to everyone. Really enjoyed the view. If you for to Kauaii you have to see.

Beautiful trip down the Wailua River with great entertainment! Fern Grotto was spectacular!!! A must see when in Kauai!!

The Kayaking was a good workout!! The hike was so beautiful and felt like we were truly seeing the inner island jungle. The waterfall was beautiful and we had an over all great time!!!

The cruise up the river on the barge was well narrated and very enjoyable. A great deal of history and general information about the area was shared with us, and various landmarks were pointed out.

Once we reached the Fern Grotto, we were entertained by the Smith family as they played the traditional wedding song, and we were given additional information about the Fern Grotto itself - including it's history and how it was made famous.

The return ride on the barge included the entertainers joining us and continuing the music and dancing. Visitors were encouraged to learn to hula and taught various moves.

As someone who tends to get very seasick, I had no issues at all on the cruise. Not even in the slightest.

This was a great adventure and our guide was very good!
I do think one should be warned a little more of how muddy the trail to the falls is, but even with that it was beautiful and fun. I would recommend this to anyone younger and in decent shape...if you have bad knees or are excessively heavy you would be much more prone to injury on the hike.
Overall experience was fabulous!

The cruise was not too long, about two hours in total. The Wailua River is beautiful! The crew did a great version of the island "wedding song" while at the Fern Grotto. It was amazing to learn to hula from such talented dancers! Such a beautiful art!

Tremendous experience! It was a great mix of kayaking and hiking. Not too hard, not too easy. We had a wonderful time!

This is an awesome activity. I love the leisurely cruise up the river, the beautiful tropical foliage, the traditional Hawaiian music and the hula entertainment. This is the best bang for your buck in the islands. Definitely a must do!

I think this trip was reasonably priced and you get a variety of things: river, hula performance, and the fern grotto--not a dull moment for this trip.

Our day for this adventure was sunny and warm. The ten of us were excited to get underway and see the secret waterfall hidden amongst the trees.
The kayaks we were given were ocean kayaks and were very comfortable and easy to use.
After a very muddy hike, the cool clean water of the pool by the beautiful waterfall was very much appreciated. The hike was much muddier than expected, and at times we were slogging through muddy puddles where we could not see our feet. It was dangerous at times. Perhaps a little more preparation for those participating would be beneficial. The guides are used to the conditions and may forget that us regular folk from snow country may not be as accustomed to mud and such.

Our guide was well-versed in the natural plants, and even made us bracelets from the leaves of a tree. He was patient, and very knowledgeable.
Lunch was good and nutritious, and we were all hungry by the time we got to the waterfall.
We would do this trek again, but might check in first to see what the mud factor is!

We learned about the island, how to hula, and took some amazing pictures. The Smiths were great

We kayaked and then hiked to the waterfall where we ate lunch.
The only bad part was that it had been raining the past few days and the road was muddy. My shoes were completely muddy and others chose to just walk bare feet in the muddy road. I think I will stay with beach activities since I can hike the Shenandoah back home. FYI- There were roosters and chickens even at the waterfall.

This excursion should never have happened. The first part, the paddle upriver was fine, but that's where the fun stopped. Due to the recent rain activity, the normally treacherous, 2 foot wide path to the falls was turned into a muddy,ankle busting,obstacle course. Even when it is dry, this path is just barely navigable. Several people on our tour fell down and slipped into the mud,which pretty much covered the trail. We had to cross the river a couple of times, which normally would have been a fun experience, but it turned into a survival contest for many of us. Once we got to the falls, there was nowhere to sit comfortably to eat the lunch, which we had to backpack in from the kayaks. There are rocks all around the pool formed by the falls, but you have to pick your way through them, holding on to something all the way. While the falls is cute and right out of a Hollywood TV show, it is, in my estimation, not worth the trouble and cost to see it. I suggest that this trip be left to younger, childless couples in their 20,s or 30,s, if they really need to pick their way through tree roots and rocks for 2 miles. If you have youngsters, think again about this trip. If you're over 50, forgetaboutit!!
The guide was great and tried to help as much as possible, but I think he should have called off the trip due to the rains. Someone should have gone up the trail early enough to warn everyone of the conditions. Had there been another way down from the falls, I would have paid anything not to go back through the muddy hell that we endured on the way up. I guess that some tourist companies will do anything for money, especailly when it is ours. I cannot recommend this activity to anyone until the path is fixed. This activity should be labeled "moderate to hard". Lastly, should you think that this is the raving of a wimp, I am a former Special Forces, Vietnam vet who has slogged through the worst jungles in the world and survived. This one gave me a good test.

Truly enjoyed the smooth ride up river with explanation of the local culture and sites. Musicians and dancers obviously enjoyed their craft and were top notch. Very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

This was a great tour because it covered three (3) sports in one (1) tour. Our tour guide Jamie was very good in all respects. I would just say be prepared to get a workout. For those that don't exercise, you might want to consider something else. You don't have to be a marathon runner, but if you are a couch potato this might be a stretch for you.

This was really a fun and beautiful experience. Jessie was our guide, and he did a wonderful job. We were late starting, but that was because in the group prior to us he had a blind man and two elderly. It shows his patience that these three were able to complete this adventure. Let me state this is not for those who are not moderate to fit. The paddle can be tough if the wind is blowing (which it normally is). And the hike is beautiful (but can be muddy and you have to watch your step). We would highly recommend this trip for those up for the adventure. Again, Jessie is your man! It is beautiful, he is knowledgeable, and it was very fun!

Tour was a wonderful experience, my friend and I had a grand time! Our tour guide was great he informed us as well as kept us safe. I would recommend the tour to anyone planning on visiting the island of Kauai.

free shuttle picking up, great river scenery, live music, magic grotto, great service!

The Smith's Fern Grotto tour was a good way to see the fern grotto and understand some of the history. There was a 20 minute boat ride to the fern grotto landing, time to take pictures, presentation of a Hawaiian Wedding song, complete with hula interruption and demonstration of various hula dances on the boat ride back. All in all - recommended tour.

A relaxing experience with beautiful views and great entertainment.

My wife and I made reservations online through VELTRA. I knew nothing more than the reviews posted on here (VELTRA/hawaiian activities) and a travel guide book. We enjoyed our morning paddle hike and tour so much! A great adventure that would not have been accomplished so smoothly on our own. It was our first time down the trail. It rains in Kauai, a lot, so the trail was mostly muddy. The guide for the trip kept us safe and informed about how to get there best. He also lead us on hawaiian time for the return trip. Allowing us all more time at the falls since our group was composed entirely of families. I appreciated that very much and a thank you to anyone from the company who reads this. Do not expect that though on your trip, we were lucky that no tour group was scheduled in the afternoon. Our stay on the island began the last week of April, until the first week of May.

You don't have to help the guide, but its friendly to do so. I bet you'll get a better trip out of it.

The kayaking on the Wailua River was a fun experience. The trekking from where we got off the kayak to the waterfall was also quite nice.

ワイルア川のカヤックは楽しいけいけんでした。カヤックを降りてから滝までのトレッキングもなかなか良かった。

Smith tours did a great Job with the boat ride.
The grotto.
The entertainment was a nice touch and very well done.
Would recomment this trip to all
One of the good values exploring Kauai

My new husband and I went on this River cruise as recommended by our travel agent as the most romantic thing we could do for our honeymoon.

The only romantic thing about it was the Hawaiian wedding song while we stood on a deck with 100 other people. This would not be my idea of romantic. Maybe it used to be a romantic place to go when you could go inside the cave but now it just looks like a rock wall with some ferns in it.

We didn't get the best start to our boat ride but we were both disappointed when we arrived to our location. The entertainment was fun and were really the only reason the trip was worth it. I wouldn't recomend it to anyone as a place to see on their honeymoon. The only thing that redeemed it was that it was probably the cheapest thing we did while we were there.

Since this site won't let me pick wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I chose families.

The Grotto is beautiful. A must see for all visitors.

20 years ago this was a really great trip as you were able to go inside the cave and the water fall there was more than a trickle. Since the Iniki Hurricane in the 90's that is no longer possible. The landslide that happened ended the cave tour part and ended the waterfall being as it was.

I would recommend this to any one who has just landed in Kauai, older couples perhaps, who have never seen a fern grotto of any kind. For kids it is boring. Heard that a few times :)

As for a wedding... I would honestly not recommend this particular trip as it is average or just okay. The boat trip up and back in the boat was the best part. For wedding parties I would honestly recommend arranging something with the Smith Family or one of the local Resorts and doing it as part of a Luau. That would be better. Hawaii Activities can help you find many other events that would be better for a wedding. They rock!

This is a nice easy trip and okay to see. But if you have limited

We thoroughly enjoyed this informative and beautiful cruise. The Captain shared much information and was very entertaining. On the way back, the entertainment was excellent. Good time!

We had a great adventure. Mark was great. Our kids really enjoyed this adventure. They said it was the best adventure of our trip!
Thank you Mark!
Sandi Harris

Loved the staff, they were great, fun, and informative. However, was not what I expected. I am not sure what would have made it a better experience. The Fern Grotto itself was beautiful, but there were too many people on the deck to enjoy it. Made it crowded and uncomfortable.