Sea Kayak Whale Watching

Jay guided us on a gorgeous day out, kayaking from Poipu to Port Allen. It was such a gift to have close and unintrusive encounters with sea life, including a pair of curious whales. He showed us a coral reef at sea we could snorkel, which would have been impossible to know was there without his expertise. We stopped at a quiet and nearly empty beach--again, it would be hard to know it was there without a guide--for lunch and to stretch our legs. At every every moment of our trip, Jay was a calm, exceedingly capable, fun, and knowledgeable guide--including the drive back to the launch where he casually answered questions about Kauai history and gave me more insight than I've gathered in all my trips here put together. This was a highlight of a 12-day trip that's been filled with beautiful, unforgettable moments. TIPS If you're staying on the south or west side, ask if you can meet them at Koloa Landing. Take Dramamine if at all in doubt. I don't get carsick or airsick and have never been sick on a kayak, but I took Dramamine and am glad I did. Especially when I wasn't paddling waiting to see what the whales might do, I started to feel the waves. I crashed hard after the trip when the sun and drug hit, but was fine while I was out on the water.

First of all there is Jay, our tour guide - from the start his calm attitude inspired trust and confidence that we could go on our first open ocean kayak trip and muster adverse situations. He is incredibly knowledgeable, fun, friendly and infectiously enthusiastic. The experience would not have been the same without him! He guided us expertly through pretty high waves and was right there to help when we toppled twice (it wasn't scary at all). Then there were the whales - what a spectacle to see 2 humpbacks surface, jump, go on deep dives for about 30 minutes in our vicinity! Jay also took us to a reef for snorkeling with beautiful views of living corals and all sorts of fish. Lunch on a secluded beach was fun and restorative and the pick-up by Elijah smooth. Lots of really interesting detailed historical and botanical data from Jay on our trip back to Koloa. A day to remember forever!

I did the Sea Kayak / Whale Watching tour with Kayak Kauai this week and had an awesome experience! I recommend booking this tour if you enjoy kayaking and also hope to see some whales (if you just want to see whales, there are less exertional ways). First, I thought the customer service was awesome. My tour date had to be rescheduled a few times due to winter storms. Shoutout to Jack who answers the phone for being so gentle and patient every time I called! I never had to wait on hold for more than a minute to get my concerns taken care of. The tour pickup is at Wailua Marina but if you're staying on the south or west side of the island you can request to meet at Koloa Landing instead of having to retrace your steps. Our guide Jay was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He did a great job setting us up for the day with a very thorough safety briefing. Luckily none of our kayaks capsized in deep water but I appreciated how Jay clearly walked us through all the steps to re-board the kayak so we felt prepared. He also did a great job filling the day with information about Hawaiian culture and history while we weren't seeing whales. Our group was 3 solo travellers and 1 couple. There is no option for a single kayak, so if you're traveling solo like me you will be matched with another solo traveler or the guide. I felt like I got really lucky with my group - all the other travelers were super enthusiastic and engaged and it brought great energy to the tour. In total there were about 4 hours of paddling and 1 hour of break for lunch (which was refreshingly delicious for a packed/tour lunch!). We were lucky to have a few wildlife encounters, but there was a lot of time spent just paddling and of course there's no guarantee when it comes to the wildlife. It's beautiful scenery though, so definitely worth the trip, but you should only book this tour if you're primarily excited about kayaking.