We had a great adventure with Ali's Kayak Rental! Booking online was easy, and since the guided tour was full, we did the self-guided kayak and hike to the secret waterfalls. Its a more budget friendly option but you don't need to drive your kayak to the river, its just a short walk. Before launching, the owner gave us a quick and helpful presentation on where to go and how to handle the kayaks. Just note there is an additional $5 per person river fee (or a state park fee). The trip involves about two miles of kayaking and a mile-long hike each way. Because the trail has lots of rocks, muddy areas, crossing a river and roots, I wouldn't recommend it for small kids or anyone who isn't relatively fit. Overall, the equipment was excellent, the staff was great and we highly recommend it! read more

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On May 5, 2026 my husband and I went on a Kayaking adventure with Ali'i Kayaks in Wailua, Kauai. This was our first kayaking experience and it did not disappoint! Our guide for the day was "K-man". He was awesome! He had a great personality, was very knowledgeable and was funny. He was also great with names; he remembered everyone's, and he made it a point to make conversation with everyone single one of us. Our adventure started off by meeting at the office/pick up location. Then we loaded up into a van and made the short drive to the slipway. There we selected kayaks and were given oars and life jackets. Once we got situated, we hit the water. The weather that day was perfect; the sun was out with some clouds, and there was a light, constant breeze. Our journey on the water was a beautiful one. The water was cool, the scenery was green. I'll admit, the kayaking distance was a bit challenging. Maybe a bit more so as my husband and I are competitive and we were nearly racing with another couple. LOL! Once we reached shore, we gathered up and made our way to the hiking path. Honestly, the hike itself is not hard, with the exception of a few spots that may require teamwork/assistance. (**READ TIPS BELOW) Once we reached the waterfall, most of us went into the water. We stayed there for about 20-30 minutes. Our guide never rushed us. He sat back and let us enjoy ourselves. It was only when we all gathered up again that we headed back, same hike in reverse back to the kayaks. Once in the kayaks it was the same way back as well. The scenery was VERY beautiful. Several pictures were taken. Overall we had a great day. We would definitely recommend to anyone who has never been to Kauai and to anyone who is interested in being surrounded by beautiful scenery. TIPS: - [ ] Wear good shoes! The terrain can be unstable due to river rocks, tree roots, mud, and uneven ground. Your feet WILL get soaked and the ground is unstable. My husband and I both opted to wear sneakers that we were ready to retire. When we were done we threw them away. Another couple wore aqua shoes and they said they were extremely uncomfortable: good for water, bad for the rough terrain. Another couple wore brand new hiking boots and they became water logged. - [ ] Wear sunscreen!! Even if it's overcast, the harsh island sun will magnify through the clouds. - [ ] Sunglasses and a hat/visor is a wise choice. **if you wear a hat or visor, it may create a blind spot. Keep your head up! One person in our group hit their head twice on the same tree branch! - [ ] Wear clothing you can get wet. You will get wet from the waist down from the kayaking and hike. - [ ] Wear swimwear underneath your clothing. When you get to the waterfall, there is a pool of water you are able to swim in. - [ ] Bring a backpack/secure bag with water and snacks! You will need it! - [ ] Bring towels and leave them in the car. At the end of the day, when stripping off your wet shoes and socks the towels come in handy. *** For reference, our groups ages ranged from 52 to approximately early 70's. read more

Ali'i Kayaks - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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We visited weeks after the hurricane and got sent an email that our trip would be refunded if wanted since the hike to secret falls was closed. We chose to keep the trip booked and they gave us a partial refund for the shorter trip. The staff was very nice and they had information for us on what to see. The gear was in excellent condition and the river was beautiful. read more

Unfortunately, we did not enjoy our experience here. From the moment we arrived, the customer service was underwhelming. The front desk staff, the person giving the introductory video, and the staff directing you to the kayaks were not particularly helpful. The overall impression was that the operation was being run by a bunch of kids with very little interest in actually helping customers. They give you a 10min introductory briefing, but because we arrived late, we only heard about half of it. The kayaks are already sitting on dollies, so you don't have to put them on one yourself, but you are responsible for dragging the kayak all the way down to the river and launching it on your own. There is no assistance getting into the water. We had three people in our party, and because there were only a few single kayaks available, I ended up using a double kayak. That made paddling upstream considerably more difficult. They give you four hours, but I honestly don't see how that's realistic if you want to paddle down the river, get out and do the hikes, and then paddle back. You would need to cover a significant amount of distance in that time. The launch location also appears to be the closest to the main road, which means it is furthest from many of the hiking areas. We weren't planning to do the hikes because we've done them before, but this would be important for anyone visiting for the first time. We went all the way upstream and came back, and the entire trip took about two hours. We saw several people who appeared to be inexperienced kayakers turn around because they had gone so far and were clearly struggling with the distance. Overall, for what you pay, I expected much more assistance and a much better customer experience. This felt more like a self-service kayak rental than a guided or supported experience. The 4.7-star rating was one of the reasons we booked, but after experiencing it ourselves, I wish I had paid more attention to the negative reviews. I would not recommend this location and would strongly suggest looking at some of the other kayak operators in the area before booking. read more

4.5 stars. Guide Kala was great and even entertained us with his ukulele along the hike. A more descriptive overview about portions of the hike being rough--slippery, steep rocks and stream crossings--would have been helpful. And portion was very easy on path planks. Also, we would have packed our own wet bag if we knew they weren't provided. PS: Booked through Trip Advisor. read more

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What an adventure we had!! Definitely a must do while on the island. The kayak and hiking trip was so much fun for our entire family. Our guide was Kamen aka K-man. Such a great guy with a wealth of knowledge about the land. He was very personable and made sure everyone was included in the Q & A sessions he gave throughout the tour. He had so much energy and really is a great asset to the tour company. We will absolutely come back again and ask for Kamen. The tour was a good 4-5 hours long. The things we were able to see on our hike were worth every dime spent. It was fun paddling on the river, slipping through the mud, hike up to the gorgeous waterfall. This is not something I would do with my parents who are elderly. I think the rowing alone would have worn them out. But it's the perfect trip for families with young kids. Thank you Ali'i Kayaks for a wonderful experience! read more

Huge thanks to Kman who guided our group who was so informative, enthusiastic & our personal photographer! Such a fun tour, I especially love to hike & knowing that a waterfall will be at the end is so worth it. Taking a dip at secret falls was the highlight for me. The kayaking portion was fun too. Kman also shared his notes for great recommendations for good eats & activities along with airdropping our photos. Highly recommend & would do it again! :) read more

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From start to finish an amazing experience! Our tour guide Kai and his dog.( sorry can't remember the name), were amazing! He not only guided us but educated us about the land and history of the island. Professional and personal by the end of the trip he knew all our names! 22 of us. Must use business and a must see tour.! read more

First time doing the kayak excursion on our vacation to Kauai two weeks ago. Daniel was our guide and he was super amazing!!! Very nice and friendly! He's knowledgeable about Hawaiian history, plants, flowers etc.... Weather was the only downfall, it was gloomy some wind and rain. Over all the tour was well worth it! Beautiful waterfalls!! Thanks Daniel for a great experience! read more

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Kai and his dog &u were the best tour guides. Funny, nice, very knowledgeable about the area. Plants and wildlife. He made sure no one was left behind and gave us a fantastic memorable trip! read more

Ali'i Kayaks - The Secret Waterfalls - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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We had an amazing time on this adventure! We had our two girls (11 & 8) and they loved it as well. We couldn't have asked for a better guide. Kayman was knowledgeable, fun to be around, and my girls adored him! They have talked about Kayman so much since we've gotten home. It was a windy day, which made kayaking a little more challenging, but it didn't take away from the beautiful experience. Kayman told the kids they'd be earning their kid friendly lava flows that night and they sure did! They practically fell asleep at the dinner table afterwards! The hike was great. Get in the water, take the pictures, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings! read more

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Rented self guided secret falls kayaks; location location location: only short kayak "roll" (on wheels) into the state park launch. Kioni was super helpful, friendly, and accommodating. Wish them the best success. read more

Kai (and Ku) were the best guides! So many people said just to do a self guided trip but we are so glad we didnt! Kai showed us so much we would have missed. I honestly felt bad for people walking past us not seeing what he has to teach us about Kauai. Such an awesome experience made better by a great guide. Mahalo read more

We did the wailua river tour to secret fall. Kai (and his trusted dog, Ku) was an excellent guide! He is so entertaining with lots of funny stories but he was also a wealth of information about the local flora. And the most amazing thing, he has trained a local wild bird to eat worms from our hands! It was so cool. The waterfall is beautiful. Tip- be sure to bring food and water to enjoy at the waterfall. It had rained a few evenings before and it was really slippery and muddy. Good water shoes (keens, etc) are a must. You should be in fairly good shape to do this kayak and hike. We did it (we are all in our late 50's and in ok shape) but we are all sore. Highly recommend! read more

Highly Recommended! Great experience and very memorable adventure. Kai & ku (Pomeranian mix) were our awesome tour guides. Kai was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, resourceful and goofy at the same time. First timer here but Kai made me love kayaking. I find it very therapeutic. A piece of advice, heed warnings. Always Pay attention to your tour guides instructions and you will have nothing but just fun-filled adventure. read more

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We went to rent kayaks at Ali'i kayaks. The location is absolutely perfect. Ease of access is key, and they nail it. The staff is super friendly. They went above and beyond to ensure we got what we needed. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting. read more

Beautiful scenery. Family loved the outing. However, being a first time kayaker, I struggled paddling upstream on the way back.

Kayman was an amazing tour guide. This adventure was was of the best in Kauai. We had such a great time. Great day kayaks was perfect and hike was even better. Thank you all read more

Sam was great. He was fun and knowledgeable. He will make you laugh and make you sure you have a good time. So if you want to laugh and and have a good time while on an awesome adventure this is the place to book! read more

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We just completed the secret falls kayak and hike. Such a great time! Highly recommend. If you are not able to easily walk, pass this one up. It is not a really long hike, but you will need good water shoes. There are rocks, sticks and mud. I had my phone in a ziploc bag. You wade through thigh high water at one point, so plan to wear clothes that can get wet and muddy. Worth it! We wore flip-flops, but the store had water shoes we could purchase right there. read more

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We did the kayak and hike tour. I was a little anxious at first, but it turned out to be the most amazing time. We had a great guide (Kayhman) that lead us down the river and through the woods to the most beautiful waterfall. We kayaked, hiked, and swam our afternoon away. Just an all around spectacular trip. read more

Ali'i Kayaks - Spoiler alert - this beautiful waterfall is awaiting you at the end of your hike - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Amazing trip! Beautiful scenery, a fun hike, and a phenomenal waterfall. Swam and took pictures under the waterfall. Definitely a trip that will be remembered. Our guide, Kayman, is an awesome dude. Kept it fun, informative, and took lots of photos of everyone in our group. 10/10 recommend this tour. read more

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Our guide was Khaiman or (K-Man). First, I'd like to thank him for the great job he did. He made this experience fun and enjoyable. He's extremely knowledgeable and cares about the history of the Wailua River and the rainforest. Kayaking was fun, paddling against the wind can be challenging but extremely doable. The hike was 100% easy. Expect to get wet (knee deep) so bring appropriate river shoes/sandals. The water fall was pretty neat. K-Man took the time to talk each of us and he remembered our names. He even volunteered to take individual photos of all his 12 guests at three of his favorite locations. K-man was the man!!!! read more

Mana wasn't the best tour guide unfortunately. He seemed a bit uncomfortable to be leading our tour, and wasn't very nice about a health situation that came up along the hike. On the way back, both with hiking and kayaking, Mana went so fast that we could barely keep up. The leisurely pace of a a vacation experience you'd hope for was nonexistent sadly. It would've been more fun if Mana was more involved with our group and showed some excitement about the whole thing. Overall, the experience was cool but the tour guide simply didn't add to the experience. read more

I am only giving this 4 stars as our morning started rough. If I could just rate the start of the morning before the kayak trip I would rate it a 2. We arrived 30 minutes early at the address provided in the email. It was to their main office. There were 3 other parties waiting with us. The building was not open and we sat there for about 10 minutes. Another party called the number on the door and was told we were all in the wrong location. Apparently the address they provided in the email( the "meet us here" address - picture included) was not correct. We all finally got to the correct meeting site and the main coordinator was not very friendly. He told us we didn't sign our waivers yet. I went through all the emails I had received reference the kayak trip including the confirmation and none of them had a waiver to sign or even the correct meeting location. The coordinator sent me the reminder email for the kayak trip while I was standing in front of him (which I never received before this) and also had the waiver link on it AND the correct meeting location. Mind you, now after being given an incorrect address, driving to the meet location and finally signing the waiver, we were now ready to go after 30 minutes.... On to the actual kayak trip. Our guide was awesome!! If I could give a review on just him - 5 stars. The stories and history he provided were very interesting. He was very thorough and we enjoyed our time with him. I cannot remember his name - I am probably getting it wrong, but I thought he said manako. It was a good kayak trip and the secret falls was amazing! A must do! read more

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My partner and I had a great morning with this company! This tournis great for all ages levels. The guide will take the tour at your own pace. The walk had wood boards for most of it. There are two rock areas and one small portion to climb. The falls are beautiful and a great place to take a dip and eat lunch. read more

Sam was a very knowledgeable guide and very patient with the slow kayaks. He pointed out a lot of plants and fun facts along the tour. We even ate some of the local plants along the way! The secret falls were a beautiful sight, wish we could have spent more time there. Check them out! read more

We loved the guides , very knowledgeable and great sense of humor. The kayak and hike were not easy but they made it fun and entertaining . I definitely would recommend this , just make sure you bring a back pack , lots of water and good terrain shoes. read more

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Khayman was an amazing guide, he was very knowledgeable and provided us with a lot of information about the island throughout our walk from the river to the falls. Best of of all you could tell that sharing his knowledge excited him as well as he was very enthusiastic and full of excitement. It was truly a pleasure to have Khayman guide us!!! read more

Ali'i Kayaks - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

The tour guide Kman was so great. He was fun to go with. I hope to be back again soon! :-)

Very nice adventure with our fun loving, comical and knowledgable guide Kayman. He was helpful to all remembering all 15 names in our group. Lots of beautiful scenery. Definitely plan to get wet and wear grippy shoes. I would reccomend this tour on Kauai read more

We had a great tour with our guide, Mana. The kayaking was fun and a good workout (probably because my husband and I are competitive). The hike was fun too. Make sure to wear grippy shoes that are also good in water because we did hike through some rivers and streams. Mana also did a great job making sure the group was safe and stayed together. He also shared some Hawaiian history as well as the different species of plants and animals that live there. Lastly, the waterfall made all our efforts worth it! Definitely looked like something out of Jurassic Park (which was filmed in Kauai). Overall, we had a great time and highly recommend this tour. read more

Ali'i Kayaks - Selfie with the our guide- Mana. - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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Kman was fantastic. Made sure that we were safe and got to the falls! Taught us so much about the area and the nature. Just a great day and highly recommend our guide! He made the trip even better! read more

Ali'i kayaks is a fantastic company to take an excursion with. Our guide Khayman was absolutely delightful. He was informative, patient, funny and downright the star of the show. He made the trip a delight. The falls are worth the hike and Khayman took every groups photos along the way to ensure your trip was memorable. All in all you won't be disappointed in this excursion. Book it!!!!!! But don't forget to take good shoes, lots of water and snacks. But they send reminders so you won't forget. GREAT COMPANY!!!!! read more

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Sam the tour guide would not let the group enjoy neither the Kayak , the hiking or the waterfall. He was on a hurry to get back. He even mentioned he wanted to get back to the waves. He wasn't professional , since he wasn't checking on the group and constantly leaving people behind. Nobody in our group went into the waterfall since this tour company didn't have dry bags and we needed to leave our stuff at the car. Go with the orange shirt company. Spend the extra $30. They provide dry bags and lunch and they care for people in the tour. Our tour guide was making constant jokes. Sometimes offensive to the other companies stating that walking sticks and waiting was a sign of weakness. Wouldn't recommend this company read more

We had the best time on our trip with Nui! He had a ton of interesting information about the various spots and plants we saw along the way. read more

Ali'i Kayaks - Kayaking up the river - Tours Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

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This was so much fun! Our guide Keymon (sp?) was very knowledgeable, helpful, encouraging, and kind--He made sure everyone was safe and having fun. Weather conditions were perfect so paddling was easy and the hike was not bad at all. Most can do this hike--if your balance is not the best, make sure to wear good water shoes and step carefully. The trail and waterfall was beautiful. read more

Our family of 4 had the most relaxing and fun kayaking and hiking experience in Kauai. Our guide Nui is great. The hike is mostly flat until the last 10 feet leading up to the waterfall which requires climbing over wet and muddy rocks. But overall very easy with Teva. read more

Highly recommend this adventure! Our first time in Kauai during a mother daughter trip, and we couldn't be happier with our experience. Our kayak, hike and waterfall tour was unforgettable! Thank you to the staff for the informative tour, well kept kayaks, and hospitality! read more

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Energetic, charming and knowledgeable, our guide Kayman provided us with an excellent and safe experience kayaking up the Wailua River and hiking up to the Secret Water Falls. He remembered everyone's name in our group and took over 145 photos, which he airdropped to the attendees at the end of the tour. It was an amazing way to spend a sunny Kauai afternoon. read more