Wailua River Guides

This was my favorite tour! Chris, our tour guide was awesome! He was very laid back and made the tour enjoyable. The kayaking was a bit strenuous for me but was worth it. The hike was not difficult to get to the waterfall. Definitely recommend this tour.

We took the kayak tour and hike up to the falls tour today and Andrew was our guide. I will say this tour pushed my personal limits since I don’t kayak often or ever… But we still enjoyed this very much.
We went at 7:30am (I would recommend the sunrise tour) and my husband and I took our 10 year old and 6 year old. Eat a good protein breakfast before you go, this is a very physical trip and you will need the energy. Go ahead and apply your sunscreen before you show up as once we arrived on site to check in we were pretty much go, go, go for the next 4 hours.
Wear your suit under some light (quick dry) clothes, bring a hat and wear shoes that are good for mud (water shoes are perfect IF the are really good fitted ones, not sock ones) they have water so you really don’t need that. I brought some peanut butter crackers for the kids, that held them over till lunch.
We were slowish with the 6 year old, but the guide was super helpful and kept us on pace and was nice about how slow we were… The 6 year old was a champ, but if your 6 year old isn’t typically a champ I would say that this probably isn’t for you… They really need to be up for a challenge.
Overall it was a great adventure for our family, but be prepared to be pushed if you aren’t an outdoor family (or outdoor mom)… It was rewarding that we all did it together and that at various points in the day we were challenged for different reasons and the waterfall was a big bonus/​carrot to keep us pushing past our typical limits. Don’t be a chicken, get out there and live!

This was a great trip. Would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun afternoon of kayaking and hiking. The kayak trip up the river is peaceful and beautiful. The hike is pretty easy, but you need to have good shoes. There are some muddy spots that you need to maneuver around. Also, tree roots are something to watch for. But it is worth the trip. The falls are beautiful. They do not take too many people back at a time, so you are able to get pictures without a bunch of strangers in them. Our tour guide (Ty?) was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the area, history and plant life. We were provided with a nice picnic lunch to eat at the falls. You can also swim in the pool at the base of the falls if you would like. Definitely worth taking the time to do.

We chose Wailua because they would let a 5yo go on the kayak/​hike trip. We headed out on the early trip — with husband and kids 8 and 5 — 8 year old was surprisingly helpful getting us up the river — 5 year old, in his defense, did his best. The kayak paddle was looong but doable — some people on our trip were probably 70 yo and they managed, though they had 2 adults per kayak. Our guide was Andrew. He was very patient with our 5 year old that was ravenous upon landing at the base of our hike after an hour of paddling. This was followed shortly by whining and yelling. Of course, we had left our snacks in the car (doh!) — so Andrew got the 5yo’s sandwich out early and problem was solved! And with sandwich in hand, the 5yo gladly started out on the hike with the rest of the group — we were the slowest of the group since the 5yo had the shortest legs, and the hike was not quite treacherous, but did require attention to your steps. Our guide told us stories on the way (half of which I missed because we were last and slow) but my husband and 8yo relayed the important parts — and the guide and customers were patient with us. The path was clear and easy to follow, and Andrew conveniently stopped and told us information about flowers and trees and such, which allowed the slowest to catch up without really annoying the quick ones! (I think!)
We reached the secret falls — lovely — like you are in heaven — and while there are quite a few people up there, people are respectful and not partying! although you sometimes can’t help but give a «whooop!» when you are up close to the falls, water falling all around your head! (guilty!) Andrew pulled out Safeway sandwiches, which by the way were delicious — not sure if it was the exertion or just better sandwiches that those from Safeway at home, but we thoroughly enjoyed them — and special Kaua’i chips and cookies and pineapple — the chickens were fierce! watch out! don’t put your food down unless you are done with it!
The hike out was a little more treacherous as it had a bit of downhill to it — I would suggest making sure that your sandals have some tread, though our guide was wearing flip flops… the kayak back was hard! it was theoretically downstream, but we had a headwind — boy oh boy did we enjoy and deserve our maitais that afternoon! (real, delicious and strong ones, from Hukilau Lanai!)
Fabulous trip, fabulous leadership with personality and character — thanks so much! Would definitely recommend!

This tour was great we took the AM tour to the waterfalls. Our guide Justin was awesome. Kayaking the Wailua was recommend by snorkel bobs. It was a great 4.5 hour adventure!

Justin is a fabulous guide! Knowledgeable, funny, made the trip very enjoyable. Highly recommend this kayak trip!

Wonderful experience! My mom and I had both never kayaked but had a blast learning! The hike portion is nice and easy which was good since we were sore and tired from hiking the day before. Swimming in the waterfall was life changing! Such a glorious feeling! We would recommend this excursion to anyone!

Absolutely a blast! Had so much fun kayaking for a couple miles and the. Making the little joke the the beautiful waterfall! Was provided lots of water and fruit and sandwiches! The waterfall was beautiful and was definitely worth everything to get underneath it! Really breathtaking thanks Justin for a great time!

My group of seven had a wonderful time on our trip with Justin! Our original date was canceled due to unfavorable conditions but we rescheduled and had an ideal experience.
The water was still and beautiful and made for easy kayaking. The hike was definitely challenging and slippery but the ultimate destination, the waterfall, was breathtaking. We loved swimming under the falls and throwing scraps of our sandwiches to the feral chickens before hiking back to the kayaks.
Some quick tips:
1) Wear shoes you don’t mind getting soaking wet. You will walk into the water to get into your kayak and ford waist deep water several times. My GoRun Skechers were perfect. The company provides dirty shoes if you didn’t bring any.
2) Book your trip early just in case you need to reschedule due to weather. The water we crossed was raging and they actually had to cancel the tour after ours.
3) Bring cash to tip your guide! He’s your chauffeur, doctor, tour guide, and waiter. Justin was great and highly recommended!

Our guide, Annie, was awesome! Knowledgeable and funny and always checking on our safety. This was a great tour and not as strenuous as you may think. The «Secret Falls» are clearly not a secret anymore, but it was still beautiful and refreshing to jump in the pool. Lunch was good too. Highly recommend Kevin and Wailua River Guides.

I always worry when a tour is ‘too commercial’ when I am on vacation. That being said, Wailua River Guides is the right amount of ‘commercial’ ! I think our tour guide Justin was very down to earth and provided knowledge as well as some fun times! I never thought I’d be so happy exercising on vacation as I was during this Kayaking tour!
During the tour, we even received ideas of where to go have dinner, go shopping, etc. Totally unexpected, but it was very helpful information from ‘the locals’.

This was by far my favorite activity and best adventure during our honeymoon in Kauai. Our guide, Billy, was awesome. Overall it was about a 5+ hour chunk out of our day, but absolutely worth the time commitment. We chose the 12:30 time slot which made the river gleaming with golden sunshine on the way back and so peaceful. You’re going to need some arm strength, especially if it’s windy, but it is something I think EVERYONE should do on their visit. Billy told us the history of the trees, plants, waterfalls and wildlife. Fascinating. He also was a sweetheart with the children on our trip and made sure everyone was having a great time. These guys are awesome and the attention to detail is perfect. Thank you Billy and Kevin !

We went on the morning tour with Justin as our guide and had a blast. It was so beautiful and so much fun. I highly recommend this tour! Just be sure to bring bug spray for the mosquitos! Thanks Justin for a great time and for all the beach/​restaurant recommendations, they were all awesome!

We arrived to a courteous group of guides. Ours was Justin. Super guide, conversationalist, and compassionate person. Justin hung back for those of struggling to learn how to work the rudders. There was 4 of us in our group, and we each had a wonderful experience. The price was very reasonable and the lunch, prepared by Justin, was perfect. I loved watching my son lead our little group with confidence as Justin made sure my son was going the correct way. My son, Quentin, felt like he was helping… when all along Justin was in complete control the entire day. Even when Quentin found a poisonous frog. That was funny. Thanks for a gr8 day, and making us feel comfortable. We will definitely recommend. The Devlin Family.

Who would have thought that kayaking ~4 miles (roundtrip) and trekking through the tropical forest ~2 miles (roundtrip) would be such a blast?!? I was a little bit anxious about this excursion the morning of, simply because I’m not as fit as I use to be, plus I was taking my child, so it was on me to muscle through the paddling if it was too hard for her. But like a mighty girl trooper, she blazed through it! We made it to the landing to start the hike.
Our guide, Billy, was awesome and kept the hike through the forest very interesting with fun facts about the vegetation and the island, in general, and answered all our random questions about Kauai. The trek had a few slightly treacherous moments, mainly the part where we had to cross through a river. But other than that, it was very doable.
We reached the water fall, which was more like a natural shower than the powerful water fall I had remembered it to be a few years ago. I think there was a suspected fallen tree up above that was slowing the water or something. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful sight to see the Secret Falls. The excursion included a very satisfying lunch that was much needed an appreciated after the kayaking and hike, especially because we needed the energy to make it all the way back.
One of the things that I think sets Wailua River Guides apart from the others is that their kayaks have rudders, so you can steer the kayak with foot pedals. I think this is unique to them, and as someone who has kayaked only 4 times ever (including this recent adventure), believe me when I say, the foot pedal rudders are well worth the few extra bucks to go with Wailua River Guides. But not only that, the knowledgeable, informative, and entertaining guides, like Billy, made it worthwhile.

My kids (12, 15) and I thoroughly enjoyed this excursion with our guide Justin! We were 12 people in 6 double kayaks. Basically, you kayak up a river, get out and hike to a waterfall, take a break to swim up to the waterfall if you’d like (it’s cold!), eat lunch, hike back and then kayak back. The whole thing took about 5 hours. Justin was funny and very knowledgeable… lots of Kauai trivia, and also lots about plants and trees along our hike. The scenery was really spectacular… we highly recommend this excursion. I took my kids on this when they were 5 and 8, and it’s a heckuva lot easier now that they’re teens! Enjoy! And don’t forget to tip Justin!

WEAR BUG REPELLANT!!! My son got bit 9x’s on his head!!! I have 10 bites on my leg and back, miserable!!! Besides that, the tour was a great experience. Billy was our tour guide, and was animated and knowledgeable about Hawaiian plant life… he was also very protective of making sure my 3 kids were safe and having fun. Had a great time and I would recommend to anyone…

My wife and I went on an excursion up the Wailua River and hike. Justin was our guide and he was very knowledgable. Trip was great. I would highly recommend taking this tour.

Had tons of fun with kayaking up Wailua River and hiking up to the Secret Fall. Our guide, Justin was very knowledgeable. Not sure why this tour is more expensive than other Wailua River Kayak tours but we had so much fun the higher cost didn’t matter.
Tip: the trail does get muddy and the water in the water fall /​pool is frigid! Wear hiking shoes u don’t mind getting dirty and wet (I wore reef shoes), and make sure u pack a towel!

Best day in Kauai! This tour was a ton of fun And we even got some exercise out of it, a huge plus! Justin our guide was awesome, friendly, knowledgeable & just over all a nice guy! Hey justin, thanks for the passion fruit too btw! We luvd it! The whole day was great family fun for us