The Sam and Sean Show

Inside the cave looking out.

Yesterday was our last day with the Sandovals, our transition to the North Shore, and our boat trip along the Na Pali coast. It was sad leaving Lawai Beach, as we had so much fun there but the whole gang arrived in Hanalei ready for our next adventure.
We'd booked a boat trip with snorkeling from Na Pali Catamarans. To get to out boat a couple of young kids took us out in a powered canoe. Our first surprise was that our "catamaran" was just a twin-hulled fishing boat with two rows of back-to-back padded benches Our second surprise was that the young kids who shuttled us out were also our captain and crew. Gulp.
Our crew, Sam and Sean, quickly started their comedy schtick. They had a corny joke for almost every sight. Their explanations of island history, marine biology, and ocean activities and culture were probably 40% made-up, 40% humor, and 20% fact. We didn't mind. It was like riding the jungle cruise at Disneyland and expecting to learn about African wildlife. (One of Sean's better lines was about the boat's head, "It's like Vegas. What happens down there, stays down there.")

Open ceiling cave

The one thing where Sam was clearly a professional was on maneuvering his boat into and out of water caves. He could turn the ship on a dime and we never came close to the cave walls despite the waves and currents that rush in and out if these caves.
We entered about four caves and motored to entrance of several more. The views of the Na Pali coast were breathtaking and the waterfalls were going off due to the recent rains (see the Smart Decisions post). Considering we signed up for a snorkeling cruise, that was the worst part of the trip. The reef was large but not really much to look at and there were fewer fish than at our "Beach House" reef in Lawai.
The reviews on Yelp were decidedly mixed on this tour. However, we really enjoyed ourselves and recommend the trip to out readers, as long ad they know what they're signing up to do.
After our cruise we had to say goodbye to the Sandovals, who's vacation was over. We really enjoyed our time with them and we will miss them. Of course, as we are now checked into the St. Regis Princeville, laying poolside with pool drinks, I'm sure we'll survive.


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Location:Hanalei,United States