Buck O Five said:
How far away from shore do you go? Stop in at the secluded beach? Curious about the details on this trip.
We were pretty far off shore for most of the trip. We stopped at the Nualolo Kai area for the beach landing, which is an active archaeological site. We spent some time snorkeling just off shore of this beach, but other than a short tour of the area where we landed, there wasn't any real beach time on this trip (even though we saw quite a few other beaches where you could land). We also went into several sea caves, which was really cool.
In total, the trip was just over 5 hours. We departed around 7 and returned around 12 or 1230. We did see dolphins and sea turtles and snorkeled for about 40 min. Lunch was included (we ate sandwiches and chips on the boat).
We also stopped several times to get some gorgeous panoramic pictures of the coast (that's why you have to stay a little further from shore).
I really can't adequately describe just how beautiful the Na Pali Coast really is. It reminded me a little of the Amalfi Coast (with the sea caves and shear cliffs), but the colors are totally different. Also knowing that you are looking at something that is totally uninhabited/unspoiled is pretty amazing.
After the tour ended, we drove up to Waimea Canyon and then stopped by Spouting Horn before returning to our hotel.
If you happen to use Instagram, I've posted pics there. Feel free to follow me if you want to see them - msuche2000