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Kauai Sea Rider Adventures
Categories: Active Life Boating Hotels & Travel Tours Boating, Tours [Edit]
3712 Elau RdKalaheo, HI 96741
(808) 332-7238
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
Geoff G. said: "Kauai Sea Tours completely blew my expectations. My wife was dieing to go on this tour and I was so un-enthusiastic about the idea of spending a day on an all inclusive Cataraman tour because.... well.... my experience has always been…" read more »
7 reviews for Kauai Sea Rider Adventures
7 reviews in English
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Review from teri m.
Honolulu, HI
8/29/2011
I just had the most fantastic experience with Captain Tara ..the trip along the Napali coast was breathtaking..the spinner dolphins were amazing..swimming in the tourquise water along the Napali coast was such a gift, the water was like velvet..Tara has so much knowledge about hawaii it was so refreshing and she truly cares about the people on the zodiac..going in the caves was magical and seeing the beautiful turtles and schools of fish was truly a gift for my 60th birthday..it was nice because it was not touristy.This will truly be the highlight of your vacation when you take this fantastic trip of a lifetime...Mahalo Teri
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Review from A H.
Santa Clara, CA
9/6/2011 2 photos
Bucket list: swim with turtles.....CHECK!
We booked this tour through our condo concierge desk. As my friend was a beginning swimmer and new snorkeler, the concierge recommended Capt. Tara. We were told she had two assistants and work well with inexperienced snorkelers. I was personally interested in getting guided by a marine biologist as I am an eco geek and liked the thought of supporting a small business vs. the big companies. We also took the standard big catamaran snorkel sunset tour at Na'pali coast w/another operator, so it was a good balance to go on the zodiac (small motorized raft).
Those interested in this should look at the pictures of the boat. The ride is an adventure itself b/c most are sitting on the edge of the raft, as if you were white water rafting. If going against the waves, it gets bouncy, but I loved it...it was like an amusement park ride, but real! It is not a booze cruise w/big buffett.
I'm sure it was very unusual, but about half of our boat were either non- or inexperienced swimmers and first time snorkelers. I have never seen any operator do this...the Capt. Actually has the new people holding onto boggie boards, and she personally dragged them to the reef where the fish were! Capt Tara really wants everyone to experience snorkeling, enjoying the wildlife. We had two sites...the turtle site and the fish site. She did her best to switch off people she was handholding.
The wind picked up after the turtle site, and the capt. Took us to the fish site w/less chop for our safety, as so many were inexperienced swimmers. I was bummed to not see the "better" fish site, but glad she put our safety #1.
It is an early start, but it pays....another boat we saw came out later and did not get their full tour b/c it got too rough w/ the winds. Their food looked fancier, but hey, I prefer home baked cookies any day :)
Gear: good quality, everyone got shortie tops, which keeps you warmer, but more importantly, keeps a non confident swimmer like myself afloat w/out effort, the staff did a great job outfitting people w/gear that fits and gives a tutorial (unlike the big boats that lets you grab stuff free for all).
If I'm back in Kaui, will definitely go out w/Capt. Tara again. -
Review from Jeff G.
New York, NY
1/21/2011 1 photo
My family decided that a whale watching tour was something we must do since our visit to Kaua'i just happened to be peak season migration time. Captain Tara Leota was simply amazing! She runs this small (one boat) outfit well. When we (myself, my parents, brother, sister in-law and their two girls who are 5 & 9) arrived 15 min early as requested, Captain Tara and her one man crew greeted us with smiles, you could tell they enjoy what they do. Soon after, we were boarding a classic zodiac boat, one like the coast guards use, which seemed perfect for the type of trip we planned.
We booked the 2 hour whale watching tour that departed at 4pm, this seemed to be a great time for whale spotting (bonus sunset included).
The captain handled the boat well, made sure all were comfortable the entire trip, and I swear had eagle eyes of her own the way she spotted turtles and whales in the water at a distance. We were fortunate enough to have the boat to ourselves, and lucky enough to see several turtles and a half dozen or so whales. Captain Tara knew where and when to take us and was very knowledgeable about sea life.
Little touches like having waterproof sacks for guests belongings, catered veggie trays, snacks and drinks made everyone feel comfortable. She also busted out a underwater mic half way through the trip so we could hear the whales sing.
If you're looking to spot some whales (and turtles) with a great captain and first mate, riding in a clean, safe, zodiac boat, I so recommend Kaua'i Sea Rider Adventures with Captain Tara. Keep in mind though, this is an adventure ride, not a sunset dinner cruise.
I heard she also does snorkel trips - next time for sure! -
Review from Monica K.
Oakland, CA
9/30/2010
We did a snorkel tour off the south coast with Captain Tara, and it was one of the highlights of my vacation. I'm assuming every tour is a little different, based on weather, etc., but our first stop was a bay with tons of spinner dolphins! Amazing. Next, we hit a snorkel spot with several turtles and lots of fish. We visited another snorkeling spot after that (all of these were off-shore), again amazing. Finally, we anchored outside a beautiful beach and were able to either swim in to enjoy the beach and water, or eat on the boat.
This was the best snorkeling experience I had on the island.
I didn't need any assistance since I'd gotten a bit of experience snorkeling the week before, but Tara and her two assistants appeared to take good care of everyone on the boat. -
Review from Deanna J.
Walnut Creek, CA
10/15/2007
We decided to take a snorkeling trip. I searched and searched for one that would meet our needs.
. The launching dock is not far from the Sheraton on Poipu (where we were staying)
. Focused on snorkeling.
. It was not going to be a very long trip.
. The gear was provided.
. Lunch was provided (which would give us time to mingle and chat with other people on the tour)
. Reasonably priced.
This tour had it all the trip was schedule for 3 hours however; we were out there in the big blue ocean for a little more than that.
Captain Tara was her name, and her game was to take us to the most fabulous spot for viewing Hawaiian sea life. While searching for great places to anchor (she has a few favorites she wanted to take us to) she also gave us an informative tour - explaining not only the historical value of spots but also included it from a marine biologist perspective.
We snorkeled at a couple of spots our final spot was above the lava tubes (which are naturally eroding and is not expected to be intact in the next 10 years). It was sea turtle crossing! They were everywhere and so were the fish! The colors were vibrant, the visibility was clear all the way to the ocean floor (about 40 ft deep) and the turtles were just as curious about us as we are of them.
***The golden rule for people - DO NOT TOUCH THE TURTLES! It is Law!***
She was very knowledgeable, informative and kept my attention. She was fun, friendly, sincere and was very great with the children who were not listening to their parents. We not only had a great time on the tour but we got to meet some wonderful people. The whole experience was priceless! -
Review from Ema S.
San Francisco, CA
1/11/2010
Kauai Sea Rider is awesome and Captain Tara ROCKS!!! They provide everything including lunch. Captain Tara is very knowledgeable, entertaining and was very patient with me being a novice snorkeler. Got to see all kinds of cool fish, turtles and as a bonus we got lucky to see dolphins and whales! Waaaaaay cool!! :D I give them 2 thumbs up!
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Review from Michelle B.
Hidden Hills, CA
5/3/2011
My parents and I went on Tara's raft and were very disappointed. We called and spoke to Tara 2 times before reserving with her. When I asked her what her snorkel trip includes (some snorkel trips on catamarans include open bar and 2 meals) and she made it clear that her trip focuses on snorkeling, not other things, so we decided to choose her because of her emphasis on snorkeling (as opposed to drinking, eating, etc). Anyways, despite the uncomfortable 5 hour long roundtrip ride on her raft, we saw 2 fish and (briefly) 2 sea turtles on Tara's oh so special SNORKEL tour. Meanwhile, she says all this stuff about being a marine biologist, which, at the end of the day, was trivial when we only saw 3 animals. Tara's personality was also very arrogant and uninviting to questions. And of you sat in the back of the raft you couldnt hear anything she said. I wouldve totally preferred to go on a catamaran trip, where I could relax and enjoy the Na Pali Coast, and take nice pictures, rather than hold on to my seat in an uncomfortable position for 5 hours. And Tara's trip was also more expensive than others $125/person (but she gave us a $15 for calling her directly), and it got us 3 fish, and a homemade sandwich. Also, a girl had requested vegetarian and someone else had accidentally taken it and Tara did nothing to make up for it for the girl except to offer to open the sandwich and take the meat out. Lastly, she made a stop in the ocean on our way to the snorkel area, and said its a good opportunity to go to the bathroom if we need to go. I didnt know that "marine biologists" tell people to go pee in the ocean. Im an active 25 yr old, and this was not my idea of an adventure. The only good thing about that day was that her 2 crew members were fantastic. And they answered my questions about Kauai and the Na Pali coast. Dont recommend Tara at all.
