Kauai Land and River Tour: Explore Waterfalls, Mountain Scenery, Fern Grotto, and Bird Sanctuary
4.5
153 Ratings
Fern Grotto

Experience a remarkable one-day excursion that covers the northern and eastern coasts of Kauai. Gain insights about the island from our adept guides while you discover verdant waterfalls, picturesque mountain sceneries, enjoy a river voyage to Fern Grotto, and pay a visit to the Lighthouse and Bird Sanctuary.

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Fern Grotto - Board a spacious, open-air river boat for a two mile leisurely journey to the Fern Grotto where you’ll enjoy a short nature walk through the rainforest. The Fern Grotto is a geological wonder of Kauai where ferns grow upside down from the roof of the grotto. A natural amphitheater of lava rock and tropical vegetation is the perfect backdrop as you are serenaded and entertained by Hawaiian musicians and hula dancers.
  • Opaekaa Falls - Visit Kauai’s East Side 151-foot tall and 40-foot wide waterfall cascading down into a hidden pool. “Opaekaa” means “rolling shrimp” which were once abundant in the stream.
  • Sleeping Giant Trail - Learn of the tails of Sleeping Giant mountain on your East-Side drive.
  • Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge - Visit Kauai’s bird sanctuary, see firsthand the refuge’s seabirds like the red-footed boobies, the wedge-tailed shearwaters, and the red and white-tailed tropicbirds. Also check out the 100 year old, 52-ft Lighthouse. Lighthouse is only open on Thursdays and Fridays.
  • Anini Beach - See breathtaking views of Anini’s calm beaches and clear waters.
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off at select locations
  • Expert-led guided tour
  • Wailua River boat cruise
  • Scenic sightseeing adventure
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
Location
Fern Grotto
Wailua Marina, At the mouth of the Wailua River; turn off Kuhio Hwy. into Wailua Marine State Park
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(153 Ratings)
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Thomas_d
Mar 7, 2024
Very interesting tour. Wish it would’ve lasted much longer. - Scott’s encyclopedic knowledge of the island and its history. Delivered in a very interesting way. Pick up was right on time. Communication from main office was good. Lunch was at a awesome local spot.
Review provided by Viator
Nancylu2229an
Oct 18, 2023
WOW!!!! What a fantastic tour!! - This tour with Scott on Monday, October 9, 2023, was unbelievable! He is a living breathing encyclopedia! We have traveled all over the world and taken excursions everywhere but this tour ranks at the top as one of our very favorites! Scott presented so much information in such a manner that all of us in the van were mesmerized! He made the tour feel like we were traveling around the island with a friend. He definitely knows his stuff and also has the advantage of being married to a native Hawaiian. While attempting to take the main route (a 2 lane highway) on the tour we became locked in a stand still in a quagmire of horribly backed up traffic. Even Scott admitted that this was unusually bad! Well Scott made an executive decision and took us on an unplanned route. What a PLUS for all of us in the van!! This uncongested, least traveled route that we took offered stunning views of the ocean and the surrounding mountains. This drive was a great way to experience the true natural beauty of Kauai!! It was a gorgeous drive, and it was absolutely stunning! Thank you Scott for a tour that we will never forget! From Nancy, the gal that just had to walk into the ocean!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathy_w
Oct 8, 2023
Tour the island - Our tour guide was entertaining and shared some great stories and history about Kauai. The river tour was a lot of fun and we were entertained with singing and hula dancing. It was an awesome way to start our trip!
Review provided by Viator
Cristina
Oct 3, 2023
Great - Great experience. Guide is passionate and knowledgeable. Enjoyed learning Hawaiian words. Less talk of politics would be appreciated.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patti_o
Feb 17, 2024
Kuaia by land and water - It was a very nice tour just have a couple of concerns. We liked the smith boats the most and the fern grotto. 1st the excursion description say tour is from 8am to 2pm 6 hours. What we found out was the actual tour doesnt start till 930 then goes 6 hours. Because they pick people up 1st. Which is fine but would have been nice to know since we were on a cruise ship leaving at 5pm and we had to catch an uber back to the ship. Then at the end they dropped everyone off b4 we were brought back to johnsons which we also didnt know. Again would have been helpful knowing our schedule. Needless to say it was stressful being concerned if we were gonna make it or not. It was close. The other thing is it said lunch not provided which I understand the wording, however, if it would have said there will be a lunch stop at barrell chicken would have been nice. Last thing is we got in that traffic mess were they are doing road work just to drive thru the middle of town and turn around and get back in that traffic mess. We didnt get out or anything. Scott was a very nice guy and helpful.
Review provided by Viator
Darlene_t
Feb 17, 2024
Kauai River & Land - Enjoyed the places we stopped at but too long of riding time in tour bus for us. Tour guide was very knowledgeable & personable.
Review provided by Viator
Markgn7357ie
Feb 10, 2024
Kauai River and Kailua - Driver was superb. Van was a bit tight to be squeezing a bunch of seniors in and out. But driver was exceptional and the sites/views were superb.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinedz82mf
Jan 24, 2024
Domi made our tour unforgettable - Thank you, DOMI, for an extraordinary unforgettable experience. I‘ve never met a tourguide that is so dedicated to his job and his guests. We learned so much about land and people, had lots of fun. Simply impressed also by your voice and your songs. Will never forget this trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mansfield_c
Dec 23, 2023
Rain, rain, go away! - The driver was great. He made the best of a crappy day. It rained the whole tour. The operator of the tour should have canceled and given or money back, or at least given the option. But no, we all had to endure the whole day getting rained on and I would like to get a return of my money.
Review provided by Viator
Johnjy9310an
Nov 1, 2023
Tour guide would not stop talking politics - The tour itself was okay. You are able to see a few nice spots, but I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough by the end of the tour. The guide would not stop bringing up politics. There were at least 6 instances where he would either talk about how “all the liberals are gonna take our guns” or “I can’t wait until Biden is gone in 2024” or “nobody wants to work anymore because of all these government handouts”. I am on vacation. regardless of your stance, I want to get away from all this stuff, I don’t want the be preached to while I’m trying to enjoy the island. Domi, my guy, you gotta cool it on the politics.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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May 2024
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