my favorite day of all the days… the Napali Coast

I have to say that I absolutely loved every day, but if I had to pick one single thing that was my favorite I would choose our zodiak ride up the Napali Coast. I mean we saw dolphins for heaven sakes.

One of the most amazing features on Kauai is the Napali Coast. The main road that travels around the island stops at both the north and south ends of the coast because the ground became too rocky to build. meaning the only way to see the Napali Coast in its entirety is from the water. Our Kauai expert friend recommended we see the Napali Coast via Zodiak rather than the more common catamaran. A zodiak is a raft/speedboat hybrid that reaches up to 60 mph. While researching zodiac companies I learned that it’s fast and bumpy but totally worth it. The perks to riding on the zodiak is that it’s a smaller boat,which means smaller tour groups and a more personal experience. We were so lucky with the company we chose, Napali Riders. I read amazing reviews about them online and we were definitely not disappointed. The crew is so passionate about what they do. Captain Chris would stop the boat and point out things he thought we needed to see, the color of the water, animals, the history behind the island and the coast (stuff like human sacrifices, burial sites of royalty, etc). and for a history nerd like me it just made our experience that much better. He also loves riding alongside the dolphins and stopped several times to make sure we all got to experience it up close, even if it meant being a little late for his next tour. We went in the morning, which was so great because we had the water almost all to ourselves. It was also clear and less choppy so we could see the dolphins easier. Can you tell I was obsessed? I’'m not even sorry for the many, many pictures I’m about to post. (these pictures are all from my brothers camera btw)

        

         

cue dolphins…

aaaaaanyways, we had a good time. recap on the rest of the day in another post.