Many outfits take you down the Wailua River (featured in the film DRAGONFLY) with a hike to the "Secret Falls" - all at various prices. The family-owned Kayak Wailua was the least expensive that I found (almost half of what you would pay if you went through the concierge at the hotel). The price is due to minimal advertising and good word of mouth and it’s B.Y.O. (bring your own lunch/snacks).

The trip takes about 4 ½ hours and costs about $40 with a standard 15% gratuity added on. An extra $5 will get you a better seat with back support on the kayak (which almost everyone gets and is highly recommended).

You’ll meet at the Shell gas station located at 4-350 Kuhio Highway, Wailua, Kauai just north of the Wailua River on the Makai (ocean) side. Sign in, pay, get snacks at the Shell Mart if you didn’t already bring them and go through a quick orientation with their friendly guides. Our guide that day was local Nathaniel (with his charming Hawaiian accent), one of the sons of the proprietor, Pete – who drove us to the launch site. After orientation, you’re driven over to the river (a quick couple of minutes) and off you go. First half of the trip takes about 45 minutes and be prepared to weave around if you’re a first timer.

Once you "park" your kayak at the destination, you have to traverse a small portion of the river so it’s wise to wear water shoes or sneakers you don’t care that you’ll get dirty/wet. Hike to the "Secret Falls" takes a good half hour (at least a mile or so) over fairly rough terrain. The day we went it was dry but my muddy shoes made it a little slippery. Ground is overgrown with tree branches so it makes it hard to walk in some places. I’m not much of a hiker so this definitely was not my favorite part.

Once you get to the Secret Falls it is all worth it. Beautiful Falls and a swimming hole (it’s brisk but refreshing!) await you. Enjoy your lunch and snacks and take a dip. If you’re a Lost fan, this is the fall that was featured in the episode "Whatever the Case May Be" where Kate and Sawyer find a private swimming hole and take a dip only to discover a suitcase and a victim from the crash.

Hike back the way you came, cross the river and kayak back. It’s easier kayaking back than to because you’re not facing into a tailwind.

The trip is good for all ages, life jackets are provided if you want them. Dry bags and cooler bags are provided for you as well.

Wear plenty of SUNSCREEN, even if it’s cloudy out! I put on sunscreen but still got burned. Remember to reapply after the swimming hole!

http://kayakwailua.com/index.html

Once each pair of kayakers has practiced staying afloat in the boat dock area, off they go upstream on the Wailua for about two-and-a-half miles, passing by an old Hawaiian village where the movie Outbreak was filmed. The guide will inform you of the different kinds of vegetation along the way and Hawaiian folklore.

Once the river becomes too narrow to navigate, you will disembark your kayak and go on a short hike through an old terraced taro plantation to a splendid waterfall called Secret Falls, a.k.a. Uluwehi Waterfalls. Here you will have a deli lunch and fruit punch and time to swim in the crystal clear pristine waters.

Then you hike back to the kayaks for a paddle back to the beginning. The huge-flowering plants that lines the riverbanks are beginning to turn from yellow to bright salmon in color. Everyone stops and picks a flower and positions it on their right ear if they are available and left ear if they are spoken for. Basically, it was a fun-filled daytrip.