We've done snorkeling tours on other islands, but by far Blue Dolphin's staff exceeded them all in friendliness. We took the 5 hour NaPali coast tour and had about 45 people on our boat. The crew played with and teased the kids on the boat and sat and talked with every guest. After reading all the reviews about sailing the Na Pali coast, I was afraid of rough waters and seasickness. But the trip to the Na Pali coast was very smooth. Captain Cole pointed out all kinds of interesting things along the coast. We stopped several times along the way to watch dolphins, turtles and even flying fish.

Our breakfast of fruit and pastries was really good. The crew wanted to make sure we were safe on board and helped carry our food to our seats. They came around and picked up our trash and offered us more food. They spoke to every person on board and wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying themselves.

When we got to the snorkel site there were fish everywhere, not the beautiful fish you want to see when you snorkel, but some. The crew would throw food out to them near you and they would come right up to you. We had about an hour to snorkel, and that was more than enough. My husband is scuba certified and he did the extra scuba trip. He said there weren't many fish to see, but Christian took them to see some interesting rock formations.

Lunch was a buffet of the largest make-your-own sandwiches I have ever seen. It was very good and again, the crew served our food and drinks and came back to clean up. All of our drinks, alcoholic and non, were included in the price.

The afternoon trade winds kicked in and the last half of the trip back was a little bumpy. I never felt seasick.

So if you want a fun cruise to the Na Pali Coast where the staff take care of you and serve you and take pictures and do everything in their power to show you a good time, I would encourage you to consider Blue Dolphin Charters.

Review the other reviews for a good overview, then realize that these are POWER BOAT trips, not sailing excursions.
Captain "Yuma" Chris, suffers from a Napoleonic Complex and runs "HIS ship" with RULES, RESTRICTIONS, REGIMENTATION and more RULES.
Enough already, there's SAFETY and then there's outright "broadcasted NAGGING". He cast a PALOR over the Crew and Cruisers throughout the Charter. Making the day's experience less than Welcoming and Enjoyable... so much for Hang Loose Hawaii Style - beware the CAPTAIN's PMS!
For a "Hawaiian Islander Crew Experience" consider HOLO HOLO Charters when the winds is up they'll SAIL you back.
For a "Laid-Back Fun Crew Experience" go out with CAPTAIN ANDY'S" they too will whisk you back with sails afurl.
For a Staid, Uptight and Controlled experience, but not like sailing "the Napali" succumb to the Dolphin Style.
By the way the HOLO HOLO and Captains Andy Catamarans are smaller and "more cruiser intimate" and their Trampolines are large and fun to ride on during the trip;
Dolphin's are small, and Uh, stay off!
The snorkel spot was forgettable, and the fish were sparse :-(
The food was plentiful and from adequate to good...no other Charter has Home-Made Cinnamon Rolls :-) for breakfast :-)
By the way the other Charter Crews will sport piercings, tattoos and mismatched apparel, whereas the Dolphin's crew is all military style spit and polish!
P.S. Stay on DECK! On this day the Ships Heads reeked and were in need of being pumped out, nothing quite like the agitated aroma of "amoniated cess" permeating the lower ship, and that was right from the start of the trip.
Make your choice, but there will be no more Blue Dolphin Excursions for us or our friends, and we visit the Island every year!
Aloha
- We Wish You Fun and Excitement on the Garden Isle!

A well-configured boat with a competent, tourist-orientated crew is the key element of a snorkel-tour boat company. We vote for Blue Dolphin Charters operating out of Port Allen.

The upper deck seating is a great place to enjoy the cruise to the Na Pali area. There are also seating areas around the deck. There’s even seating inside if your body has had enough sun. There are two reasonably clean "heads."

The captain does a good job pointing out the various landmarks without going overboard. The crew goes out of its way to serve the food and drinks. They seem to know the basic questions to ask a tourist without sounding like they were taught at Wal-Mart. The opportunity to leave a gratuity is offered at the end of the tour.

Most companies use the same snorkel spots on the Na Pali coast. The water instructor gives a good orientation to those who have never snorkeled. Blue Dolphin requires a life vest, which they feel makes it easier to see the bodies in the water. You don’t have to inflate it, but it is a minor annoyance. We found the variety of fish to be good, but to be honest, we saw just about the same fish snorkeling at Poipu in front of the new Marriott. However, the Na Pali spot was BEAUTIFUL.

They offer a one-tank "introductory" scuba dive for extra. You go through a flip-chart orientation and some instruction with the divemaster. I think they use the smaller tanks since the time underwater seemed a little shorter the beach entry dive we took on Maui.

We’ve also done the "Forbidden Island" tour with Blue Dolphin. It is Na Pali tour, except you continue out to Niihau to snorkel and eat. We thought this trip was too long. The diving and snorkeling out at Niihau was interesting, but not worth the two extra travel hours. And Niihau really wasn’t much to look at. We wouldn’t recommend this trip.

We’ve done a late-afternoon tour of Na Pali with no snorkel option. They try to arrive back at Port Allen just at sunset. It’s really quite pretty, and if you don’t want to snorkel, this trip is shorter and cheaper.

Be aware: These are not sailing trips. The sails seem almost more for decor than functionality. Most of the cruise is powered by their engines.

We recommend Blue Dolphin based on their better boat configuration.

This catamaran trip was fun but long. It probably would have been just fine if the water wasn’t so choppy, which caused many of the patrons to lose their cookies along the way. Blue Dolphin provided lunch and beverages on the trip. We were able to spot dolphins just as we were exiting the harbor, and some green sea turtles decided to pop their little heads out of the water for us. None of the wildlife came close enough to the boat, except the fish to feed on the items tossed over board.

The Na Pali coastline was amazing and long. Images of Jurassic Park came to mind and rightly so, as the original movie’s opening scenes were filmed by helicopter from these cliffs. We were told the waterfall in the movie was located on the opposite side of the island from these cliffs even though in the movie the helicopter lands nearby after cruising close to these nature wonders. The water in many of the coves along this side of the island is a brilliant emerald to turquoise color.

The snorkeling, though, was disappointing, as the water was not clear this time of year. Although we were able to spot a few Moorish Idol fish, the specimens were nothing like those we encountered when we snorkeled on the Big Island at the Captain Cook preserve.

This was a great tour company. We went on the 5.5-hour trip and it was fantastic! You meet very early in the morning and get registered for the trip. Once you get on board, you will be served some light snacks and drinks and the excitement begins. The captain of the boat will tell you the history of what you are seeing on the way out to the Na'Pali coast.

After about 30 minutes, we saw four whales who were very active and showed off for us with their leaps and blowing water. This was very unexpected as it was so late in the season to see them. We then encountered a school of dolphins who played with the boat! We go down on the trampoline of the boat and could see the dolphins swimming right underneath! They acted like they were racing with the boat.

The coastline of Na'Pali then came into sight and it was like nothing you can imagine! Sheer mountains coming straight out of the ocean that are green with foliage. The waterfalls and shapes of the mountains are amazing. We stopped to snorkel and I went scuba diving.

Unfortunately, there were not a lot of fish to see, but we did find a blowfish that was interesting. The sails were sent up and we sailed around the point while having lunch and then it was back to the docks. . . this was a very memorable trip and definitely a well-run tour company.