Best and better of Kauai

We had a rain-forest landing, picnic, and dip in a waterfall tour. The five-seat helicopter flies with no doors (unless you request otherwise), allowing fantastic picture-taking from the outside front and both back seats. The middle front, although the views are GREAT, really doesn't work for pictures.

After touring the island with minimal narration, the landing in the rain forest is breathtaking. Following a very short walk to a small picnic area, you're invited to take dip in the pool of the waterfall. No else is around!!!!!

This tour is an adventure. It is pricey ($300 per person), but the landing and waterfall are extraordinary. The air tour was about an hour, and the time at the waterfall was just about the same. It is very windy and somewhat cold in the helicopter with the doors off. They strongly suggest long pants and windbreakers.

Those looking for the best air tour and narration might do better with Jack Harter's 90-minute air tour out of Lihue. But, we thought that this was the highlight of this trip to Kauai.

Those ready for something that might raise your pulse a bit should look into this tour.

This is the best photo helicopter tour on Kauai.

Jack Harter Helicopters offers a 90-minute tour, covering the same ground as the 60-minute tour, but allowing for more time and views in the tour areas. We’ve taken the tour twice and also have flown with Inter-Island. Harter’s extended tour time plus excellent, comprehensive, accurate narration make them tops for the island tour. The new Hughes aircraft would be our first choice over the tour with the A-Star. Although the A-Star is more comfortable (A/C, closed doors), the doors-off Hughes is better for picture taking without reflections.

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.