Advice Please

[louanddave]

Kauaii Does anyone recommend the Fern Grotto tour?

 

Are there any waterfalls where you can swim on any of the islands?

 

Thanks

Lou

[wwinfl91]

I don't know the answer to the waterfall question but we did do the Fern Grotto tour as part of a day long tour we did with Princess when we did a day long tour of the highlights of Kauai. I would highly recommend going to see what Mark Twain called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific", Waimea Canyon, Fern ghotto consists of a short, 20 minute boat ride up a river to a dock, then a short walk down a path through some trees. Then you arrive at some seats where you can view a large opening in a fern and plant covered cliff. You are invited to go up there and then a small group, a couple of musicans and a singer will sing the Hawaiian wedding song, Don Ho made this famous I think. Then you take a second path down through the trees and ferns back to the dock and board the boat for the trip back down the river. Another group of musicans performed on our way back to the dock. I would not have paid extra to go to this but it was included on the tour.

 

If you get a chance go to the Waimea Canyon instead if you can. The views are fantastic. It is a tropic version of the Grand Canyon.

 

If you want to see some pictures of the Canyon check out the Hawaiian cruise Yahoo group site I set up for our cruise in the Kauai photos folder at this web site.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islandprincess100604/

 

Have a great next cruise.

[spleen93]

I don't recommend the Fern Grotto for most people.

 

Spleen

[Cruisin Bee]

Hi

Many people have recommended the Waimea Canyon/ Wailua River to fern grotto tour to us. Why do you not recommend it?

[wwinfl91]

At least in my case, I didn't say don't do it but if you are only going to be on Kauai for a day on a cruise and especially if it is your first time on the Island, I would say that the Waimea Canyon is a lot better sight to see than the Fern Ghotto. In our case we got to see both on the ship's tour which was fine but if I had to pick one over the other, it would be the Waimea Canyon.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[bambam]

We did the Fern Grotto in Feb. '04, and Spleen's advice is pretty much right-on... The boat trip was OK, a few interesting things here and there, the pathway was allright, the ferns were a little thin, supposedly getting better now that they have solved the water problem, and there are a few flowers to observe along the pathway. The bathroom near the dock was, at best..adequate... they didn't charge extra for the cat and the chickens... Our trip also included a stop at Apopka Falls, which overlooked a portion of the river we had traveled a few minutes earlier. The Falls was pretty, but not much else...:rolleyes:

 

It is an OK trip, but considering the beauty of Kauai, there are other excursions that are significantly better. If you are looking for a nice boat ride listening to soft Hawaiian music, a low-level walk amongst the trees and ferns, and a few flowers along the way, then this is a good trip...Its not that the Fern Grotto is bad, its just that there are others places to go that are better.

 

We wanted to see the fauna and flowers, and not a bunch of rocks...but to each their own...:D

[daWoods]

Somebody we talked to this year said the Fern Grotto has never been the same since Iniki. We did it in 1977 and weren't impressed even then. Doesn't sound like it's changed much. Theres so much more to see and do on Kauai that it's a waste of your time IMHO

[spleen93]

bambam and daWoods said exactly what I was going to post! :)

 

Spleen

[Suebee]

SOunds about right to me. If you have only a couple of hours left of your day, fine but I wouldnt take away from something else to see it.