Mudbugging in Kauai was AMAZING!

[sugarlipz]

For anyone who reads the description of the excursion & thinks that it sounds like fun - DO IT!!!!! It was fantastic, exactly as described & one of the best excursions that I have ever done. It is not an understatement that you will be dirty.....you will actually be head-to-toe FILTHY, but what a fun time you will have while getting dirty.

 

It was me & my 15 yr old son in our mudbug and it was my mission to make sure he was the wettest and muddiest of all of us on the tour. Mission accomplished!! My DH drove with my 8 yr old son & my 68 yr old dad drove with my 15 yr old sister - everyone had a blast!

 

The guides were alot of fun & very professional. They take pictures along the way & you can buy a CD of them at the end for $30 - they were excellent pictures and very good quality.

 

If anyone has any questions, ask away!

[sandm]

Our family did the mudbugs this past summer. It was one of our favorite excursions ever. It is right up there with dog sledding on a glacier for us.

I used my bandana on our spring break cruise for my hair and it brought back very fond memories. Our only regret was two of us wore light colored bathing suites and the stain still persists. Glad you had as much fun as we did.

[ltran4688]

Sugarlipz,

 

Did you booked thru NCL or a private tour company?

 

Thank you,

Linda

[sugarlipz]

I booked it through NCL, but it is done by Kauai ATV.

[sprout76]

sugarlipz...thanks for reassuring my decision to do this excursion. I think it sounds like a blast. Did you do it on the first day or second day you were in Kauai? Right now I have it booked for the second day because we were going to do the zipline on the first day, but now I think we may zip in Maui so we could actually do it the first day...just curious which you went with.

[sugarlipz]

We did it on the 2nd day, as the choices for things to do on that day are limited due to the early sail time. Plus, we figured by booking it thru NCL they guarantee that we will be on the ship - although missing the boat in Hawaii wouldn't be that bad (lol).

[soccermuppet]

We did it on the 2nd day, as the choices for things to do on that day are limited due to the early sail time. Plus, we figured by booking it thru NCL they guarantee that we will be on the ship - although missing the boat in Hawaii wouldn't be that bad (lol).

 

 

Yeah!!!! I am glad to hear so many people like this as it is on the TOP of our list for the 2nd day in Kauai. We will book it through NCL(July 2009) to guarantee our safe passage back to the ship, and it saves me from renting a car that day.......I still think I would rather zipline in Kauai the first day over doing it in Maui, the scenery just looks better!!!

 

Glad you loved it, my DS12 and I talk about it every day!!! We can't wait!!!

:D

[The 4 of Us]

We just did the mud bug excursion last week and LOVED it! Definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The OP is correct - we were filthy head to toe but it was great. I've attached a picture so you can see the mud. There was my husband and myself, our 13 year old son, 10 year old daughter and my parents and everyone had a great time. Half way through they stopped at the waterfalls for a dip and lunch. It was a lot of fun to jump into the waterfall! Lunch was huge sandwhiches (turkey or ham), soda and juice, macaroni salad, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies. The second half of the ride was muddier than the first. Do not wear a light colored bathing suit under their clothes since it will get stained - the mud soaks right through. It actually even temporarily stains your skins - looks like a spray on tan! I definitely recommend wearing a bandana over your mouth to keep the mud out of your mouth. You also drive through a tunnel through a mountain that is very cool. The scenery as you drive around is beautiful. It was a long ride - over 4 hours. Our guides were great and really made the trip even more fun. They took a lot of pictures throughout the day and we bought the CD for $30 at the end - well worth it! It was a great day. We booked the excursion through NCL and they transported you back and forth in 12 passenger vans. There were 24 people on our excursion with 12 mud buggies and we had 3 guides.

[soccermuppet]

We just did the mud bug excursion last week and LOVED it! Definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The OP is correct - we were filthy head to toe but it was great. I've attached a picture so you can see the mud. There was my husband and myself, our 13 year old son, 10 year old daughter and my parents and everyone had a great time. Half way through they stopped at the waterfalls for a dip and lunch. It was a lot of fun to jump into the waterfall! Lunch was huge sandwhiches (turkey or ham), soda and juice, macaroni salad, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies. The second half of the ride was muddier than the first. Do not wear a light colored bathing suit under their clothes since it will get stained - the mud soaks right through. It actually even temporarily stains your skins - looks like a spray on tan! I definitely recommend wearing a bandana over your mouth to keep the mud out of your mouth. You also drive through a tunnel through a mountain that is very cool. The scenery as you drive around is beautiful. It was a long ride - over 4 hours. Our guides were great and really made the trip even more fun. They took a lot of pictures throughout the day and we bought the CD for $30 at the end - well worth it! It was a great day. We booked the excursion through NCL and they transported you back and forth in 12 passenger vans. There were 24 people on our excursion with 12 mud buggies and we had 3 guides.

 

 

Your picture makes us want to do it even more!!! Do they sell souvenir bandanas?? I thought they would be cheap souvenirs to bring home??

 

I am so glad they take pictures during the excursion and will definately buy the CD. I have already prebooked it for July!!!

[The 4 of Us]

Before you actually get to the mudbuggy site, you have to stop at their office and storefront to fill out some papers. Here they have stuff to sell including Tshirts and bandanas. From here they take you to the mudbuggy site less than 3 minutes away. You will also return to the store afterwards which is where you can buy the cd with all the pictures. There is also a shaved ice place right across the street but probably the worst one we tasted all week.

[2disneydads]

Would any of you who have done this excursion suggest it for a 7 and 5 year old? The 7 year old (daughter) is a real tomboy who loves adventure and is very athletic. The 5 year old (daughter) is a bit more "girly" (OK, no flames please, she just is into dolls and dress up more) but is a fearless swimmer and pretty athletic in the gym. It sounds cool but maybe too intense for them. If we don't do this, we'll do the Hidden Valley Falls Kayak trip on the second day in Kauai. Thanks in advance.

[sprout76]

The 4 of us...thanks for posting the pic...and agree with soccermuppet makes me want to do it even more now!! Will definitely be sure to bring an old swimsuit to wear for this excursion. We too are prebooked for the excursion...and we're not going until February!! I wanted to make sure that we didn't miss out!!

[The 4 of Us]

The swimming in the waterfall was quite easy and tame and your kids should be ok with it. If they dont want to swim than that would be ok too. As for as the mudbuggy, the only real question is whether the kids can tolerate being dirty and muddy. They will be sitting in the buggy for about two hours get knocked around in their seat. My daughter is 10 and loved it. There was another girl probably around 8 who was not enjoying the ride with her mother because her mother was driving too slow and missing the mud. After the waterfall, she drove back with one of the tour guides in his vehicle and had the time of her life. She was covered in mud and when she smiled her teeth were brown.

 

One of the tour guides takes out a four seated mud buggy for the purpose of driving anyone who is afraid or desires more recklessness.

[sugarlipz]

Our 8 year old LOVED the mudbug, so it depends on what type of activities that your kids enjoy. If you read the description to your kids & they think that it sounds cool, then I would not be concerned.

[wine night]

this sounds like fun i am going to see if my kids prefer this or zipline.

[smrtypnts]

We're booked with Kauai ATV (rather than through NCL) for the afternoon of the 1st day....figured maybe it'll be a beach before and/or after excursion...or maybe it'll be the one day to sleep in. We actually didn't book directly through Kauai ATV, but rather through someone else who works with them.

[wine night]

i would love to do both on the same day

[saffy22]

Wow,

 

We did this late December,I have been so busy I havent done a review. But refering to my notes. 4 Hours?? really, about an hour getting ready, I mean you check in at 1.00PM, then drive down to the check in station. Another 40minutes getting changed, then they explain very slowly what you will be doing.10 minute trip to the tunnel, stop for 20 minutes so every one gets their own photo, maybe 20 mins to the falls, and a half hour ride home.

 

I was bored to tears, and found the constant begging for tips unbearable. OK bad luck this trip was all Canadians and Australians, I get it your worst nightmare. Plus we didnt hear them call for lunch, so when we arrived there was no room to sit, so we stood and ate sandwhices we didnt order, as someone else ate ours. Plus the guides remained seated while we stood. And really how big a tip do you want now??

 

To be fair we do have quad bikes at home, plus we usually vist Thailand, and quad through jungles and villages to the waterfalls. However all I could think of was, I gave up 4 hours on one of the most beautiful islands Ive ever seen for this crud.

I do think it is probably fun for little kids, but thats about all. Worst thing we did this trip. On Phuket and Koh Samui it is always one of our favourite activites. Oh yeah we also had to keep pulling over so the guy with the camera could get ahead of us. Other places we go , they have different tracks, and its good fun when you come arounf a corner, and theres the camera guy.

Sorry to be a stick in the mud (pun intended) but that is my view.

Cheers

Saffy

[saffy22]

PS smartypants,

 

we did the 1.00pm on our first day, and drove up to Waimea canyon and stopped at Kauai coffee company on the way back to ATV and still had time for a quick browse in the shops in Old Koloa town.

Cheers

Saffy

[smrtypnts]

PS smartypants,

 

we did the 1.00pm on our first day, and drove up to Waimea canyon and stopped at Kauai coffee company on the way back to ATV and still had time for a quick browse in the shops in Old Koloa town.

Cheers

Saffy

 

Oh thank you so much for this info, Saffy!!!:)

[SnakeBitten]

Yes, I would like to do this again...it's a blast. SB

[smrtypnts]

Yes, I would like to do this again...it's a blast. SB

 

Did you do it via the ship's excursion or on your own and which company did you use?

[SnakeBitten]

Did you do it via the ship's excursion or on your own and which company did you use?

 

We did this through the ship. I would do this on my own, if no worry about sailing time. There are videos on youtube. SB

[sshelijet]

A question for those who enjoyed the Kauai ATV tours: do you need to rent a car to get there from the cruise ship terminal? We prefer to book directly with the company (the NCL price seems way higher), but the company's website doesn't appear to explain how far they are from the cruise pier.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated (and thanks to those who posted such great reviews).