Kauai (Nawiliwili) cruise port

The Garden Isle from the pier: Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali cliffs and a beach you can walk to.

Nawiliwili is Kauai’s commercial harbor on the east shore, 2 miles from Lihue and the airport, and ships dock at the pier with tour buses, rental car shuttles and free mall shuttles waiting at the gate; Kalapaki Beach is a 10 minute walk. The big days are Waimea Canyon by coach, the Na Pali Coast by boat or helicopter, and the gentle Wailua River ride to the Fern Grotto, and the Pride of America gives you two days here to do more than one. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Kauai from every line, priced with taxes and fees included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.

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DockedNawiliwili Harbor pier; Kalapaki Beach and Anchor Cove a 10 minute walk or free shuttle
Lihue2 miles; rental car shuttles, tour buses and taxis at the pier
Apr to Octdriest months on the east shore, 80s all year
All inevery price includes taxes and fees
Start here

Three ways to do Kauai

Drive up to the canyon, see the Na Pali cliffs from the water or the air, or stay close with the river, the beach and the plantation; the buttons filter the list of sailings below.

The canyon

Waimea Canyon and Spouting Horn

  • The 3,600 foot deep red canyon from the Waimea and Pu’u Hinahina lookouts, with Kalalau Lookout on clear days
  • About 5 hours by coach including the Spouting Horn blowhole and a Hanapepe or Koloa stop
  • About $150 to $180 through the ship as of 2026; bring a jacket, it is cool and windy up top

Best for: first-timers, photographers, anyone who wants the island’s signature view

Na Pali

The cliffs by catamaran or helicopter

  • Boats from Port Allen run the 17 miles of 3,000 foot sea cliffs with dolphins and sea caves, about 4 to 5 hours and about $190 to $250
  • Helicopters from Lihue, 5 minutes from the pier, cover Na Pali, Waimea Canyon and Mount Waialeale in about an hour for about $300 to $400
  • Both are weather dependent; book the morning slot and the ship’s version if your call is short

Best for: couples, bucket-list travelers, repeat Kauai visitors

Easy day

Wailua River, Kalapaki Beach and Kilohana

  • The flat-bottom riverboat to the Fern Grotto with Hawaiian music, about 90 minutes and about $35 on your own
  • Kalapaki Beach next to the harbor for a calm swim, a surf lesson or lunch at Duke’s
  • Kilohana Plantation’s railway, Koloa Rum tasting and the Luau Kalamaku if the ship stays overnight

Best for: families, grandparents, anyone who does not want a long bus ride

Live from the cruise lines

Kauai cruises: SmartCruiser picks first

Every cruise that calls at Nawiliwili from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.

SmartCruiser picks

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Every cruise that calls at Kauai

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Prices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.

In port

Things to do in Kauai

The beach and the shops are a walk from the pier; the canyon, the river and the cliffs are 15 minutes to an hour away by bus, car or boat.

Waimea CanyonThe Grand Canyon of the Pacific, 10 miles long, a mile wide and 3,600 feet deep, striped red and green, about an hour’s drive west of the pier. Ship coach tours run about 5 hours with the Spouting Horn blowhole on the way for about $150 to $180; by rental car it is Highway 50 to Waimea town, then up Waimea Canyon Drive, with a $5 per person state park fee plus $10 parking at the lookouts.
Na Pali Coast by boatCatamarans and rafts leave Port Allen on the south shore, about 40 minutes from the pier, for the 17 mile run of fluted green sea cliffs, waterfalls and sea caves with spinner dolphins alongside. About 4 to 5 hours and about $190 to $250 with lunch; summer is calmest, winter trips can be rough or cancelled.
Helicopter tourKauai is the island for it: an hour from Lihue over Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali cliffs, the north shore and the wettest spot on earth at Mount Waialeale, doors-on or doors-off. About $300 to $400 as of 2026; the heliport is 5 minutes from the pier and most operators pick up at the ship.
Wailua River and Fern GrottoSmith’s flat-bottom riverboat takes 20 minutes up the only navigable river in Hawaii to a fern-draped lava cave, with hula and ukulele on the way. About 90 minutes and about $35 on your own, about $135 as a ship tour with the Opaekaa Falls stop; kayak rentals on the river are about $50 to $90.
Kalapaki BeachA calm crescent beach beside the harbor in front of the Royal Sonesta, a 10 minute walk or a 2 minute free shuttle from the pier, with surf lessons, outrigger canoe rides, board rentals and Duke’s for lunch. The best no-cost day in Hawaii cruising.
Kilohana Plantation and Koloa RumA 1930s sugar baron’s mansion 10 minutes from the pier with a narrow-gauge plantation railway through the orchards (about $25), the Koloa Rum tasting room, Gaylord’s restaurant, and on overnight calls the Luau Kalamaku with its theatrical show.
Poipu and Spouting HornThe sunny south shore 30 minutes away: Poipu Beach Park for monk seals and turtles and the Spouting Horn blowhole that fires sea spray 50 feet into the air at high tide. Taxi or rideshare about $45 each way, or part of every canyon tour.
Hanalei and the north shoreOn an overnight call, rent a car for the 45 minute drive to Kilauea Lighthouse, Hanalei Bay and the taro fields; it is the Kauai of the movies and the quietest part of the island before noon. Watch the time on the way back, the one highway can crawl through Kapaa.
Timing

When to go

Lihue is warm all year, highs 78 to 85, with about 40 inches of rain that falls mostly from November to March and mostly at night; the north shore gets far more, Poipu far less, and the busiest cruise months are winter and summer.

December to MarchHighs around 78, lows mid 60s, about 3 to 4 inches of rain a month and big north shore surf; humpback whales offshore and the Na Pali boats sometimes cancel. Peak Hawaii cruise season.
April to JuneHighs low 80s, rain dropping to about 2 inches a month, the cliffs green from winter and the sea settling down for boat trips; the best month-for-month value.
July to SeptemberWarmest at 84 to 85 with light trade winds, the calmest Na Pali water of the year and families on the Pride of America. September is the month tropical storms come closest, though direct hits are rare.
October to NovemberLow 80s, showers returning, fewer ships and the best fares of the year as the West Coast round trips resume.
Good to know

Kauai questions we answer every day

Where do cruise ships dock in Kauai and how far is town?

Ships dock at the pier in Nawiliwili Harbor, the island’s commercial port at the mouth of the Huleia Stream, about 2 miles south of Lihue and 5 minutes from the airport. There is no terminal building, just a gate with pickup lanes for tour buses, rental car shuttles and taxis. Anchor Cove and Harbor Mall, with restaurants, ATMs and tour desks, are a 10 minute walk or a free shuttle that runs every 10 minutes, and Kalapaki Beach is right beside them. The harbor entrance is narrow, so on rare days of high swell a captain may skip the call.

How do I get around Kauai?

Rent a car if you want the canyon or the north shore on your own; the agencies shuttle you from the pier and there is one main highway so it is hard to get lost. Taxis and Uber or Lyft work for Lihue, Kilohana and Poipu (about $45 each way to Poipu) but get expensive to Waimea. The Kauai Bus runs hourly from Lihue but is not practical for a port day.

What currency, language and time zone?

US dollars and English; Hawaii Standard Time, two hours behind the West Coast in winter and three in summer, so check whether your ship keeps ship’s time. Cell coverage is good around Lihue and the south shore, patchy in the canyon and on the north shore. Hawaii’s 4.7 percent sales tax is added at the register.

Is Kauai safe?

Yes. Kauai is a rural US island of about 70,000 people. The cautions are natural: rip currents and winter surf on north and east shore beaches (swim at lifeguarded Kalapaki, Poipu or Lydgate), flash floods on trails after rain, and sharp lava at Spouting Horn. Lock valuables out of sight in rental cars at trailheads and beach lots.

What is the best excursion, and should I book it through the ship?

Waimea Canyon for a first visit and the Na Pali boat or helicopter if you have seen it. Book the boat through the ship if the call is a single day, because Port Allen is 40 minutes away and the boats return early afternoon; on a Pride of America overnight you have the flexibility to book direct and take the morning departure. Helicopter operators pick up at the pier and know the ship schedules.

Do I need a passport for a Hawaii cruise?

Hawaii is a US state, so the Pride of America loop from Honolulu needs only government photo ID for US citizens. Round trips from Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco are closed-loop sailings that stop in Ensenada, Mexico, so US citizens may sail with a government photo ID plus an original or certified birth certificate, but we recommend a passport. Cruises that start or end in Vancouver require a valid passport.

Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?

Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions and gratuities are extra.

Talk to a Kauai cruise specialist

Tell us whether you want the overnight on the island loop or a long round trip from the West Coast and we will find the Kauai sailing with the most included value. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.

1-800-444-1560