Waimea Wailua & Fern Grotto vs. Hollywood in Hawaii & Falls

Anybody who's done both of these tours through NCL, please let me know which tour you preferred (and why but leave out the cost cause most of NCL's tours are pricey) and give me an informative comparison of the two. I've booked one, but now I'm thinking I might enjoy the other more. And, please, no "rent a car and drive" suggestions. Driving in unfamiliar territory and not being able to enjoy the view because I'm driving is not my idea of a good time. I want to sit back, relax and be a tourist. Thanks in advance to anybody who responds.

We did the Hollywood in Hawaii tour, the tour to Waimea Canyon, and the Fern Grotto tour....each one separately. I think our favorite was the Hollywood tour....it was a lot of fun and gave us an opportunity to see some of the most beautiful areas of Kauai. We also enjoyed the tour to Waimea Canyon...which enabled us to travel to an entirely different part of the island. The Fern Grotto was not much...a way to spend an hour or two....but really no gorgeous scenery.

If I had to pick...I would do the Hollywood in Hawaii tour. The tour guides are very funny, the lunch was good and we are still talking about it. Have fun whatever you decide to do.

Thanks so much for the info. I'm thinking about switching to the Hollywood in Hawaii tour cause I think I'll enjoy that more, but I wanted to see what somebody who did both thought about it.

I just returned from the Pride of Aloha on the 9/19 (10-day) voyage. My husband and I took the Hollywood in Hawaii and Falls Tour. It was a nice tour, but I expected a little more. I think I still have the map of the locations they stopped at. We just returned home today and I can look to see if I can find the map and scan it for you if you are interested. I did enjoy stopping at the Coca Palms resort which is now closed and you can't tour it unless you are brought by this tour company. I was getting a little car sick at the end of the trip while watching 20 minutes of Elvis in the movie, Blue Hawaii, while we drove back on the bus (not a big fan of his).

We had rented a car the day before this tour and drove ourselves through the Waimea canyon and all around the island. So, we had already seen many stops that were on the Hollywood in Hawaii and Falls Tour. I actually enjoyed Waimea canyon much more than the Hollywood tour, but I did not use NCL tours for this as we drove it on our own.

Let me know if you would like me to scan the tour map.

Thanks!

I would LOVE to see the tour map. I've booked it for second day so it would be helpful to know where they'll take us so we won't overlap when planning our first day on our own, after the airadventure ride. TIA

I'd love a copy of the map if you still have it. Can you post it on here or do you need my email address?

Ot would be great if the map could be posted here!

I will scan the map and try posting it tomorrow. Thanks!

Hi - We just returned from the Carnival Spirit Vancouver to Hawaii. While in Kauai, we did the Hollywood tour. We had done the Waimea Canyon and Fern Grotto tour previously.

Both DH and I LOVED the Hollywood tour. Beautiful beaches, scenic sights, good lunch and a small group. Yes, they do discuss Elvis a LOT!

They are two different experiences. Waimea Canyon is fantastic! Fern Grotto wasn't our favorite tour. The Hollywood tour has to be among our favorites.

Kauai is so beautiful, whatever you do will be memorable - have fun.

DH and I are considering the Fern Grotto & Wailua River cruise while in Kauai in March of 2008. Everything we've seen on the internet and the Travel Channel shows this to be a very beautiful tour. After reading posts here, I am just wondering what the real facts are regarding this tour. Can anyone tell us what was wrong with this particular excusion or what they really liked about it? I've read the previous posts but was hoping to get some other input.

Thank you and have a great weekend!:)

Thank you so much MichellP!!:) That does help. I checked out some of your pictures and will go back to look at the rest of them in a day or two. What I've seen so far in your pictures is absolutely wonderful! Can't wait to get there and see all this for myself!!!!:cool: Thanks again!!

Here is the map for the Hollywood tour...

Thank you jk928 for posting the map. I am having trouble reading it (old eyes I guess). Even when I click on it to make it bigger it is still too small for me. Is there something else I can do to see this map or make it bigger?

I went to NCL's website to see if it gave a description of the sites visited and it did not. We are renting and driving to Waimea Canyon and would love to include some of these stops while we are driving if we can...Any help is appreciated.

I right-clicked and saved it to my computer. Then if you open it in a viewer of your choice, you can zoom in and sortof be able to read the lettering. It's at least good enough to mark the locations on your own map.

Thanks denverval, I'll try that!

The Wailua River cruise and Fern Grotto were ok, pretty scenery, but on a list of 10 places we saw in Hawaii it would be pretty close to the bottom. Like a previous poster said, the grotto was probably very beautiful at one time and maybe it will be again some day. We actually enjoyed the sites we saw on the bus there and back more than the destination. We were disappointed.

We personally have done the Wailua River/Fern Grotto (in 2005 on HAL), and then did Waimea Canyon (through Roberts in 01/08), and Waimea Canyon was one of the best tours we have ever experienced! As far as the Wailua River/Fern Grotto tour, it was one of the worst tours we have ever done, and we have been on 8 cruises, and usually do the ship's tours. Waimea Canyon is some of the most spectacular scenery we have seen, and the tour guide was great! I feel that Wailua River/Fern Grotto is a waste of time, and I would personally try to find a way to only see Waimea Canyon.

We did the Fern Grotto back in the early 90's. It was pretty, we enjoyed the music and dancing. It was laid back and relaxing, but not terribly exciting. I wouldn't choose to do it again.