Kauai Backcountry Adventures

Kauai Backcountry Adventures-Eco-Friendly Tubing and Zipline Adventures
Local Expert's Rating:
5.0 / 5
The Bottom Line:

Kauai Backcountry Adventures offers family-friendly excursions that are eco-friendly. Utilizing the 17,000 acres of the Lihue Plantation, these adventures provide privacy and beauty that rivals their competitors.

- The HawaiianIslands.com Local Expert Team

Kauai Backcountry Adventures offers eco-friendly zipline and tubing trips ideal for you and your family. Kauai Backcountry Adventures receives excellent reviews and earned the Trip Advisor 2020 Travelers’ Choice award. The heart of their mission is to provide family-friendly adventures that won’t impact Kauai’s environment. Owner Kelley Carswell Haneberg states, “Our exclusive access ensures careful stewardship of the land, total privacy, and a genuinely unique experience.”

And based upon customer reviews and the trip descriptions, we agree: you will enjoy a unique experience. They offer two adventures:

  • Mountain Tubing Adventure
  • Backcountry Zipline Tour

Mountain Tubing Adventure
This is not the typical tubing trip you’d find in the States or anywhere else in the world. First, you are driven in a four-wheel-drive vehicle through the vast 17,000 acres of the Lihue Plantation to your start. Next, you put on a helmet with a light, grab a tube, and float down the gentle waters of the open canals. The canals were built around 1870 and were used to irrigate the plantation when it was operational. Now, it provides safe, relaxing, and memorable rides young and old alike can enjoy. And why the helmet with the light? You will need them when you float through the five tunnels hand-dug back in 1870. Your guide keeps you safe, entertained, and educated as you pass vistas and spectacular views on this lazy float. At the end of this adventure, the staff serves a delicious lunch with water, and there’s a natural swimming hole to enjoy. This adventure takes about three hours to complete, and you must be at least five years of age to participate. Water-friendly, secured shoes are required, and they do have rentals if you forget. Since you’ll be in the water, wear a swimsuit and clothes you don’t mind getting wet. Please bring a towel and dry clothes to change into after tubing, and they recommend bringing a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray. 

Backcountry Zipline Tour
Climb into one of their four-wheel-drive vehicles and prepare for the ride of a lifetime. As you climb the Kauai mountains to the first zipline, your guide will fill you in on the region’s history while you take in the scenery. When you arrive at the first zipline, the guides will instruct you on the safety measures. Next, you get harnessed, connect to a steel cable, and soar down the mountain. Because Kauai Backcountry Adventures has exclusive use to this massive plantation, you will bask in the serenity and the beauty that is Kauai. 

Seven ziplines descend from the mountain, and the experience lasts about three hours. You must be twelve years or older and be in the 100-250 pound weight range to participate. When your zipline tour is over, you are served snacks and water in a bamboo grove nestled beside a natural swimming hole. 

To enjoy this adventure, you will need to wear long shorts or pants and closed-toe shoes that are secure. If you plan on diving into the water hole, bring your swimsuit and a towel. They also recommend bringing sunscreen and bug repellant since you’ll be in the rainforest and exposed to the tropical sun.

Insider Tip:
While tubing, you will get to see where they filmed Jurassic Park. Kauai Backcountry Adventures offers pictures of your tubing or zipline excursion for a nominal fee.