I have been on it twice within the last two years. Its a nice, relaxing boat trip listening to music and hawaiian legend. Its disapointing not to be able to walk into the fern grotto itself anymore but i still enjoy this tour. Beautiful walk through the rainforest. It was hot and humid at the grotto the first time, second... more

This was really bad. Photos and publicity are pre-hurricane of many years ago. Only if you come from the desert or have never seen a fern (though if you're on Kauai you can see them all over) is this worth even a heavily discounted ticket. We figure it was God's way of telling us that we had 2 hours and... more

The trip was okay. There was singing and dancing going up and info about the river coming back. Our boat was mostly full of Japanese tourists, so about 70% of the tour was in Japanese (the lady translating was way more long-winded than the captain). The Fern Grotto itself was okay - got a few good pictures. Unfortunately, since about... more

If you're younger than 40, you will feel out of place and completely bored. The boat was full of elderly tour groups. The story was nice, but slow. Definitely not worth the price. Rent a kayak and find better things to see. more

This was our 4th trip to the Grotto. Each time we bring new family members who are seeing it for the first time. We were told of heavy rainfall which washed out some of the ferns and caused rock slides. In January, 2005, we were allowed to walk into the grotto and under the ferns. We sat and listened to... more

It wasn't a great experience for me. The boat was full( can you say buses?) and frail ladies were trying to snap pictures of everything. The best part of the trip is the river itself and its story. I did not find the hula show corny, but if you're not sited in the center you won't see much anyway. The... more

Our family had so much fun riding up the River on the Smith boats. You board and sit on long benches, it is open air. There's music and singing and hula and they tell the story of the grotto on the way. The ferns and gardens are spectacular. We felt we were in a tropical paradise being serenaded by live... more

Fern Grotto is cheesy, corny, hokey, you really feel conned. The Fern Grotto is pathetic. The singers look miserable. I could hear them thinking "take their money and run." If I hadn't been amused that it was so corny, I would have rated this terrible. more

We were driving around the island (may 2008) and thought we would stop here. I went up to the check-in counter, no-one was in line, so I went to the window and asked the clerk if there was still time to make the 1:30 boat..(it was about 1:22) In a really snotty voice she said "i'm helping HER right now"... more