North Shore Catamaran Charters

Haleiwa, United States

4.5

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 808-351-9371
Website:
sailingcat.com
Address:
66-105 Haleiwa Rd, Haleiwa, HI, 96712
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Haleiwa) 9:23 AM Monday, June 23, 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Description

Specialties

North Shore Catamaran Charters offers several types of tours that you are sure to enjoy. We offer the best whale watching on Oahu, sunset tours, snorkeling tours (seasonal), and a sun and moon cruise.

Catamaran sailing is one of the most popular activities in Hawaii. Our sailing catamaran provides our visitors with a comfortable, smooth sailing experience. She can also safely pick up some speed and give you the true feeling of sailing, without leaning or being splashed by rough water.

History

Established in 1977.

Captain Don is the full time captain on the Ho’o Nanea. Finding some one who loves their job more than Don just might be impossible! Don came to the North Shore from Huntington Beach, California in 1977 and, as he puts it, «is still on his two week vacation!» This is one guy who does not watch the clock or count the days till his day off. In fact most of the time he seems to be having just as much fun as his guests.

Don is the perfect guide and loves to share his knowledge of the North Shore, the ocean, and what lives in the ocean. During his 30 years in Hawaii Don has been surfing, diving, windsurfing, sailing, fishing, and anything else that seems fun on the ocean. After all these years on the North Shore Don has some great stories and all though they may be a bit exaggerated, they are all mostly true! Captain Don puts his guests first and on these personal tours he really goes the extra mile.

Meet the Business Owner

Don G.

Business Owner

Captain Don is the full time captain on the Ho’o Nanea. Finding some one who loves their job more than Don just might be impossible! Don came to the North Shore from Huntington Beach, California in 1977 and, as he puts it, «is still on his two week vacation!» This is one guy who does not watch the clock or count the days till his day off. In fact most of the time he seems to be having just as much fun as his guests.

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20 reviews of North Shore Catamaran Charters

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Honolulu, HI
The captain and crew of the boat are about the best I’ve come across on the island. We had a gorgeous day out on the water, and when one of the passengers had a medical emergency, the crew handled everything calmly and with great care. I’ve got a new go-​to spot for all my visiting friends and family.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
My boyfriend and I took this tour today. It started off a lil slow and we were worried we would only see them blowing water, but things picked up! We saw 20 – 40 breaches by whales & had two schools of dolphins of 15 – 20 swim along with our boat for at least 10 min at a crack!
It was so exciting! Def worth the $. Bring your camera or go pro so u can video some of it. The crew was laid back. We had Nicole and captain Z. They were really knowledgable but very chill. Asked them all sorts of questions and one of them knew the answer every time. Beautiful trip. Maybe take some Dramamine before and wear a hat & sunscreen. Bring some $$ to tip them after! We only had 20s so we wanted to at least Unilocal about this amazing experience!
Place rating: 5
Long Beach, CA
We had an AMAZING time on our afternoon whale watching cruise! Crew was great: funny, knowledgeable, easygoing, and competent. The whales gave us a fabulous show — we watched them from afar, then got a little closer, then the whales decided to basically hang out around us for about 45 minutes — it was incredible! And the captain put a microphone in the water so we could hear the whale songs — truly awe inspiring. I feel so lucky to have gone on this trip and want to thank North Shore Catamaran for an unforgettable experience!
Place rating: 5
Kailua-Kona, HI
This was my …10th or so trip out on the Sailing Cat and I’ve never been disappointed. As a local, the kama’aina rates and Groupon deals make multiple trips affordable.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
My family and I somehow lucked out and were the only ones on the sunset sail last night. What an experience! Captain Z and Nicole were not only accommodating and knowledgeable, but also funny and extremely charming. It felt more like a sailing trip with friends! Highly, highly recommend – especially if you’ve already «experienced» the sailing tours thru Waikiki – a booze cruise this is thankfully not. Can’t wait to go again on my next visit to the North Shore.
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
My husband and I had an amazing time on the catamaran! The sunset was obviously beautiful, but it was the staff that made it memorable! They were friendly, accommodating and even offered to take pictures of us during sunset! I would definitely sail with them again!
Place rating: 5
Cannon Falls, MN
We went for the sunset cruise!!! We not only had a spectacular sunset we got to see spinner Dolphins!!! Worth the money!!!
Place rating: 5
Mililani, HI
Great sunset sail!
Got a deal, pretty much 2 for 1 on LivingSocial. The first sail we booked was cancelled but we were easily able to rebook. Not too much of an issue for us because we live here.
We were able to rebook for the following weekend. The launch area was pretty easy to find and I was happy to see that there were maybe only 10 other people preparing to board.
You can BYOB, which we did, but they also have a complimentary cooler filled with bottled water and sodas. Nice touch.
The crew was friendly and down-​to-​earth. It felt like a friend was taking you out rather than a tourist kinda feel (a la Waikiki). We had fantastic weather and the 2 hour jaunt was the perfect amount of time. Check ‘em out!
Place rating: 5
Charlotte, NC
Great Whale watching trip! The place was a little hard to find and the website kinda difficult to navigate but aside from that– completely worth the price! Boat and captain were top notch for safety and saw lots of whales including babies while we went on our sunset cruise! Will go with these guys again when I’m on the North Shore!
Place rating: 4
Woodland Hills, CA
We had a great morning out with Captain Pat and Paulina on our chartered trip out of Haleiwa on Saturday the 27th.
For us, they were perfect. Took great care of us with food and drinks, even making sure to have a salad for our gluten-​free guest. Pat and Paulina were relaxed and easy going, providing us with information about the local turtles and even showing us how to open a bottle of beer (we brought for ourselves and they kept it cool) using only a rope!
They customized our sail exactly the way we wanted it to be and were flexible and open, offering us opportunities to snorkel and see sharks if we were interested. Even offered to plug in one of our iPhones to play our music from their speaker system.
Our kids were under 12 and both wore life jackets, no exception. The boat left on time and arrived back on time.
If we’re there during whale season, we will definitely hire them again for a whale tour. They love the ocean and the North Shore and gave our trip a very memorable and happy day out on the water.
Place rating: 1
San Mateo, CA
June 17, 2015
WORST SNORKEL EVER… and we’re snorkeled the best spots all over.
4hour trip… ha…arrived back 30 minutes early.
Deli lunch… ha…half a roll with TWO slices of meat and a pile of lettuce… mayo packets.
Potato salad ran out before the last guest ate.
Went to one spot with cloudy water due to wind… no snorkel instruction even tho ¾ of the guest were first timers… just a verbal «breath normally».
When wer returned to the boat, CAPTAIN PAT WAS ASLEEP in the fetal position inside the cabin… the new snorkelers had had NO supervision from above on the deck. Seconds later, the deck hand Patrick came out of the water leaving all the newbies 40 to 50 feet away along sharp rock cliffs in windy conditions… are you kidding me !!
No restrooms, no cushions to sit on since it’s a beat up, old vessel… oh wait, sleepy Cap Pat had a cushion… no fresh water except for one bottle of water per guest.
No music, no conversation from the crew and best of all, deck hand Patrick forgot his fish identification book at home… what a total joke.
When we returned to Turtle Bay Resort, we asked management to cancel their contract with this company. We requested a refund and were told by the resorts trip guides that the owner, Don, won’t even entertain a refund.
Please, please, please don’t waste your time and money on this very unprofessional excuse of a snorkel adventure.
Place rating: 5
Honolulu, HI
This review is for tonight. We’re driving back to Turtle Bay and feel that this sunset tour was the icing on the cake for our perfect North Shore adventure.
To be honest, this isn’t the nicest newest catamaran that I’ve been on. But for what it lacks in looks, the staff makes up with character.
Our captain James from Seattle was thorough and exuded aloha. I’m so sorry that I can’t remember the other first mate (sorry not sure) from Idaho is like a professional photographer and amazing assistant to James.
Let’s do it again. PS– the sunset is different every night on the North Shore!!! Mahalo for a one of a kind experience.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Awesome crew, great boat, lots of whales.
We saw a family not 5 feet from the boat.
Highly recommend! !!!
Place rating: 1
Novato, CA
I had booked a private charter for my wedding party Friday, February 13th. The weather was very bad during the day so I contacted North Shore Catamaran twice asking if we were were still on or if they would like to cancel. Later in the day there was a small craft advisory, when I asked the captain he told me that was for ‘the other side of the island’. We were held to our booking and it was the wrong thing to do. The conditions were very unsafe, the boat unkept and the vessel broke (the rudder snapped in half and was then duct taped together) and lost it’s steering cutting our trip short. This the boat that you may have seen on national news just the next day is when the vessel nearly capsized throwing several people overboard.
I am a US Coast Guard licensed boat captain and the people on board were seasoned boaters as well, we are not rookies. This company is unprofessional and unsafe —
Place rating: 5
Olympia, WA
Had a blast with our 3 year old twins and the wife even went into labor on their boat. They were amazing! We did give our baby the middle name if Ho’o Nanea! These gentlemen were professional and very informative and we had a great experience. Will definitely come again!
Place rating: 5
Salem, MA
We had a great sail today with Pat & Jethro. The boat only had 14 people onboard so you could see quite well from all angles. Imformative crew, relaxing afternoon & we saw a few whales to boot.
A great day spent on the gorgeous North Shore.
Place rating: 5
Cottonwood, CA
Great laid back boat ride and the boat hand steered us to a wonderful restaurant to finish off the day– the purple parrot at wiamea valley. The best meal we’ve had this entire vacation.
Thanks for the experience
Place rating: 5
Honolulu, HI
Best sunset sail of north shore! Captain Patrick and Blake were awesome and the cataraman was so fun! It was like a carnival ride on water
I would definitely go on another excursion with these guys and recommend others go too!
Place rating: 4
Orange County, CA
This review is for the afternoon snorkel trip.
We were recently staying on the North Shore and wanted to find an activity we could do without having to drive into the city. I found this company on Unilocal and also read about their Groupon special for the afternoon snorkel. Since we had a party of 7 to pay for I was all about the Groupon pricing! Great deal!
The crew was VERY chill and friendly.
We had about 13 people on our trip so there was plenty of room on the boat.
We sat on the net on the way up the coast. It was a fun ride with water spraying thru the net often. Everyone loved getting cooled off as we cruised along the beautiful water!
The snorkel spot was OK… but kind of a let down because it was basically going up to Sharks Cove which is easily accessible to everyone. I was expecting more of a secluded spot and not the same place we drove by many times!
We snorkeled for about an hour and saw many fish and some turtles as well.
I recommend grabbing a noddle when you jump off the boat… it just makes your snorkeling time more enjoyable and less work!
They raised the sail for the ride back and we sailed the entire way with no motor power. That was pretty cool too.
It was a fun trip… not the best snorkeling, but you are in the water along the north shore… what could be better?!
Place rating: 5
Portland, OR
Do you see actual see whales on the tour??? Yes, several times actually and the best part is it’s a surprise every time! Such a big body of water, yet they know the whole hot spots! The staff is also very knowledgable and the boat is quite comfortable. So comfortable you could fall asleep and miss the whale action! This tour is also very affordable, given we bought a groupon for $ 40 a person rather than full price of $ 80 per person. The boat is very open so no matter where you sit you’ll be able to see the whales. I especially liked it when the captain sailed the boat, because it went faster and felt elegant!
Make sure to wear a bathing suit and to bring sunscreen because it will get sunny!