Originally Posted by ac/elite

That's not accurate unless you're talking more than 10 years ago or so. Ever since I've been staying at the Kea Lani 1-2 times per year every year, they have never charged for it. The concierge tries sometimes to sell you a canoe ride that also goes off the same beach (and is actually really good too), but that has never been instead of the complimentary one.

I've done the complimentary canoe ride too many times to count, but this past January had the most extraordinary experience when a mother and calf humpback swam directly towards us to investigate and passed about 5 feet off the front of our canoe. Mother rolled to her side with her fluke and half her tail out of the water as they passed. Chris said he had never seen anything like it in all the years he's operated the canoe.

A couple tips regarding the outrigger. If you can't get a reservation during your stay, go down there anyhow at one of the times it departs. They often have no shows and will gladly take you if there's room. The best chance is with the first run of the day, at 7am. This is a good way also to get a second trip during a stay as the concierge will allow only one booking per guest per stay as it is so popular. The guys running the outrigger, though, don't care if you've gone before and will gladly let you on if there's space.

Be sure to tip the guys running the outrigger. The concierges actually used to mention that it was complimentary except for gratuities, but they don't seem to do that any more. I generally tip $10-20. I've seen plenty of people not tip and assume that it was just that they didn't think of it and didn't bring any cash down with them.