Hawaii Ziplining with Nathan (& Tips for Your Zip)

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,
My friend, Nathan went zippin’ Tuesday.
Plenty of adventure and smilin’ that day,
Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye.

With fear and some reluctance, my friend Nathan Kam flew over to Maui from his Oahu home to experience ziplining for the first time. I followed his day of adventure via his twitter account. Nathan didn’t just try one zipline course, he tried Skyline Eco Adventures’ two  courses (Kaanapali and Haleakala) in the same day. That was thirteen zips in one day! Way to kick your fear’s butt, Nathan!

Nathan posted a video of his experiences which I thought gives you a great idea of what ziplining is like. Check it out! (Email subscribers, please click here to access the video.)

I had my own zipline experience on Kauai that I too feared, but found to be absolutely exhilarating. I felt like a kid, with a daredevil alter ego.

If you meet the age and physical requirements, I highly recommend you give Hawaii’s ziplines a try. Here are some ziplining tips:

  • You’ll find ziplines on the islands of Kauai, Maui and later this month (November 2009), the Big Island will have its first zipline.
  • Each zipline company has different age and weight requirements. For example, when I took the Princeville Ranch Zip n’ Dip tour, there requirements were that you must weigh between 80 and 280 pounds and be age 12 or older.
  • You need to be in average or better physical condition to zip.  You can’t zip if you’ve had recent injuries or surgeries.  Expectant mothers shouldn’t  zip either.
  • You probably shouldn’t have an extreme fear of heights.
  • You should wear sunscreen and mosquito repellant.
  • Bring water, 16-oz per person is recommended.
  • You should wear shorts that are mid-thigh length or longer.
  • Since you’ll need to run on to the ramps at the end of each zipline, you should wear sneakers or something similar.
  • Bring a hat
  • If you have long hair, bring something to tie your hair back.
  • Bring a small backpack to store your water, wallet, cameras, etc when you zip.
  • Be prepared for the possibility of rain. Tours will operate rain or shine. Actually, we experienced rain on our tour. We were wearing quick drying clothes.
  • Have fun with it. Give your lungs a workout as you zip across these isolate ravines. Andy and I enjoyed practicing our Tarzan yells.

Have you ziplined in Hawaii? How was your experience? What additional advice would you like to pass along?

11 comments
  1. Aloha Sheila! Mahalo for including me on your blog today. I’m always humbled when great bloggers like you share the Aloha like this. Needless to say, I’m now somewhat addicted to ziplines and can’t wait to try out some of the other ones in Hawaii! Have a great Aloha Friday and here’s to others overcomming their fear of heights with “zipline therapy” too! 😉

  2. Ziplining is definitely on my bucket list, though I hope to do it sooner rather than later. I can’t think of a more beautiful place to do it than Hawaii. That looks like a ton of fun.

  3. I zip lined in Kauai, Hawaii. The only reason I did was because they promised a true tree top zipline tour. I can’t remember how high I was but it didn’t matter because they had a great obstacle set up. At least 5 runs, each with different views. I’d recommend it anytime!

  4. Sounds like lots of fun. I’m hoping to make it to Hawaii in November to celebrate my 40th BD! Does the Big Island offer tandem skydiving?

  5. Hello,
    What would you say are the best ziplines and best zipline companies between Maui and Kauai?
    Mahalo!

    1. I wish that we had the nerve to test them all out, but we’re a little too chicken for that. 🙂 We were one and done zip liners after surviving our first zip and dip in Kauai with Princeville Ranch. So, our advice would be to look over the TripAdvisor reviews for each island:
      Maui Zipline TripAdvisor
      Kauai Zipline TripAdvisor
      I’m sure you can’t go wrong with your choice. Have fun!

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