Get Your Kayak Rental for Chinaman’s Hat

Looking for a kayak rental to get to Chinaman’s Hat? Our shop in Kailua is a short 35-minute hop to Chinaman’s Hat at Kualoa Regional Park. We provide special foam pads and straps for you to transport the kayaks on your vehicle so you can have an awesome time kayaking to Mokolii. Experience the beauty of Oahu’s windward coast and one of its signature islets, Mokoli’i, also known as Chinaman’s Hat, from the water, and from off-shore.

Experience this Windward Oahu kayaking adventure with us! We make the whole experience a breeze with our kayak rentals and beach gear services.

This post covers where to kayak, the rental experience for Chinaman’s Hat, and most importantly how awesome an adventure kayaking to Chinaman’s Hat is.

If you want to skip all that, Here are the key items you need to know about getting your kayak rental near Chinaman’s Hat:

Location: Meet us at our Kailua storefront: 134B Hamakua Dr., Kailua, HI, 96734. We provide pads and straps for you to safely transport the kayaks. All of the info is also in the confirmation email.
Experience: Great adventure. Awesome views. Fun combo activity of kayaking and hiking. Allow for 4 hours for the full experience you may want more time if you plan to hang out and have a picnic.
4-hour kayak rentals: Rent one kayak starting at $69 per kayak
All-day kayak rentals: Rent one kayak for $96 per kayak
Warnings: This is an ocean and hiking activity. Weather and ocean conditions can vary and change quickly. We suggest this experience for intermediate/advanced paddlers, active healthy adults, or children over 12. The hike to the top is dangerous and involves bouldering. The hike to the top is for advanced hikers/climbers. We suggest hiking around the circumference of Mokolii or going part of the way up to get a better view of the coastline.

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We provide kayak rentals for Chinaman’s Hat next to Kualoa Regional Park. Other great kayaking locations include Kailua Bay, Mokulua Islands, Kahana Bay and up the river, Kaneohe Bay and Kawela Bay. All of these locations are great for paddling year-round. Just come on over to our shop or make a reservation beforehand.

Kayak Rental Near Chinaman’s Hat

We meet you at our shop at 134B Hamakua Dr., Kailua, Oahu, and get you setup with your gear. It’s just a short 30 minutes from Waikiki and 35 minutes from Kualoa Regional Park (the parking area to kayak to Mokolii, Chinaman’s Hat). From there you drive to Kualoa Regional Park. It’s a large park with plenty of parking but the lot can get busy on holidays, summer days, and weekends. You’ll probably want to park near the bathrooms for convenience. It’s also the shortest path to the shoreline from one of the many parking lots in Kualoa Regional Park.

All of this information will be included in the confirmation email as well as Google Maps links to help guide you to the exact locations.

Renting Kayaks and Beach Gear From Active Oahu

We make kayaking adventures a breeze for you and your group. You’ll get all the gear you need: kayaks, seatbacks, paddles, dry bags, life vests, and more. Once you schedule your reservation, we’ll meet you at our shop so you can get the equipment and then you can drop it off with us when you are done.

Our gear

All of our kayaks are tandem kayaks but can be used as singles easily. All tandem kayaks have a center seat that can either be used when there’s just one person in the kayak or you have a small child that will not be paddling. If you are over 250lbs you will want your own kayak so that you can be more stable and safe while you paddle.

How Our Ocean Kayak Rentals Work

We meet you at our Kailua Storefront.
Pull into the shop and park in one of the covered awning bays
We’ll instruct you on how to safely transport the kayak on your vehicle with foam pads and straps
All participating guests are required to sign a waiver.
Our staff will go over the route of ocean/hiking safety and provide you with a map with extra info.
Feel free to ask questions or ask for extra instruction.
Head out and have an adventure!
Come back at the scheduled time and we will receive the equipment at the shop.

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Read more below or check out our Oahu rental services and our Oahu tandem kayak rentals

Kayak and Hike Chinamana’s Hat

Experience one of Oahu’s best adventures. Recently this experience has been getting more popular and for good reason. You’ve got a combination of world-class kayaking that’s not hard (but not always easy) a tropical island in the middle of a bay, and epic views everywhere you look. They only get better if you hike higher on Mokoli’i (Chinaman’s Hat).

Here are a couple more reasons why kayaking to Chianaman’s Hat is amazing

Kayaking to Chinaman’s hat is accessible. It’s only 35 minutes from our shop and we get you everything you need to get the kayak there safely.
Kayaking and Hiking Chinaman’s hat is challenging (but not too challenging). Only about a 20-minute paddle to get to Mokolii Island and a 4-hour round trip total for a full kayaking and hiking experience (including the drive to and from the shop).
The views from Chianamn’s Hat are epic. It’s no wonder that so many movies are filmed along this coastline. It’s amazing! You’ve just got to experience it for yourself.

Kayaking to Chinaman’s Hat

Chinaman’s hat is at the edge of Kaneohe Bay and benefits from shallow water, a reef, and generally calm conditions. The water is only about 10-12 feet in the deeper spots and generally about 5-7ft deep. When you start paddling out the water is only a few feet deep. It’s a good idea to wear your athletic shoes on the kayak or wear water socks to avoid cutting your feet on the reef.

When kayaking to Mokoli’i:

Always try to paddle perpendicular to waves (if there are any). You’ll be more stable and paddle easier this way. Avoid capsizing by heading into or away from waves. not parallel to them.
Try to do most of your paddling in deeper water. You will be fighting small waves and currents in the shallow water close to shore and eventually end up on shore earlier than you’d like. Paddle in deeper water for an easier experience.
Be conscious of the wind and weather. Weather can change quickly by the ocean so be mindful of your surroundings, wind, and waves. Head to shore as safely as possible if conditions are too rough.
Avoid rough water on the backside of Chinaman’s Hat. The backside of Chinaman’s hat has a deep dropoff and dangerous currents. Stay between the island and the regional park to stay safe.

Disclaimer
Ocean kayaking Chinaman’s hat can be dangerous. especially if you try to circumnavigate it. Never have the island between you and the shoreline. Under normal conditions, the wind, waves, and currents all push toward shore; make sure you are getting pushed to shore and not into the cliffs of Mokolii. The channel beyond the far side of Mokolii Island on the north end of Kaneohe Bay has an outlet between the barrier reef that can be dangerous. Consequently, you might end up in Tahiti or something if you take it all the way to the open ocean. Stay between the islet and the coastline and you will be fine.

Also, do not drink alcohol and kayak. Bodies of water and alcohol are not a good combo.

Hiking Chinaman’s Hat

There are 2 options when it comes to hiking Chinaman’s hat:

Go around the circumference of Mokolii – We suggest this route
Hike up higher to get a better view and all the way to the top if you are experienced. The hike to the top of Mokolii is dangerous. Choose that route at your own risk.

Hiking up Mokolii

Hiking up the islet is dangerous. So, be responsible, watch your footing, hold on tight, and be safe. We have you sign a liability waiver before using any of our equipment.

Once there you’ll land on a sandy inlet and get ready to check out the offshore islet. There are trails around the circumference as well as several paths that head straight to the top.

Hiking around Mokolii

Hiking around Chinaman’s hat is much easier than going straight to the top, but each has plenty of rocks and will require you to put on some athletic shoes.

The backside of Mokolii has some tide pools and a nice mini inlet where you can sometimes land your kayak, but only on super calm glassy days.

The trail up to the top of Mokolii is steep, but not too long, rocky, and sometimes slippery but plenty doable if you are looking for great views of the windward coast. Although, you don’t have to hike all the way to the top to get great views from Chinaman’s Hat.

Disclaimer
Beware of all hikes in Hawaii. The rocks are known to give away and make climbing and hiking dangerous. The trails on Mokolii are not official and not maintained. Hike at your own risk.

Views from the Top of Mokolii

Finally, after a tricky bit of climbing, you can get to the top of Chinaman’s hat with a panoramic view of the East side of Oahu (Windward Oahu). You might recognize the mountains from Jurassic Park or some other epic movie backdrop. Also, don’t forget the amazing breeze you feel on top. After sweating to hike all the way up, it’s refreshing to step up to the top and feel that nice cool air wash over you. Totally worth it. Here are some pictures of the view at the top of Mokolii:

Kayak back to shore at Kualoa Regional Park

Now that you know you can get your kayak rental near Chinaman’s Hat, experience it for yourself! It’s a trip you can do over and over and never always experience something new. Views that awe, experiences that inspire. It doesn’t get much better than this. We’ve got the best Chinaman’s Hat Kayak Rentals around, so give us a call at (808)498-1894 or book online and have an adventure!