Kauai

Kauai

I first went to Kauai almost twenty five years ago. I don’t remember much from that trip other than the island was lush and green and it seemed to rain at least a couple times every day. This island is truly beautiful with its dense jungles and turquoise beaches. My husband and I decided we want to visit all the Hawaiian islands, so we can make educated choices when we decide to visit that corner of the world again. One tip I’d give for all of Hawaii, book things as early as you can. Activities and restaurants fill up fast, and slots/times are limited.

Something very important to note right off the bat, is the amount of time it takes to get just about anywhere on the island. Kauai is approximately 25 miles long and 33 miles wide; you’d think getting around would be simple. We quickly learned that travel on the island is slow and often cramped with traffic. The roads are single lane, narrow and often times very twisty & turvy. This makes for what seems like a quick trip, much longer and slower than you’d expect. Make sure you give yourself ample time to get anywhere and don’t base the expected time on how many miles you’re driving. This may play an important part in where you decide to stay on the island, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the car.

The north and south sides are the most popular. Here you’ll find most of the resorts, shops and restaurants. This is also where you’ll find a lot of the big and beautiful beaches. The west side of the island is the most beautiful in my opinion but there are no roads there, so to see it, you must hike, sail or view it by helicopter. We ended up staying on the east side of the island solely because that’s where we found a house to rent that we really liked. In hindsight, had we known how long it would take to get everywhere, we probably would have found something on the south end. The east side was fine but the towns there are very small, so you don’t have as many options as the more popular areas of the island.

Hands down, our favorite activity was a doors off helicopter tour of the island. This was incredible. To be honest, I was a little freaked out for the first five minutes after takeoff. The wind has a definite effect on how smooth the ride is, and having the doors off only adds to adventure. Needless to say, it was pretty bumpy at various times but I quickly got used to it and stopped thinking we were going down whenever it got a little rough. I think this is the best way to truly see the entire island. By car, you’re limited to the roads available, and like I said earlier, there are no roads that go through the west side of the island.

In the helicopter you get to see the Napali Coast up close and personal, along with feeling the mist when you get super close to the waterfalls on Mount Waialeale (the wettest place on earth). From the air you also get to experience Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific). It’s not a cheap activity by any means, but if you’re going to splurge/save up for something, that’s the absolute one thing I would do while visiting Kauai.

We spent Christmas day at Hanalei Bay. This is a really popular spot on the north side of the island for body surfing and boogie boarding. My husband grew up on Long Island, so he’s a pro when it comes to body surfing. I on the other hand, mostly enjoy walking out as deep as I can without having to stand on my tiptoes. I never mastered holding my breath underwater without holding my nose, so I pick and choose what I do in the water.

This is definitely a beach to check out if you want to spend a morning or afternoon in the water. It’s a massive beach, so you can find a quiet spot to set up base camp without any problem. There were tons of these beautiful birds hoping around. It’s good to note that if you travel over the holidays, many places (especially restaurants) will be closed. We wanted to grab some lunch after the beach but most places were closed and the few that were open had lines running down the block. It took us over an hour to drive from our house in Kapa’a to Hanalei, even though it’s only 25 miles.

Another scheduled adventure we enjoyed was taking a surfing lesson. This was something we’d both always wanted to try, so we decided to give it a go. I was a little worried, since you now know, I can’t hold my breath underwater unaided. Our instructors were laid back (they looked straight out of Point Break). We were in a class with a bunch of kids. I so wish I had photos and videos of us actually out on the water, but alas, we weren’t accompanied by and friends or family, so we don’t have those.

We were pleasantly surprised that we both got up on our very first try. We both did really well and enjoyed lots of rides on our boards. It took the kids a while to get the hang of it, but by the end of the hour, they were riding the small waves as well. We learned a very valuable lesson about surfing that day…it is EXHAUSTING. I seriously could have fallen asleep sitting on the this bench. This was us directly following our lesson, waiting for a table to have some lunch. Paddling back out to catch a wave works the entire body. We rewarded ourselves with a delicious lunch at the beautiful Keoki’s Paradise. The kale salad was phenomenal, yes, phenomenal.