So you’ve decided on Kauai….

The airport is in Lihu’e on the east coast of the island so let’s start there. 

Lihu’e is “the city” on Kauai and where most people work and where you’ll find the mall and major retail stores like Costco.  You probably won’t be staying here unless you're visiting friends who live here. 

On the islands generally the southwest shore is the driest and the northeast shore is the wettest and I found that is especially true here on Kauai.   Let’s head first for the sunny side.

Just south of Lihu’e is the suburb of Nawiliwili, this is where the Harbor Mall is and where the cruise ships dock.  If you can find your way to the Ninini Point Lighthouse just south of the airport.  the view is amazing with the airplanes flying right overhead.  You’ll need a really good map and know that it looks like you are driving on the access road of a private golf course.  We dared it and no one asked us to leave.  Get a copy of The Ready Mapbook of Kauai (we picked one up at the drug store) or The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook (you’ll see these everywhere..including Costco)  Also in this general area is the Menehune Fishpond off of Hulemalu Road.  Legend has it that this fishpond was built in one night by the Menehune and some date it as 1000 years old.

If you head west from Lihu’e on Highway 50 you’ll pass Costco and the little town of Puhi.  Off of Kipu Road there are the Kipu Falls.  The Ultimate Kauai Guide Book shows that you can swing out over the pond on a rope.  It’s a lot of fun and I did it awhile back but on our last trip this whole area was fenced off.  I don’t know what happened but it’s a darn shame we can no longer enjoy it.

Back on the 50, the further you get from town the prettier things get.  Take the 520 south toward Po’ipu.  You’ll drive through the tree tunnel.  These trees were planted almost 100 years ago and used to form a complete tunnel before Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki.  It’s still pretty cool.

A short ways down the road you will come to Koloa town.  There isn’t much here, just one block of shops and restaurants but it is fun little stop.  I never get tired of it.  On our last trip we flew out on Thanksgiving day.  We could not find an open restaurant, we drove all over Kapa’a to Lihu’e and not even a fast food place was open.  We finally found that Pizzette in Koloa was not only open but was offering a full turkey dinner.  We opted to have our turkey dinner in a calzone…fabulous! 

Continuing on south you will find Po’ipu.  This is one of the main places to stay on Kauai, with a lot of hotels and timeshares.  There is lots of sunshine on the southern shore and a lot of beaches, it’s beautiful.  Even is you don’t stay here treat yourself to a ride on Lawa’i Road to the Spouting Horn, a natural ocean blow hole.  It’s a beautiful place to watch the sunset.  Just past the Horn you’ll find the National Tropical Botanical Garden where you can see the trees whose roots sheltered the dinosaur eggs in Jurassic Park.

Back on the 50 heading west you’ll notice things are getting less lush-tropical and more agricultural.  We have seen some huge rainbows on this stretch of road.  You’ll see signs for the Kauai Coffee Company.  Since I don’t drink coffee I passed this place up for years but it is a nice little stop.  I hear that the coffee is great but I really like the gift shop.

At the town of Waimea you’ll want to take the 550 or the 552 north into Waimea Canyon.  This is a must see.   Rivers are rare here because the islands are so young geologically that rivers haven’t had time to form, making this canyon even more impressive.  They call it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. 

If you like to hike this is a great place to do it but it is also

just nice for a drive.  Make sure you bring your camera! 

You might see locals hunting for wild pigs with pick-up

trucks full of dogs.  It seems to be a very popular activity. 

If you see a hunting dog running loose, let him be, he’s

working.

Continuing west there isn’t much.  This is pretty much local’s territory.  The one place worth mentioning is Polihale State Park.  Polihale beach is 17 miles long and popular with the locals.  There are camp sites and facilities but be careful in the ocean, the currents are very strong.

Let’s go back to Lihu’e and head the other way.

As you take the 56 north out of Lihu’e you’ll really start to see Kauai’s tropical beauty.  Highway 583 will take you to Wailua Falls, 173 feet of gorgeous!

Just past the Wailua River you’ll see Highway 580 or Kuamo’o Road.  Take this road to the Opaeka’a Falls.  If you see Paul the basket weaver from Queens plying his craft at the Falls tell him Noodle and Bleu said Hello.  This river was sacred to the ancient Hawaiians and the area is loaded with historical points of interest.  The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook I mentioned earlier is a great resource here.  I have been to some of the heiaus mentioned there and I did find the birthstone where all the kings of Kauai were born.  It is just a few boulders and looks horrible but once I got into “birthing position” on them (yes, I had to try it out) I actually thought this might off been a pretty good place to have a baby ass long as someone caught the kid before he hit the rocks below.  If you take the trail leading above the birthstone you’ll find an old cemetery.  It’s interesting the walk around and it gives you a great view of the river valley.  I have tried to find the boulders where the hawaiians marked the summer and winter solstices and the bellstone on many trips but we always missed the turn-off…maybe next trip.  Once you get to Opaeka’a Falls you’ll also see a Wailua River Lookout on the other side of the road.  From here you can see Kamokila Hawaiian Village below.  You’ll have to judge for yourself if it looks interesting.  I have been more interested in the canoe and kayak tours I’ve seen on the river below.  Continuing up Kuamo’o Road you’ll find one of my favorite places on this island, The Kauai Hindu Monastery. 

Do yourself a favor and make sure you see this gem. 

They only allow visitors on certain days and you need

to get on the guest list.  The reason for this is that they

are in a residential neighborhood and they don’t want

too many cars at any one time.  Check their web site

for the visitation days and get on the list well ahead of

your trip. 

You can continue driving up the road even once it becomes unpaved but be careful, streams actually cross the road and can flow very heavily at times.  I’ve never been brave enough to drive across for fear of getting stuck in a rental car.  You will see lots of trailheads in this area so it’s wonderful if you like to hike.  It is here that you can hike the Secret Tunnel to the North Shore.  The day before we were going to do this hike my son sprained his ankle so it is still on my bucket list.  Let me know if you find it and actually make it all the way through the tunnel.

Once back on the 56 you will continue north into Kapa’a.  This is my favorite place to stay on Kauai because it’s a nice mix of sun and rain, locals and tourist and it is centrally located to access the other areas.  There is a big farmer’s market here on Wednesdays and a large main street with lots of shops and restaurants.  If you go to the farmer’s market try to be there when it opens.  I liked to follow the local chefs around a watch how they select their produce.  Looming above Kapa’a is the Sleeping Giant, a mountain ridge west of the town.  You can get a great view of the giant near the Chevron station.  One of my favorite things to do is to take a walk on the ocean trail that starts behind the 7th Day Adventist Church and ends at Kealia Beach.

Continuing north on the 56 is a beautiful drive.  You’ll see occasional markets and roadside stands.  As you approach Anahola you can see King Kong’s profile.  It’s a mountain west of the road, you can not miss it.  It looks just like King Kong’s head.  At the town of Kilauea you can visit the lighthouse.  We were having dinner here one night at The Lighthouse Bistro when Will Smith walked in.  I guess that celebs are seen here frequently because they love, nearby Priceville’s golf courses.  The Kilauea Bakery is a tasty stop as well as Pau Hana Pizza and there is some interesting shopping.  Past Kilauea you come to Princeville.  This is the other big resort area of the island.  It’s rainier up here so it’s very lush.  You get the impression that if you stuck a popsicle stick in the ground it would take root.  Princeville is out of my price range but it looks fabulous.  Next is my favorite town on Kauai, Hanalei.  I love the way Hanalei Bay feels and I hope to live here some day.  This is where they George Clooney filmed The Descendants.  There isn’t much to Hanalei, pretty much a large tourist mall called Ching Young Village and Hanalei Center is across the street and a few other businesses scattered over two or three blocks.  The rest is pretty much local’s homes.  If you visit please stop at Ching Young and check out the work of Moses Hamilton.  He’s a local man who, though he is a quadriplegic, creates beautiful art.  He works right there in one of the courtyards of the center.  If you visit please give him a kiss on the cheek from Noodle and Bleu.  There is tons of shopping and places to eat here and a nice little natural food store.

Past Hanalei the beauty continues as you follow the coast.  You’ll come to some single lane bridges.  The hawaiians allow all the cars on one side to go and then it’s the other sides turn, so don’t get too aggressive.  Almost at the end of 560 you’ll see Ha’ena Beach Park.  This is a great place to watch some surfing.  You can see the surfers off of famous Tunnels Beach doing their thing, but they are way out there so binoculars would be useful.

If you continue to the end of 560 you’ll come to Ke’e Beach and the trailhead for the Kalalau Trail.  I’ve hiked this trail to Hanakapi’ai Beach twice but have never gone further.  It’s gorgeous but difficult in places.  If the trail is wet it can be hazardous.  Still it is worth the effort to see this beauty.

Activities I recommend on Kauai are……….

1. Water play…all of it.  Snorkel, Scuba, Surfing, Paddle board, Boogie board, Wind Surfing, Kiteboarding etc.  There is no better place than Hawaii to give all of these a try.  It’s easy to find a place to rent gear, get lessons and have some fun.  Just be safe.
   

2. Helicopter Tour!!!!  I know it’s pricey but if you can swing it, it is well worth it.  We used Sunshine Helicopter Tours out of Lihu’e.  We were able to secure the front row seats with a little sweet talking so we had a nice view from the window under our feet.  I loved this!  The wife?..not so much.  She’s afraid of heights.   This is the only way to really see most of Kauai unless you plan on hiking the whole island.  The highlights for me where seeing the Jurassic Park waterfall and the Na Pali coast.  So cool!
   

3. Hiking   If you love to hike, this is you’re island.  The whole place is crawling with trails for every level and there is a lot of the island you just can’t see unless you hike it or fly over it.  When you plan your gear be prepared for wet conditions.  Hike in your swim suit or quick-dry clothing.  Water hikers work well for footwear but know that they will be completely stained by Kauai’s famous red dirt.  I did get ours fairly clean with a soak in Oxy-Clean when we got home.  Be careful as trail conditions can change quickly if it rains.  The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is a great resource for trail information.
   

4. Zip lining!!  This is my new favorite activity
   

5. and Kauai is a fabulous place to do it.  We
   

6. have done two zip-line tours on Kauai. 
   

7. The first was with Princeville Ranch Adventures. 
   

8. This was the coarse that got us hooked on zipping. 
   

9. The nine line coarse ends with the 1200’ long double
   

10. line King Kong where you can hold hands or race
    

11. your partner.  So fun!  The second was Kauai Back
    

12. Country Outfitters.  This coarse was shorter but with more lines.  It zig-zagged back and forth over a stream as it tumbled down hill.  It wasn’t as high as Princeville but it was fun going just over the treetops and the river.  However, checking on-line it looks like they may of been taken over by Outfitters Kauai and the coarse re-worked.  We liked both of them for their differences and had a great time with both companies.  We’ll give Outfitter’s Kauai a try next time.
    

13. Ultra-light flight    Ok it has been a long time since I did this one but only because I can’t talk my wife into it.  I freak’n LOVE it.  The company I used was Birds of Paradise and they flew out of the Port Allen Airport.  Because of cost I opted for the one hour tour but so wished I had taken the longer tour over Waimea Canyon.  It was a beautiful and relaxing way to see the west shore of Kauai.  The highlight for me was when my pilot shut the engine off over the ocean and let us just gracefully spiral on the wind like a bird.  Once the engine was back on we flew over the water low enough to see sea turtles and big smiles on the faces of surfers.  Love Love Love!
    

14. Exploring Drive  One of my favorite things to do on a when the beach isn’t an option is to get a Ready Mapbook of Kauai and just start driving.  We’ve stumbled on beautiful homes, great views and surprising sights.  Don’t forget to tune into the local radio station.  I love Kauai radio, you never know what you will hear.
    

On my To-Try list for my next trip….

1. Kayak tour on the Wailua River
   

2. Kayak or boat tour of the Na Pali Coast
   

3. Hike the Secret Tunnel
   

4. Zipline Outfitter’s Kauai’s course
   

My favorite beaches on Kauai……….

1. Secret Beach…too bad it’s not a secret anymore.
   

2. Ke’e Beach
   

3. Hanakapi’ai Beach
   

4. Shipwreck Beach
   

5. PoliHale
   

6. Larson’s Beach..The locals told us that this is the beach where locals go nude but on the day we were there a storm was coming in, the wind was kicking and the sea was angry so we didn’t stay so I haven’t confirmed this info.
   

My favorite places to eat….

1. Java Kai in Hanalei, great paninis, cinnamon rolls, aloha bars and people watching
   

2. Mermaid’s Cafe in Kapa’a
   

3. Kauai Roasters in Hanalei for fun roasted macadamia nuts.  Great snacks and gifts.
   

4. The Village Snack Shop in Hanalei’s Chin Young Village
   

5. JoJo’s clubhouse in Waimea, really good shave ice
   

6. Da Crack on the 520 in Po’ipu, ono grinds!
   

7. Pizzette in Koloa, good Italian food and gelato!!
   

8. The Lighthouse Bistro in Kilauea, great “date night’ dinner
   

9. Obsession in Waimea
   

10. Toi’s Thai in Eleele
    

11. Bubba Burgers, several locations
    

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES…………

1. Rent a car from Island Cars!  We made this mistake once, ONCE.  Yes we saved a lot of money but we got a car that was missing a side mirror, had a burned out tail light and two bald tires.  It got us around but during that trip we ran into other renters from Island Cars that had much worse horror stories.  It’s not worth it.
   

For more info:  http://www.gohawaii.com/kauai