My wife Megan and I just returned from a 6 day adventure to Kauai, Hawaii. It was incredible. There was so much to see, eat, and do that it was physically impossible to experience the full scope of what the island has to offer during our short visit. In an effort to remind myself of our stay, I thought it’d be a fun exercise to try and stack rank a few of the adventures we shared while exploring the garden island. It turned out to be harder than I thought 🙈!
The Garden Island
Kauai, Hawaii is the oldest of the main Hawaiian island chain: around 5 Million years old 🤯. It’s also one of the smallest islands coming in at 33 miles wide and 25 miles long. Unlike some of Kauai’s larger neighbors, there are no active volcanos. Mt Waiʻaleʻale poured its final drop of molten lava around 500,000 years ago. The garden island gets its name from the incredibly lush rainforests while also boasting rugged canyons and mountainous north shores.
The Geography
Prior to the trip, Megan and I scouted out the island and came up with a loose game plan to help us efficiently explore (must be the Industrial Engineers in us 😂). We quickly discovered that it was a sound strategy to split the island into 4 quadrants: north, sourth, east, and west. One thing to note is that due to the rugged landscape, roads do not connect the west and north sides of the island. This, paired with the fact that the main highway system runs parallel to the coast, means that if you want to travel from west to north, you’ve got a hell of a drive ahead. Speaking of driving, one thing I’d strongly recommend is renting a vehicle for your trip. Without a vehicle, exploring the island activities and food scene would have been challenging.
The Resort
Although Kauai has a solid vacation rental scene, we opted for the slightly more expensive resort route. Staying at a resort meant that we were right on the beach and had access to resort amenaties like a pool, hot tub, restaurant, and a clean room to come home to. We stayed at Ko’a Kea Resort on the south side of the island in Poipu. When we return to Kauai, we might look into doing an Airbnb but we loved our stay at Ko’a Kea.
Our Favorite Adventures
Although it’s impossible to narrow it down, below are my favorite two adventures that we did. Since Megan and I love trying new food and restuarants on trips, I kept all mention of food in Part Two (coming soon…) of this blog series. Let’s get on with the adventures.
Helicopter Ride
Every blog, YouTube video, and conversation about Hawaii mentioned a helicopter ride. To be honest, I was a little skeptical. I debated the price tag. How could it be worth the money? Helicopter rides run a beefy price tag of around $400-$450 per seat. I humbly admit that I could not have been more wrong. It was worth every penny. We booked our helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian as we wanted a trust worthly, “door on” experience. “Door on??” you might ask. Yes, you read that correctly. For the more adventurous and daring, you can opt for a helicopter ride with no doors. Our tour left from the Lihue airport located on the East side of the island.
The tour took us up the west coast, first over the port Hawaii where cruise ships make their home. From there we ascended on old sugar cane fields owned by the Robinson family, a prominent land and island owning family. As we looked to our left, Niihau, also known as the Forbidden Island, could be seen in the distance. This island was purchased by the Robinson family in 1864 for 10,000 gold and a grand piano. In today’s dollars, that’s only $300,000; not a bad deal for an island. Another interesting fact about the island, is that only natives are allowed: no tourists (hence the name forbidden).
From there, we headed towards Waimea Canyon. At this point, my jaw dropped and remained dropped for the duration of the flight. The advantage of a helicopter is that you get an up close and personal view flying through the canyon. Waterfalls, lush green, and bright red iron soil engulfed the aircraft.
I questioned how it could get better than this. At that moment we headed out of the Canyon and in the direction of the infamous Napali Coast. It was humbling, inspiring, and breathtaking. Something about a landscape being formed and molded over millions of years puts your own existence into perspective.
From here, we headed back to the airport. The ride was about 50 minutes total. If you get a chance to visit Kauai, do not leave this adventure off of your list.
Napali Coast Boat Ride
After seeing the Napali Coast from the air, we opted for a closer look at the coast line via a boat ride and snorkling adventure. There are a few great companies to choose from, but we ended up hanging out with Captain J’s. The trip started with an early sighting of a pod of more than 20 bottlenose dolphins. The Captain said this was rare to see so many feeding at the same time so we were grateful to have stumbled upon them. While we ventured on, we made our way up west side of Kauai towards the Napali coastline. We were quickly greeted by impressive cave formations.
The coastline is hard to put into words without seeing it yourself. It’s a 17 mile stretch of volcanic rocks, stunning cliffs, and lush greenery. It’s inaccesible by road, however, but can be accessed by the Kalalau Trail. Sadly, due to weather, we weren’t able to do this trail. The river was too high due to higher than normal rainfall during our stay. The boat ride allowed us to get a different, less exhausting view.
On our way to the snorkling spot, we had another encounter with wildlife. This time, we spotted a group of humpback whales. The whales were showing their tails and fins, most likely in an attempt to impress the larger female of the group. It was a magical moment seeing these large creatures. We finally made our way to our snorkling spot. Although Hawaii isn’t known for coral reefs, the rock formations were filled with bright colored fish including a red spotted octopus that Megan spotted in the water.
Honorable Mentions
Okay, I lied. I wasn’t able to narrow it down to just two of my favorites. Here are a few other items that you shouldn’t miss!
- A walk on Poipu Beach
- Exploring Waimea Canyons
- Visiting Wailua Falls
- Resting at the Hanalei Valley Lookout
- Swimming at Hanalei Beach
- Watching surfers at Ha’ena Beach
- Exploring Tunnels Beach
- The Kilauea Lighthouse
- A visit to Spouting Horn
- Relaxing by the pool / hot tub
Until next time Hawaii! Mahalo! 🤙