Anyone been to Kauai?
 

husband and i are going in mid-august for a week. has anyone got any must see & do attractions or anything not worth the cost. thanks!

Kauai is great. Way more laid back than the other islands and considerably less developed (there's only one road outside of the towns and it doesn't even go all the way around the island. :lol:). Where are you staying? The north shore is better in the summer and the south shore better in winter months.

Waimea canyon is worth seeing, they call it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

My wife and her sister did a float down these >100 year old irrigation canals that go through tunnels. They take you up the mountains, put you on these inner tube like things and you float through the rainforest and stuff. They had an absolute blast, I can ask her for the info if you like, the name escapes me (I didn't get to go, SOMEONE had to watch the kids. I'm such a hero. :lol:)

Got small kids? There is the coolest play park in this state park just north of the airport. Two actually, one is a bridge that was designed by kids. It's like a 3d maze you can easily spend hours "crossing the bridge." My kids (2 and 4 at the time) just loved it there.

It's wet, it's one of the heaviest rainfall areas anywhere, this means two things: green and lush like you can't imagine, and not as hot as you might come to expect from the tropics. For us when it would rain it would be a torrential downpour lasting maybe 10-15 minutes and then it'd get sunny again. Think the hottest it ever got was around 24 or 25.

The coffee plantation is good if you like coffee :)

The first thing you're going to ask when you get there is "WHAT is with all these chickens?". I'll just leave it at that.

lol @ chickens, I read about them online already. We are staying in Kaapa (?) east side. I found the link for the plantation tubing, it looks like fun. Did you do any helicopter tours? Looking forward to fresh fruit and coffee! Did you do any snorkelling?

aaah the chickens lol

i remember those things!

the rainforest tour i did was amazing. Waimea canyon was clouded / fogged in when i was there :(



you'll have a blast.

Would have loved to, but, small kids, limited budget, only one week, wanted to do some SCUBA, etc. etc. etc. I hear from those that do those (on other islands too) that it's worthwhile.

The east coast is pretty much the only development there is. The west side is pretty much accessible only by boat or air. If you can get a helicopter ride onto that side I bet it's pretty spectacular.

I find that being able to have guava juice out of milk cartons for breakfast is reason enough to go to Hawaii. Plus you can get these guava juices, passion fruit juices and blends in popcans, I forget the brand name now off hand but they're everywhere in Hawaii and ohhhhhh. Man I'm Jonesing for some now!!

I did do a little snorkeling but not maybe as much as I'd have like to. The surf was HUGE so the only spots we could go were places with shorebreaks or reefs not too far from shore. There was one spot we really enjoyed and kept coming back to and it was just some public beach near where we stayed in Poipu/Koloa. Forget the name now, but it was just off Lawai road. Right across from Prince Kuhio park.

There was also a state beach park near the airport that had a man made shore break that was a popular spot with snorkelers. Didn't go there myself, just to the beach. Truth be told we were so enamored with the spot by Lawai that we never really explored any other spots for snorkeling. Beach time yes of course and other exploring, but not snorkeling.

I'm not sure what it would be like this time of year since I seem to remember being told that the south shore was better in winter months and the north shore better (ie., calmer) in summer months. The north shore is spectacular. There is this very famous beach/bay up there called Hanalei that is sort of the inspiration for Bali Hai and other sort of typical tropical paradise fantasies. If you keep going west from there you will soon find the end of the road in Haena State Park which is a neat spot, beautiful beach plus some good hikes along the shoreline. Plus there are these huge caves up there just on the side of the road. They were actually used to film the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie (haven't seen the movie myself but I saw the trailer and you would recognize those caves instantly if you saw the scene). You can't really go too far into them but you can certainly stand in the entrance of them and it's really neat.

go to Kona, i had a great diving / snorkeling experience there. nothing like doing a basic 70 foot diving with the sounds of whale calls booming through the water!


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all from said dive

Went to Kona this year. We agonized over deciding whether to go back to Kauai or try something new. I loved Kauai when we went and hope to go back one day I have to say that Kona blew me away. I've been to Maui, Kauai and now the Big Island and wow did the Big Island captivate. And the diving/snorkeling off the Kona coast is incredible. Whereas Maui/Kauai had awesome fish and a small amount of coral, Kona has an actual coral reef out there with some amazing colours. I can't wait to go back.

We're booked. I'm planning to check out:

http://www.hawaiigaga.com/kauai/beac...els-beach.aspx
http://www.hawaiigaga.com/kauai/beaches/kee-beach.aspx
http://www.hawaiigaga.com/kauai/beac...ays-beach.aspx
http://www.hawaiigaga.com/kauai/beac...ini-beach.aspx

Ahhhh lucky guy, I'm jealous. We came VERY close to booking something on Kauai on Westjet's last seat sale a couple weeks ago (had a SMOKIN' deal just waiting for a credit card # online) but then made the fatal mistake of looking at our bank account. Never making THAT particular mistake again haha.

I lived on Oahu for three years and visited Kauai for a vacation twice. In my opinion it has the nicest scenery of all of the main islands. It's also the most laid back/ relaxing island to be.

Kauai itself has pretty poor diving, easily the worst of the 4 main islands. If you like diving, see if any dive companies are going to Niihau (a small island near Kauai) while you are there. They go a lot less during the winter due to ocean conditions, however there are periods of calm weather when they do go. It's one of the best places in dive in Hawaii and chances are good you'll see a monk seal.

As for non-diving activities, I really enjoyed doing day hikes along the Na Pali coast. You can find virtually un-occupied beaches, beautiful water falls and streams. I also suggest just driving and stopping wherever you see something that you like. There is pretty much a single road that goes 3/4 of the way around the island (there is no road along the Na Pali coast). Driving from the south end of the Na Pali coast all the way around the island to the north end will take you by the Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Bay and about a thousand other beautiful views.

Two good spots for snorkeling are Poipu and Kee beach park. Kee beach park also has some great hiking trails right beside it. They go along the coast and some eventually fork into the mountains where there are some huge water falls. I went snorkeling in a few other spots and thought Kee beach park was easily the best.

Also, if you like sushi eat poke (red tuna, usually yellow fin or big eye) while you are there. Foodland has really good poke. You can't get anything like it anywhere in Canada, including Vancouver.

Sounds great. I'll snorkel but won't be diving. Are the Deep Sea Fishing trips any good? Sushi sounds great. Which restaurant?

We're going to Kona in March. Got a house rented and working on booking some diving to finish my open water PADI cert. Would love to hear any reccomendations you have for things to do and see.

We did a Hawaiian Islands cruise back in March 2007 and spent 2 days in Kauai. Lot's of nature's beauty to behold for sure. I highly recommend doing the helicopter tour as it is amazing & in my opinion money well spent. (On a sad note just 2 days after we did our tour the helicopter we were on had a mechanical failure and crashed killing 4 of the passengers and our pilot (Helicopter Joe). Tragically the freak accident took a pilot who was a super nice guy which an impeccable safety record along with a pair of honeymooner's & 2 other tourists.) Makes one stop & think for sure - sometimes timing is everything.
Anyway, there has only been that one accident and the tour is a "must do" when visiting the island.
Have fun and take lots of pictures.

These guys hands-down are the best dive shop I've ever dealt with -
http://www.konadivingcompany.com/
or if you're on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kona-...41736009186167
They have one of the best reputations too, consumer choice etc. etc.

You will love the Kona coast for diving.

Couple other suggestions - obviously do as much as you can, head over to Hilo, go up to Volcano Nat'l Park .. About a 3 mile hike from South Pointe is a green sand beach. The beaches in Kona are not bad, but if you really like Beaches with a capital B, drive 45 minutes north to the Kohala coast. You'll go through lava fields and you'll think you're on the moon :lol: but they're worth it. In general a lot of stuff is off the beaten path so you have to explore a little.

Book a snorkel trip or kayak trip to the Captain Cook memorial. Bonus points if you can say the name in Hawaiian (Kealakekua Bay). Not only for the history, but it's a fantastic spot for snorkeling also. Wild dolphins will swim up nearby and you can hear whales too not too far off depending on the time of year.

There's a really neat Botanical Garden near Hilo. The Big Island is a little like other islands in that the west side is the hotter drier side and the east side is the wetter greener side.

If you like coffee .. if you think Kona coffee is good in general, you haven't seen anything yet. They seem to save the REALLY good stuff for themselves and sell off the dregs :lol: Maybe not quite, maybe it's just the "being there makes it taste better" thing, who knows .. either way it's really good. There is a coffee plantation you can check out, on the grounds are some lava tubes you can hike through .. pretty keen stuff. What impressed me most about Kona's coffee is that it's a total cottage industry / co-op. People have coffee trees in their backyards and take the beans to a drop off point for processing. Whereas in Kauai the coffee was a total plantation style industry. Kauai coffee is good too (this tread IS about Kauai :lol:)

The helicopter tour is unbelievable and definetely worth the money. The canyon is great and we loved the hiking on Na Pali coast. If you rent a car you will see just how beautiful the island is everywhere. We went diving on the south coast and saw banded angelfish everywhere and did a shore dive and saw about 5 dragon morays and a monk seal so it was great. Don't expect really nice coral though. If you find an underwater camera somewhere it might be mine. Lost it 3 years ago though. Lol. Had about 500 pics of Kauai and the big island on it.

Thanks for the endorsement, I've all ready been in caontact with them to book my dives. Glad to hear they are a good company.

Great info, thanks Tony. One of the reasons we chose to go to the Big Island was to see the volcanos. We may do a helicopter trip over it too. Coffee plantation was also on our list for early in the trip to stock up for the week. Will have to check out the Cook site. :thumb:

The whole reason we went to the Big Island was to see the volcano. In constant state of eruption since 1983 .... and stopped 6 weeks prior to our trip. Awesome. (My life is kind of like that.) There were all kinds of presentations about what a fascinating geological and significant event this was, but the end result was "there is no lava right now." Naturally, it started up again a couple months later.

Wish I could go back to see. Hopefully one day soon. :(

No worries, I'll get it going again if it should stop. I went to se Mt St Helens a few years back and shortly afterward it started to become active again pushing up magma. :lol:

If you like hiking, the Kalalau trail in the NaPali state park is world class. It's like the land that time forgot and is very close to where they filmed Jurassic Park. You can go all the way in a day if you push but it's a tough go in places with some dramatic exposure (you are hiking along the cliff face). At the end of the trail is the most beautiful beach with only a few people on it ( mostly nude hippies). Dangerous undertow in the surf though so not much of a swimming spot.

Easily one of the best hikes I've done anywhere in the world

The helicopter tour is highly recommended as well

Enjoy