ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD, NATURE, TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS

EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII

February 14, 2021

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So many favorites come to mind when I think about what motivates our love to explore Kauai, Hawaii. From the moment you step off the plane and smell the fragrant, sweetly scented, humid air to the obvious “aloha spirit” of the people, this destination will not disappoint! So, what are our favorites that keep us returning to this magical island?

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5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII

From our favorite breakfast spot and Luau locations to the experience of deeply inspirational, tranquil moments in the pre-dawn hours on our morning stroll to take in the sunrise, I want to share some of my favorite memories and reasons that we return to this amazing destination. We certainly have our favorite beaches to snorkel and favorite roads to drive! God’s awe inspiring beauty is wonderous here beyond belief on the “Garden Island.”

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The flight from DTW to Honolulu, HI is nine hours and 42 minutes followed by an island hopper to Kauai, typically. When we arrive it is very late at night made even more so by the time change losing five hours making this day of travel very exhausting. We learned on our first trip here that the first few days are spent adjusting our internal clocks. It was normal to wake up at our 7am which was 2 am in Kauai. So sleeping until 5am or 6am in Kauai was a challenge. No worries, the morning activities just started earlier and enjoyment of sharing sunrise and breakfast was optimal!

5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII: BREAKFAST

2011

10 years later…still a favorite breakfast location!

2021

Our favorite breakfast date is at the restaurant Olympic Cafe in Kapaʻa, HI. This restaurant is located upstairs overlooking Kuhio Hwy near the main four corner intersection. It is an open air experience complete with birds flying in and exposure to the refreshing elements.

My favorite item on the menu and what I order each time is the Kalua Pig Burrito. It is Kahlua Pig, scrambled eggs, potato and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla, topped with sour cream, avocado, and tropical salsa. It is so good! The tang from the tropical salsa mixed with a salty cured bite of the ground lava rock roasted kalua pork mellowed out with a creamy touch of sour cream or avocado…so amazing with a fresh cup of Kona Coffee. What a treat!

5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII: MORNING STROLL ALONG OCEAN TO GET COFFEE & WATCH SUNRISE

Our condo is along the Ke Ala Hele Makalae Kapa’a bike path. It starts at Lihi Park in Kapa’a and follows the coast north, ending at Ahihi Point, just past Donkey Beach. This makes the early mornings so enjoyable. Our lanai, or walk out deck area, walks out to the grassy landscaped lawn attached to this path. So, if we are up before the roosters start crowing, we just go for a gorgeous walk down the path to find an early morning coffee shop and a place to settle in for the sunrise! Adjacent to the condo is a bridge connecting the bike path. This is a great perch to observe the island waking up. Local fisherman arrive at their docking slips to load their boats for the days fishing venture and exit the marina under this bridge headed out into the ocean looking for the days fresh catch. It is a magical time of day!

5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII: BEACHS, SNORKELING, EXPLORING

Kauai offers so many choices for amazing snorkeling exploration. Many beaches are protected by coral reef that act as ocean wave action barriers. This not only provides calmer surface water, but also allows underwater habitats for fish and coral banks to thrive. We have many favorite spots we enjoy here.

If we are heading to the North Shore we may venture to Anini Beach, Tunnels Beach, Larsen’s Beach, the south side of Moloa’a Bay on a calm day is paradise, or Hanalei Bay. Heading to the South Shore Po’ipu Beach Park, Gillin’s Beach, or Ha’ula Beach are our favorites for snorkeling and sunbathing! If you like Boogie Boarding while riding waves you have to go to the West Shore! Nothing compare to the fifteen miles of beach at Polihale State Park for vast beaches far removed from other people! All along the west shore around Waimea, the beaches are fabulous for riding waves! The area referred to as Kekaha Beach Park is where we usually land on our way up to where the road ends.

We spent significant time snorkeling at the number seven most famous beach in the world Po’ipu Beach located in the South of the island. Our Condominium was located in the East of the island. Kauai has the most diverse climate of anywhere I’ve ever been. It is desert like conditions in the West with very low rainfall. The North side of the island boasts of being the wettest spot on the earth with record rainfall. The Napali Coastline prevents any road travel all the way around the island.

So when you drive as far as you can one way around the island, you are actually about 17-20 miles away from the end of the road all the way on the other side of the island. A topless jeep is the way to get around on the many cane roads of the island and makes the ride super enjoyable! Hawaii remains one of our fondest places to visit.

If you are up for an adventure and feel like exploring…the falls can be reached now only by excursions down the stream at your own risk…

Kīpū Falls

Kīpū Falls is a waterfall in East Kauaʻi, Hawaii. It’s on the Hule’ia Stream. It has deep pools, rope swings, and ladders. It was a fun adventure to try to follow the rough footpath leading to this location. The rough, well worn path to the falls went through private land, but when I visited in 2002, 2009, and 2012 the owners had graciously let the public enjoy the falls. I have read that Kīpū Falls has adopted a dangerous reputation due to drowning deaths of five people in a five-year span since then, as well as numerous other injuries. Due to the drowning deaths, Grove Farms Company, which owns the land where the falls are located, decided to block off the access land route.

5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII: DRIVE BEFORE DINNER

Exploring this beautiful island is half the fun! Around every corner or turn in the jeep is something new and beautiful to discover. So, we make it a priority to explore as much of the island as we can each trip! The video below highlights the drive to Kauai’s South Shore through the infamous “TUNNEL OF TREES.”

This beautiful canopy of Eucalyptus trees line Maliuhi Road and shades the first mile of highway 520. They create a natural gateway to the towns of Koloa and Poipu. The original 500 trees were planted in 1911 as a gift to the community from Pineapple Baron Walter McBryde.

Armed with The Ultimate Kaua’i Guide Book and a tank full of gasoline in our rental jeep with the top down, we set out to explore the island and enjoy the humid ocean breezes and sunshine beating down warmth on us as we drove.

COOK ISLAND PINES: located inland from Wailua near the East Shore

On our way to dinner one night on a drive off of 581 we found these amazing trees on a stretch of country road. They are a very interesting variety of Pine Trees.

Driving before dinner provided us so many opportunities to enjoy this beautiful island!

The McBryde & Allerton’s National Tropical Botanical Garden

The garden covers an 80-acre area and is situated beside the Lāwaʻi Bay, in a valley transected by the Lāwaʻi Stream.

The rich history surrounding these gardens extends back to Queen Emma of Hawaii. Later the entire valley, including what is now the adjacent McBryde Garden was purchased by the McBryde family in the late 19th century for a sugar plantation. From here the Allerton’s, who had a lifelong passion for garden design, sculpture, and landscape architecture transformed it into what it is today. They designed the landscape master plan and individual gardens, incorporating Hawaiian and new plants they had acquired from other tropical locations, built landscape elements, and sculptures to showcase their designs. It is a truly remarkable, beautiful destination to wander, hear the rich history from a tour guide, and enjoy the beauty.

This picturesque setting has been used in a number of films and TV shows, including South Pacific, Donovan’s Reef, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Starsky and Hutch and Magnum, P.I.

5 FAVORITES TO EXPLORE KAUAI, HAWAII: LUAUS at Smith’s Tropical Paradise

Each trip to Kauai we seem to enjoy one evening with the Smith’s Luau. It is incomparable. The landscaped grounds, beautiful birds, show where they reenact their heritage and history, not to mention the food! All is so wonderful! I highly recommend this experience!

Well, these are some of my favorites about Kauai, HI. We immediately fell in love with this place and have returned multiple times. Each trip we discover new and unexpected discoveries. It is so amazing to have had these experiences. The overwhelming sense of awareness of God’s creation of paradise frequents our thoughts here like no other place we have traveled. Perhaps it is the tranquility of the slower pace of life mixed with the serenity of the pacific aloha spirit everywhere you go? Genuine kindness can be found here from locals especially when they are initially treated with ultimate respect and grace.

We live in a tourist location and understand the constant frustration and patience level necessary to co-exist with tourists. Bearing that in mind when we travel, we are ever conscious of treatment of locals while sharing their slice of paradise in these locations. Something to bear in mind when you are on vacation, always be overly gracious and kind to the locals. While you are on vacation, they are not. Their economy needs your tourism dollars, but their sanity repels your attitude especially when it is not patient or pleasant.

Are you interested in travel to Hawaii? Have you enjoyed some of these amazing places on Kauai before?

About Me

A 1993 graduate of Michigan State University, Barbara earned a BS in Social Science Pre-Law. She is a Business Manager/HR Director. Her passion is travel, discovering new places, experiences, cuisine, cultures while enjoying temperate climates. Barbara is a newly transitioning empty-nester who became a travel blogger. She’s a great photographer, talented writer, and has a great family to highlight in her high school/college athlete football sons.

WEBSITE: www.inspirationaltraveladventures.com

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