Anyone been to Kauai?

[workn2hard2day]

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!

[Delphinus]

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. ). 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. )

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

[Delphinus]

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.

[workn2hard2day]

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?

[Wanderer]

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.

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by workn2hard2day

Did you do any helicopter tours?

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.

Looking forward to fresh fruit and coffee! Did you do any snorkelling?

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.

[Wanderer]

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!









all from said dive

[Delphinus]

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.

[Samw]

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

[Delphinus]

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.