The ultimate Kauai bucket-list
My family and I spent 6 nights on the island of Kauai, and we luckily got blessed from the Hawaiian Gods with perfect sunny weather. Kauai has a notorious reputation for being the rainy island; however, with much rain comes the most beautiful flowers and luscious greenery, aka why Kauai has been oh-so appropriately nicknamed “The Garden Island.”
From the moment our plane touched down in Lihue’s little airport, I immediately felt as if I had wandered into a new and untouched tropical world-- in fact, I learned nearly 97% of Kauai's land is undeveloped! Not to mention the locals are friendly and tourists don’t seem to over crowd the beaches as much as Maui or Oahu.
This Kauai travel guide has a little bit of something for everyone: whether you are looking for adventure, family-oriented fun, or simply just wanting to relax!
Stay
Luxury | Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
We stopped here on Mother’s day, and holy cow this was jaw-dropping BEAUTIFUL. The spa, the many pools, the hikes, and the beach were Heaven on earth. Not to mention the staff and all the activities were 5 star service at its finest.
Budget Friendly | Beachside VRBO
Imagine opening your sliding back door, walking 30 steps, and being directly on a private beach with crashing waves and no tourists. This place was so amazing that my family and I want to come back and stay here every year. Other benefits of staying at this VRBO located in Kapa'a is the running trails that my dad, Shem, and I all took advantage of, the little adventure coves, free snorkeling + exciting ocean life, and being walking distance to ALL the food, the farmer’s market, the Smith Family Garden Luau, and the Wailua River to kayak.
Click here for more info on our exact VRBO! The owner, Claudia was AMAZING.
Food
Street Burger
Trendy, AMAZING burgers and drinks that ALL the locals rave about. Don’t worry though-- there is much more to this place than the burgers. I of course chose the healthier route and ordered a salad because i’m THAT girl, but it was the best salad of my LIFE.
Eat Healthy
I will admit I go out of my way to find healthy restaurants on vacation, but this just happened to be down the street from our vrbo (I didn't even have to search). Eat healthy is a cute and casual little hut with all the healthy options my heart could desire. I highly recommend this place for smoothies, breakfast, and açaí bowls! The workers are so accommodating with dietary restrictions.
Tiki tacos
This little hole in the wall will surprise you! The ambience is not what you come here for, but the Mexican food will be the best flavor you will eat on all of the island.
Wishing Well Shaved Ice
What is a trip to Hawaii without getting shaved ice?! Wishing Well is located in Princeville and is exactly what we needed after a long day at the beach surfing. Expect the pricing to be $8-$9 per shaved ice, but the servings are HUGE! The signature açaí bowl is in fact hard to beat anywhere on the island.
Local/ Culture | Smith Family Garden Luau + The Lei Collective
Smith Family Garden Luau
One of my favorite traditions when going to a Hawaiian island is attending a Luau because of the food and the dancing! This was by far the best Luau on the island! Make sure you arrive on time, so you can explore the beautiful botanical gardens, which was one of my favorite parts! Everyone was so friendly, the music and buffet dinner was perfect, and the show they do at the end was phenomenal.
For more information on the Smith Family Garden Luau / to book, click here!
The Lei Collective
Happy Mother’s Day! My mom and I spent Mother’s Day at the Grand Hyatt making Hawaiian flower crowns with @theleicollection. Sign up in advance, and check out her instagram. Such a fun way to meet people from all over including a lot of locals. Might have to take this business idea to Arizona! Honestly, this couldn’t have been a more perfect way to celebrate my crafty, flower loving momma, plus we got a souvenir to take home and a perfect accessory for pictures the rest of the trip!
Beach | The Secret Beach
Secret beach: A local recommended this to us! Search for “Secret Beach Trail Head” on Google Maps (otherwise you won’t get there), and be prepared to hike a bit to get there! This is a great spot for surfers with explosive waves (especially rough in January) if you are willing to carry your board down the path, if not bring your boogie board! I will say this is not really a swimming beach, but you can dip in and get cooled off along the shore-- just be careful!
Must Do Adventures | Captain Andy’s Napali Coast Sunset Dinner Boat Tour + Secret Falls Kayak & Hike + Surf
Captain Andy’s Napali Coast Sunset Dinner Boat Tour: My parents booked this tour before we even got our plane tickets. They had been following Captain Andy’s Facebook page for quite some time, and loved seeing the daily videos! We ended up booking the 4 hour Napali Coast Sunset Dinner Tour. This was a perfect way to see the Napali Coastline, and to make everything better we got to see thousands of dolphins (in the winter months I heard the whale watching is incredible) !
Side note: Be sure to pack your dramamine and sea bands it gets pretty wavy!
Wailua Secret Falls Kayak Tour
Shem and I decided we wanted to do a little half day excursion kayaking and hiking to Wailua's Secret Falls. It was about a 2 mile kayak ride there (and back), plus a 2 mile (pretty easy, but MUDDY) hike to the waterfall. We booked this through Outfitters Kauai, which was amazing for our first time; however, if we were to do it again we both decided that we would just rent our own kayak and go without a guide.
Rent a surfboard! (Princeville)
Shem is most definitely the more athletic and way more adventurous one in the relationship. The whole time we were in Kauai he wanted to go either scuba diving and/or try surfing for the first time, so sure enough we found a store to rent a surfboard at, and YEP...you guessed it, Shem was an absolute natural. He said it was a lot like snow boarding, which I also can't do, so I had fun being his cheerleader and taking videos. #proudgirlfriend
Sights | Waimea Canyon + Napali Coast Line
Waimea Canyon: Tip: LEAVE EARLY! Also, I don’t know why I didn’t think of this to begin with, but a local told us to start and the top of the canyon and on the way down hit the different scenic routes that way you avoid traffic and tourists! I would say if you’re at the top by 9am you’ll more than likely miss all the fog that will roll in. We came in 15 minutes after 9am and didn’t luck out.. However, it was still worth it!
Napali Coast line: This is what you see in all the famous movies, and what I instantly thought when I heard the word “Kauai”. Like I mentioned above we saw this view by Captain Andy’s Boat Tour, but you can also see it by helicopter!
Hikes | Sleeping Giant
Sleeping Giant
Sleeping Giant East Trail is a 3.6 mile heavily trafficked moderate hike located near the town Kapa’a. This is a great hike for those that are hikers, but challenging to beginners. If you’re in the area the Sleeping Giant Hike is a great way of sampling some of Kauai’s breathtaking views.
Bucket-list for Next Time:
Helicopter Tour
This came down to a money thing, but hopefully if we get the opportunity to come back we can take advantage of doing one of the many helicopter tours that Kauai has to offer.
Waimea Canyon Hike
Waimea canyon has SO many hikes that we would have loved to do if we planned more accordingly. A lot of the hikes are longer and we were not prepared for that, but I know the views would have been worth it.
Please comment below if you have any other "must do" or "must sees" in Kauai!
xoxo,
Cami
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