Kauai has always been on the bucket list, and until last week, was the only Hawaiian island I hadn’t been to. As many of you know, I have family and a small business over on Maui so Hawaii has always been like a second home. For this trip though, I got to play the role of haole tourist, spending three perfect days exploring new territory and finding the best of what Kauai has to offer.
Day 1 started bright and early in San Jose, CA where we caught our direct flight on Alaska Airlines to Lihue. We landed around 9:30am local time giving us plenty of time to explore the South and West parts of the island. Since we were staying on the Poipu side, we figured this would be the best use of our time. We picked up our rental car, grabbed a few snacks at the local Costco and headed out to see Waimea Canyon and Na Pali Coast State Parks. Both are must-sees on the Garden Isle.
Waimea Canyon, aka the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” was much larger than I had imagined. The lookout is around 3,500 ft. elevation and the bottom of the canyon extends all the way to the sea. By comparison the real Grand Canyon is around 5,000 ft. deep. Pictures don’t really do this place justice.
Our next stop after Waimea Canyon was the end of Koke’e Rd, where there is another small overlook. The view here is supposedly legendary, however we never got to see it. When the say it’s the wettest spot on earth, they aren’t kidding and most of our visit here was spent inside of a drizzling cloud. At one point the cover broke just enough to see the bottom of the Kalalau Valley. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed our time here amongst the lush vegetation, and our 18 month old son, who had spent most of his day in the car seat, was more than happy to get out and run around. We stayed for about 45 minutes, hoping for the sun to come out, but it never did.
The view just down the road at the Kalalau Lookout unfortunately wasn’t much better. I guess that how it works sometimes…as soon as you cross one thing off your bucket list (going to Kauai), something else gets added, and now that we’ve had a sneak preview, getting a birdseye view of Kauai’s famous Na Pali coast is definitely on the list for next time!
Freedom!
Our Little Ohana Finally Visits Kauai
Grand Canyon of the Pacific
Simply Stunning
Unofficial State Bird of Hawaii, The Feral Chicken
No ****!
Overlooking Kalalau Valley
Better Luck Next Time
Up next…My first Hawaiian resort experience, exploring the North Shore, and an unexpected adventure up the Wailua River.