HAWAII : KAUAI : JULY 2017 : ATTRACTIONS

Kauaʻi

Waimea Canyon : (Waimea) Also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, this is a large canyon on the western side of Kauaʻi. There are two overlooks in Waimea Canyon State Park (and several other places where you can just pull to the side of the road) and if you keep going down highway 550 there are two more overlooks in Kokeʻe State Park. Both parks also have hiking trails.

Koloa Ziplines : (Koloa) One way to get a great view of a place is to go ziplining! (You can see the line in the bottom of the photo above). Parts of Jurassic Park were filmed here. There were eight lines and the last one was half a mile long. Those of us who were more adventurous even got to go down one line upside-down. While there are several places in Hawaii to go ziplining, I can recommend the place we went to as the guides were great!

Na Pali Coast Sunset Boat Tour : (Hanalei) The best way to see the coast is by boat. The two-hour tour included the boat going into a cave. One interesting note is that somewhere up there is the Kokeʻe State Park overlook that we were at the day before, looking down to here.

Wailua Falls : (north of Lihue) These falls were featured in the "Fantasy Island" opening and you can view them from the road. They are near the airport.

Beaches : There are several beaches in Kauaʻi including Hanalei Bay which is a popular spot for surfboarding in the winter and fairly calm in the summer. Unlike some other places, these beaches can get pretty dark on a night were there isn't any moonlight.

Hiking : In addition to Waimea Canyon, there are several hiking options. Scott hiked along the Okolehao Trail and took the photo above.

Interesting towns on Kauaʻi

Hanapepe : On the south side of the island, the historic district has some interesting shops including the Talk Story Bookstore, which bills itself as the Western Most Independent Bookstore, the coffee shop Little Fish Coffee which did not have fish-flavored coffee but did have lavender iced tea, and a swinging bridge.

Hanalei : On the north side of the island this little town has lots of shopping choices ranging from t-shirts to fabulous art at the Halelea Gallery Kauai and many restaurants although in the evening there aren't as many food choices, although the ones that are open, including the Tahini Nui and the Kalypso are both good options.

You can also check out my posts about Maui, Oahu, and places to eat on Hawaii.