The Garden Isle - Kauai, Hawaii
Aloha! Hawaii is a magical place and if you ever have the chance to go, GO. Out of eight islands, Kauai is my favorite for it’s lushious tropical foliage and outdoor activities where you can really connect with nature and experience true Hawaiian culture.
I keep getting lot of questions about Kauai, so I thought I’d share my guide of the Garden Isle! Below you will find useful information for planning your next trip.
When you are planning your trip, you will discover it is Kauai is broken into two sections, a North side which is comprised of Hanalei, Princeville, and a south side, Poipu. On this trip, we spent 5 days on the North side and 5 days on the South side. It typically rains more on the northside, but we had barely any rain when we visited!
WHERE TO STAY:
ST. REGIS PRINCEVILLE (North side)
We splurged and reserved a Monarch Terrace Suite for our five night stay, which was absolutely incredible. This is a great place to stay for a special trip like a birthday, honeymoon or anniversary.
Lobby of the St. Regis Princeville.
KO’A KEA HOTEL AND RESORT (South side)
View and balcony from our room.
WHERE TO EAT:
HIDEAWAYS PIZZA PUB
The Hawaiian pizza was soooooo good! We got it two nights and had it in our beautiful room at the St. Regis. You could even just pick one up and head to the beach.
MAKANA TERRACE
This restaurant is in St. Regis. The food is amazing and the views are insane!
RED SALT
In the Ko'a Kea Resort and Hotel. Get the cotton candy for dessert!!
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO:
RENT A JEEP
We rented a 4 door hard top jeep from Avis for our time in Hawaii and are so glad we did. It was fun being able to take the top off and enjoy the warm air.
DO the Niihau and Super Napali Super Tour. This was our favorite part of the trip.
It was great to see the Na Pali Coast from the water.
And you might even see playful dolphins swimming alongside the boat.
Keyhole Rock off the Na Pali Coast.
HANAKAPIAI WATERFALL TRAIL
The hike along the Napali coast is a bucket list hike!
Part of what makes this hike exciting is the number of river crossings.
The flash flooding of the rivers and tides make this a very dangerous hike. Be sure to check weather conditions and speak with a ranger at the trailhead.
This is a super lush and beautiful tropical forest hike.
Since we left the trailhead really early, like 6:30am, we had the waterfall all to ourselves.
WATCH THE SUNRISE
We woke up early, jumped in the car, and found a place off the side of the road to watch the sunrise.
PRINCEVILLE RANCH HORSEBACK RIDING
Oreo was my horse, he really enjoyed “off-roading”, which gave me the pleasure of getting up close and personal with the surprisingly soft flora of Hawaii.
WAIMEA CANYON STATE PARK
The canyon is large, aka the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, was a great place to hike around and explore this red soil paradise.
You would never also said to be one of the wettest place on earth, but you would never know.
Dark roast, french roast, medium roast, you name it, they’ve got it, and you can even taste them!
It was a blast meandering the fields fulls of coffee beans.
Hawaii is a magical place and there is SO much to do. I can’t wait to get back. Do you have a favorite Hawaiian Island?
PROTIPS:
Don’t go leave fruit in the trunk for very long - you’ll attract roaches.
Hike early and let someone know where you are going.
