Kauai, Hawaii
Can I first say this place is paradise on earth! I think it has remained my #1 destination throughout our travels! We're all about quiet vacations with tons of ecotourism and beach time. We're not seeking the nightlife by any means and Kauai WAS the place for us. So much so that I told my husband while we were there that if the idea crossed his mind to sell all our belongings back on the East coast and move out there I would be willing to live under a blue tarp on the beach! That's quite the statement coming from me who doesn't even like the idea of camping in a tent for a weekend!!! It is just an amazing place. We stayed in Princeville on the North end of the island in a condo on both trips. We used our timeshare's trading powers to book this vacation. We don't like spending a ton of money on one vacation as we like to travel twice a year. Using our timeshare has been the cheapest way I can think of to travel.
So after our 13 hour flight with our 5 month old {which wasn't as bad as I had anticipated}, we arrived at the airport in Lihue. You get off the plane out in the open air...which I must say smells so good! I was so giddy :) We had rented an SUV which is always a must for us. We like to see as much as we can and taxis are way too expensive and not so convenient for our travel style. None of the cities on Kauai is huge or city like...The island was only developped at 27% when we were there which means that there was a ton of vegetation. Trees with leaves as big as the car, waterfalls galore, the best hiking trails, etc... So much to tell you about, I'm tripping over myself trying to get it all out there!!! Where to begin... Further below you'll find a picture of the condos where we stayed on our first trip and then one of the second trip accommodations.
So with our 5 month old daughter I brought a ton of clothes we didn't even take out of the suitcase. I'm one of those people who always thinks "what if I don't want to wear this or that"...yeah well I ended up wearing only half of what I brought. We had a washer and dryer in the unit which made our stay that much better :) We had our stroller and a baby bjorn. We were not equipped at all when it came to going to the beach. We had our towels and that was about it! I've become wiser since then and will show you what I mean in a later post.
So I'll go over the highlights of our trip accompanied by some pictures that should give you the urge to hop on the next plane and make this your final destination.
1- Waimea Canyon AKA The Grand Canyon of the Pacific: What an amazing site!!! This is probably one of the most amazing/beautiful places I've been. We were able to drive to most view points and from there some overlooks were a short walk and others were a little of a hike...but so worth it! We were able to hike a paved path which was quite long I must admit {but the work out was good for me :)}that led to an overlook of the Napali Coast....AMAZING!!! I think you'll see that word a lot in this post because there's simply no other word that comes to mind. You'll be able to see for yourself when you scroll down to the pictures!
2- Anini Beach was our favorite. Little or no waves, it was ideal for me and our little munchkin. The waves you see are hitting the reef that surrounds the beach. Clear and warm waters. It was our beach of choice during both stays in beautiful Kauai.
3- Napali Coast: Only accessible by boat, helicopter or hike this coast is incredible. Nothing I had ever seen in my life and it was breathtaking! We were lucky enough to view this via helicopter on both trips and via catamaran on our second trip. My husband did hike about a quarter of the trail while I stayed on the beach with our daughter. The trail leaves Haena State Park/Beach and is quite the trail. The beach is a little rougher there but still enjoyable with older children.
4- Driving around the island: The drive took us about 4 hours round trip from Princeville to to Polihale beach, which is quite a drive from the main road (unpaved road). It was a nice bumpy drive but the beach is beautiful. Waters are rough but definitely worth the drive.
5- Smith's Luau: This place is gorgeous. Set on a large piece of property their gardens are simply luscious. The whole experience is quite enlightening. They give you time to tour the gardens on your own or on their little trolley. Then you're off to the area where they cook the pig. The ritual and all is a site to see. Then you're off to enjoy a delectable dinner consisting of the said pork and many other meats and fishes along with many delicious side dishes including Poi {which I personally didn't enjoy so much}. Poi is made from the taro plant and a Hawaiin staple food. After entertaining and dining, you head outdoors to witness what I qualify as a spectacular show "Rythm of Aloha". Incredible performers and belly dancers are sure to entertain you. On our first trip the baby slept through it all but on our second trip we had our 10 month old as well as our 2 1/2 year old and it was a little bit of a challenge to keep the youngest entertained through the entire show.
6- The waterfalls are all breathtaking!!!
So here you have it! Kauai in a nutshell with a few pictures as an bonus. I hope you've enjoyed this little piece of heaven. Tune back in tomorrow to see what's in store.
***Here are the condos we stayed in on both trips.
So after our 13 hour flight with our 5 month old {which wasn't as bad as I had anticipated}, we arrived at the airport in Lihue. You get off the plane out in the open air...which I must say smells so good! I was so giddy :) We had rented an SUV which is always a must for us. We like to see as much as we can and taxis are way too expensive and not so convenient for our travel style. None of the cities on Kauai is huge or city like...The island was only developped at 27% when we were there which means that there was a ton of vegetation. Trees with leaves as big as the car, waterfalls galore, the best hiking trails, etc... So much to tell you about, I'm tripping over myself trying to get it all out there!!! Where to begin... Further below you'll find a picture of the condos where we stayed on our first trip and then one of the second trip accommodations.
So with our 5 month old daughter I brought a ton of clothes we didn't even take out of the suitcase. I'm one of those people who always thinks "what if I don't want to wear this or that"...yeah well I ended up wearing only half of what I brought. We had a washer and dryer in the unit which made our stay that much better :) We had our stroller and a baby bjorn. We were not equipped at all when it came to going to the beach. We had our towels and that was about it! I've become wiser since then and will show you what I mean in a later post.
So I'll go over the highlights of our trip accompanied by some pictures that should give you the urge to hop on the next plane and make this your final destination.
1- Waimea Canyon AKA The Grand Canyon of the Pacific: What an amazing site!!! This is probably one of the most amazing/beautiful places I've been. We were able to drive to most view points and from there some overlooks were a short walk and others were a little of a hike...but so worth it! We were able to hike a paved path which was quite long I must admit {but the work out was good for me :)}that led to an overlook of the Napali Coast....AMAZING!!! I think you'll see that word a lot in this post because there's simply no other word that comes to mind. You'll be able to see for yourself when you scroll down to the pictures!
2- Anini Beach was our favorite. Little or no waves, it was ideal for me and our little munchkin. The waves you see are hitting the reef that surrounds the beach. Clear and warm waters. It was our beach of choice during both stays in beautiful Kauai.
3- Napali Coast: Only accessible by boat, helicopter or hike this coast is incredible. Nothing I had ever seen in my life and it was breathtaking! We were lucky enough to view this via helicopter on both trips and via catamaran on our second trip. My husband did hike about a quarter of the trail while I stayed on the beach with our daughter. The trail leaves Haena State Park/Beach and is quite the trail. The beach is a little rougher there but still enjoyable with older children.
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| View from hiking trail |
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| View from Helicopter Tour |
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| View from Catamaran Tour |
4- Driving around the island: The drive took us about 4 hours round trip from Princeville to to Polihale beach, which is quite a drive from the main road (unpaved road). It was a nice bumpy drive but the beach is beautiful. Waters are rough but definitely worth the drive.
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| Polihale Beach |
5- Smith's Luau: This place is gorgeous. Set on a large piece of property their gardens are simply luscious. The whole experience is quite enlightening. They give you time to tour the gardens on your own or on their little trolley. Then you're off to the area where they cook the pig. The ritual and all is a site to see. Then you're off to enjoy a delectable dinner consisting of the said pork and many other meats and fishes along with many delicious side dishes including Poi {which I personally didn't enjoy so much}. Poi is made from the taro plant and a Hawaiin staple food. After entertaining and dining, you head outdoors to witness what I qualify as a spectacular show "Rythm of Aloha". Incredible performers and belly dancers are sure to entertain you. On our first trip the baby slept through it all but on our second trip we had our 10 month old as well as our 2 1/2 year old and it was a little bit of a challenge to keep the youngest entertained through the entire show.
6- The waterfalls are all breathtaking!!!
7- Blowing spout: South end of the island if I remember correctly. What a cool thing!
There is some much more to talk about by I'll leave it at that for now. If any requests come along I will be more than happy to answer them! So we've traveled to this beautiful island twice...in 2006 with our 5 month old and in 2008 with a 10 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. Both trips were different in that the second time we had two children to entertain! :) All in all we were lucky as the flights weren't that bad...proof is that we've been on quite a few vacations since then!
One of the additions we made to our travel pack the second time around were the following:
1- Our beach tent...I would not go anywhere without it anymore! I purchased this item online at One Step Ahead. The best investment we've made in quite some time.
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| Look how great this is folded up! Easy to travel with, even fits in suitcase! |
2- Travel Potty: AWESOME! Is there anything worst than using a public restroom on the plane toilet??? This was a real life saver for me :)
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| Need to go potty on a beach, no restrooms?? Isn't this perfect? |
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| Look how it opens up to sit on a toilet! Is that not beautiful...I know we're talking about a toilet here...nonetheless :) |
So here you have it! Kauai in a nutshell with a few pictures as an bonus. I hope you've enjoyed this little piece of heaven. Tune back in tomorrow to see what's in store.
***Here are the condos we stayed in on both trips.
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| Wyndham Bali Hai Villas, 2006 |
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| Wyndham Ka'eo Kai, 2008 |
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