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First Time to Kauai Trip Report (Long)
Thanks so much for the trip down memory lane to Kauai. It's been many years and occasionally we think about returning. Your report may speed up that return.
My strongest memory was ALL THE SHADES OF GREEN! that the island offers. WHEW! We were not hikers at the time but we did take a helicopter tour and flew along the NaPali coast and into a dormant volcano. Absolutely spectacular. And the Waimea canyon from air! I would definitely like to hike as you did when we return. I knew nothing about snorkeling then either and we were also at Poipu beach. Thanks for all the new info!
My strongest memory was ALL THE SHADES OF GREEN! that the island offers. WHEW! We were not hikers at the time but we did take a helicopter tour and flew along the NaPali coast and into a dormant volcano. Absolutely spectacular. And the Waimea canyon from air! I would definitely like to hike as you did when we return. I knew nothing about snorkeling then either and we were also at Poipu beach. Thanks for all the new info!
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NoTanLines
- Posts: 112
- Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:41 pm
- Location: McLean, VA
Great report Chicagoans. RickG and I will be on Kauai in April. He has never been and it's been 10 years since my last visit. My parents bought a time share condo in Princeville, so we will be staying with them. We normally would stay in Poipu. It's good to see that the Beach House restaurant is still there. I've had some of my best meals there. I'm hankering for some of Lappert's Kauai Pie ice cream (Kona coffee ice cream swirled with chocolate fudge, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts and vanilla cake crunch).
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Thank you for posting...particularly all the pictures from the hiking.
Kauai has been on MY short list for a while, but I can't get my husband to get excited about it. We are avid hikers (we have hiked just about every marked trail in St. John), so I think your report may help to convince him to go! Of course, with the economy the way it is, we aren't booking anything soon, but if things turn around (and we still have jobs), I am hoping to get Kauai on his list, too.
Of course, we haven't been to STJ since 2007...such problems!
Kauai has been on MY short list for a while, but I can't get my husband to get excited about it. We are avid hikers (we have hiked just about every marked trail in St. John), so I think your report may help to convince him to go! Of course, with the economy the way it is, we aren't booking anything soon, but if things turn around (and we still have jobs), I am hoping to get Kauai on his list, too.
Of course, we haven't been to STJ since 2007...such problems!
Kauai is coming up for me a lot lately. I watched "Lost" last night, much of which is shot on Kauai and there was an article (some might call it a trip report) about Kauai in yesterday's Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/u ... the_beach/
We've started talking about getting back to Virgin Gorda, but it might be time for a trip back to Kauai. The flight is really grueling for me, though.
http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/u ... the_beach/
We've started talking about getting back to Virgin Gorda, but it might be time for a trip back to Kauai. The flight is really grueling for me, though.
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Teddy Salad
- Posts: 205
- Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:05 am
- Location: Colorado
Wow, your trip report really brings back the memories. I have family on Oahu but when we visited we decided to take a week in Kauai too.
We had a great stay at the Kiahuna Plantation...walked over for dinner at Keoki's Paradise two nights in a row for great steaks and fish.
Did a lot of the same things you did, but my favorite thing was exploring the beach and caves and amphitheater at Maha'ulepu. I understand the tunnel we had to crawl thru to get there is blocked off with a grating now. (Because it was a sacred burial site). But the beach is beautiful there. So much history.
We had a great stay at the Kiahuna Plantation...walked over for dinner at Keoki's Paradise two nights in a row for great steaks and fish.
Did a lot of the same things you did, but my favorite thing was exploring the beach and caves and amphitheater at Maha'ulepu. I understand the tunnel we had to crawl thru to get there is blocked off with a grating now. (Because it was a sacred burial site). But the beach is beautiful there. So much history.
Your trip report brought back many happy memories. We have always wanted to go back to Kauai.
In 1970 while we lived on Oahu, we flew with 2 other couples to Kauai-with my husband flying the plane. We were the only ones with small children so we left them with a sitter. We stayed at the Kauai Surf cottages that were on cliffs over the surf. I think there is a Hyatt there now.
The first morning we took the plane we had rented and flew along the coast line around the island and over Niihau. About 3/4 of the way around the island the engine stopped and we glided for about a minute. The plane did not automatically alternate gas usage between the tanks to maintain an even distribution of weight. My husband just switched tanks and restarted the engine. I was frantically looking down for beaches where we could land or ditch. The couple in the middle two seats were blissfully unaware until we got back on the ground because the prop kept turning in the wind.
The rest of the trip went smoothly and we returned in one piece.
My husband's friend and co-worker that was in the back of the plane with his girlfriend, still lives on Oahu and we stay in touch.
While we were on that trip our friend insisted that we go to the north shore for dinner. We drove a long while through sugar cane and finally arrived at a plantation house converted to a restaurant. It was Hanalei plantation and there were only a few cottages there at that time. After dinner and live Hawaiian music, we walked out in the moonlight to a terrace that looked out over Hanalei Bay. There was a strange and beautiful palm tree that was twisted and parallel to the ground. The whole scene was so familiar and I realized that it was the terrace in the movie "South Pacific" where Rosano Brazzi sang "Some Enchanted Evening".
I'm sure the view didn't compare with your photos from your hikes. They were truly spectacular!
In 1970 while we lived on Oahu, we flew with 2 other couples to Kauai-with my husband flying the plane. We were the only ones with small children so we left them with a sitter. We stayed at the Kauai Surf cottages that were on cliffs over the surf. I think there is a Hyatt there now.
The first morning we took the plane we had rented and flew along the coast line around the island and over Niihau. About 3/4 of the way around the island the engine stopped and we glided for about a minute. The plane did not automatically alternate gas usage between the tanks to maintain an even distribution of weight. My husband just switched tanks and restarted the engine. I was frantically looking down for beaches where we could land or ditch. The couple in the middle two seats were blissfully unaware until we got back on the ground because the prop kept turning in the wind.
The rest of the trip went smoothly and we returned in one piece.
My husband's friend and co-worker that was in the back of the plane with his girlfriend, still lives on Oahu and we stay in touch.
While we were on that trip our friend insisted that we go to the north shore for dinner. We drove a long while through sugar cane and finally arrived at a plantation house converted to a restaurant. It was Hanalei plantation and there were only a few cottages there at that time. After dinner and live Hawaiian music, we walked out in the moonlight to a terrace that looked out over Hanalei Bay. There was a strange and beautiful palm tree that was twisted and parallel to the ground. The whole scene was so familiar and I realized that it was the terrace in the movie "South Pacific" where Rosano Brazzi sang "Some Enchanted Evening".
I'm sure the view didn't compare with your photos from your hikes. They were truly spectacular!
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
Somehow I missed this second page of posts. Thanks for your nice comments!
Laura T - the hikes are amazing and we barely scratched the surface! Teddy Salad is right - 10 or more days would be great.
NoTanLines - I hope your trip is great! I think April will be a great time to be in Princeville, when the surf is going down on the North Shore and getting higher in the South. http://www.kauaiexplorer.com/guides/bea ... trends.php
I would love to see the North Shore. Teddy Salad had some great hike info if you and RickG are interested.
Hey Verjoy... I'm very glad you're still around to tell that story! Yikes!
Thanks again all for sharing your thoughts and memories. Kind of brings the trip back for me (as I sit huddled in my office on another cold night...)
Laura T - the hikes are amazing and we barely scratched the surface! Teddy Salad is right - 10 or more days would be great.
NoTanLines - I hope your trip is great! I think April will be a great time to be in Princeville, when the surf is going down on the North Shore and getting higher in the South. http://www.kauaiexplorer.com/guides/bea ... trends.php
I would love to see the North Shore. Teddy Salad had some great hike info if you and RickG are interested.
Hey Verjoy... I'm very glad you're still around to tell that story! Yikes!
Thanks again all for sharing your thoughts and memories. Kind of brings the trip back for me (as I sit huddled in my office on another cold night...)
chicagoans - so.....I finally got around to showing my husband your pictures and trip report - and I think I have him sold! We are now looking into a September trip. It also helped that there are some great deals in Hawaii right now.
Thanks for posting - it helped that a St. John lover also loved Kauai. Of course that means another year without a St. John trip, but we should survive. Thanks again and I will keep you poeted.
Thanks for posting - it helped that a St. John lover also loved Kauai. Of course that means another year without a St. John trip, but we should survive. Thanks again and I will keep you poeted.
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
Laura that's great! It's so beautiful there. This afternoon I'm finally getting around to hanging a few pictures from our trip, and re-hanging a few from our STJ trip. (Naturally, a few hours before company comes and I still have to grocery shop, cook, and clean. But hanging pix is more fun!)
Have fun planning!
Have fun planning!
September is a great time of year to go to Kauai. Both of our trips were in September. The first just worked out that way, but the second one was planned because we liked that time of year there. It's the low season as far as tourism, so numbers are way down, but places don't close like in the Caribbean. Weather was excellent. Enough brief showers to have a lot of rainbows, but no daylong rainouts. The surf is calm on the north shore, so you can snorkel the beaches that can be quite risky (if not impossible) during other months. September is also guava season on Kauai. There are so many crushed guavas on the Kalalau Trail that the the aromas are intoxicating. We love it there.
We found the TA forum to be the most helpful in planning the trips.
We found the TA forum to be the most helpful in planning the trips.
Lex, You have confirmed what I was hoping about September. I had read that July/Aug/Sept were the best (if not only) time for snorkeling. And we really like going places in off season (May and November are our favorite for St. John). September always seems like a good month for vacation - kids are back in school and seems quiet (though we are not brave enough to book St. John in September!).
Chicagoans - your house may look like ours. We have a staircase full of our vacation pictures. Hanging pictures is always the first thing that my husband does when we get back from a vacation!
I just checked airfares to Kauai from Chicago - less than $800. Lowest I have seen since I have been looking. And it is on United, which I like to fly when I can since I have some status with them. Hmmm...may be booking soon. My husband is giving me the look as I type this (you have to understand that we are sitting in the Palm Springs airport as I type this - short trip with the in-laws). Just being in an airport makes me want to book another trip.
Thanks again!
Chicagoans - your house may look like ours. We have a staircase full of our vacation pictures. Hanging pictures is always the first thing that my husband does when we get back from a vacation!
I just checked airfares to Kauai from Chicago - less than $800. Lowest I have seen since I have been looking. And it is on United, which I like to fly when I can since I have some status with them. Hmmm...may be booking soon. My husband is giving me the look as I type this (you have to understand that we are sitting in the Palm Springs airport as I type this - short trip with the in-laws). Just being in an airport makes me want to book another trip.
Thanks again!
Kauai's south shore is generally calm enough to snorkel all year round, so there's always somewhere to go there. But we really love the north shore and wouldn't go to Kauai in those months when the surf likely to be rough in the north. On our last trip we did get to a couple of south shore beaches just to enjoy more of the island, but there's something about Kauai's north shore that has a deep hold on us.