Traveling to Kauai? Girl, yes. GO *clap* TO *clap* KAUAI *clap*! I can’t recommend Kauai enough, it’s such an incredible, majestic place. And I don’t toss the word ‘majestic’ around, for the record. Kauai reminds me of the enchanted forests that you read stories about as a kid.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me throw adjectives around. (I mean… let me know if you did and I can come up with some more.)
Most likely, if you’re here, you’re already planning to go to Kauai and you’re just trying to figure out where to stay and what to do.
Where to Stay in Kauai
The island of Kauai is relatively small; less than 35 miles in diameter at its widest point and closer to 25 miles in diameter at its smallest point. Because of this, you can stay virtually anywhere and still easily see the entirety of the island. There are some beautiful places to stay on the island ranging from inexpensive rentals to higher-end hotels.
We chose to stay on Poipu beach, which is arguably one of the most beautiful beaches that I’ve ever seen. (Here I go with the adjectives again…) None of the pictures below are filtered – so you can see for yourself!
The pictures don’t do it justice (the never do) but the lava rock against the bright blue waters of the Pacific ocean were truly stunning. We were also fortunate enough to see a sea turtle, and of course a rooster (they’re more populous than people on the island, pretty sure) on Poipu beach.
What to Do in Kauai
We left for Kauai with full intentions of laying on the beach for a week. We had no intentions of doing anything but relaxing.
But… that’s not who we are and we couldn’t help ourselves. As soon as we landed in the small airport in Lihue, we saw pamphlets for activities and wound up booking 1-2 activities for every single day. We didn’t lay on the beach even once and we have no regrets about that.
Kauai, despite its small size, is packed with options and activities. One of the great things about the island, is that although it is small, it offers a ton of different scenery. The different landscapes accomodate all kinds of different activities.
In no particular order, here are jsut some of the activities that you can do in Kauai (I’ve placed an asterisk by the things that we did:
- Visit the Napali coast via boat*
- Visit Waimea canyon (The Grand Canyon of the Pacific)*
- Take one of the island’s many beautiful hikes
- Visit one of the beautiful beaches*
- Kayak, canoe or paddle board*
- Attend a luau*
- Take a sunset cruise
- Go surfing
- Eat some of the island’s fresh seafood*
- Visit the small towns on the island*
- Take a helicopter ride to see all areas of the island, including those that aren’t accessible by foot and including the waterfall from Jurassic Park*
- Hop on a zipline*
- Go snorkeling*
- Go tubing down a mountain
- Visit one of the island’s many botanical gardens
- Do a rum tasting
- Eat fresh pineapple*
- Discover one of the island’s “secret” beaches
- Visit a coffee plantation
- Visit the spouting horn
- Eat some of the island’s delicious shaved ice
- Go sailing
- Discover the island’s amazing local restaurants*
No matter what you choose, you really can’t go wrong. There are options for everyone at any speed in Kauai, whether you’re looking for an opportunity to relax or seek out adventure, Kauai has a lot to offer.
Once again – no filters on the pictures below. Check out the Waimea canyon pictures. They’re just absolutely breathtaking. It seemed almost impossible that real life could look so much like a watercolor painting. Just incredible. (Ok, I’m done with the adjectives, I swear.)
Have you been to Kauai? What are your favorite spots and activities?
