I recently fulfilled a dream I’ve had for a little over a decade and took my family on their first vacation to Hawai’i. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the islands on FAM trips and on a romantic vacation with my husband, and this year the opportunity finally presented itself for our family to experience aloha together!
We chose Kaua’i for a few reasons including the easy and surprisingly affordable airfare, the availability for family-friendly accommodations and of course, the island’s natural beauty and many unique activities. We spent eight days on the island and were able to check off nearly everything on my must-see list … somehow the only site that eluded us was spotting a rainbow.
The Hilton Garden Inn Kaua’i at Wailua Bay was our home for the week, and the central location worked out really well for our family. We enjoyed having a little extra elbow room and kitchenette in one of the resort’s cottages which gave us easy access to Lydgate Beach, which is a great beach for easy swimming and snorkeling thanks to the protection from its rock jetties. We also enjoyed the property’s onsite Ahi Uila Fire Show which included a delicious luau-style dinner, impressive fire dancing and the opportunity for my nine-year-old daughter to learn a hula dance.
When we weren’t enjoying the resort’s pool or beach, we were out and about experiencing the island and had several fun adventures.
Nāpali Coast
Anyone who has been to Kaua’i before will likely immediately mention the Nāpali Coast as a can’t miss site, and for good reason. The towering sea cliffs are breathtaking and can only be viewed by boat, helicopter or a grueling hike. An intense hike was out of the question, and the helicopter didn’t seem like a great option for our family because I was afraid my kids might get motion sickness, so we opted for a boat tour.
I chose Makana Charters and Tours for a morning sailing and snorkeling excursion because they offered a mid-sized boat that can access sea caves and departs from Kikiaoloa Small Boat Harbor. Most tour boats are larger and depart from Port Allen, but by going with Makana we spent less time getting to the sites of the coast and more time enjoying them. Luckily, my kids thought bumping into the big waves was fun, and the Bonine we took before the tour did the trick — nobody ended up seasick!
We had a great morning soaking in the sites of the 17 miles of dramatic sea cliffs, spotting waterfalls, learning about Hawaiian history and culture, snorkeling and spotting sea turtles and spinner dolphins. All of us especially loved the couple of times the boat went into sea caves and underneath waterfalls — the cool water was a refreshing contrast to the sun’s warmth. On the way back to the harbor, we enjoyed lunch and Hawaiian music.
Kauai Backcountry Adventures Mountain Tubing Adventure
At the end of our week, our family unanimously agreed that our tubing adventure was the best experience. I wasn’t too surprised since all of us love lazy rivers at waterparks and am really glad I booked our tour early since just one company offers it, and the tour tends to sell out.
After leaving town and riding into the countryside in the back of an open-air truck, we were treated to panoramic views of Mt. Wai’ale’ale and the surrounding valleys. We then arrived at the historic sugar plantation irrigation canals and spent the next hour and a half floating down them and through their tunnels.
The guides were really fun and warned all participants that it was absolutely off-limits to say any C-words once in the water. If anyone said the water was chilly, cool or cold, everyone else could punish them with splashes! My kids loved this and were happy to comply with doling out punishments. The water temperature was quite refreshing and not uncomfortable at all. Our favorite parts were going down a small slide and experiencing total darkness in the longest tunnel, plus rubbing the mineral clay from the canal’s edge on our faces for an on-the-go beauty treatment. I would absolutely recommend this experience for visitors of all ages.
Kipu Ranch Adventures Ultimate Kauai Off Road Ranch Tour
My husband, kids and I have taken 4x4 ATV tours together in other destinations and always had a blast, so we were excited to see we could experience this in Kaua’i too! The tour did not disappoint as we were treated to amazing panoramic views of the island’s mountains, valleys and ocean vistas — which were all familiar thanks to their appearances in multiple Hollywood movies. We enjoyed learning about the ranch’s history as one of the oldest US producers of Hereford cattle and were blown away by the view at Kipu Kai — made famous in George Clooney’s The Descendants. Of course, getting dusty and muddy on the trails left everyone laughing and ready to hit the next puddle for more squeals of fun.
Waimea Canyon
Just like the Nāpali Coast, you really can’t visit Kaua’i without seeing Waimea Canyon. It’s nicknamed The Grand Canyon of the Pacific for good reason as the massive 14-mile long, 1-mile wide and 3600-foot deep canyon will boggle your mind — you just don’t expect to see this kind of landscape on a tropical island.
We had a rental car for the week (a must on the island in my opinion) and used it for a self-guided tour with an app my husband downloaded. We were able to enjoy all the major lookouts on Waimea Canyon Drive, with standouts being the view of Ni’ihau in the distance across the ocean and the otherworldly Red Dirt Falls. Seeing a couple of mountain goats in the canyon and waterfalls was also a highlight.
Poʻipū Beach
Before we visited Waimea Canyon, we stopped at Poʻipū Beach as our driving tour suggested. This was great because it gave our kids a chance to splash and have fun in the crystal blue water, but also not-so-great since my kids were so tired from the swimming that they fell asleep when we drove past some of Waimea Canyon’s most impressive sites. This beach is a great one to visit for swimming and snorkeling, but also if you want to spot some of the island’s most famous residents. Sea turtles frequently visit around sunset. We missed them since we were there mid-day, but we did get to visit a couple of Hawaiian monk seals who were sunbathing — from a safe distance, of course.
Beyond these five activities, we also had fun tasting Kaua’i chocolate at Lydgate Farms, sampling local joe at Kaua’i Coffee, seeing the colorful rainbow eucalyptus trees at Keahua Arboretum, treating ourselves to JoJo’s Shave Ice and visiting ‘Opaeka’a Falls and Wailua Falls.
Have you been to Kaua’i? What are your favorite activities and sites on the island?
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