For Christmas 2021, my sisters & I surprised our Dad with a trip to Kauai, Hawaii for 6 days & 5 nights! It was our first time purchasing a Costco package & it did not disappoint! The highlights of the trip were the mind blowing Jurassic Helicopter Tour offered by Island Helicopter (Kauai) and the amazing waterfalls at Waimea Canyon - Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. Our itinerary was packed with fresh dining options & relishing in the great outdoors:
NOTE: Most restaurants & activities are closed by 9:00 PM. Be sure to start the day early to catch the sunrise & to beat the traffic. Kauai has one long highway for the whole island so most mornings consisted of us inching along the tree lined highway.
Day 1: We arrived at Lihue Airport (LIH) late in the afternoon due to a flight delay. Nevertheless, we managed to squeeze in a late lunch at the Kauai Beer Company. You can order your food & drinks from their app or put up a green card to get the staff's attention (similar to Bubba Gump). The dragon fruit kombucha & the lemonade were so refreshing. Afterwards, we drove to the Opaeka'a Falls & Wailua River to catch the sunset. It was a short walk from the parking lot to see the waterfall & admire the river. A few photos later, we drove to Safeway to pick up water and fruits followed by dessert at Wailua Shave Ice, which is in the same plaza.
Check in at the Kauai Shore Hotel was a breeze since they have complimentary valet & the staff were so genuine & accommodating. Since it was late, we opted to have dinner at Lava Lava Beach Club right outside of our hotel. With the live music & waves crashing on the shore in the background, it was a perfect evening to enjoy some tasty appetizers & fun drinks.
Day 2: The day was dedicated to exploring the West side of the island. We set our GPS to Waimea Canyon (a.k.a. the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) but made a few pitstops along the way. We stopped by the Tree Tunnel to view the canopy of eucalyptus trees, then ate breakfast at Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee and the last stop was a unique waterfall: Red Dirt Waterfall. The red color of the ground contrasted against the blue skies, which was the perfect backdrop for some epic pictures. We arrived at the Waimea Canyon - Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls trailhead a few minutes later (highly recommend downloading the AllTrails app) and started the ascent to the top of the mountain. The reward at the top of the hike was an incredible waterfall that you can play in & relax. This is the same waterfall we later saw on the helicopter tour! There will be a fork at the end of the trail so be sure to go left to the small waterfall and then go right to the bigger waterfall with the view of the canyon. We took our time taking pictures and playing in the water then made it back to the car & had lunch right away.
Our Dad bought some fresh caught poke from a local vendor then drove to Porky's for a soulful lunch. We also grabbed some local chips & canned milk teas to take with us to Poipu Beach. On our way to Poipu, we saw signs for the famous Kauai Coffee Company and knew we had to stop by. The field of coffee trees was incredible & the free coffee tasting was just an added bonus. We shared popsicles and ice blended beverages before heading out again.
Poipu Beach is a great spot to people watch, see turtles, and dive into the ocean. There are showers, clean bathrooms, and plenty of grassy shade to read & relax too. We didn't stay too long since the waves were pretty big and we were getting hungry again. We left for our hotel to get ready for dinner and had a night cap at Lava Lava Beach Club again since it was convenient & delicious!
Day 3: The day was dedicated to exploring the South side of the Kauai. To start our day with a hardy breakfast, we ordered breakfast plates to go from the Island Country Market inside the Coconut Marketplace (the kimchi fried rice is a must). The first stop of the day was the Koloa Rum Company to go rum tasting which was 100% free! Be sure to go early as the waiting list gets filled quickly.
Next stop was the McBryde & Allerton Gardens. One of the best botanical garden tours we've been on because you get to try so many diverse & unique fruits & herbs. Shout out to our great tour guide, Ron! He made us laugh & was so knowledgable. Our next meal was an easy lunch at Puka Dog per Ron's recommendation. The bun was perfectly toasted & the tropical accoutrements made the hot dog so tasty! The rest of the day was spent at Shipwreck Beach. While we didn't see anyone cliff diving, we did see a lot of talented surfers doing twirls & swirls in the water. Our night was wrapped up at Sam's Ocean View (make sure to make a reservation) then went to a local joint for some noodle soup called Hamura Saimin (cash only).
Day 4: The epic Jurassic Helicopter Tour was 100% a highlight of our trip! Make sure to book the tour a month in advance as there are only 6 available spots for the 7 time slots per day. Also, call 2 days before your scheduled appointment to ensure it's still a go & wear all black per their instructions. The tour starts at Lihue Airport so we opted for breakfast at Daddy O's nearby. The portions were huge and can be split between two people. While we waited for our check in time, we quickly shopped for souvenirs at Walmart.
We were greeted at the heliport with views of helicopters flying in & out. As we checked into our tour, the staff weighed each of us & we were led to specific seats near the helicopter landing pad since the weight needs to be distributed evenly. They provided life vests & blue surgeon booties to protect the site before we were up in the air. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! The tour was short, sweet & worth every penny.
The next item on the agenda was a snack at Wishing Well Shave Ice stand. There are other cute stores around the area that you can explore & support local businesses. We slowly drove around the North Shore to our next destination.
The reservations were fora self guided tour around the property at Limahuli Garden & Preserve. The garden was small but the view of the coast were incredible. While heading back from the garden, we stopped by a cool tunnel-like cave on the way to dinner at Dolphin Restaurant. The restaurant only does walk-ins so go right when they open & order 2 servings of the calamari. It's the best we've ever had & our family almost always orders the stuff if it's on the menu. My sisters and I have a major sweet tooth so our nightcap was at Lappert's where I split a brownie sundae with Nat while Nadine indulged in a mango sorbet. Dad went to a nearby grocery store to buy pan de sal so he could take a few spoonfuls of ice cream from our sundae & smear it between the bread.
Day 5: The day was dedicated to exploring the North side of the island. As a coffee fiend, I was tempted to try all the cafes all over the island but landed on one cafe, Java Kai. The drinks & pastries were especially unique & delicious (the pina colada muffin & maui mocha were unforgettable). On our way to Hanalei, we also stopped by Holey Grail Donuts not knowing they now have a popup truck here in Los Angeles at the Platform. Neighboring the lot of food stalls was Kayak Hanalei where we rented 2 stand up paddle boards & 1 double kayak. The waters were calm and easy to manage which made it even more fun. We soaked in all the sunshine, trees & wildlife. We started at 10 AM and it felt like we had the whole river to ourselves. The activity wrapped up around 1 PM so we went to Kalypso Island Bar & Grill for island style cocktails then walked around the small boutiques. It was a tiring day so we chose a casual fast food spot that happens to be a local favorite, Kenji Burger Kappa. The small outdoor patio in the back was the perfect last meal.
Day 6: Our final few hours on the island were chill as we grabbed breakfast at the Island Country Markets-Deli and Coffee again & took it to the beach. Taking our time, we attended a sunrise yoga session that was free for hotel guests, then checked out. Our last snack was shave ice from Jojo's Shave Ice before heading to the car rental & airport check in.
It was an incredible trip & there were still so many other things that we wanted to do. For our next trip, these will definitely be included: Hike Hoopii Falls Trail, Konohiki Seafoods, Kilauea Lighthouse Trail, Fern Grotto, Mahogany Forest - Wai Koa Loop and Queen's Bath.