Kauai - Yes finally a break from work... Anybody been?

Kinetic · #1 03/19/2007, 01:16 AM

Some of you probably know me as the workaholic... some like phong just get in line for all my equipment, but anyway, by the end of March I will have finished a big phase of my project, such that I can take a breather.

I'm going to take my gf to Kauai for two weeks, and was wondering which of you guys have been there, and if you had any cool "fish related" or non fish related suggestions.

I'm picking up a lonely planet guidebook, but otherwise I won't have much guidance on what to do.

I'll be staying in Kapa'a mostly, and may spend 3 days in Oahu.

... what I should really be doing is staying at home to put together my 68 gallon tank, haha =)

TimTen · #2 03/19/2007, 08:39 AM

I was in Kauai about 8 months ago. I had a great time. I would recommend renting a car and driving to Snorkle Bob's. They have a really good map showing all the snorkle spots. I even swam with a giant turtle at one beach. I would bring lot's of extra money for tour's, they have some great one's.

sid700 · #3 03/19/2007, 08:55 AM

Workaholic? Didn't you just go to Europe not too long ago?

Anyways, drive north as far as the road can take you. There's a park where you can access a beach where there are some decent snorkling on shallow water; the trailhead to climb up the Napali Coast is also here.

Also, there's a ramen place, I forget what city. But ask the locals. That's what I did the second time around and they knew the place. It's cheap, locals eat there and they also have shaved ice on occasion.

Of course this was about 6 yrs ago. There might be condos there by now.

drdoolittle · #4 03/19/2007, 10:57 AM

Been there once. I heard theres alot of nude beaches there.. haha..

Have a nice vacation ... My wife is secretly planning on taking my to Maui next month.. but she does't know i found out... LOL..

phreak312 · #5 03/19/2007, 12:14 PM

I love kauai, been there a couple of times and going back in May. Definitely rent a car that way you can get to all the parts of the island. Your are staying on the west side next to Lihue which is good, because its a pretty central location. You can drive north and go to Princeville resort and to hanalei. You can drive south and go to Poipu and you can drive past Poipu and go to the southern part of the napali. You can also go and do some hiking in waimea canyon.

I would recommend doing a catamaran tour of napali and a kayak trip up to Fern's Grotto.

If you can get your hands on a March 2007 Hemisphere's magazine from United Airlines, they had a pretty good little article on Kauai.

sid700 - I'm pretty sure the name of that saimin place is Hamura's in Lihue, off of Rice Street.

MayoKetchup · #6 03/19/2007, 12:19 PM

just remember in kauai... it's an island. if you drive where the road takes you, and don't stop.. you'll drive in circles. warning about their buses, though... there is no schedule. best to rent a bicycle or car... you know the saying.. "what's the rush, where you think you're going? "

oahu, is for shopping, just make sure you don't shop where the tourists shop... it's highwayisland robbery!

sid700 · #7 03/19/2007, 12:22 PM

Hamura's in Lihue. Yep that's the one. Thanks phreak.

kaihonu82 · #8 03/19/2007, 12:29 PM

i agree with renting a car, its definitely nice to be on your own schedule and be able to go where ever, whenever.

i did some diving off of poipu when I went to kauai. they have some beautiful reefs, also got to see some dolphins and turtles.

i also suggest making the drive up to waimea canyon. it has some amazing views.

there are also several waterfalls along the island, the names are escaping me but i'm sure your travel guide will cover them.

you're there for two weeks you'll have plenty of time to see the whole island :-)

just make sure to watch out for all the wild chickens that inhabit the island, they cross the road for no reason at all

Kinetic · #9 03/19/2007, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TimTen
I was in Kauai about 8 months ago. I had a great time. I would recommend renting a car and driving to Snorkle Bob's. They have a really good map showing all the snorkle spots. I even swam with a giant turtle at one beach. I would bring lot's of extra money for tour's, they have some great one's.

I'm renting a compact car from Thrifty, they're having a great offer that doesn't charge me $25 extra per day for being under 25. =)

I definitely want to snorkel, any suggestions or should I just goto Snorkel Bob's? I know in Princeville there's a bay where you are basically waste deep in a reef? My sister went there earlier this year and told me about it too.

And also, do you have any tour suggestions? There are so many out there =/

Quote:

Originally posted by sid700
Workaholic? Didn't you just go to Europe not too long ago?

Anyways, drive north as far as the road can take you. There's a park where you can access a beach where there are some decent snorkling on shallow water; the trailhead to climb up the Napali Coast is also here.

You know what? That's true, I went to Italy in July I think, and the year before that to Austria, Poland, and Czech Republic...

And yes, definitely going to go towards the north part of the Island too. I heard it's fantastic up there.

Quote:

Originally posted by phreak312
I love kauai, been there a couple of times and going back in May. Definitely rent a car that way you can get to all the parts of the island. Your are staying on the west side next to Lihue which is good, because its a pretty central location. You can drive north and go to Princeville resort and to hanalei. You can drive south and go to Poipu and you can drive past Poipu and go to the southern part of the napali. You can also go and do some hiking in waimea canyon.

I would recommend doing a catamaran tour of napali and a kayak trip up to Fern's Grotto.

If you can get your hands on a March 2007 Hemisphere's magazine from United Airlines, they had a pretty good little article on Kauai.

sid700 - I'm pretty sure the name of that saimin place is Hamura's in Lihue, off of Rice Street.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I love catamarans, my dream one day is to sail the Mediterranean in a cat some day =) For now it's just 15 foot dingy's in the SF Bay

Kinetic · #10 03/19/2007, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kaihonu82
i agree with renting a car, its definitely nice to be on your own schedule and be able to go where ever, whenever.

i did some diving off of poipu when I went to kauai. they have some beautiful reefs, also got to see some dolphins and turtles.

Darn, I can't dive! I've had multiplee Spontaneus Pneumothorax's in my past, so my doctor has told me no diving =(((( I'll have to settle for snorkeling I guess.

Quote:

Originally posted by kaihonu82
ii also suggest making the drive up to waimea canyon. it has some amazing views.

Yes, I'm definitely going there, and will be hiking =)))

Quote:

Originally posted by kaihonu82
just make sure to watch out for all the wild chickens that inhabit the island, they cross the road for no reason at all

Haha wild chickens! Nice =)) I'll keep an eye out.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions so far!

GreshamH · #11 03/19/2007, 01:50 PM

IF camping, beware of the wild pigs and the guys that hunt them

If you run into a half naked guy with a knife in the middle of the forest at midnight, he's hunting wild pigs

Kinetic · #12 03/19/2007, 02:34 PM

haha... interesting =) Speaking from experience? The hunter? Or the camper?

Thanks for the heads up gresh!

I don't think I'll be doing any camping this trip.

GreshamH · #13 03/19/2007, 03:18 PM

Neither

It seems like the thing for Santa Cruzians (my home town) to do, is to move to move there. I must have 20 friends on that little island alone

raddogz · #14 03/19/2007, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MayoKetchup
just remember in kauai... it's an island. if you drive where the road takes you, and don't stop.. you'll drive in circles. warning about their buses, though... there is no schedule. best to rent a bicycle or car... you know the saying.. "what's the rush, where you think you're going? "

oahu, is for shopping, just make sure you don't shop where the tourists shop... it's highwayisland robbery!

No kidding about driving in circles. I went to Kauai several years ago on my own, fun to a point (better to spend it with someone else

)

I think I went around the island in about a hour.

The gardens are breath-taking.

Apon · #15 03/19/2007, 04:21 PM

Was there in 2000 - the Saimin (ramen) shop is good. Also the helicopter tours were fun.

raddogz · #16 03/19/2007, 04:24 PM

Hey Art,

Go on the ATV ride - I hear they are a blast!

jkreefer · #17 03/19/2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MayoKetchup
just remember in kauai... it's an island. if you drive where the road takes you, and don't stop.. you'll drive in circles. warning about their buses, though... there is no schedule. best to rent a bicycle or car... you know the saying.. "what's the rush, where you think you're going? "

oahu, is for shopping, just make sure you don't shop where the tourists shop... it's highwayisland robbery!

Thats funny because on Kauai you cannot drive in circles because of the Napali coastline is inpassable. Deffinitly go to the top of wimaia canyon and take a backpack and lunch and you can hike the south-west side of napali, absolutly breathtaking. Have fun!!

gsengel · #18 03/20/2007, 01:49 AM

We went to the big island, and by far the most useful resource was the following guidebook (except for the big island).

http://www.wizardpub.com/kauai/kauai.html

$10.05 on amazon

It had extremely accurate details about snorkel spots that were off the beaten path (and how to access private beaches) and it rated various tours so you could avoid the ripoffs. This book really made our trip a lot more fun. (We snorkeled in new spots everyday.)

gsengel · #19 03/20/2007, 01:49 AM

We went to the big island, and by far the most useful resource was the following guidebook (except for the big island).

http://www.wizardpub.com/kauai/kauai.html

$10.05 on amazon

It had extremely accurate details about snorkel spots that were off the beaten path (and how to access private beaches) and it rated various tours so you could avoid the ripoffs. This book really made our trip a lot more fun. (We snorkeled in new spots everyday.)

Natterjak · #20 03/20/2007, 10:50 AM

Second the "Revealed" series. We used it for our trips to Maui, and it was great. Good food, snorkeling, and hiking info and then some.

darcitananda · #21 03/20/2007, 12:31 PM

I went to Kauai for my honeymoon. It's a beautiful island with stunning scenery. We stayed closer to Princeville in the North as the landscape is way more lush there. Definitely rent a car and you can explore so much. I loved hiking to waterfalls (using a rope to get down and up!), the NaPali coast by boat (try to start at the north end otherwise you spend all the time getting seasick coming from the south and don't even get to see all the awesome cliffs) and the Kalalau trail (very slippery and strenuous but fabulous views. we could see pods of dolphins from the cliffs!), and other hiking was awesome too, very primeval feeling. The snorkeling isn't great, but the water is warm. There is also an all stone Hindu temple being built and the property it is on is amazing. Hm, what else, in Poipu you can see tons of turtles right from the shore. The water was rough when I was there, so there was no swimming. Yes, the "revealed" guidebook really is awesome and there are places that literally no-one else bothers to go. If you like hiking, you are in for a treat!

You can see my pics here (sorry for all the dorky ones of me):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hennalo...7594489340613/

Kinetic · #22 03/20/2007, 12:51 PM

cool thanks! I'll order the book from amazon right now =)

and I love hiking! It's one of my favorite passtimes... given I have time for it =)

darcitananda · #23 03/20/2007, 12:54 PM

you HAVE to go hiking because all the most romantic vistas are on the trails.

P.S. Maui is better for snorkeling, food, and nightlife. Kauai is better for terrestial nature lovers, landscape, and really getting away from it all.

racrumrine · #24 03/20/2007, 03:35 PM

Several years ago, I took a helicopter tour of the whole island. Then, rented a car to go exploring. From the air, the North seemed to be the more beautiful side. Thus, I headed out that direction.

Unfortunately, I was by myself and it was just a day trip.

Nevertheless, I will go back and do another helicopter ride.

I would second that guidebook series.

Best of luck,

Roy

TimTen · #25 03/20/2007, 09:28 PM

I was looking through all my kauai picture's, and found my Snorkel Bob's map. You should try most of the spots, but the best, by far( without a tour) is named hiddeways, on his map. You have to be in the Princeville condo area and hike down a unmarked path. Since its hard to get to, I saw the best coral/ fish. I even spent 10 min swimming with a giant sea turtle. The only think I wish I did while there was, take a Zodiak/Snorkle tour of the Napali coast. Also if your renting a car spend the extra few and get a jeep.