Our First Trip To Paradise

The most memorable moments occurred the day after our arrival on Kauai, which was a helicopter tour on Air Kauai. My advice to all: Do this at the beginning of your vacation, especially if you are visiting Kauai for the very first time. You would not believe the breathtaking beauty Kauai has to offer. Kauai IS Paradise.

Quick Tips:

If you want to save money on Kauai's many activities, going on a timeshare tour will do the trick. If you are good at saying no and can easily resist temptation, then you'll do just fine on these tours. But let me say, you will have a hard time.

We went on a Pahio timeshare tour and fell in love with Pahio at the Shearwater resort. I really wanted to say yes! Yes!!! when they asked us if we wanted to buy there. Luckily, my husband was good at saying no to them.

At the time, I thought he made a grave mistake. However, by him saying no, he saved us tons of money. As soon as we came home, I searched fervently for a Shearwater resale. Guess what!!! By being patient and waiting, we found our dream resort with a savings of ,000!!! We are finally buying a week at Pahio at the Shearwater and will be occupying our unit in 2004. We are truly excited.

The moral of the story is: Don't buy at developer's prices. You can find a much better deal buying resales. It's a good thing somebody in our family is strong willed, huh?

Best Way To Get Around:

The absolute best way to get around on Kauai is by renting a car. This allows you to set your own pace and not have to follow some kind of schedule.

Best Things Nearby:
Being on the North Shore, of course. In our personal opinion, the North Shore is by far the prettiest side of the island. You are surrounded in the very elegant Princeville. Many things that are nearby is the Princeville Hotel, Bali Hai, Kilauea Lighthouse, and Hideaways Beach. And let''s not forget the famous Hanalei!

Best Things About the Resort:
Pahio Ka''Eo Kai is on such beautiful landscaping. Everywhere you turn, you see bright, colorful flowers staring at you. The two bedroom units were HUGE! With 2,000 sq. ft., you have room to spread out and not feel crowded at all. We also liked the lanai that wraps around the unit. Such a nice feeling to sit out there on the lanai early in the morning to view the sunrise. What a way to begin your adventure in Kauai!

Resort Experience:
Kauai can simply be described in one word: paradise. If you envision lush, green landscaping, beautiful colorful flowers, and blue/green water surrounding you, then you are in Kauai. You are in paradise.

People in Kauai are very laid back and extremely friendly. If you want a place to stay where you can just relax and enjoy the scenery, then this is the place. Oh, don''t get me wrong. You won''t get bored here. There are plenty of activities to do on Kauai. One thing I strongly suggest is taking a helicopter tour. Try to do this in the very beginning of your stay. This really helped us become more familiar with Kauai. What a way to see the island! Such an awesome experience that will never be forgotten.

Our trip to Kauai will always be a very memorable vacation. We are looking forward to our next visit to paradise. Hopefully, soon.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Many people warned us about motion sickness while being in a helicopter. Well, I''m proud to say, we didn''t experience any kind of sickness. It could very well depend on your pilot. Our pilot, Ed 209, was simply the best: no sudden moves, very experienced, and extremely knowledgeable.

We went with Air Kauai because (at the time) it was the only helicopter-tour company that actually shuts off its engines while boarding or exiting the aircraft. The company does this for safety and out of courtesy. It has a perfect flight record, too. That sure helps to know that, right?

What an exhilarating ride! You hear the soft flowing music in the background of your Bose headsets while enjoying the sights all around you. Air Kauai provides a deluxe 60 minutes air tour of Hawaii''s most beautiful island. They fly over Waimea Canyon, Na Pali Coast, Mt. Wai''ale''ale Crater and places you wouldn''t ever dream of seeing unless you were flying high above Kauai.

Would we do this again? You bet. Just as long as it''s with Air Kauai!!!

Hawaii Movie Tours offers different tours at different prices. We took their Standard Land Tour, which costs $95 pp plus tax for adults and $76 for kids 11 and under. It might sound expensive, but take in the fact that this tour lasts about 5-6 hours. Plus, they feed you lunch!

The other types of tours they offer are:

• 4X4 Tour- An off the road experience.
• Internet Special Tour- This tour includes either the Land Tour or the 4x4 Tour AND a helicopter tour.

Since we only did the Standard Land Tour, we'll focus our attention on this particular tour.

Board a van that takes you to many different locations around the island where movies were made. While riding in the van and on your way to your next movie destination, you'll get to view clips of movies scenes on their monitors.

Some of the movie scenes locations they take you to are:

• Historic Hanalei Pier
• Gilligan's Island Beach
• Coco Palms Resort
• Sleeping Giant/King Kong Mountain
• House from Honeymoon in Vegas
• Donovan's Reef
• Jurassic Park
• Six Days and Seven Nights
...and so much more.

Another highlight of our trip was getting a coconut from the Coco Palms Resort. By the way, if you don't have enough room in your suitcase to pack a coconut, don't worry. You can mail it home. Seriously. We did this, but it wasn't cheap. It cost us $12 to mail our medium sized coconut home. It was worth every penny.

Then of course, there's lunch. We stopped at a lovely location, Anini Beach. We had half of a turkey sub sandwich, chips, drinks, and a dessert. We found this spot to be so beautiful and peaceful, we decided to come back and spend a whole day there later on during the week.

By doing this tour, we found out so many new and interesting things. I'm sure we would have never discovered all of these tidbits info on our own.

For instance, we wouldn't have found the most perfect beach spot (Anini Beach) to celebrate our family member's birthday, if it hadn't been for our lunch break with Hawaii Movie Tour.
Some other things we found interesting was seeing Clint Eastwood and Pierce Bronson's homes.
We also know the absolute perfect spot to take a picture of the Sleeping Giant/King Kong Mountain. Believe me, we would have never discovered this spot on our own.
And of course, lets not forget about where some of these movies were actually taken. You wouldn't believe some of the locations and props they used for their movies.

For more information on Hawaii Movie Tours, just visit their website at: www.hawaiimovietours.com

Overall, we had a wonderful time with Hawaii Movie Tours. Hey, if you see Raimie and Marty, tell them Aloha for us.

Before you decide to do this tour, make sure you pick up a magazine which are located inside at the airport, grocery stores, or throughout the island. There are many Activities Coupons in it. Also, enclosed is a coupon for doing the Fern Grotto.

While your cruising the Wailua River on the flat bottom passenger barges, you'll be entertained with some Hawaiian songs, hula dancing, and some off-beat humor from your boat operators, the Smith's family members. By the time you reach Fern Grotto, you'll know some of its legends and history.

Fern Grotto is set in a beautiful, tropical jungled atmosphere. You'll find a natural amphitheater just waiting for you. One word of advice: there are many steps and uphill climbing. Please take this into consideration when doing this tour.

Fern Grotto Wailua River Cruise Tour lasts approximately one hour and twenty minutes. Their tours departs every 1/2 hour 9am-3pm daily, seven days a week.

We chose the Smith's International Pageant based on the recommendations of friends and the ease of convenience it provided. The Smith Family runs and operates all of the below activities in one location. They are:

• Fern Grotto and Wailua River Cruise
• Smith's Tropical Garden Paradise
• Garden Luau
• International Pageant

During the Day:
You have a choice to explore on your own through their "Tropical Garden Paradise" by taking their pathways surrounded by exotic scenery. Or you can choose to take a narrated tram ride absorbing Kauai's history and learning more about Kauai's exotic plants and fruits. You can take a river cruise to Kauai's famous Fern Grotto during daylight hours. You'll wind your way through dense tropical paradise on a flat bottomed passenger barge. Sit back and relax, because the Smith's family members, who are your boat operators, take the time to share some fascinating legends on Kauai and the famous Fern Grotto. They will also entertain you with Hawaiian songs, hula dancing, and some unique sense of humor. Their tour departs every half hour, from 9am - 3pm daily, seven days a week.

During the Night:
A whole new atmosphere begins. The torches are lit, the night air is filled with music, and everyone is ready for a feast at the Smith's luau. Their ceremony stars off with the traditional- Imu Ceremony. You'll see a pig cooked to perfection in an underground oven. Then the feast begins!! The Imu Ceremony begins at 6pm, but the gates open at 5pm for their luau. Cocktails and Music begins at 6:15pm. Dinner is served at 6:30pm. Given plenty of time to eat and enjoy the atmosphere, your next adventure doesn't begin until 8pm.

International Pageant:
You'll be led by torch-lit pathways to a beautiful lagoon theater. Here you will be entertained by "The Golden People of Hawaii" who put on a wonderful, colorful festival filled with dances and music. What makes this pageant so unique is they depict dances and songs from Tahiti, Hawaii, China, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, and Samoa. Very, very entertaining and worth every single penny. This show lasts about an hour and a half and truthfully, wasn't long enough. It was THAT good.

We wouldn't hesitate to choose the Smith's again. We highly recommend them in a heartbeat.

We occupied Unit 14B. This was an upstairs (penthouse unit) that was cocooned with the other surrounding units. If I had my choice to do it all over again, I would pick a unit that was on the outer perimeter of the resort. I believe we would have gotten better views of the mountains and ocean.

Here are some interior pictures of Pahio Ka'Eo Kai's unit. As you can see, there is plenty of room to roam. With 2,000 sq. ft., this unit is well equipped for a family of six.

Here are some more pictures of our Unit# 14B. Never had we been in a resort that offered so much room. If you are looking for a place to spread out, then Pahio Ka'Eo Kai is the place you need to stay at.

Some two bedroom units at Pahio Ka'Eo Kai are lockouts. This specific unit was not. Also, there are different bed configurations in each of these units. If you are looking for a specific type of arrangement, you should try to call the resort for more information.

Before our (first) trip to Kauai, I studied and memorized each and every little thing I could about this island. I wanted to make sure I knew what things were, how to say things properly in the Hawaiian language, where the best beaches were, most recommended luaus, helicopter tours, Na Pali boat tours, you name it. I wanted to know it all. Here's why:

How would you feel if you went to a luau and somone came up and offered you a "pupu" (pronounced like it seems, "poo-poo".) Wouldn't you frown and make a face, thinking, "How gross?" Little did you know that "pupu" is actually an appetizer, snack or finger food. I could just visualize this happening to me. That is why I wanted to prepare myself for all types of scenarios.

The best advice I can give you is to get a book. This isn't just any book, though. This book proved to be so valuable and helpful during our trip on Kauai that I carried our "lifesaver" book everywhere we went. It is The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook by Wizard Publications. They have other books for the other islands as well.

This book actually prepares you for your trip to Kauai.
Some of the contents listed in this book are:

• History of Kauai
• What to Bring
• Getting Around
• Weather
• Traveling with Children
• The Hawaiian Language
• North Shore Sights
• East Shore Sights
• West Shore Sights
• South Shore Sights
• Beaches
• Activities
• Adventures
• Where to Stay
• Dining

The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is the bible of Kauai. If you would like more information on this fabulous book, go to their website: www.wizardpub.com You won't regret it.

This is the best advice I can give before you go on your first trip to Kauai. I hope you find it invaluable as much as we did.

May you have a wonderful journey in paradise! Aloha!